Saturday, February 2, 2008

Joanna Newsom @ BAM - Fry Jan 31, 2008

Darling

Joanna Newsom took the stage a couple of minutes after she was supposed to and I was already impressed. Dressed elegant in black she walked to her harp and everybody couldn't stop clapping as if the concert was already over. Although I did know Joanna was going to play with a full orchestra, plus her band, I didn't know she was going to play Ys in its entirety from beginning to end, you know, like if it were a classic. She is right tho... Ys is already a classic.


She started then with Emily. It hadn't been one minute into the song when her special voice hit me hard and it made me had goose bumps. I wasn't the only one. Everybody around me was pretty much holding their breath and watering their eyes amazed of how beautiful she was already pulling it off and thinking that was just the beginning. Nobody was embarrassed. She paused before starting with Monkey & Bear, let us have some air, talked a little bit with her tiny voice and proceeded to keep giving us more of her Newsomeness, telling us the story about her darling Ursula.

Monkey & Bear might be my favorite Joanna Newsom's song. It was the first song I heard by her, the first one I hated, and later the first one that made me go deep into her music. Nowadays it is to me like a poem made a song... made a beautiful song. It opened my ears to listen to more music I didn't care at all before and those things are just priceless to me. Indeed, it was the whole Ys as an album that made that effect on me. I do love most of Ys. It is Only Skin, and about two thirds of that song, that are kind of boring, or more precisely not as excellent as the rest of the songs. If she would have worked more on that song I am sure this album would be one of my all time favorites. Hell, what am I saying? It is already.

The best moment of the show had to be Sawdust & Diamonds when Joanna plays her harp solo, without any orchestra but only her voice, and once again she sent us all out of this planet to take a look at the stars and bring us back again, all in 9 minutes and 55 seconds.


After that trip, Only Skin came and finally Cosmia closed the set. Of course, right after she played her last note the whole theater exploded in claps congratulating the hour she kindly had shared with us and we (I for sure) will never forget.

I was ready to go home and sleepiness took over my head, but the concert wasn't over yet. She came back after some good 15 or 20 minutes in a pink dress to enchant us again with some older and newer songs than the ones on Ys, but at least in my case they didn't work much. I fall sleep. But I am sure I had dreams... I swear I saw Emily and Ursula dancing with Monkey & Bear, by the trees full of Sawdust & Diamonds. [crappy photos of the show][better photos of the show]

♫♫♫♫♫

Were you at the show? How did you like it?

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