It was a vast and eclectic setlist. As well as hits and crowd-pleasing songs, he passionately recreated material from Mitchell’s entire catalog, including the romantic and quiet titles of his 1991 album Night Ride Home, and his intensely social tracks. It was imagined. Her obvious highlight was “Amelia,” a plantic, airy meditation on freedom and escape. Her Mitchell vocals sounded especially strong, and her musician/producer Blake Mills accompanied her gracefully and nimbly on Mitchell’s own guitar. She had Lucius on backing vocals, Marcus Mumford on percussion, Celes Henderson (whom Mitchell admiringly called “Lady Jimi Hendrix”) on guitar and vocals, and other musicians on set. Completed the rich sound of
Mitchell can’t hit that canary high note anymore. so what. On Saturday night, as she said on her sonorous “Both Sides Now,” she “had lost something in living each day, but gained something.” What Mitchell has acquired is the mastery of her sumptuous low register, an androgynous, all-knowing voice like a wise, benevolent god. Considering this third act as an unexpected performer, Mitchell became resourceful about what others might see as potential limitations. As she and those around her sing, the cane she uses as a mobility aid (on which a glowing wolf’s head was attached on Saturday) becomes both a percussion instrument and a royal cane. became.
As the night wore on, Mitchell became more talkative, telling delicious stories about friends and associates such as Bob Dylan and Van Morrison. She recalled when Prince invited her to sing on stage during her “Purple Rain” tour, and she confessed that she didn’t know the lyrics to the title track. He assured her that there were really only two of her. Mitchell could rival any rock icon, but throughout her career she wasn’t always well respected by her male contemporaries. In one of her most heartfelt monologues of the night, Lennox admitted, “In the old days, very few of us women did this.”
But since Mitchell recovered from an aneurysm, the world has belatedly recognized her extraordinary influence on popular music and seems to be making up for lost time by giving her more and more accolades. In recent years, she has received the Kennedy Center Honorary Award, the Recording Academy’s Musicaires Person of the Year Award, and most recently the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Award for Popular Song.
Too much laurel around your neck can be heavy, but Mitchell welcomed all of this fanfare with amusing lightness—shimmies, rattles, and fresh rounds of Pinot Grigio. And of course another song. She sang a few lively covers of classics she called “the rock ‘n’ roll dance era,” such as “Love Potion No. 9” and “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” but ended with ” The song ended with a song introducing Frank. Sinatra Songs”, “Young at Heart”.
