GuitarGod’s former roommate-jealous at the contrast of success?, enjoyable, hopped-up serious singer/songwriter material, two accompanying guitars
not impressed, nice look about him of melancholy and sweetness (one of RockGirl’s conquests)
done done done with the fucking bluegrass
realized that I loove gospel music, was of the white variety-gospel-bluegrass but still the crooning and wailing plucks my heart, even love the church-fused responses, stays with me, queer and disturbing that I love it so much, think this is what I thought bluegrass was when I thought I loved it
relatives huddled around one microphone, light-hearted and per hearsay very traditional bluegrass style
they’re soo good, didn’t want to see them because have but again the diverse backgrounds make for better bluegrass
Canadian country rocker, legions of fans are called Fredheads, very lively and rocking, sentimental, interlude speeches between songs very funny, lots of personality, punk boy guitarist
first drum set, resounding bass, more rocking than the rest, enjoyable
really liked her, first variation heard, interesting lyrics, alt-country, attracted the lesbian crowd with her butch haircut, apparently used to be a chef
pre-teen charmers, girl had amazing voice and stage persona
group of girls playing violins, a recital basically but enjoyable to see kids doing good, they all looked miserable though as the teacher glowed
jammed at campsite next to us, excellent, fun, young boys of diverse (not bluegrass) backgrounds and it showed, need to see perform or maybe not, maybe saw in their element
Colorado boys, lively
kind of Sheryl Crow and then drifted a little into less colorful music, liked her overall, wild and laidback, relatable
didn’t know dobro could sound like that but still didn’t redeem the adult contemporary tone of the music
04.09.2003 Annie Lennox Wilbur Theatre, Boston, MA
Eurythmics was the first cassette I bought with my own money (it was Touch for the record) and I love, love Annie Lennox. From her dazzling duet with David Bowie, to her Grammy performances, to the SNL 25th reunion special where they played a medley of hits. All of it works. So this tour was a long time coming. As a band, Eurythmics toured for every album. As a solo artist, her one lone US date prior to the Bare Tour was in Central Park. I saw the video, dazzling, spectacular. But I was a senior in high school. There was no chance I would ever have been there, and the concert sold out in six minutes.
So did this one. However, 10 years later, I’m remarkably savvy about concert tickets. I was a few rows from the front in an intimate venue. The ticket price was the most I had ever paid (not anymore, thank you Madonna) and it was worth every cent. I went by myself. Nobody was invested in going with me that would have spent the money. It was, and will be, the only concert I attend solo. But it was appropriate that I went by myself as this was her first tour solo. The word “Solo” was, in fact, posted on a screen behind the stage.
The Wilbur Theatre is in the heart of downtown Boston, and it underwent surgery during the off season. Annie was the first performance inside the venue since the reconstruction. The place is tiny. Just the band and a couple hundred fans. Her band filed onto stage and began a jazzy version of “Money Can’t Buy It.” Ms. Lennox came out onstage like royalty. She spent a lot of time during the show soaking up the rapturous applause. Normally, it might seem a bit haughty, but you could tell she had waited a long time for it.
She played mostly stuff from her stellar career, but she snuck in five tunes from the new album. “Pavement Cracks” is performed faithfully to the studio version and it is excellent. The crowd responded to the new material enthusiastically (what else would they have done, really?) But it was her tiny pause mid-show that brought down the house.
The band left the stage and Annie Lennox sat down at a keyboard and played “Here Comes the Rain Again” on the piano. It was heart-stopping. She had given the same treatment to “Why” at a Arista benefit. While she doesn’t have exceptional skills with the piano, her ability to match her vocals against the keys was superb. It was beautiful and if they ever get around to releasing the DVD of this tour, I would buy it for that reason alone. She played the intro to “Sisters” before handing it over to her band. “You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart” was a new version, and better than I had ever heard. I can’t even tell you what she changed, but it was a romp!
It is her ability to constantly morph and update her music without losing the pieces that are essential to her style that makes her the fantastic performer she is. She owes a lot of this to David Stewart; their partnership for fifteen years or so was a lot of this. Then, there is her voice. Even people that find her songs bland can admit that her voice is majestic. A reviewer pointed that in her old age (she turned 50 recently) she is actually losing a bit of her range. Who cares? That guy missed the point altogether.
The rest of the set seemed too brief. The one-two punch of “Bitter Pill” and “Would I Lie To You” (on the same subject, for that matter) closed the main set on a high. The crescendo didn’t wane until she had finished with “I Need a Man.” She came stage at the very end to give a plaintive version of “Why” before blessing us, wishing for peace and departing.
There was a rumor then that she was going to keep touring, but the death of her mother ended that possibility.
Setlist
Money Can’t Buy It
Legend in My Living Room
Little Bird
1000 Beautiful Things
No More ‘I Love You’s’
Walking on Broken Glass
Pavement Cracks
Cold
Here Comes the Rain Again
Sisters Are Doin’ It for Themselves
Who’s That Girl?
You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart
Don’t Let It Bring You Down
Wonderful
Bitter Pill
Would I Lie to You
1st Encore
Sweet Dreams
I Need a Man
2nd Encore
Why
the woman who has been recommended to me from the day I arrived here-surprisingly old and unpolished-permed dirty blonde hair and sitting down with the band, Doak Short and the middle-aged women next to me not having a good time and Austin’s own transvestite-who-ran-for-mayor Leslie gleaking on me and the long long wait soured me so I stayed for only a few songs but her voice is instantly soothing and real a la Tom Petty, woman compared her to Bonnie Raitt and said she does not write her own music or play an instrument, husky blues singer, good
honky-tonk good ole Texas boys and proud of it, would guess mostly covers if knew music like that, eh