For the Julia Fordham fans on the list which include our departed Mr. Rowe, Coyote Rick, Joseph and you know there may be more - here's my review of her show Friday night at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood (the best best club in SoCal).
Chris (son of Stephen) Stills was the opening act and he was fantastic. Looks like his dad but even cuter, plays a bit like his dad, but a little more soulful. A sweet, sweet singer-songwriter trying to make it in the Indie world. His guitar rivals Stephen but when he went to play the keyboard he was the reincarnation of Al Kooper. I swear you could hear a collective sigh throughout the room. Julia came on with full band and when she wasn't blowing our minds with the most extraordinary voice in the world, she was cracking us up with her hilarious humor. She played some of the old faves like Porcelain and Happy Ever After, Don't Tell Your Girlfriend and then intro'ed a few new songs on her now Indie label, including Concrete Love. She sang an older song about the change in the Manhattan Skyline that has new meaning now. She also did a little tribute to George Harrison in Something in the Way (He) Moves and the best rendition of Someone to Watch Over Me I have ever heard. She mentioned that she recently participated in a charity benefit and auctioned off on eBay a tape of her singing Happy Birthday to the highest bidder. She then told us that the winner was from Singapore and when he heard she was playing in L.A. flew in for the performance and was in the audience. She proceeded to sing the most beautiful Happy Birthday to "Pom" and we all joined in. When I saw her here last, her sometime producer Larry Klein sat next to me at the bar and joined her for a few songs. During that show she also spoke about meeting him and Joni for the first time at her art exhibit in London back in '90. So of course, I was looking around for him last night but couldn't spot him. As one of her encore songs she did Minnie Riperton's Lovin You which totally shows off her like 20 octave range. After the song she spoke about meeting Minnie's husband and learning he had co-written the song. Minnie's husband also told her that at that time Minnie was so fed up with the record business and just wanted to get away from it all and be happy with her family. Julia then told us that this inspired her to write a new song recently with Larry Klein along that that theme and she proceeded to sing it as her last song of the night. After she finished she waved her hand up to the second floor balcony and there he was taking a bow!!! Mr. Klein! What a beautiful night! Kakki NP: Julia Fordham - Island
