14) Stephen Kellogg- Raised on Roberry: "I got nervous on my way out of the dressing room becauseI have my guitar in a tuning it's never been in before, and I could never get it in again." Stephen proceeded to try to lay out 3 legal sized sheets of words on three stools and said he was "just getting to know Joni Mitchell. He did a fairly good rendition of the song, and had a good sense of humor. Halfway through the song, he said (while still strumming) "we're doing good, as it gets closer to this side of the stage (referring to his lyric sheets) I'll be able to look at you more."
15) Meg Hutchinson was also on the list, but wasn't there. 16) Anne Heaton- For Free: Anne came in from NYC for this, and sang a beautiful pretty much dead-on rendition of the song. Great piano chops and very sweet voice. 17) Vance Gilbert- Goodbye Porkpie Hat: "No one liked this album when it came out, no one knows this song, so I thought it would be a good song to do because none of you would know it if I f-ked it up!" Vance absolutely nailed this one. He totally brought it in, and owned this song. It was a great, really blusey, jazzy version and after "It's very unlikely we'll be driven out of town Or be hung in a tree" instead of "That's unlikely" he sang "although with this administration that's more and more likely" which sent absolute shivers down my spine. He even took a trumpet solo (mouth trumpet) which, if you closed your eyes, you would have sworn it was the real thing. Definite A+ on this one. 18) Gregory Douglas- Court and Spark: Again, a nice, authenic version. 19) Ari- Blue: Too much angst for me. 20) Christopher Williams- A Case of You: When Christopher started in his clear guitar style, we all looked at each other, trying to figure out what he was going to play. We couldn't guess until he sang the first few words. A ver sweet version with very different chording on the guitar. 21) Bridget Matros- Cactus Tree: When Bridget (who works with ChuckE) started out, I thought, " I like this. She has a sweet soprano voice, her guitar picking is nice, and the song fits her. Then, out of nowhere (and I think Anne described it best by saying it was a schizophrenic version of Cactus Tree) she started shouting, really shouting the song, which hurt my ears. At the end, she went back to the first style, and if she had kept that first style, I would have really loved this version. She was young, the song was a perfect fit, and without the shouting would have a been a great song for her. 22) Mark Erelli- Carey: "There are lots of reasons to like Joni- her angelic voice, impossibly difficult lyrics, but I like her for her interviews." What I can say about Mark is that this was the most fun song of the evening. Imagine a real twangy, cowboy-style version, and you've got this rendition. I swear I could hear the clip-clopping of Roy Rogers horse coming into the club! As Anne said, "Cowboy Joni!!" He definitely grabbed the audience, and in the middle (while still strumming) he sang, "I like the clapping- keep it up til the end of the song.......cuz Joni wouldn't even let you clap along.....!" Fun, and really different. 23) Dave Dersham- Cold Blue Steel: I would have like to have heard Dave pick one of Joni's slower, more ballady songs. Cold Blue Steel didn't fit him at all. He seemed to have a nice voice, and I was longing to hear it in one of her other songs. 24) Rachael Davis- My Old Man: When Rachael introduced this song as the song she couldn't get out of her mind when she first heard it 5 years ago when she was a senior in High School, (HIGH SCHOOL, no less!) After Anne (sweet, darling Anne) reminded me that I was the MOTHER of a High School senior 5 years ago, I was ready to *really* dislike this young woman! (kidding) Oh, this version was sweet, sweet, SWEET!! Rachael has the sweetest clear voice and was accompanied by a wonderful guitarist who stuck in a very unexpected chord- to my ears perhaps a Major 7th chord. Whatever it was it worked SO nicely and was SO unexpected! A+ for this version!! 25) David Goldfinger- Urge For Going: "I'm not sure why I was chosen to be last, but when Matt saw I was going to play Urge For Going, perhaps he thought it would be a great subliminal message for all of you. (As if sitting for 3 hours in a folding chair wasn't enough to get you to leave!)" David was joined by John Anderson on upright bass, which was a nice touch. He doesn't have a great voice, but it was a nice rendition, and one of my favorite Joni songs, so I was pleased. Wish you all could have joined us as it was a great evening with great friends and music. All 22 artists donated their time to benefit this incredible club which says so much about Passim. It's one of my favorite venues, and I am hoping it will be around for a long time to come! Thanks Matt and all the artists who made this such an enjoyable night. Hugs, Ashara (Who is eternally grateful that the listers here don't do such a brutally honest review of my performance at Jonifest!) :-)
