Well folks, I just got home from the Rickie Lee Jones show here in Boston
at Berklee Performing Arts Center. This is my 3rd RLJ show, the first was
at the same hall in 1994, and was a much better show. Back then, I was in
the front row, and RLJ was in unbelievably good form, thin, radiant and
COHERENT. Since then, I saw her once again in support of "Ghostyhead" at
the historic Paradise Rock Club; this show kinda' doesn't count because
it consisted only of material from that recording, so I cannot gage the
performance as relative to others, being only moderately familiar with
the material.
I found RLJ's show tonight to be genuinely moving, but not in the way
that I, or any of you, might normally expect. I was moved out of a
concern for the wellfare of a performer whose voice has haunted
two-thirds of my short life. As I watched Rick clumsily stumble through
my new binoculars, I could feel her desperation - I can only pray the she
gets sober one of these days. It doesn't look like she's having fun
anymore. She had cups of whatever she was drinking stashed in several
places on the stage...they seemed to materialize out of nowhere, and when
the set was over, there were 4 of them littered across the top of the
piano, along with a glass tumbler full of something brown on ice.
Rickie took the stage looking bloated and tired, launching into the title
track from "Ghostyhead", then playing "Roadkill" and a track in the same
musical vein I didn't recognize. Then onto "Weasel and The White Boys
Cool", marred by a sound problem with her guitar, which was later
discovered to be her fault though she was giving her guitar-hand a hard
time about it. Her band was impressive enough, but seemed divided between
amusement and irritation at RLJ's condition. It must be hard to work for
someone who's moods are erratic. At least half a dozen times I noticed
Rick waving her hand at the drummer behind her to stop playing, when it
was obvious he had come in at the point decided during rehersal. He
seemed unsure how to handle her whimsical directions, leaving one feeling
like they were attending a sound check. "Youngblood" was next, OK, but
uninspired. "Last Chance Texaco" and "Stewart's Coat" went VERY well,
then onto the piano set.
She started with a sad little lullaby that was made up on the spot, and
after rocking to and fro on her bench, complaining that being on the road
was confusing because "One night you're at a bar, and the next, you're
not...What's up with that?", she launched into decent versions of
"Magazine", "Pirates" (a BIG surprise-she hardly ever does this one
anymore), "Living It Up" and "Coolsville". I will say, she played piano
beautifully. At one point, it seemed like she was starting to cry, and
someone in the audience asked her if she was OK, to which there was no
response. The crowd tried to be supportive, telling her that they loved
her and how nice it was to see her etc. As was the case with the
"Ghostyhead" show I saw, I witnessed people leaving early, unsure of what
to make of their experience. This makes me sad.
Up from the piano, the full band did "The Street Where You Live",
"Firewalker" (unbelievably, the highlight of the set..), "Show Biz
Kids", "Little Yellow Town" and "Satellites". During the musical jam
segments, RLJ sat down in a chair at the front of the stage, lowering her
head and closing her eyes as if it were way passed bedtime. She thanked
the crowd for helping her to 'make a living doing this' and exited; an
encore was out of the question.
I'm not so much disappointed with the show as I am upset by the condition
of one of my beloved performers. I recently received a recording of a
show done in Oakland, CA. just this past September, so I knew it wasn't
going to be a flawless performance, but this was a fair bit worse than
what I had imagined. Thank God Joni's not a lush! I'll always love RLJ
with all her hurts and faults, and I'll go see her again next time she
comes to Boston, but I may have to say a few prayers for her in the
interim. -Chris
NP:"Flying Cowboys"-RLJ (from the unusually coherent "Naked Songs").
