Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo was where Rickie Lee Jones was happening
last night. And something happened to me as Melanie, Travis & I
watched & listened to her perform. Walls of resistance that had stood
for years finally tumbled down & I let this incredible singer into my
heart. These walls have been cracking for some time (thanks very much
to Mr. Patrick Leader and the gentle assistance that came from my dear
friend Melanie). But last night there was absolutely no way they
could remain standing any longer. I was enchanted. I was enthralled.
I didn't want her to stop.
Before I go any further I want to get a bit of a rant out of the way.
The venue at the Woodland Park Zoo is an open field with a small stage
at one end. People bring blankets & seats and spread out in front of
this stage. It was a hot evening for Seattle - sunny, really pretty
decent weather so the outdoor experience was fine - except for the
constant chatter that some people insisted on keeping up all during
the concert. What is it about an outdoor venue that makes people
think it's ok to be rude? Why do they come in the first place if they
aren't going to *listen* to the music? Now if it was Foghat or REO
Speedwagon playing I'd say fine! Talk away! Chances are no-one will
hear you or care. But Rickie Lee Jones requires intent listening -
you have to pay attention to her - and that was sometimes difficult
because of the unbelievable rudeness of people who seemed to think
they were sitting in their livingrooms. It was the same thing when
Joni, Van & Dylan played the Gorge. I wanted to stand up and yell at
people to SHUT THE FUCK UP! But I didn't. I wanted to. But I
didn't. It's a nice fantasy, anyway. Ok, rant mode off.
Rickie Lee opened with 'Weasel and the White Boy's Cool', explaining
that she wrote it for her good friend Sal Bernardi who was playing
electric guitar with her last night. There was also a drummer and an
upright bass. Rickie switched back & forth between acoustic guitar
and piano, rounding out the minimal but highly competent ensemble. I
really liked the sound and rhythm that the bass provided. It added
something to this music that an electric bass would not have, in my
opinion.
It almost felt like Rickie had picked the set list out of my head
because, in spite of the fact that I am only familiar with about four
of her records, I recognized almost every song. I had always liked
'Last Chance Texaco'. When I finally bought the cd of Rickie Lee's
first album, I remembered that I had actually liked a lot of the songs
on that record way back when I first heard them. 'Last Chance Texaco'
is such a great song and it was so nice to hear it performed live.
She also did a devastating rendition of 'Coolsville' that she
dedicated to her mother. Later, Rickie commented on her own
motherhood after singing 'Horses', saying of her 13 year old daughter,
'it's a good thing I wrote that when she was a baby.' She implied
that being the mother of a 13 year old was not easy but added that she
was lucky and that her daughter has a courageous & beautiful spirit.
Oh, and Patrick, she also performed 'Young Blood' and I thought of you
as she sang it.
I'm still not completely comfortable with some of Rickie's
interpretations of standards. She did a kind of be-bop version of 'On
the Street Where You Live'. In my head I can hear Annie Ross doing
this but Rickie's version wasn't one of my favorites. Maybe if I
heard it a few more times I might warm up to it. She also sang 'My
Funny Valentine' which was nice but not one of my favorite songs. No
fault with Rickie Lee or her performance, I just don't particularly
like the lyrics to that song. During a brief break when the audience
was standing up & stretching, she favored us with an impromptu
rendition of 'Summertime' which was quite nice. She was mostly
jamming with the bass on that number and it was very, very cooool....
Another cover of a different nature was a highlight for me. I really
like what she does with David Bowie's 'Rebel Rebel' and she rocked it
last night. She brings something to this song that captures the
spirit of the original yet manages to be uniquely her own.
It's funny but one of my complaints about Rickie Lee Jones used to be
that I couldn't understand the words when she sings. While I can't
say that I could hear every word crystal clear, I will say that I was
able to pick up most of what she was singing. The song 'Satellites'
really clicked for me. I have 'Flying Cowboys' and am somewhat
familiar with this song but, hearing it live last night, something
fell into place in my head and I really 'got it'. Another song that
came across for me this way was 'We Belong Together'. I had a
room-mate once upon a time who played 'Pirates' a lot. Enough to make
me dislike it - mostly out of frustration that I couldn't understand
the words and partly because the persona Rickie seemed to be
projecting didn't feel genuine to me. Maybe I just didn't fully
understand it. Anyway, last night she told a story about seeing some
graffiti in Echo Park with the name 'Johnny the King' written in red.
Suddenly I was able to catch enough of the lyrics that the aura of the
song became clear to me and her vocal just cut right through me.
Another goose-bump moment came when she was at the piano singing
'Magazine'. I'm not familiar with this song or the album at all but
this performance of it gave me shivers. 'Skeletons' is one song from
'Pirates' that was impossible for me to dismiss or dislike and her
live rendition was amply packed with the emotional wallop that this
devastating song demands. I just recently bought 'Traffic From
Paradise' but I already think that 'Stewart's Coat' is one of the
prettiest songs I've ever heard. So I was a happy camper when she
sang that one. Very sweet.
On a few songs the bassist played his instrument with a bow and the
effect was beautiful. The encore last night started with Sal on
guitar & the bass player using his bow. The two of them created a
melancholy sounding music as Rickie Lee returned to the stage, picked
up a tambourine and sang 'Ghostyhead'. The effect was eerie, haunting
and exquisite. Melanie later commented that she had thought
'Ghostyhead' was unperformable but had to admit they had pulled it off
beautifully. It really was extraordinary. I think there was one
other song about fishing boats which ended rather abruptly. I
couldn't really tell if it was a real song or something she made up on
the spot in response to some seagulls that were making a racket right
about that time. Then as she was starting to play something else she
said something like "These chords keep coming out as 'Chuck E's in
Love'. Let's do Chuck E's in Love' instead." and then she joked about
not being able to remember all the chords to that. She did hit a
rough spot at one point, chuckling and commenting on it, but managed
to pull off a fine rendition of her 'hit'. A few people stood up to
dance during this number and there were kids running around and some
of them were dancing too. When she had finished, Rickie Lee commented
that it was nice to see people up dancing with their kids. Maybe that
was what inspired her to close with a very sweet song that she said
had been written by her father. Checking her website I see that the
name of it is 'The Moon is Made of Gold' and that Rickie's father
wrote it for her. It was a lovely end to a great concert.
I have to say that last night I finally realized the amazing use this
woman makes of her voice. To me it's kind of a strange sounding
voice. But as an instrument, which to me is how she uses it, it has
amazing range, versatility and flexibility. It can cut right to the
bone like a sharp knife. It can wail like a banshee or keen like
someone who has lost their only true love. Or it can caress and tug
at the heart strings in the most tender and heartbreaking way. She
certainly does more than her share of playing around with the beat but
she always seems to end up in the right place. I think that's
probably one of the hallmarks of a great jazz singer, if that's what
you want to call her. It took me a long time to get past that
strangeness, though. Maybe hearing her live and watching how her
voice seems to move her as much as it does her audience is what
finally did it for me. She is also an incredible songwriter. I can
no longer say that there is anything phony or affected about her. At
least not when she's singing her own material. Rickie Lee Jones is
the real thing & I'm glad I finally found that out.
Now pass me that plate of crow and give me some recommendations! So
far I have 'Rickie Lee Jones', 'Traffic From Paradise' and 'Flying
Cowboys'. Should I go for 'Magazine'? 'Ghostyhead'? 'Pirates'?
What next!
Mark E. in Seattle
(my middle name really is Edward)
