The iconic Ms. Faithfull played to a sparsely attended show at the House of Blues in Anaheim, right off Disney Drive. Unfortunately, we parked close enough not to have to take the Disney tram. A very strange venue choice, but it was a rare opportunity to see her, and especially rare to see her in such an intimate setting. Laura, CB and I walked in and basically walked right up to the stage. The crowd was, shall I say, interesting. And by interesting, I mean weird. Eclectic may be a kinder word. The crowd was quite eclectic. Although there did seem to be a lot of hardcore fans, and anyone who truly loves and appreciates Marianne is a friend of mine.
Marianne was amazing. She was poised, funny, warm, and engaging. She is such a natural performer, and you can tell that she has an emotional connection to the words that she is singing and also a deep connection to the music. Her voice has weathered time, drugs and alcohol and though it is much different than the sweet falsetto of her youth, its gravelly texture speaks of experience and maturity. It adds weight to her words. I couldn't imagine "No Child of Mine" being as powerful without her current voice. Even "Why'd Ya Do It?" seemed a more cutting barb than the original with her battered vocal cords. A razor sharp song with words quite shocking to hear (and ill-fit to print for such a PG publication) coming from this somewhat proper looking (glasses, flowing top, water bottle with a straw, English accent) woman in her sixties. Then again, anyone who is familiar with Marianne or has read her insightful, interesting autobiography Faithfull, knows all too well that prim and proper are not quite the adjectives you would use to describe her...and that's what is so great about her. She does have elements of the prim and proper English schoolgirl in her (the image really promoted by wunderkind manager Andrew Loog Oldham in the 60s to sell records), but it is only one piece of her complex, multifaceted identity and personality.
Her voice has aged with time, but that isn't to say that she still can't sing beautifully or hit the high notes. The cover of "Don't Forget Me" (to which she dedicated to her friend, the late Harry Smith) was sweet and emotional without being sentimental, and it offered her the opportunity to really show off her vocal range.
Marianne chose a wonderful and varied selection of songs that spanned her over-40-year career. She played quite a few from Broken English (her best album in my opinion), including the title track "Broken English", "Why'd Ya Do It?", "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" (one of the best songs ever), and "Guilt." She also sang "Crazy Love" and "No Child of Mine" from her most recent album "Before the Poison," a collaboration with P.J. Harvey and Nick Cave. She also sang a few covers including two which would be most aptly described as "ditties." The first a wry look at romance titled, "All the Best" and the second a folk-Americana inspired inflected "Spike Driver Blues." Another one written by Roger Waters, "Without Blame", was introduced with a short history lesson about the war between the Christians and the Moors. Faithfull's comment, "The Moors won back then, unlike now," led into the song.
One of the major highlights of the show was Faithfull's rare performance of "Something Better," a song she claimed that she has not performed since the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus in which she was "very, very, very, very, very high." Her sober version almost 40 years later was just as catchy and compelling as the original, if not more so.
Then she aptly closed the night with "As Tears Go By," her first hit single as a teenager in the 60s written for her by Jagger and Richards (at Oldham's insistence). She walked up to the front of the stage, walking side to side, making eye contact and a connection with her fans, most of them singing along to the lovely ballad.
"It is evening of the day. I sit and watch the children play. Smiling faces I can see, but not for me..."
The smiling faces there tonight were most definitely for her.
1 comment:
one of the best, most random nights of my life. marianne was radiant. why'dya do it: unforgettable. ballad of lucy jordan: classic. no child of mine: POWERFUL. tears go by: emotional, resonant, apropos. mini lectures/talks/expinations with glasses and a music stand before each song: a bonus. it was like a night with marianne. like a whole program. very intimate. venue and crowd were initially a major bummer until i just got into it and appreciated how random, unique and once-in-a-lifetime the whole thing was. plus she is just beautiful, dignified, completely real, funny, and exuded warmth. felt personally connected the whole time. still can't believe how lucky i am to have experienced that and to have seen her. ok now i am giving myself the chills. thanks for posting linds. brought me back to a really great place for a few moments. also thinking of the bizarre fall-spring romance going on near us, the bald guy singing every lyric, the teacher/librarian who loved all of it save why'd you do it (too profane) and the guy who brought that girl he didn't know just so that they could jump together for that whole number. also the covert photo-taking with you monitoring the house of blues bouncer. also walking out after the show right into downtown disney, amdist tourists, orange county locals, major shopping, corporate culture to the extreme, random performers, big screen tvs all around, tired families eating and shopping clad in dinseyland clothing....very surreal.
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