Joni Mitchell takes a rare turn in the spotlight
‘Honoured’ icon performs at own tribute
TORONTO — After watching a succession of decorated musicians interpret her vast songbook in a celebration of her upcoming 70th birthday, Joni Mitchell took to Toronto’s Massey Hall stage, kicked off her shoes and gave the adoring audience an unexpected — and exceedingly rare — gift of her own: a public performance.
Mitchell, who rarely makes appearances and hasn’t toured since 2000, looked comfortable and even revitalized on stage Tuesday, telling blissfully meandering stories, reading a new poem inspired by Emily Carr and singing three songs, each of which was rewarded with a resounding standing ovation at a tribute concert arranged in her honour by the Toronto arts festival Luminato.
“Tonight I must say I feel greatly honoured,” Mitchell said upon first taking the stage, only after holding her hand to her forehead and peering into the crowd as they roared.
“I wasn’t sure if I could sing tonight. I’m still not sure, but I’m going to try.”
Prior to that, the Saskatchewan-raised folk legend had watched with apparent glee as her work was interpreted by the likes of Grammy nominee Rufus Wainwright, Oscar winner Glen Hansard and Ottawa troubadour Kathleen Edwards in the first of two such tribute concerts (the next, scheduled for Wednesday night, will also feature Grammy mainstay Herbie Hancock and jazz breakout Esperanza Spalding), all backed by an airtight band led by longtime Mitchell collaborator Brian Blade.
Around the show’s twohour mark, Mitchell mounted the stage to read a new poem entitled This Rain, This Rain — written during a wet period endured at a home she owns in British Columbia — only after explaining her longtime absence from the spotlight.
“I’ve been kinda out of it,” said Mitchell, referencing struggles with “health problems.”
When someone in the crowd yelled in appreciation and asked where she’d been, Mitchell replied: “Thank you. I was sick. That’s all. What can ya do? But I’m back.”
Indeed, she seemed to thrive in her return to the stage. Before singing Furry Sings the Blues from 1976’s Hejira, she explained the meaning of the song with a long, funny story about her experience on Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue tours in the mid-’70s, and the habit she developed there of trying to steal police officers’ badges — a “psychological adventure” inspired “out of boredom, really.”
Even before her moment at centre stage, Mitchell could be seen smiling and clapping during an impressive series of performances.
Georgia’s Lizz Wright opened the show with a powerful take on The Fiddle and the Drum from Mitchell’s formative 1969 recording Clouds. She went on to put in sultry performances of Shades of Scarlett Conquering and The Wolf That Lives in Lindsey (from 1979’s Mingus) while Hansard brought a boisterous spirit to a freewheeling Coyote and a singalong Carey that had the audience clapping to the beat.
Others seemed frankly awed by the opportunity. Cold Specks gloom-soul singer Al Spx, from Toronto, seemed initially daunted as she tackled Black Crow. But as her rich, smoky voice filled the room over ominous percussion that soon gave way to a funky, off-kilter beat, she broke into a grin midway through the song.
Edwards, too, couldn’t help but beam as her You Turn Me On (I’m a Radio) transitioned from its brittle, hushed beginning into a full-band swell.
Wainwright, by contrast, soaked in the spotlight. He wore a pair of white-rimmed sunglasses to sing All I Want and a glittering bolo tie for a stunning version of 1991’s Slouching Toward Bethlehem (from Night Ride Home) that he said he was “trying to turn into a Scottish folksong.”
And later, Mitchell expressed her deep enthusiasm for all the evening’s interpretations.
“They’ve been so true to the arrangements, but they brought something of their own to it,” Mitchell said, later adding, “Isn’t this a wonderful collection of talent?”
Well, when it came time for Mitchell herself to perform, those musicians simply sat down on the stage and watched, grinning.
Eventually, they got the opportunity to back Mitchell on a collective performance of Woodstock, each singer stepping forward to handle a line or two of the oft-covered classic included on 1970’s Ladies of the Canyon.