During a particularly quiet spot between songs, midway through this concert in Memphis, a clear voice called out timidly from the darkness, "Hey Joni".



It was so sudden and conversational, the entire audience became even more quiet, waiting. From the stage, Joni apparently felt obligated to answer, "Yes?".



The fan went on as he might have called out to a busking street musician, "I have a very special request". After a pause, Joni said, "Okay...". He asked, "Would you play 'A Case of You'?"



Joni paused again, but agreed as if she routinely stopped her performances this way to accommodate unsolicited desires from the audience . Alone up there under the lights, she decisively left the piano (from where she clearly had planned to continue the set), began rearranging her setup on the stage, and had the dulcimer brought out by a crew member.



We were all transfixed, not only by her flawless performance of the song, but equally by her generosity and selflessness.



She had come to play some music for a few friends.

I saw Joni Mitchell and Tom Scott and the L.A. Express in Memphis in 1974. Given the themes of some of Ms. Mitchell's songs it seemed ironic and appropriate somehow that my date stood me up. I kept her ticket and went by myself. The woman sitting in the seat next to the one that was supposed to be for my date asked me if I had been stood up. I said yes and she smiled. I forgot all about this and saw one of the best concerts of my life that night. One small detail I remember is that a young girl(maybe 10 years old) brought a vase of flowers from backstage and placed them on Ms. Mitchell's piano and went backstage before the concert began. She performed many of the songs from "Court and Spark" and performed with Tom Scott and the L.A. Express and solo. I will always cherish the memories of this concert and all of the music she has made over the years.

I have been a fan since I heard "Blue" sometime in the early 1970's. Her recordings take up a very large space in my CD collection and I still have a lot of her albums on vinyl, even though I no longer have a turntable.

P.S. When I was signing up for this website, the live version of "The Circle Game" was playing on my stereo via my computer from the my collection of approximately 6800 songs. I did not pick this song as I was listening to my songs in a random order.