Frankly it was love at first hear before her first album was made, her song both sides now had been recorded by judy collins, and the circle game recorded by buffy ste marie....then I found out in 1968 that it was Joni Mitchell who wrote these unbelievable song and scores more while in her early twenties...So I was stuck on her mind and her voice and simply her being...Never got to see her for a long time till my sister told me she had one single ticket to this show...well she gave it to me...the only prob was it was on the evening of my wedding anniversary...but my wife knew it was no use and gamely gave up the evening for my singular passion...So there I sat transfixed for this seemingly personal concert, such was my love for this artist....She's one for the ages

I'd broken up with a girlfriend and couldn't get a hold of the girl from high school who would have killed to go see Joni, so I was stuck with an extra ticket. Fortunately, I left the one joint I had in the car because when I inadvertenly tried to sell the extra ticket to a Nassau County undercover cop, I was handcuffed, brought into a back room of the Coliseum and stripped. When they didn't find anything, they eventually let me get dressed and leave just in time for the show to begin. My musical memory of the evening was Jericho. 35 years later, it is still one of my absolute favorites. Oh man, I hope that it's on YouTube...

After I returned from India in 1974 I painted a portrait of Ms. Mitchell and gave it to her at the concert - I recall she remarked on it, "It was very generous of you ... Did we really meet in a metaphysical space?" (the words, "The Living Light Loves You," also appear on the painting). I believe she also honored the paintings motif of "nighttime/daytime" in a painting she did on her Mingus album. I also dedicated my book - HEGEL AND THE SOLUTION TO OUR POSTMODERN WORLD CRISIS - to Joni and Paul McCartney (et al).
--Of course, if Joni no longer wants the painting, I'd be thrilled to have it back (it has special significance for me). (I will upload a photo of it soon)
Best, Dr. K.S.R. Foldes (St. John's University, NYC)  [ed.]

I was 14 and it was one of the first rock concerts I had been to. Was a huge Joni fan so of course I loved the whole show. One thing I remember is that while Joni was singing Harry's House, there was all kinds of noise in front of the stage. (Maybe someone was getting busted?) Instead of her singing the line about "just what he could do with Harry's house and Harry's take home pay," Joni kind of ended the song abruptly by saying, "She told him to go shove it," or maybe she even said a curse. Can't remember exactly but it was kind of funny and made me think, "Wow, she's so cool and not at all folky anymore."