I had been following Joni's music since I was in high school. By 1979 I had been through my first marriage, had my first son & was in the midst of my first divorce. Needless to say there were few good memories of that year. I was so happy that I could afford a ticket to the concert & it was a night that my ex had our son.
What transpired by listening to the music was nothing short of magical for me. I was delighted that Pat Metheny had joined Joni because I love his work too, although my mind relates more closely with Joni's work.
I was taken from the difficulties in my life to a place of peace & contentment. I wished I could personally thank Joni & the other musicians. If you read this Joni. Please accept my gratitude not only for that night but for all the times before & since that I have turned to your music to help me get though life.

I remember the thrill of the sound and mood of this Joni concert. Pat Metheny was just emerging as the jazz guitarist I most loved, and Jaco was on bass, and Joni seemed so in sync with them all. Her voice blended and played with their instrumental voices. A change from early Joni days. Pat Metheny was so young at this time. I have since seen him dozens of times, and I always remember him in his sneakers and striped top and jeans. Eternally young. My sister and I were at this concert together with other girlfriends and I remember that, too, an all-girls' night. I am excited to see Jon Bream's review as back then in Minneapolis, he and Michael Anthony were the two music reviewers whom I read and whom I knew well. I can also remember the Minneapolis Auditorium, not there anymore. "The Last Time I Saw Richard" as an encore....sublime.

My partner Mike and I went to this amazing concert. "We were newly lovers then." At that point I had loved Joni's music for more than a decade, and I wanted Mike to understand why I thought she was an artistic genius. It was so exciting to see and hear Joni branching out and growing as an artist and musician. I loved her work with the Persuasions and the jazz musicians she played with. I was astonished by the diversity of her music, and how she could take an earlier folk composition and perform it beautifully in a different musical genre. I loved hearing the older songs, like "Woodstock," as well as the newer songs from The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira, Don Juan's Reckless Daughter and Shadows and Light. I remember reading a positive review after the concert; the title of the article was "Woodstock's Jazzy Daughter."