Between them, Joni Mitchell, Tim Hardin, and the Butterfield Blues Band captivated a crowd of 9,187 at Tuesday night's Contemporary Trends concert at Tanglewood.
From "Chelsea Morning" to the "Moon Song," Joni Mitchell's social commentary with soft words and lyrics was definitely audience-pleasing. Her message was clear: "Come on people, smile on your brothers, everybody get together, love one another right now." She accompanied some songs by guitar, some by piano.
The Butterfield Blues Band featured a blues-jazz sound which was created with a 10-man combination, mostly of guitars and brass. Although some of the lyrics may have been hard to understand, the beat wasn't. The jazzy version of "More and More" featured a guitar and drum improvisation.
Accompanied only by his guitar, Tim Hardin sang his ballads, including "Turn the Page and Go On; Read the Poetry Wrong" and "Misty Roses" which sounded exactly like its title - soft and sweet, happy and said at once. Called back to the stage, he sang, "If I Were a Carpenter," his best-received song of the evening. He also did a piano accompaniment for "Once Touched by Flame" from his "Suite for Susan Moore and Damion."
Hardin joined Miss Mitchell at the end of the concert to sing, "A Simple Song of Freedom" with such words as "We the people here don't want the war."
The only sour note in an otherwise good concert was the musical chairs game that much of the crowd in the Shed seemed to be playing. They didn't stop when the music stopped or when it started, either.
Except for that, few people would have minded if the concert went on all night.
Printed from the official Joni Mitchell website. Permanent link: https://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=3002
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