I’m getting back to my usual life. On Thursday WFUV gave me a pair of tickets to see Janis Ian and Friends at the New York Society for Ethical Culture. Over a space of nine days, I’m seeing four concerts, Alkemie, Lucius, Janis Ian, and tonight Hannah Read. I also saw two Met games. Sadly, the Friday night Sunset Singing Circle was rained out. With better timing I could have also seen Our Band today. I feel like me.
When I got the invite for Janis, I had my usual angst over who to ask and if I’d even find someone to go with. I had no need to worry as Carolann could make it. I knew I’d have other friends there; Jim was right next to us, and Dan and Phyllis were one section over. John and Sheila were in the orchestra as was Bob. I never saw Bob. The rest I talked to. I just found out that Robin was there too. It was a gathering of the Tribe.
I have seen Janis countless times, yet she was somehow a revelation. This is her farewell tour, or should I say her first farewell tour. “Cher ruined it for everyone.” Janis is great a metacommenting on her life. I haven’t seen her perform in years and I was worried that this would be a Legacy Show, where a performer past their peak fame caters to the nostalgia of their old fans. That was foolish of me. Janis wouldn’t do that. She performed a song from when she was 14, Society’s Chile, to songs from her most recent album as a Septuagenarian. My realization was that she’s been on an almost 60 year journey of self-discovery that she has shared with her audience through song and stories. She has gone from being a teenage enfant terrible to a middle aged cool aunt, to a somehow still young elder statesman. As she discovered herself, she became more comfortable with who she is which made the audience more comfortable with her. You’d never guess it from her songs as a teen and young adult, but she is very funny and even has funny songs. Like me she spends a lot of time thinking about her place in the universe. How does the rest of the world see her? A woman and her son saw Janis outside the venue and recognized her. The mother told Janis that her son was brought up on her music. Janis asked the kid if there was anything he wanted to ask her. He asked, “Are you still alive?” I don’t think it’s possible for me to not love someone who tells that story about herself.
Janis is the prototype of the sensitive inward looking singer songwriter. I don’t like sensitive inward looking singer songwriters, but I love her. Why? First the self in her case is worth exploring. Secondly, she’s a great musician. She uses just the right word, not almost the right word. As one of her opening act friends, Livingston Taylor said she’s a great guitarist. She talked about how a woman playing her own guitar was not expected when she was young, and she accepted that. Now she doesn’t take guff from anybody.
The opening acts were Tom Chapin and the aforementioned Liv Taylor or as I like to call them, “The Other Brothers.” I knew they were playing but it didn’t hit me that they are both the siblings of much better known brothers. They both joke about that. I’m not a fan of Tom Chapin and it doesn’t help that I’ve seen him countless times in situations like this where I was there to see someone else. This was my first time seeing Liv. I did love his sing along rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Tom and Liv joined her on the encore as did unexpectedly David Amram. David is 20 years older than Janis and still going strong.
When I got home, I downloaded Janis’s 2021 album, The Light at the End of the Line and will be playing a song from it a week from Thursday. I listened to the entire album. I prefer the solo-acoustic versions she did live. Sometimes the production brings out the songs and sometimes it distracts from them. Maybe she’ll do a live album from this tour. That would be a nice valedictory for her career.
It’s past noon and I’m hungry. Breakfast beckons.
Wise Madness 