Few expected Joni Mitchell to perform again since she survived a near-fatal aneurysm in 2015. But with the help of Brandi Carlile, who turned the invitation-only Laurel Canyon Joni Jams into a two-hour performance, and other famous fans, Mitchell returned. They took to the stage for a surprise set at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival.
Since then, the Alberta, Canada-born songwriter (real name Roberta Joan Anderson) has headlined shows in Washington state and stopped by this year’s Grammy Awards. It’s a triumphant victory lap for the 80-year-old man for whom this publication wrote a kind of obituary less than a decade ago. Still, when I bought tickets for Mitchell’s second night of a sold-out weekend at the Hollywood Bowl earlier this year, I watched him sit in a plush velvet loveseat, holding a cane in both hands. I was expecting a gloomy audience as I sang while using it. Hit her upright. She has come across as fragile and a bit unstable.
It’s coming this weekend, as Mitchell performs hits like Big Yellow Taxi, A Case of You, Circle Game (all-over sobs) and deep cuts from her half-decade-long career. It ended when he won a bowl in a mischievous manner. century. The best thing about watching Joni Mitchell perform today (besides watching Joni Mitchell) is her executive backup. Carlyle, who Mitchell jokingly said “brought me out of retirement,” serves as host and ultimate hype man. (“Shit, Joni,” she said near the top of Sunday’s set, “I thought it sounded good last night…”) Elton John, Meryl Streep, Annie Lennox, Jon Batiste , celebrities such as Prince and the Revolution alum Wendy & Lisa formed the backing band. Marcus Mumford, of Mumford & Sons fame and responsible for some of the most corny Hey-Ho music of the mid-2010s, has redeemed himself with the California duet. This song is just as beautiful to listen to while lying alone on your apartment floor. And in front of Angelino who screams at the bowl.
Member of Joni Mitchell and Joni Jam. Photo: Randall Michaelson/Live Nation – Hewitt Silva)
Mitchell’s command of the material shows she’s not going anywhere and is still able to move a crowd all by herself, so there’s a sense of passing the baton. Many of her bands are young, with British songwriter Jacob Collier on piano and Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold on guitar. There is a deep appreciation for these songs across generations, and a sense of responsibility and protection for her work. You could see it on stage and in the audience – yes, it felt like almost all Southern California baby boomer women were in attendance, but there were also a lot of young people, and a few mother-daughter pairs as well. (I brought my mother with me, and she would often drive me out of town and play Hejira and Ladies of the Canyon.)
Never one to hold back in life or in his lyrics, Mitchell has been abusive on stage, especially when he rants, “Donald Trump is a piece of shit,” and calls himself “one of those horrible immigrants… “He’s one of those people who has been forced to focus on everything he should be.” Occasionally, Mitchell’s deep cuts gave way to a truly moody look. Cherokee Louise in 1991’s Night Ride Home chronicles the sexual abuse of a childhood friend, for example Bubbles. The jingling dulcimer lines of the hippie anthem elicited a nervous response from the crowd, but as Carlyle said, it was Mitchell who chose the setlist, and she won control of it. Other snapshots of the night worth mentioning: the comically large glass of white wine Mitchell drank between songs, Mitchell’s sparkling white hair arranged in two braids, the Ladies of.・Annie Lennox’s vocals in The Canyon.
Mitchell is one of those artists who speaks directly to you, the listener, and makes you understand your darkest days and most personal experiences. That’s part of why Joni Jam felt like a church service, or at least a cult meeting, and so emotional. In a timeline where “vulnerability” is the trend and oversharing is the norm, it can be hard to remember how radical it is for a woman to stand behind a microphone and speak or sing her truth. No.
