Saw JJ at the Fillmore East circa 1968. Gotta be one of the most amazing concerts in my memory. She was impossible to exhaust -- I think the word is indefatigable. The voice, energy, sweat. No one like her as a performer.
The Fillmore, the darkness, enough light to see a couple feet, aroma of cannabis strong in the air, low buzzing in the audience. And then, the first blasts from her band, lights up on stage, curtains fly open, spots on Janis, there she is. But I can't recall what song she did first, only that the first note into her handheld mike blew the lid off the place and everyone was on their feet cheering. Stoned out of their minds. It was liberating.
I recall an image of her placing flowers on the grave of Bessie Smith. She was hip to her roots. Bessie and other blues singers of that era would sing at tent revival meetings so the experience you describe is also perhaps rooted in that lineage.
Janis definitely appreciated her roots in that tradition, and I think I recall reading that when she was a kid, she listened hard to that earlier generation of blues singers. But ultimately, something unique did emerge, I think.
Saw JJ at the Fillmore East circa 1968. Gotta be one of the most amazing concerts in my memory. She was impossible to exhaust -- I think the word is indefatigable. The voice, energy, sweat. No one like her as a performer.
Day-um Vin!
Can’t believe you got to see Janis!!! 😁
The Fillmore, the darkness, enough light to see a couple feet, aroma of cannabis strong in the air, low buzzing in the audience. And then, the first blasts from her band, lights up on stage, curtains fly open, spots on Janis, there she is. But I can't recall what song she did first, only that the first note into her handheld mike blew the lid off the place and everyone was on their feet cheering. Stoned out of their minds. It was liberating.
I recall an image of her placing flowers on the grave of Bessie Smith. She was hip to her roots. Bessie and other blues singers of that era would sing at tent revival meetings so the experience you describe is also perhaps rooted in that lineage.
Janis definitely appreciated her roots in that tradition, and I think I recall reading that when she was a kid, she listened hard to that earlier generation of blues singers. But ultimately, something unique did emerge, I think.
Vin, those were the good old days!