AN EVENING WITH BONNIE RAITT (Cheri)

We had a great time last Wednesday, at Bonnie Raitt's concert in Greensboro.

Paul McCartney recently played to about 30,000 at Wake Forest's stadium, but Greensboro is a little larger than Winston-Salem, where we are living (basically 295,000 to our 250,000) and has a first-class indoor entertainment venue.

We were expecting thunderstorms - which are common in the summer here - but the weather was lovely.  We made sure to arrive early, because traffic problems had prevented some fans from getting in to see McCartney, so we were in the parking lot for about an hour.  Music from other singers who came to the forefront in the 1970's was wafting with the breeze, so quietly that I first thought it was another fan "covering" the various artists from somewhere in the parking lot.

Lucinda Williams opened for Raitt, with an energetic backup band.  Mavis Staples will be joining the tour in July and continuing through the Midwest and West Coast.

As a visual artist, I was struck by the concert's lighting, which varied but often projected teal against the backdrop, in a pattern that suggested many sailboat masts against a night sky.

A few years ago, Mark and I watched The Wrecking Crew, a  documentary which focused on the musicians who backed up stars of the 60's and 70's during their recording sessions.  (The video is no longer available on Amazon or Netflix, but the book of the same name, which was the basis for the movie, is for sale on Amazon.)  Before seeing that I hadn't known that studio bands are often different from the ones who tour with singers, or of the tensions that develop between them.

Of course the iconic riffs and moments that we associate with various songs come from the recorded versions.  Listening to Raitt's concert, I realized that part of the benefit of lengthy, tiring concert tours must be that singers and instrumentalists get to share the joy of the "jam," not just single ways of interpreting their songs.

When I was responsible for leading song service at church some weeks, I tried to lead the congregation toward singing songs in a more naturalistic cadence, rather than hitting the 4/4 on every note, thinking that we would consider the words that we were signing more deeply that way.  I don't believe that I succeeded in my goal, but I do understand why touring has more appeal than simply income!

Here is a link to a nice blog post from Guitar World about Raitt's latest album.