BAP
08-09-2008, 01:41 PM
Today's Washington Post has a review of the Thursday Birchmere show:
"It hasn't always been easy being Janis Ian. Catapulted to world fame (and controversy before she was 16, the singer-songwriter went on to sell more than ten million records and win multiple Grammy Awards. But then the dark days arrived- abusive marriage, financial ruin, daunting health problems- followed finally by happiness with her 2003 marriage to longtime partner Patricia Snyder.
Now gray-haired at 57, Ian recalled that rollercoaster life on Thursday night at the Birchmere, in a gentle but frequently compelling performance that blurred the line between story and song. Thankfully, she's no longer the self-absorbed teenager of her breakout 1967 hit Society's Child. Instead Ian has grown into a funny, self-effacing and slightly rueful storyteller, dropping a few names here and there but focusing more on the challenges of ordinary life.
And although she sang only a dozen songs over the two hour set, she gave each one a thoughtful, lengthy introduction that added powerfully to the impact. Alone onstage with a black acoustic guitar, Ian talked about being booed off the stage as a teenager by racist hecklers while singing Society's Child, about recovering from heartbreak with Silly Habits, about the slow death of her mother from multiple sclerosis (addressed in I Hear You Sing Again) and about hitting bottom (Days Like These).
She also sang her most famous hits, including drop dead beautiful versions of Jesse and the iconic At Seventeen. But her hilarious, quick witted My Autobiography may have been the most charming song of the evening- especially its suggestion that Sigourney Weaver play her in the movie version of her life. -Stephen Brookes
Wow! The first Janis show at the Birchmere I've missed since her Breaking Silence tour, back when it was a different Birchmere down the street from the present one, with a smaller, different ambiance! Sorry to have missed out on such a great show! Check out my message to Janis post if you want the gory details on why I was unable to attend. Thanks to all who posted the set list!
"It hasn't always been easy being Janis Ian. Catapulted to world fame (and controversy before she was 16, the singer-songwriter went on to sell more than ten million records and win multiple Grammy Awards. But then the dark days arrived- abusive marriage, financial ruin, daunting health problems- followed finally by happiness with her 2003 marriage to longtime partner Patricia Snyder.
Now gray-haired at 57, Ian recalled that rollercoaster life on Thursday night at the Birchmere, in a gentle but frequently compelling performance that blurred the line between story and song. Thankfully, she's no longer the self-absorbed teenager of her breakout 1967 hit Society's Child. Instead Ian has grown into a funny, self-effacing and slightly rueful storyteller, dropping a few names here and there but focusing more on the challenges of ordinary life.
And although she sang only a dozen songs over the two hour set, she gave each one a thoughtful, lengthy introduction that added powerfully to the impact. Alone onstage with a black acoustic guitar, Ian talked about being booed off the stage as a teenager by racist hecklers while singing Society's Child, about recovering from heartbreak with Silly Habits, about the slow death of her mother from multiple sclerosis (addressed in I Hear You Sing Again) and about hitting bottom (Days Like These).
She also sang her most famous hits, including drop dead beautiful versions of Jesse and the iconic At Seventeen. But her hilarious, quick witted My Autobiography may have been the most charming song of the evening- especially its suggestion that Sigourney Weaver play her in the movie version of her life. -Stephen Brookes
Wow! The first Janis show at the Birchmere I've missed since her Breaking Silence tour, back when it was a different Birchmere down the street from the present one, with a smaller, different ambiance! Sorry to have missed out on such a great show! Check out my message to Janis post if you want the gory details on why I was unable to attend. Thanks to all who posted the set list!