My Janis Pics from Annapolis & Alexandria

[Oak Kitten]

Here are my pictures from Janis's performances at the Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, MD and the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/JanisJanice1.jpg

THE Janis with Janice, a lady who sat at our table. I already e-mailed her the pics so she won't hunt me down, as she promised.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/JanisJanice2.jpg

This is my co-worker, Tracey, who I did not know was going to the show. She was at the table right next to us.
When I gave her a set of prints today, she was proudly showing them to another co-worker, and commenting about Janis, "She's so nice, and so little, and so pretty!

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/JanisTracey1.jpg

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/JanisTracey2.jpg

More to come. . .

[Oak Kitten]

Here I am introducing myself to Janis:
"Hi, I'm Oak Kitten!"

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/JanisOak2.jpg

My husband John, playing photographer, gets us to mug for the camera. . .

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/JanisOak1.jpg

And finally, the piece de resistance, my prized possession, Janis and me after the Birchmere show. Thanks, Sister Rose, you took a great picture, even if you did cut the top of my head off! And yes, I DID get a (badly needed) perm between the Annapolis and Alexandria shows!

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c70/rbalano/JanisOak3.jpg

[hoops]

fantastic !! thank you for sharing oak kitten

[Denise]

Your pictures are awesome, Oak Kitten!!!!
Wonderful to "see" you... the one who saved my little school bus! :D

[SongDragon]

Great pictures, Oak Kitten! Thank you for sharing them with us. Wow, must have been great seeing people you knew at the concert. I always love it when I run into a messageboarder because then I don't feel so out of place. Believe me, I've gotten a few strange glances being the only "kid" wandering around the place on my own (no parent). I'm hoping sometime one of my teachers does what she has promised me and shows up, she just keeps being too busy!

~Song

[Marcia Drummergal]

Thanks so much for sharing these GREAT pictures. I especially like the "introduction" photo! <g>

Marcia :)

[Oak Kitten]

Thank you all for the comments. I was VERY pleased with how well the pictures came out. You should see the prints! We used a 35mm camera that uses APS film - which is getting harder to come by as everyone goes digital. Now I know if you want to shell out BIG bucks (like $15K) you can get some awesome digital cameras - we use them at work. But for now I am still happy with my little APS film camera.

Another thing I neglected to mention about the Annapolis show in my earlier post that went away with the old server, was that there were a lot of people in line with their original LPs of "Between The Lines" for Janis to autograph. It is neat to see how people held onto those (I still have mine - didn't think to bring it to the show - dummy) and how it is still so meaningful to them.

[Bat]

I'm with you, Mar...love the smile Janis gets when she meets a Rudie from the board, whose name she knows...priceless!:D

[GodSistah]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing! Looks like you had a blast! ~Andrea

[Melba]

Thanks for sharing Oak kitten! Great picures. I was pleased with the Pitts pics as well. What a night.:)

[Wandering Man]

These are great pics Oak Kitten! Of course I'm a partial to the one where you can see my wife and her friend. She's in the background of the photo with Janis and your work colleague...she's wearing the pink sweater ;)

Thanks!:D

Mark

[Pesky]

Great pics, Oak. You're both beaming!

[CD Matthew]

Oak Kitte, thanks for sharing all the pics. The one of you and Janis is a PRIZE-WINNER!!!

CD Matthew

[Fursky]

I'm with you, Mar...love the smile Janis gets when she meets a Rudie from the board, whose name she knows...priceless!:D


Isn't that smile awesome!!!?? You can tell how much she loves her boarders by how Janis responds when you tell her your screen name!! What a wonderful person Janis is!

[TVGM]

These are great pics Oak Kitten! Of course I'm a partial to the one where you can see my wife and her friend.

I'm "the friend" in the aqua sweater that shows up in nearly every photo from the Rams Head Tavern performance. Mark's wife and I were laughing (as seen there), wondering how many photos we'd wind up in after the fact. It was amazing to see the line of people waiting to see Janis after the show and how many took her photo as she was signing CDs and albums. "Man, I loved getting to have my picture taken with JI, but who are those two fools clogging up the background?!" :D

[SongDragon]

Well, TVGM, they got your back at a few nice angles. I like the color of your sweater, my favorite color (if not my favorite shade of it).

~Song

[TVGM]

Thank you, SongD! I'm not so sure the sweater looks so good on me from the front, but at least from the back it looks OK. ;)

And speaking of how Janis treats her fans, holy cow! I got in line towards the end to have her sign my CD. I've been at signings before where they just take your book or whatever and move you along, perhaps smiling at you and thank you for coming, but otherwise they don't pay much attention to you. I was just expecting Janis to do much the same since it was my first concert and I was a recent (instant) fan of her music just that evening. I thought she just reserved her attention for the die-hards, but she started talking to me as soon as I got up there. My friend told her I was taking an evening off from my 2-year-old to come to the performance and she congratulated me on my evening away and started to tell me about her grandkids and everything. It took me so much by surprise that I didn't say much back and I just moved on--honestly I didn't know what to say back. I really didn't expect her to be so nice and it caught me off guard. She is truly such a warm person.

She waited around to meet every single fan who wanted to see her, including the woman who rushed in at the end after Janis had already gone back into her changing room to leave for the evening; her sound guy (who is very cool and also just as nice) told her the woman was waiting and Janis came right back out to talk to her. One of the most touching moments, though, was the girl and her friend who were ahead of me in line. The girl was so nervous about meeting Janis that she kept putting it off by letting everyone else go ahead of her. :) When she finally got up there (I was moving on and didn't hear anything they said of course) she got a warm hug from Janis and then I saw Janis take off her bracelet and trade it with one of the girl's. When I think about Janis Ian, the Person, that's the image that comes to mind every time. It was probably such a little thing for Janis to do, but what an impact on the girl, you know? And it affected others who got to see it, too. That is the mark of a truly good and special person and I'm forever grateful that I got to meet her in person, let alone listen to her perform live!

As I said, I became an instant fan of her music as soon as she performed her opening song, "Danger Danger" and dedicated it to the Patriot Act. :D But I have to say I'm an even bigger fan of Janis as a person. She has an extraordinary story to tell and such a way of sharing it with anyone who will listen.

[Oak Kitten]

Welcome to the board, TVGM!

That was a great story! SongDragon, who is probably among the youngest of the boarders here, was also a recipient of Janis's generosity after a show, where Janis gave her a bracelet. You are right about what an impact a gesture like that can have on a young fan. Janis is so thoughtful and mindful of the effect she has on people, and she is absolutely genuine. You can't be a phony and write the music and lyrics that she does.

Oak

[TVGM]

Absolutely true, Oak! That's why I was such an instant fan. The tunes are great, but it's the words and the truth and depth behind them that struck me so deeply. I kept thinking, "How can any one person write such amazing concepts, especially where they work so perfectly with the music?" I wonder if she uses a thesaurus. I would sure need one. ;)

Many thanks for the welcome!