Joni Mitchell Sings Deep Cuts and Classics for a Thrilling Hollywood Bowl

At Joni Mitchell’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night, the revered singer-songwriter treated the rapt audience to a first-ever live performance of…

Wait, let’s take a moment and let these words sink in. At Joni Mitchell’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl. What were the odds? Right?… Sorry, now back to our regularly scheduled review.

At Joni Mitchell’s concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night, the revered singer-songwriter treated the rapt audience to a never-before-seen live performance of “The Sire of Sorrow (Job’s Sad Song),” a profound version from 30 years ago that borrows themes from of the biblical. book of Job to ask God, the “tireless watchman,” “Tell me, why do you make the faithful starve? Why do you crucify the saints? And you let the wicked prosper.” In an election year, the choice seemed almost as much political as theological.

Following that dark, musically sophisticated number, Brandi Carlile—the night’s unofficial host and facilitator—noted the song’s dark, biblical origins and announced that the setlist was about to take a left turn. “She was worried it might make you sad,” Carlile said, “so she asked us to move on to the next one.”

The next item on the program’s divine playlist: “God Must Be a Boogie Man”. This wasn’t one of the night’s few live debuts, but it marked the first time Mitchell had performed the delightful track from his 1979 album “Mingus” since 1983.

They say there are no atheists in the trenches, and there may not have been any in the valley hidden in the Hollywood Hills that hosts the Bowl on Saturday night, as Mitchell returned from the near dead to deliver his biggest, most complete set since suffering an aneurysm. in 2015… or, actually, since he last toured 24 years ago, which last headlined in Los Angeles at the Greek in 2000. With all due respect to Job’s torment, it was for one night at least At least some Boogie Man up there must like us.

There are few shows where audiences enter with as little certainty about what they’re going to get as the Bowl crowd. (The two-night stand continues with a second show on Sunday night.) Since his health crisis, Mitchell has returned to the stage in very gradual stages. At MusiCares’ salute to her in Las Vegas in early 2022, she watched mostly from the side of the stage and only chimed in with a few lines near the end – so fans were shocked when, in July of that year, she made a surprise appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in a “Joni Jam” led by Carlile who had her lead voice, or sharing it, in a good number of numbers, while others were led by famous guests. This mixed format was reprized for another mid-weekend Carlile show at the Gorge in Washington state in June 2023, followed by a mini-Joni Jam that served as a three-song encore for a Brandi Carlile show. and Friends here at the Bowl last October. Clearly, she was back, as a competent performer, in the two extended shows she’d played over the last 27 months… but still, no one who bought a ticket for this weekend’s shows really knew if they’d have another show in the jam style or maybe, just maybe, a truly complete performance from Mitchell.

The answer was: both. In terms of production, the setting was practically the same as the previous two Joni Jam shows, with a large cast of musicians and singers sitting on chairs and sofas around the legend’s throne. And there were two moments when other stars stepped forward to take vocal turns in the foreground, effectively serenading Mitchell — Annie Lennox in “Ladies of the Canyon” and Marcus Mumford in “California.”

But if you came to hear Joni Mitchell sing her heart out, long and completely, without actually giving up the stage for more than those two cameos, that’s what you got Saturday night at the Bowl, for the first time in almost a quarter -century. It was another incremental step on her path back to public performance, but it also felt like a giant leap for the Mitchell type – a seemingly impossible moment in which the singer commanded the stage for about three hours (not counting the intermission) and delivered exactly what you expected from her at any point in her long career.

She clearly had a lot of help getting here and thanked Carlile once again for convincing her to come out of retirement while she worked to regain her strength. But was Mitchell in the driver’s seat? I can only say that as I watched her sit on her throne and swing her trademark wolf-head cane in rhythm for three hours, while trying to figure out what it reminded me of, it finally dawned on me: she looked like someone having a lot of fun manipulating a manual transmission.

Mitchell’s joy was evident to the entire house before anyone even saw it. The Bowl’s revolving stage had to turn to reveal the cast of players already seated in their seats, but as it did so, the sound of the star’s laughter reverberated throughout the Bowl, as if she were having a big laugh as she rode the roller. slowest in the world. rollercoaster. She continued in that mood of joy all night long—sometimes with something Carlile said or did, occasionally with her own lyrics, but mostly, apparently, just for the feeling that perhaps it is as absurdly funny as it is wonderful to be alive and to be celebrated. after everything that happened. Mitchell got a big laugh when he changed the lyrics of “Night Ride Home” from “I love the man next to me” to “I’m upset with the man next to me.” In a year where women’s joy has become a veritable campaign issue, it’s fair to say that anyone who objected to the sound of Kamala Harris’s laughter would have been really offended by Joni Mitchell’s performance.

Speaking of elections… The legend wasn’t shy about revealing his feelings. (Sentiments that should have come as a surprise to exactly no one in attendance.) Singing the theme song “Dog Eat Dog” in the background of the second set – giving him a live broadcast for the first time since 1985, the year the album of the same name came out — she followed the lyrics’ reference to “evangelists and snakebite thugs and big wig financiers” with an addendum: “…like Donald Trump.” After the song ended, she noted, “I wish I could vote. I am Canadian. I’m one of those terrible immigrants.” In case anyone doubted her stance, she finally blurted out: “Fuck Donald Trump.” This resulted in a standing ovation.

The generous evening of 27 songs was divided into halves, each with its own personality and a partially different set of musicians. The first set was one that left Mitchell’s truly hardcore heads open with completely unpredictable song choices. The second was the most overtly crowd-pleasing set… and not in any derogatory sense, because it’s not like superfans ecstatic about the obscurities that dominated the first half suddenly started to flinch when they heard “Big Yellow Taxi” and “A Case of You” in the second.

That first half had a slightly more intimate set of musicians, although it was still a significant ensemble by most standards, with vocal duo Lucius providing choral vocals from the nearest couch, SistaStrings contributing to augment the chorus, as well as providing arrangements of strings from a perch a little further away, and Mitchell’s longtime favorite Mark Isham adding graceful notes on trumpet and soprano sax. The Hanseroth Twins played guitar and bass, Blake Mills and Robin Pecknold shared even more guitar duties, Jacob Collier maintained early keyboard work, and Abe Rounds was on drums. For Part 2 came additional guests who turned it into more of the Joni Jam seen at Newport and the Gorge, with Marcus Mumford adding percussion, Taylor Goldsmith of Celisse and Dawes on guitar and vocals, Allison Russell on vocals… and a few newcomers to the public Joni Jams, Jon Batiste and Rita Wilson, joining the battalion on keyboards and backing vocals, respectively.

Aside from a few moments in the first 15 minutes where Mitchell seemed like she was still finding her voice, she sang at full tilt and, for what her range is now, spectacularly. There are times in a show spanning this career when the vocal ensemble will have to carry some weight in moments of a song that was written for Mitchell’s higher, more naive voice, like “Raised on Robbery.” In some cases, Carlile floated in and out with a higher part that complemented the lower tone in which Joni was singing, as if Mitchell’s older and younger voices were playing a delightful duet with each other.

But what was notable – and perhaps a little surprising, even if you’ve been lucky enough to attend one of the rare previous Joni Jams – was how dependent this performance was on Mitchell’s solo voice, however much expert support she received from the cast. The songs taken from parts of her career when she had already developed a more mature voice in the ’80s and ’90s work especially wonderfully now that she’s found her way back to acting. Hearing her sing all eight minutes of “Come in From the Cold” now could or should count as the highlight of anyone’s concert year — with or without the angelic interstitial arabesques added by Carlile that take the number to a new level. even more transcendent. level.

What Carlile adds musically as a background vocalist – or featured singer, really – cannot be underestimated. And right next to “Come in From the Cold” as a highlight was the penultimate “Shine,” a modern Mitchell song that is Carlile’s personal favorite in an overwhelming catalog, for good reason. It’s an epic protest song and an epic gospel song at the same time – deeply cynical about the world, from its politicians to its petty traffic violators (which always gets a laugh) – but Joni sounds like she really means it when she asks for the light shines on both the unjust and the righteous. And what an incredible gift it is that the world (or a small, select part of it) can hear music so good and so underappreciated, revived in 2024. After “Shine,” the group-closing “Circle Game” almost felt anticlimactic. . besides the fact that it’s, like, one of the most moving songs ever written.

As well as the complementary vocal parts, Carlile also plays an invaluable role in these Joni Jams in the role she was truly born to play: Mitchell’s hype man. She usually avoids going overboard, but sometimes she just can’t help herself. “I don’t want to scare anyone,” Carlile blurted out right after the third song ended, “but YOU JUST HEARD JONI MITCHELL SING ‘HEJIRA’!” Announcing retroactively doesn’t get any better, or more clearly appropriate, than that.

Joni Mitchell and the Joni Jam setlist, Hollywood Bowl, October 19, 2024:

Set 1
Be nice
Harlem in Havana (live premiere)
Hejira
Cherokee Louise
Coyote
Carey
The Sire of Sorrow (Job’s Sad Song) (live debut)
God must be a Boogie Man
Sunny Sunday
If I Had a Heart (Live Premiere)
Roads Refuge
Evening ride home
Both sides now

Set 2
Big Yellow Taxi
Raised on robbery
California (sung by Marcus Mumford)
Madalena Laundries
Ladies of the Canyon (sung by Annie Lennox)
Summer (Gershwin cover)
Come in from the cold
A case of yours
I’m Still Standing (Elton John cover with rewritten lyrics)
Dog eat dog
Amelia
If
Shine
The Circle Game