It's pretty fun to go to a concert in your neighborhood, although getting there in time from work was a challenge. I've seen Taj Mahal several times before, stretching back to the 70's. He was good, and the crowd was clearly there mostly to see him and he delivered what they wanted. Joan Osborne, on the other hand, was largely met with polite applause during her first few songs. . .despite their power, musicality, rockability, and passion.
I've seen Osborne once before, and she is a fantastic performer. She is not cocky, but she totally commands the stage. Her music is blues based rock and roll, although her most famous song "One Of Us" is on the pop side. Speaking of "One Of Us,"last night the entire concert was a performance of her most famous album Relish (which contains that song, and a bunch of other great tunes like "Right Hand Man," Spider-man," and "Man In The Long Black Coat." They're all good tunes. She talked about being embarrassed by her song from the album "Let's just get naked," but since it was on the album, she had to play it. I am assuming this is the first time she has ever played the album in its entirety, since she mentioned she hadn't played "Get Naked" in 16 years. It's not a bad song, after all. But probably not something she thought she would still be playing twenty years later.
She gave a great performance, and made every one of those songs unique and compelling. I'm breaking out this album again! The last time I saw her she was fronting the resurrected Dead; this time she was playing her music, and it was wonderful. As we were walking away, I heard several people say how glad they were they didn't leave after Taj's set. I don't know how many people were like us, and came to see her, but she definitely made some converts.
Our last stop as we headed out was a visit to the penguins.
