J-Nu part 1

Okay so that was pretty lazy. I apologise. So I should tell you about our trip to sydney to see Joanna Newsom three times. Where to begin...

Thursday night, the four of us have dinner in Surry Hills at a place named after this, was okay, tapas and sangria. We catch a cab to Hyde Park which is about a block to the east of the city. We stop half a block away and walk north wondering where this tent was supposed to be. So we see the tent then quickly go inside because it's right on 7:30pm. Luckily no-one listened to me when I said we didn't need to arrive on time, since she started about 2 minutes later. There was just enough time for a waitress to bring us some beers. We are in a booth which quite close to the front and on the right because we were last in all the chairs are taken. But actually the booths were the best, you get a comfy soft seat and you can lean your elbows on the table and yeah, they will bring you beers. From our spot we are close to side on to the harp. We get a great view of her pedal work and her hands from side on. The tent is quite small, so everyone is close. We were about four meters from the stage probably so we can see clearly the details of her plaidy brown dress her high heels and odd green stockings. The stage is tiny so people in the chairs in the front could have leaned forward and touched the harp. The decor is Moulin Rouge with old fashioned wood panel with inlaid mirrors and wooden windows with coloured glass. In the roof is a tiny trapeze. She begins with a little shy voice "how about this tent" then started Bridges and Balloons, The Book of Right On, Then Ca' The Yowes. It is wonderful. The harp sounded really nice. Her performance voice is a little more mellow and smooth and a little less squeaky. The sound is almost perfect. The tent has some airconditioner noise but you wouldn't want to sit inside a tent sweating with 300 or so people. Ca' the Yowes is Scottish folk tune made from a Robert Burns poem and very sweet and folky. You can watch it here. So where can you go after something as beautiful as that? "The meadowlark and the chim-choo-ree and the sparrow...". Ys. As she began to perform her latest cd the performance moved a notch along some axis not normally accessible to mortals.

...to be continued...