Nanci Griffith / Guy Clark

Catherine Whittington Jan 11, 2022

BP]

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Subject: NN: Oh, What a Night - Long
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 19:51:42 -0500 (EST)
From: Catelaw@aol.com

Hey Y'all,

So sorry to hear that some of the earlier shows were cancelled :( and almost
hate to post this, but Nanci's fine and was in great form at the Birchmere in
Alexandria, VA last night. Anyone going to the Birchmere tonight or tomorrow
who wants to be surprised should not read this.

It was a full moon, but too cloudy, cold and drizzly to see it. The
weekend's weather had been unsettled and raw as my husband and I visited
Arlington National Cemetery and the Viet Nam Wall, taking shelter on Sunday
afternoon in the splendor of the mineral and gem exhibit on display at the
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The unusually warm winter produced a
rare confluence of blooming things: brilliant yellow forsythia, ghostly
Bradford pear trees and appropriately, berm after berm of daffodils planted
in honor of Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson. The famed cherry trees were also
in full bloom; the second earliest peak weekend in recorded history. Lord, I
am a lucky woman. Thanks, Nanci. Thanks, Guy.

Finally it was time to leave for the big show, thinking certainly if we got
there half an hour before the box office opened at 5:00, we'd be first in
line, but nay. There were folks who had been there since 2:30 and it was
COLD outside and windy. The Birchmere has 500 seats at tables, and the line
is to get your seating number. They open the dining/music hall at 6:00 and
call parties one at a time, so that the lower your number, the better your
choice of tables. We were about 40 deep in the line and ended up with number
23 and seats on the front row, right edge of the stage, 15 feet or so from
Nanci and Guy when each performed.

Guy Clark fashion report: wild, bushy hair, expressive, mischevious,
timeless face, black, constantly tapping cowboy boots, faded Wranglers, white
shirt, tan vest, all Texan, all the time.

Guy and Verlon Thompson came out pretty close to 7:30 and played until almost
9pm. Both of them seemed just purely giddy. There were some Guy Clark fans
there but most folks had come to see Nanci; it didn't take long for them to
fall under Guy's spell. He doesn't use a set list, but seemed to have a
general plan; unlike the Variety Playhouse here in Atlanta, the Birchmere has
signs on every table requiring absolute silence while musicians are on the
stage, preventing Guy from taking his usual requests from the crowd. He
opened with Cold Dog Soup and followed it with The Cape. The he talked a
little bit about Cold Dog Soup and said they'd finally learned three or four
songs of it, "the trouble with making a new record is having to go back and
learn the songs..." as a segue into Ain't No Trouble to Me. Next was L.A.
Freeway, during which he paused to tell the story of his boring landlord and
the grapefruit tree to which he attributes the tune. After singing and
telling his way through Texas-1947 and Boats to Build, someone in the crowd
got brave and yelled for Immigrant Eyes.

Verlon and Guy both played the lights out on a rousing version of Sis Draper,
which Guy called the Imaginary Fiddle Song because we'd have to imagine the
fiddle. They plowed on through three or four more standards including
Homegrown Tomatoes when Guy decided it was time for Verlon to sing and Verlon
decided it was time to tell the audience that he and Guy and just returned
from doing a quick overnight show in the Netherlands, and claimed they'd been
"Amsterdamed." Guy said they called it something else in Texas, having to do
with ducks and rakes and hunting. Verlon did his Greasy Bend, OK -- Ouachita
River -- Daweeita's Mandolin song followed by another called "I'm a Lucky
Dog," which included a pretty good Johnny Cash impression and story. Verlon
hadn't been hanging with Guy all these years for nothing. Guy closed his set
with Let Him Roll.

Standing ovation. Not the last one.

Endless, 20 minute intermission and finally, time for Ms. Nanci.

NG fashion report: the thinnest woman I have ever seen. She was wearing
gold metallic capri pants and a black knit top with one of the blue silk
Cambodian scarves wrapped around her neck. And of course, the ubiquitous
black flats. First thing she said was how cold it was for the first day of
spring and how she'd had her socks on until right when she had to come on
stage. Said she would have left them on, but didn't think we'd like white
athletic socks with those flats. I was trying to picture it, but then she
launched into "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" and the socks were
forgotten. She was simply luminous, and with all that blue and black, when
the blue spots hit her, it would almost knock your eyes out.

She was accompanied by the "Blue Moon Combo," consisting of Pat McInerny, Ron
De la Vega, and the sartorially splendid and hatless James Hooker. One of
the true highlights of the show for us was the gorgeous duet she and Hooker
did of Gulf Coast Highway -- both were in superb voice. Nanci seemed to be
having a great time and enjoying this tour. At the outset, as she was
describing what was to come, she said it was going to be "one old bag with a
bag full of fun." It certainly was a bag full of fun, but I didn't see any
old bag on that stage and I was CLOSE. Another very high point was a
beautiful version of Tecumseh Valley that she dedicated to Guy. Nanci ran
through several of her standards before bringing out the Kennedys to
accompany her on Across the Great Divide, inviting the audience to sing
along. And of course, she plugged the Kennedys and their "Evolver" CD.
Among the standards was a very wistful version of Not My Way Home, which she
described as "MY favorite song, even it if isn't anyone else's." Wonder if
she saw the poll?

She also talked about singing with the Lubbock symphony and was comically
miffed when someone in the audience snorted, asserting that Lubbock does
indeed have a symphony.

As Ron mentioned in his report, "Travelin' Through This Part of You" is a
heartfelt and "just Nanci" piece of music -- it stood me still. She made
several references to her trip to southeast Asia and talked about waking up
in the middle of the night to write the song -- this is the kind of lyric and
poetry that I'd love to hear more of. Like someone posted recently -- just
nine more and call it a CD! She's a wonderful advocate for the landmine
cause -- VERY passionate about it. And she was unusually open about not
truly understanding an important part of Eric Taylor until she had taken that
journey. A rare glimpse into a private soul.

Verlon came back out to join the group and the audience for The Hammer Song.
He and Pat kept picking at each other and Nanci kept threatening them, "Don't
make me come back there, boys..." Guy joined the group and he and Nanci
duetted on She Ain't Goin' Nowhere, Do Re Mi, and Dublin Blues (major giant
huge big league sigh>, with Guy taking the lead and Nanci the harmony. The
show ended with It's a Hard Life, Nanci singing the lead, of course, and
Verlon and Guy providing powerful harmonies.

Standing ovation. Not the last one.

The magical evening ended with the encore "Old Friends," which began with
each band member performing a solo or duet and having an individual moment to
shine and ended with Nanci and Guy sharing a single microphone, singing "Old
Friends" and looking at each other with the purest love of friendship,
transcending the room to a beautiful place of musical carpe diem.

Standing ovation. Lights up. Whiter Shade of Pale.

Cate, was I dreaming? back in Atlanta