I caught a fabulous concert given by Natalie Merchant this evening in Sanders Theater at Harvard University. If you are a fan of her music and have not been to a live performance I encourage you to go if you have a chance. She gives a marvelous performance and always has a tremendous band behind her. I saw her two years ago at Harbor Lights (yes, I know it’s the FleetBoston Pavilion now, but I have my reservations about corporate naming when they did not build the damn thing, but that’s another post under the “Rant” category) in a double show with Chris Isaac. She is much, much better in a small venue. The more intimate space reflects her refreshing genuineness. No flash, no smut, just pure artistry and creative expression.
The Sanders tickets were more, but well worth the price. I had bought two tickets, but after a series of friends that could not go and two people from Craigslist that bailed on me, I finally sold to ticket to a guy who although appreciative enough to offer me a joint didn’t really seem to enjoy the concert all that much. He problem and loss (didn’t even stay for the triple encore, but I am getting ahead of myself).
A Tibetan woman named YungChen Lhamo opened the concert. She offered some Tibetan traditional songs of inspiration and prayer. A gorgeous voice, open and haunting. I’d only ever heard Tibetan monks perform such intonations. A female voice adds another dimension. Not all the audience was that receptive to her, but at the very least she did raise some awareness.
Merchant and her band played a 7 song set drawing most from her latest album “The House Carpenter’s Wife”, “Tigerlilly”, and “Motherland” (some of my favorites such as St. Judas included). Add in a 10,000 Maniacs song and that was an amazing set. After much ovation she came out for another 5 song set ending in “This House is on Fire” from “Motherland.” During this song Merchant held up a flag with a peace sign. The message was clear and the audience understood. Leave it to her to make a clear, quite statement. Let’s hope thought it’s not prophetic. After what we thought was the final set, the band comes out for a double encore. Very generous!
