There is only one singer whose career I have been following longer than Emmylou Harris. In the case of Emmylou, I have been following hers pretty much from the beginning and first saw her in concert in 1975. So what a wonderful Holiday gift it was to see her in concert at the fabulous Benaroya Hall in Seattle only two days before Christmas.
As a long-time fan, I started an email group for her at what is now YahooGroups in January of 1999 - a group that now boasts over 600 members. It was wonderful to meet up with several of the members for dinner at the Wild Ginger before the show.
At dinner were John (my dear friend and co-moderator) and his lovely wife Eve (who is just a gem, and it was so wonderful to see her again after many years), Steve who has become an esteemed online friend and his friend the vivacious Linda, and the very friendly and sweet Peggy and my wonderful, kind, fun new buddy Lisa both from the Emmylou list, myself and my husband, John. The dinner was so-so, but the companionship and conversation was first rate.
We walked across the street just in time for the show to start. John scored us the BEST tickets. Linda and Steve sat in front of the rest of us in the second row right in front of Emmylou, the rest of us were in the third row. I all of my years of seeing Emmylou these were the best indoor seats I have ever had. Some concert halls have a space between the front row and the stage. Not so with the Benaroya. If you were in the front row you had limited visability as the stage was just about in your lap. So second and third row were just amazing. Can I say that again? AMAZING!!!
Emmylou was joined by Pam Rose and Mary Ann Kennedy who both did harmony vocals and played various musical instruments as well as David Jacques who played standup bass.
The set list for the evening:
Here I Am
Orphan
Love and Happiness
Red Dirt Girl
Beneath Still Waters
To Know Him Is to Love Him
Strong Hand (for June)
O Evangeline
In My Dreams
Michelangelo
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Lost Unto this World
Light of the Stable
O Little Town of Bethlehem
First Noel
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
After the Goldrush
The Pearl
Bright Morning Stars
Encore:
Boulder to Birmingham
Save the Last Dance for Me
I think my favorites wereBeneath Still Waters (didn't think I'd ever hear her sing that inconcert again) and the a cappella verson of The First Noel - it was sung on an acoustic mike at this acoustically perfect venue. This is where the Seattle Symphony plays, after all. I was glad I had readthe set list thanks to having Gmail on my cell phone so I wasn'tobsessing about not hearing Boulder to Birmingham (my #1 favoriteEmmylou song) because I was pretty certain she'd do that as an encore as she had the night before, which she did. I just enjoyed each and every song for their individual qualities that makes them such a pure delight to hear coming from that voice we know and love so much. I did have to comment at the end of the show that I was glad she finally had gotten Spyboy out of her system as I enjoyed this incarnation so much more than the Spyboy years.
I have been seeing Emmylou in concert now for over 30 years (hard tobelieve!) and have lost count at the number of times I have seen her but I believe it to be somewhere between 15 and 20. Each one has been so different from the other. So special in its own way. She never fails to inspire and amaze me after all this time. I never tire of hearing her. She may not have the high energy she did in the years she was playing with the Hot Band but she is such a class act how can one complain? My younger daughter had called me Friday night and I told her what I was doing Saturday and even she remarked on my longevity of being an Emmylou fan. She's 25 so obviously I have been a fan as long as she'sbeen alive. Anyway she thought it was really cool (her words) that I have been going to see one artist for that long. There is only one singer I have been seeing longer (by a couple of years) and that is Kris Kristofferson but since didn't tour for many years I haven't seen him in concert as many times. I don't know when my next Emmylou concert will be but it probably isn't too far off. And to have other fans get together to attend a concert is just the best experience.
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