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The Fiddle & The Drum - The Music Of Joni Mitchell Kathie Renner, Melissa McCaig & Vincent's Chair Garage Bar, Season Closed For many, Joni Mitchell is a Muse - to her contemporaries and virtually every important woman songwriter since. So the Fringe show 'The Fiddle & The Drum' provides a rare opportunity to examine work from throughout her lengthy career. All in all, singers Melissa McCaig and Kathie Renner show a deep understanding for Mitchell's work in all its facets - from folk to jazz and the rock inflected. And like Mitchell herself, the idea of using jazz musicians (Vincent's Chair) is an inspired one - adding much to her tableaux. Following on from this, the highlights of this wideranging performance were from Joni's more jazzy period - Coyote, Edith & The Kingpin, through to the much more recent Turbulent Indigo (given excellent acoustic support from Brett Stafford). Most impressive of all were Renner's virtuosic and impassioned take on the Mingus rewrite Goodbye Pork Pie Hat and McCaig's Twisted which was sung with improvised grace and charm. Although attention was also paid to the earlier folk orientated material, the 'Blue' selections tended to suffer from lagging tempi. And yet Melissa's Chelsea Morning was joyous - "The sun poured down like butterscotch / and stuck to all my senses". The musicians were admirable though better suited to the later more jazz inflected material - relishing the endlessly inventive hues of Mitchell's compositions. The straight-ahead rock approach of Raised On Robbery was more problematic - but I also question the original arrangement. And I'm sorry, but the dulcimer and mandolin aren't interchangeable. The droning bass string harmonies on A Case Of You and Carey are as integral a part of Mitchell's compositional process as the 'chords of inquiry' and the myriad of highly individual guitar tunings. For those who love Joni, 'The Fiddle & The Drum' is a tribute created with love and affinity for this complex and endlessly creative artist - and it provides a reason to reflect upon and reinvestigate this magnificent artist. For the newcomer, it's a fine introduction to one of the most poetic and honest songwriters of our time.  |
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