Jul 24 2011
Enchanted Evening
The stage is set
A huge white tent is a familiar sight on the headlands of the Village in the summer. It’s the home of the annual Music Festival, now in its 25th year. It has a stunning setting by the ocean:
As you can see above, it’s surprisingly nice inside. I guess they have it down pat after a quarter century. And it makes for an intimate venue.
I was there to see the Great Lady of Soul, Bettye Lavette, one of the best-kept secrets from the golden age of Motown. Although she’s been singing for almost 50 years, and had her first hit record at the age of 16, somehow fame managed to elude her. But recently, it’s begun to catch up.
Miss Lavette performed at the We Are One inaugural concert for President Obama, at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards. She joked “I ain’t won nothing yet. But they had to say my name before the said the winner’s name.”
She appeared on stage in skin tight black pants, a sleeveless black top showcasing her enviable arms and cleavage, and set it all off with her sky-high sparkly stilettos. Hard to believe she’s 65 years old. Especially when you hear her sing.
She held us all spellbound with the passion and fire of her voice, which reminded me of Janis Joplin’s – that same intensity and fervor and strength. I think my favorite moment of the show was when she sat cross-legged on the stage (“I’m having a senior moment”) and sang Dolly Parton’s “Little Sparrow”. You can see her perform it here.
Wow.
I was kind of stunned with glory as I made my way back to the car. The following morning, I was stunned by the untimely death of Amy Winehouse. Surely there could be no greater contrast than these two women: one who never gave up despite the lack of fame and fortune, and is one of music’s great survivors, and the other, who achieved great success very young, yet was destroyed by it.
4 Responses to “Enchanted Evening”
Surely very unfortunate for such a young lady like Amy to lose her life and such a short stay, but it is the way of life, some are here for long periods, others leave earlier for reasons only known to them.
I’m still trying to process what happened in Norway. The sad thing is, as I get older, I have less patience for people who have everything and then throw it all away; whatever the reason. While I am saddened by it all and do believe Amy was destroyed by her own success, I can’t help but think of those who didn’t have her shot (or talent) at life and were cut down early by someone else’s hand. It’s all very upsetting.
Amen to Mike’s sentiments….
So pleased that you had such a good evening ….and such a wonderful venue
jx
Every idea begins with good intentions:
In Amy’s case, she gave in to drugs and alcohol for comfort. In a interview her mother said that the last thing Amy said to her that she loved her and she loved the fans. Poor Amy forgot to love the most important person, herself.
As for the madman of Norway, his first intention was the preservation of his race and destruction of terrorism, his idea became an obsession, the obsession became an illness, finally he became was he was so afraid would take over his country, he finally killed dozens of people.
It reminds me of another madman that began with the idea of preservation of his race, when it was all over, he had killed millions, his name was Hitler.