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Fan Letters & Reviews May 2008 CONCERT REVIEW: April 23, 2008 at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza / Fred Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks, CA Concert review: Fred Kavli Centre, Thousand Oaks, Apr 23, 2008 Set List: 1. Barricades of Heaven 2. Our Lady of the Well. It was great to hear this. One of my all-time favorites. 3. These Days. Love this on guitar. 4. Looking Into You 5. Looking East 6. Before the Deluge. I was really glad he played this. The day before I had read an article in the local paper, "Music for the sea, land and sky -- Ten of the best eco-protest songs," which listed Before the Deluge as #4. Others included were Bruce Cockburn's If a Tree Falls, Cat Stevens' Where Do the Children Play?, Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi, etc. Of Jackson's song, columnist Mike Devlin wrote, "The song has Biblical overtones, to be sure, but Before the Deluge some of the finest California country-rock of Jackson Browne's career is about our mistreatment of the environment as much as anything else." How true. Jackson made a comment about how he thought someone was wishing him a Happy Birthday at an previous concert, when, in fact, they were wishing him Happy EARTH Day. How appropriate. 7. Your Bright Baby Blues 8. In the Shape of a Heart 9. Late for the Sky 10. Rosie Intermission 11. For Everyman 12. Lives in the Balance 13. I'm Alive 14. New Song 15. I'll Do Anything 16. Somebody's Baby. Someone called out "Koosh" and Jackson said, "You mean 'Kootch'." He then related a story about how Danny Kortchmar thought his surname originated from "cauchemar" (which is French for nightmare), only to find out it really meant something like "shopkeeper." I thought this introduction would lead to Shaky Town, but instead Jackson played Somebody's Baby. 16. Carmelita 17. Sky Blue and Black 18. Doctor My Eyes 19. The Pretender 20. Running on Empty. It never fails to amaze me how he can make a song like this, which seemed to have been defined by its musical arrangement, work in a solo acoustic setting. A credit to his musicianship, I guess. Encore Take it Easy My Stunning Mystery Companion I thought it was a great show, but I agree the song requests did get a little out of control. This didn't seem to bother Jackson, though. At one point people starting calling out the names of the cities they were from, at the same time that others were requesting songs, which was a little comical. (Jackson, sarcastically: "I don't think I wrote "Whittier"). He then added that people like to tell him how FAR they've traveled to see his shows. O.K....guilty (of logging a few miles to get to his concerts, that is). But I'd like to add here, that if you've ever been faced with an especially loooong winter (and more than 150 inches of snow), you might be easily enticed to head to the "sunny south" to attend a concert or 2...or 3.... An aside here. I'll probably never get to tell him this in person (although I did get to meet him once and he was every bit as gracious as I'd been told he'd be), so I'll put it in print on the off chance that he might see it. About 2 years ago, I used the Basque version of Jackson's song Niño, interpreted by Jabier Muguruza, to make a comparison between the Spanish and Basque languages for a course I was taking on the history of the Spanish language. Basically, I translated the first 12 lines of Muguruza's Basque interpretation (from Cántame Mis Canciones) from Basque to Spanish as a means of comparing the two languages for an oral presentation. (God bless Jabier Muguruza for taking time out from his busy life to answer my email). In the end, the presentation was well received and, as a result, 30 students and a professor on the East coast learned something about the Basque language. I always thought that a song, among MANY others things, could be a great tool for teaching language. (Jackson, if you read this, I hope you don't mind that I used your song for this purpose). About a year later, a student approached me and said she had kept the lyric sheet I'd given out, which kind of surprised me since the only hand-out I'd provided was print-out of the Basque version of Niño. (I wasn t allowed to use any English in the presentation). It just goes to show you that a song's message can transcend all languages. I think that if parts of the translation may have been a little hard to follow (the Basque language is a difficult language to learn and teach), everyone could relate to the positive, empowering words in the last two lines, which, in the Basque version, happen to be very similar to Jackson's. (Jackson: "Niño, people will know you one day//Niño, they're going to call you El Rey"). (English translation of Muguruza's version: Niño, one day everyone will call you El Rey"). I always really liked this positive, empowering ending because children are powerless in so many ways. I know Jackson often refers to the majority of his body of work as "songs of despair" or "songs of despair with a silver lining", but I think there's resolution in most of them. I hear he might be touring in 2009 following the release of his next album. I hope his tour includes a venue close by, but if not, I might just be inclined to leave the "frozen north" once again to savour another southern concert and the more temperate climate that goes along with it. Submitted by: Anonymous CONCERT REVIEW: April 4, 2008 at Providence Performing Arts Center in Providence, RI Here is an interesting review from a New England Pastor who is a new fan of Jackson's and saw Jackson for the first time on 4/6/08 at the Providence Performing Arts Center in Ct. http://concordpastor.blogspot.com/2008/04/solo-acoustic.html Submitted by: thedud08@gmail.com (The Dud) CONCERT REVIEW: April 22, 2008 at Lancaster Performing Arts Centerin Lancaster, CA I have met JB so many times, since the very first time I saw him "live" at the then, "Universal Amphitheater," in Universal City, CA. I was so young, and so ignorant, and so love struck...just from seeing him for the very first time in the very back rows of the "UA" before it was covered, and no longer the open-air venue it used to be, and Jackson sang his heart out with a beautiful Southern CA, Los Angeles, Summer Sky with a full moon shinning down on JB, David Lindley, and the band! I made a promise that night, from so far away from the stage, his music touched my heart and my soul. I did not know who he was, a friend said he thought I would love to see this musician, Jackson Browne, I did not know of him until that night, I may have heard his songs on the radio; but I had no awareness of the Man Behind The Music. That night, I forgot all about my friend who took me to the concert, my eyes were locked on only one man on that stage, and they remained locked every year after that. Since then, I have remained a loyal, fan, I hate that word! I prefer to say a kindred Soul. Jackson, as we all know, doesn't just write and sing songs to his fans, Jackson Browne sings to our Souls. He stirs our hearts, opens our minds and reaches deep into our most often forgotten Souls and brings them back to life, and makes us remember who we are and that 'it shouldn't take a death to know what a life is worth.' I was blessed to meet Jackson as he was asked by the then President of UAW's Local 645 Van Nuys, CA to be the musical guest in support of a protest to stop General Motors from laying off thousands of auto workers. My father, was a retired President of Local 645, and I spent my entire life going to the Union Hall, and I was even a Union Member when I pressured my father to allow me to apply for a job as an auto worker, I was only 20 years old and I must say, gorgeous, curvy, yet all the curves were in the right places, and Stunningly Beautiful as all of my friends and/or boyfriends would say. My father did not want me working around all of those men; but as usual, I got my own way. I mention this because the President who asked Jackson's "people" to have him sing at this protest, knew me before I was even born. Pete Beltran, watched me grow up and we became very good friends, even if he and my father did not see eye-to-eye. Pete knew that I would never speak to him again, if he did not get JB to sing at the UAW protest! Ed Asner and Jesse Jackson was there, Jesse came up to me and held me and gave me a great big kiss, as he said, "Who is this beautiful young lady here, and then before I could say anything, he planted a huge kiss on my cheek, on my face! Ed Asner, said, "Oh, don't mind him, he's always doing that to pretty women." Well, at least I knew I was pretty, so then Pete introduces me to JB, and tells him that I am the reason that he was asked to be there that day, because I told Pete, that there was no one else but Jackson Browne who he could ask except Jackson, he was, after, Mr. Benefit!!! Jackson puts his hand out, and I shake it, and I try to get some words out of my mouth, but I am completely tongue-tied, I mutter out something to the effect of, Hi, Jackson it's an honor, pleasure, bumble, bumble, tongue-tied, to meet you! AHHHH! That's it? I am thinking I want to go did a hole somewhere and bury my head in it, no! I want to bury my entire self in it!!! MY ONE CHANCE to meet the man I love, the man; as far as I am concerned I am supposed to marry... Then, I am told to call Jackson in so that people are not bothering him, mistake number 2, he's in the hallway talking to a couple of Meat Packers and he's talking to them about their Union issues, I interrupt, and he says, "Why did you do that? I wanted to talk to those guys!" AHHHHH! AGAIN! Oh my God! The man I adore, the man, remember, I am supposed to marry him, after he ever becomes available again, and now I have made an ass out of myself a second time all within 20 minutes on the same darn day. I walked into the lobby of the Union Hall, somewhere I had been most of my childhood and in my late teens, my father's picture up on the wall, as Pete shows Jackson that the photo is the retired President and my father. JB looks over at me, and I just smile. Then Pete goes into his office he has to take a call, and JB sits down on a small bench, and I am in the room, all alone, about no more than 6 feet away from him, and I am just shaking inside. I am given a gift from God! Jackson pulls out his white, (my favorite color!) acoustic guitar and he warms up, he sings several songs, in full or most of them and I am the only one in the room with him. I am getting a personal concert, with the man who touched my Soul. Even if I did make a complete a*! of myself. He does not talk to me, and I do not talk to him. He just plays and sings and he looks up at me a few times, and I look at him and smile, trying to hold back the tears. It's a Spiritual thing. Then, DH shows up just as JB is back outside and does his "gig," and we walked in protest, and the Van Nuys GM Plant, where I spent most of my life, stayed open, at least for a few more years anyway. Now it's a shopping mall, and it's called appropriately, "The Plant." Very few people know that story, of my very own personal concert all alone in the lobby of my father's union, and when my father passed away, in 11/2000, after the service and the burial, my family and many, many Local 645 UAW members remember him as we had all those years ago, in the same place where I was first introduced to Jackson. I brought my CD's and I played, my very favorite songs, and while the people talked and ate, and tried to stop the hurt, I just sat there quietly and sang Jackson's songs, and remembered why we had been there, so many years ago. I now have three son's and I have told the oldest two, who are also JB fans, they were raised on JB's music, they are both Firefighters, they have instructions to play 'For A Dancer' when I die. That is my favorite JB song, yet there are plenty of others, they have their 'set list' for when their mother dies, I just pray I go first. That was the first time I met JB, and after that, I met him at many benefit concerts, for the church his mother was so active in, and Father Maxwell, (I believe that was his name, it's been a long time, hasn't JB?) was leaving to open and live in another Unity church. Or, Unitarian, I get them confused sometimes, and it was so very long ago. I talked to him then and he was so nice, and I hugged him and each and every time since then, I have talked to him, sat 5 feet away from him at the dinner fundraiser at his mother's church, after she passed on. We ate a wonderful dinner all of us in that room, made by the lovely, kind and caring women of the church, the volunteers, I have a special place in my heart for the elderly, and of course I wanted to take them all home with me. It's hard, I can't imagine what it must be like to be JB, I have a hard time just wanting to take every homeless person home to live with me, let alone every stray dog. When he met the brother and sister who formed Hyucaltia, (It's pronounced Why-U-CAL-TEA-A) (I know I spelled this wrong, but I can't find the CD after so many years, and so many moves, I lost a few prized possessions.) their music was so beautiful, and the slide show that Jackson worked on with them, and the CD they made with his help has some of the most heartbreaking songs on it, and yet; you can't pull yourself away. If you have any compassion within you at all, those songs, and those photos, will make Col. North cry, they had me in the front row of the guitar store, (don't remember it's name, I know it's famous) where JB was introducing them, and I cried like a baby. I could not help it. I think I have lost count after that, at how many times I would wait after JB's concerts, benefits, etc., and I would say Hi, JB, and then give him a big hug, and hold back the tears, and I always whisper in his ear, "God Bless You." That's it. What else can I do? Then, almost 15 years later, after he and you-know-who break up, and I think, OK!!! It's me, it's MY TURN, now he'll see what he's been missing. I love him, I have been in love with him since 1977!!! That's a very long time to wait for someone, JB! Then, after letting that thought go,, of course, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans," God Bless John Lennon what a sad, sad day that was. So, I stop all this concert going, and I work for the, "Legal tender." The year's pass by, and on Tuesday, 4/22, just 8 days from my 51st birthday, (however, I look like I am only 39 or 41 at best!) I get myself a ticket to see him again, and from Temecula to Lancaster it's a long drive but it's well worth it. I have finally after all these years, I see him again, let me add, that during all those 15+ years I became very, very ill and I nearly died. But, I was not worried, my son's know what music to play! I know, bad joke! Jackson walks out on stage, I had no idea he had a beard, and a mustache!! Someone from the audience yells, "You are still gorgeous!" to Jackson, and some people in the audience maybe not some of the brightest in the world, asked him to play songs that just were not appropriate for this time in his life!!! He told us he has a girlfriend, my heart fell to the ground. He said they'd been together for about 10 or 12 years now, and then I just about cried. It took a few days; but I am happy for him. He said she is the one who did not want to get married. I almost wanted to yell out, I'll marry you Jackson!!! She must be one amazing woman to have a man like Jackson fall in love with her. I did go to the back with a few fans there, fans who had never met him before, fans that would have fallen over if they knew how many times I not only met Mr. Benefit; but I held him in my arms and I put my lips right up next to his ear and as we hugged, a heartfelt, soutfelt hug, I whispered, "May God Bless You!" and then I smiled and look upon his gorgeous face perhaps for the last time, or for a long while, I did however; get the courage this time, perhaps age had given me the confidence this time, to tell him the story about how we met so many, many years ago, in 1985 and we were in the lobby of UAW Local 645, in Van Nuys, CA. Jackson Browne if you ever need holding, just call my name, and I'll be there. May God Bless You, and Keep You and Yours Well. I LOVE YOU and I ALWAYS WILL!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR GIFTS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SONGS, THANK YOU FOR TOUCHING MORE THAN JUST OUR HEARTS, BUT OUR SOULS AS WELL. I pray I don't have to wait so long next time to see you and talk to you again, and oh, yeah, get my arms around you and give you my very special, thankful, loving hug! Submitted by: castcastellano@aol.com (Debra XXXOOO) GENERAL FAN COMMENTS: hi this is susan from newport ri again. i have wanted to send a message in for a while but because i don't have my own puter and my bros was not working and i don't have an email address it's taken me a while to send this..... i just wanted to coment that i am just a little IRKED to hear that jackson sang "the late show" at the april 6 show in CT becaue at the prov. show on april 4th i called out for that song at the beginning of the concert, and it was the only song i did call out for cause as i said in my previous letter, i just sat back and relaxed and enjoyed the concert. so sanyway, jackson must have heard me call out for that song and did it at the next show. HA but i guess i can't be too mad, seeing i got to meet jackson twice and everything...... no jackson hasn't called me on my celll phone yet... ha ha.... but i decided he's too old for me anyway... ha ha.... and i think i will be marrying my boyfriend jamie on march 7, 2009.......but i would love to see and meet jackson browne again, and i guess it won't be at the folk fest or sunset music fest THIS year... but maybe next year.>>> i can hope and pray>>>> .... and maybe next time i meet jackson browne i will actually have a conversation with the man... and mabye he will actually say somethinng to ME ha ha, and i can get an autograph, next time, and i can get a pictuire of me next to him....but he better not have that gray beard next time...... i am very much looking for ward to jackson's new cd and very happy he is still writing songs not like my former favotire rock star billy joel who has retired from doing anything new..... i am enjoying ordering jackson browne official t shirts on the official website, and even at sale prices... ha ha.... i now have a collection of 5 dif. jb tshirts.... i already wore one to a yard sale recently and someone said, oh you saw jackson browne and i say i MET jackson browne. ha ha ha and i have my pic to prove it. ha ha.......that's all my comments for now......... Submitted by: johnhopf@verizon.net DVD REVIEW: American Music: Off The Record This documentary about aspects of the music industry has been mentioned in this site's news section. I have received my copy and wish to recommend it. It is loaded with musicians offering opinions on aspects of the industry as well as brief performance footage. One complaint might be that no song is done in full yet one could argue that this sampling approach exposes you to many more performers--perhaps some of whom may show up in your town like Rick Derringer did in ours last year for a free show. We get talk/songs from Jackson Browne, David Lindley, Chris Hillman, Commander Cody, Ray Price, Chris Duarte, Country Joe McDonald, Lee Roy Parnell, Rodney Crowell, James McMurtry, Iris Dement, Paul Thorn, Les Paul, Rick Derringer, Sonic Youth, Wanda Jackson, Edgar & Johnny Winter, Carlene Carter, Richard Thompson, Sonny Landreth, Paul Barrere, Billy Joe Shaver, Savoy Brown, Kerry Livgrin, Buckethead, Jah Roots, The Elders and many more I didn't manage to catch the names of. Danny Cox does an especially moving song about bringing our troops home. Topics of discussion include the near monopoly of radio by some companies & their playlists' impact on what we don't get to hear, the notion that CDs killed the record industry, politics, forbidden words, the digital age of perfection and the value of live performance. One comment that stands out is a performer refuting the opinion of some that "if you're not making money, you're not relevant to society". Bonus material includes a bit more conversation with various musicians including Jackson Browne and David Lindley as well as conversation with the professors specializing in media matters and with a musical instrument store owner who describes tactics of guitar companies he has encountered. I suspect this DVD could withstand repeat viewings as there are plenty of ideas to think about, performers to enjoy a taste of, and details to notice like the Fender logo form-shifting, Mr. Browne playing his Fender acoustic guitar, and one musician wearing a t-shirt logo that looks suspiciously like the cover art of one of my favorite albums. In summary, if you like music and thinking about music you might want to check this video out. In addition to the links Russ Paris has provided, the film's producer also has info/ordering info at www.myspace.com/amusicofftherecord or www.myspace.com/vakvagany. Submitted by: voodoo@rushmore.com Go To Jackson Browne Fan Letters and Reviews from June 2008 RETURN to Jackson Browne Fan Letters Page RETURN to Jackson Browne Home Page |