Sound
of ‘Stormy Weather’ makes sweet music
By Jill Thomsen
On-line Forty-Niner
A
dazzling lineup of 10 ladies took the stage
at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles to
perform in “Stormy Weather 2002,” a benefit
concert for the Walden Woods Project and
the Thoreau Institute at Walden Pond Wednesday
night.
The Eagles’ Don Henley, who has been actively
involved in the project for years, hosted
the event.
The show opened with newcomer Michelle Branch
and closed 2 1/2 hours later with legend
Joni Mitchell. The evening offered an eclectic
mix of voices and styles, along with some
fabulous clothes.
The concept of “Stormy Weather” is simple,
named after the classic 1933 Howard Arlen
tune, each artist performed two songs, one
being a pop, jazz or blues standard. Backed
by the fabulous El Nino Orchestra, there
is no doubt that this was new territory
for some of the ladies, but they pulled
it off with aplomb. Standouts included Paula
Cole’s haunting rendition of Tom Waits’
“The House Where Nobody Lives” and blues
songstress Susan Tedeschi’s gorgeous cover
of Mitchell’s “River.”
Stevie Nicks earned the most crowd response
merely by taking the stage. Wearing a simple
dress and gardenia as Billie Holiday would
do, Nicks let her distinctive voice cut
loose on Etta James’ “Sunday Kind of Love,”
a blues romper in which she demanded wanting
a love that “lasts past Saturday night.”
The crowd also went insane after Nicks performed
her own standard, Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”
Two country artists who could sing the phone
book and blow me away, lived up to my expectations.
Reba McEntire twanged her way through 1971’s
“I Won’t Mention it Again” and Trisha Yearwood
honored the evening by belting through Arlen’s
“The Man that Got Away.” Yearwood and McEntire
both chose their own pieces as their second
song, which fit the mood of the evening
and incorporated the orchestra well.
Sheryl Crow, however, seemed wildly out
of place as she went into rocker girl mode
on “Run Baby Run,” a song which ended up
being okay, but very distracting. I don’t
even recall her second song because well,
I was distracted.
Norah Jones and Deborah Cox had the best
natural voices for the material and the
two chanteuses had the best sets of the
night, with both songs equally strong. Cox’s
smooth voice laying into Dinah Washington’s
“This Bitter Earth” was like warm caramel
and earned her many new fans — at least
among myself and the people sitting around
me.
The show started over an hour late, but
an evening of “real” music in a lovely setting
was well worth the wait.
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