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Summer 2007 - U.K./Europe
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 It's July 24, and I'm perched atop an ancient wall in the rear of a 30 B.C. Roman ruin in Lyon, France, basking in the uncommonly beautiful night air, the magnificently lighted castle to the left of Theatre Antique de Fourviere, and marveling at the natural beauty and power of the voice of Joan Baez as it fills the summer air from the stage. The Summer 2007 tour of mostly big European and U.K. music festivals is quickly drawing to a close with only two shows remaining. As the cool night air blows through the ancient amphitheatre, I am impressed with the venue's beautiful lighting that casts an aura of cracked ice on the stage floor far below, and occasionally augments the ancient columns that line the stage behind Joan. As with all the venues on this tour, Joan receives enthusiastic applause from an overflowing crowd. The sound, even from this distance, is remarkable, thanks to the natural acoustics of this grand edifice and Joan's soundman, Jason Raboin. Joan's band for this tour complements her perfectly, with Mike DuClos on bass, Dean Sharenow on percussion, drums and vocals, and singer-songwriter Erik Della Penna returning on vocals, guitar, lap steel and a multitude of other stringed instruments. The venue was a comfortable one for Joan since she performed here almost a decade ago with her friend Maxime LeForrestier, and, as she pointed out, "...I know everyone in the first four rows." (they were filled with fans and friends from all over the world). The audience sang loudly and beautifully with Joan on favorites like "Wonderful World," "Here's To You," "Gracias a la Vida," "Dona Dona," a few French language favorites, and the inspiring John Lennon classic, "Imagine."
The road to Lyon was filled with challenges. The tour bus, driven by British citizen Andy Saunders and his assistant Adrian, had broken down on a lonely French highway about 591 miles away from Lyon after a concert in Quimper. I awoke in the middle of the night to find Andy and Adrian lying under the bus in the pouring rain, trying to do make-shift repairs so the bus could get us to Lyon on schedule. It was hopeless and an outside company was finally dispatched to get the bus to a repair facility about an hour away. Time was fleeting, forcing Joan's longtime resourceful tour manager Crook Stewart to set an alternative plan into action. Soon everyone was gathering necessities and heading for a local train station. Crook theorized that if the bus and all the gear didn't arrive in Lyon in time for the concert, Joan could carry on with simply "that" voice and her guitar. Working feverishly on the phone, Mr. Crook (as one assistant French tour promoter called him) arranged for first class train transportation to Lyon and got us to a station with an hour to spare before a direct train departed for Lyon. It was a marvel of fine teamwork, good planning and great timing, with Andy and Adrian taking turns driving the repaired bus directly to Lyon so the regularly scheduled show could happen.
After the Munich show, the group headed to Bamberg, Germany, for a concert at Jacko Arena, followed by a performance in Berlin's Zitadelle Spandau, a 14th century open air castle. Next up was Mainz, Germany's Feltfestival im Volkspark where Jason and Joan went shopping for shoes, and Joan and I strolled along the lovely Rhine River on a welcome day off while making Frankfurt our temporary home. The Intercontinental Hotel offered beautiful views of the Rhine with a marvelous reflection of a near-full moon in the water outside our windows. During the concert you could hear rain beating relentlessly on the tent roof which inspired Joan to lead her audience in a song I hadn't heard her sing in concert since the very early 1960's, "Somebody Got Lost In A Storm." I couldn't help but marvel at how such songs surface in her mind and how she remembers the lyrics and melodies from these long ago gems! By the time Joan was singing her encores, the pouring rain was flowing under the giant tent, flooding the merchandise sales area until my only light shorted out, prompting Crook to tell Joan to "Do another encore!...we have problems in the merch area!" Despite the best efforts of the venue's crew, my area remained in total darkness until some creative technician lowered one of the stage spotlights, pointed it in my direction, and made sales possible! |
The tour had started only a few weeks earlier with rehearsals in New York City before heading to Munich, Germany for the first show. Munich was a town of discoveries, and Joan and I explored a magnificent old cemetary and marveled at the immaculate family plots with beautifully trimmed hedges and flowers. The concert was at Munich's Tollwood Festival-Olympiapark Sud's 3500 seat tent and featured a midway filled with food and craft vendors where Joan purchased some interesting wooden animals with whirly things that made them blow in the wind. After the shopping spree, Joan headed to the big tent but discovered the entrance had been blocked. Pausing beside the ticket booth to figure out how to get inside, a man approached Joan and said in English, "Hey lady, I hear the Joan Baez show is sold out...any idea how I can get tickets?...by the way, has anyone ever told you that you look like Joan Baez?" Joan nodded yes, and the man went on his way to try and find tickets to the long sold-out show, and Joan wandered around until she found a rear entrance to the venue.
Band members Erik and Dean are the entertaining duo known as Kill Henry Sugar. They shared their creative music with audiences via their own shows on the days off from the Joan Baez tour. The well-received pair was introducing their new CD Swing Back and Down to great acclaim and applause at venues all of the U.K. and Europe. The impressive disc contains some great original music, including two songs Joan has covered in her shows, "Neighbors" and "The Kingdom I Was Given."
The tour group was ready for a couple days off to relax and recharge after a 428 mile bus ride to London. While there, I attended the great West End production of "Monty Python's Spamalot." Joan visited with a French Ambassador/friend before heading to Basingstoke for another standing room only event at The Anvil. Even the choir seats behind Joan were sold, and Joan recognized the audience members seated behind her by facing them to sing "Finlandia." Joan also performed a very moving arrangement of the traditional folk ballad " Geordie" from her third album for Vanguard, Joan Baez in Concert, and looked stunning in a black jacket, black pants, white blouse and radiant emerald scarf.
When we reache Meersburg, Germany, Joan was ready for a walk along the shoreline across from the hotel where the Festival by Bodensee was in progress. Block after block of the waterfront was filled with carnival rides, vendors and music stages. Joan found some wonderful organic spreads and breads for the bus and souvenirs to take home to her granddaughter before wandering off to find a good fish dinner at an upscal restaurant in the area. Crook and Jason devoured kebobs from the vendors, while I made a beeline for the gelato shops! Meersburg was also the break everyone needed to catch up on laundry at a local coin operated establishment (ah, the glamorous road life!). The Meersburg concert was held in a beautiful open air town plaza with the bus parked a few blocks away from the stage, making Crook and Jason's newly acquired bicycles come in handy as the band and crew made frequent trips back and forth to prepare for the show. The concert was amazing with local residents hanging out of the windows to enjoy and applaud Joan from the comfort of their homes. |
After concerts in Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Harrogate, the group found itself at Llangollen, Wales' Royal International Pavilion for an international music festival where Andy manuevered the bus through narrow passageways between tents and trailers, while a gospel chorus sang "Oh Happy Day" on one of the outdoor stages - perfect timing, since the gospel gem is a Joan Baez favorite. Joan immediately opened the roof hatch of the bus to hear better, and before anyone could caution her, jumped out of the hatch and danced to the beat of the chorus while the audience greeted her with cheers and waves, and the leader of the chorus shouted, "Hi Joan! Love you!" That evening Joan sang the plaintive "Carrickfergus" for her appreciative audience in the glorious massive tent with its huge stage lined with thousands of fresh flowers. After the show in Llangollen, we headed back to Germany with a fun stop in Brussels, Belgium, for shopping, walking, eating chocolate, and exploring.
We had been experiencing unseasonably cool weather on this tour, until the July 14th show in Abenberg, Germany, where warmth prevailed in a castle courtyard. Freiburg, Germany, was the hottest place in the country for the July 15th concert where Joan cooled off by wading in a river and stayed over at the hotel to rest while the rest of the group departed for Burg Abenberg to make concert preparations. When it was time for soundcheck a car was dispatched to get Joan at the hotel, but the driver forgot that I was to drive along so I could help Joan with her guitar and luggage. An employee of the venue offered to take me to the hotel in his 50 year old restored East German military jeep that had been painted glowing yellow. I had to laugh when Joan realized that two vehicles (jeep and limo) had been sent for her, and she immediately displaced me in the jeep and waved her hands in the wind as she rode off in the topless jeep, leaving me to ride in the air conditioned limo. The 2300 seat tent was unbearably hot for that night's performance, so Joan cut the legs off of a pair jeans, rolled up the uneven cuffs and made things as comfortable as possible for herself. Erik, Dean and Mike joined the effort and disposed of their usual suits and ties, and everyone gave the overheated audience an extra long concert as a reward for their endurance. After the show, Joan, Jason and the band made a quick trip to a lake for a swim while Crook and I made final preparations for the trip to Perpignan, France.
When Joan found out that Perpignan wasn't far from the Mediterranean, Crook dreamed up a seaside adventure for the day off. Andy and Adrian quickly checked maps and off we went for a day at the beach, complete with building sand castles and eating junk food! Even at the beach folks recognized Joan Baez and warmly welcomed her. |
The next audience at Toulouse's (The Pink City) Halle Aux Grains was so delighted with Joan's performance of her signature composition, "Diamonds and Rust," that they gave her an exciting, mid-concert standing ovation. After the show the bus took us 365 miles to stay in an actual castle in La Mothe-Achard, where Joan had fun roaming the grounds and picking wild ripe blackberries. The show at St. Malo de Bois' Festival de Poupet was an amazing event with one of the grandest audiences an artist could hope for! As Joan sang classics in French and English, the audience waved colored light sticks in time to the music and sang along with gusto! The audience was so outstandingly special that Joan rewarded them with four or five encores, and at times put her hand to her mouth in surprise and appreciation as the crowd responded with deafening cheers.
The tour was quickly winding down by the time Joan performed in Quimper, France, for a concert and then arrived at the 30 B.C. ruin in Lyon. After the Lyon show, we were off to Spain, where Joan sang at the amazing outdoor Festival Jardins de Cap Roig. From the stage Joan was inspired by a near full moon, the deep blue water and shoreline behind the venue, and yet another splendid audience. Joan rewarded her Girona, Spain, audience with songs from her Spanish language album Gracias a la Vida by singing the title song, as well as "De Colores" and "El Rossinyol." The next day Joan was greeted with stories and pictures from the concert on the front pages of two newspapers before heading to the airport for a flight that would take everyone to the final concert at the Cambridge Folk Festival in the U.K. At Cambridge we were greeted by a knock on the door and a visit from former band member and new father, Martin Green. As Joan, her staff and management prepare for her 2008 milestone 50th anniversary of performing, we all want to thank everyone for making this tour very special and grand. I, personally, want to extend my thanks to Catherine and Michaela for their special assistance at a few of our merchandise tables. Thanks for your interest and happy trails to one and all!
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Later, Joan rushed onstage to dance to one of the performing bands' music while being chased by a security guard who didn't recognize her! And when she took the stage for her own set, the same young security guard still didn't recognize her and tried to stop her, until another higher ranking guard caught up with him and told him not to be so thorough!
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Photos by Crook Stewart, 2007
Be sure to take a look at the many other photos and fan photos from this tour. Enjoy!
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