UK/EUROPE FALL TOUR 2009
by Jim Stewart

The entourage's home-away-from-home, the tour bus, became a major challenge for tour manager Blair Woods. One of our favorite bus drivers, Billy, had arrived with a bus that smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, which didn't fit the bill for this group of non-smokers. It wasn't long before a new bus arrived, which meant transferring all the gear, merchandise, suitcases and personal items from the old bus, and welcoming a new bus driver.

When we rolled into Cambridge for a show at The Corn Exchange, the tour group headed in many different directions. Energetic music director, guitarist, vocalist and 2010 Grammy nominated artist John Doyle headed out to do a solo show some three hours away by train. I went to see Cambridge University's production of "My Fair Lady." The tour's audio engineer Jason Raboin and Joan's tour assistant Emma Vasseur were off to catch up on laundry. Lighting director Susanne Sasic headed for the best shopping district that could be found, and the rest of the tour team danced the night away at a local establishment with Joan's friend Russian pianist Alissa Firsova.

The Cambridge soundcheck, like many others on this tour, found Joan and the band working on new arrangements of Jackson Browne's "Before The Deluge" and Bob Dylan's epic "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts," but neither song made it into an actual set list. Nonetheless, Joan and the band found the songs challenging and fun to play.

Next up was a day drive to Oxford for a show followed by a trip to Brighton, where Joan, percussionist Gabriel Harris, and I sought out a favorite restaurant, Alfresco: The Italian Seafood Restaurant. Although we hadn't been there in a few years, the waiter remembered us and assured our dining experience was just as wonderful as it had been during previous memorable visits. The sea bass was simply the best and cooked just the way Joan likes it - the whole fish with big eyes staring at the diner and cooked extra crispy! The waiter suggested another type of fish, which we also ordered, and it proved just as tasty as the sea bass. As the sun set in the ocean outside the restaurant's big windows, we ordered three forks, coffee, and a couple of delicious desserts before walking back to our hotel in the cold damp rain. The hotel featured unusual accommodations including a bathtub in each room that was elevated in front of a big picture window overlooking the sea, which made me marvel at how Blair finds such interesting places for us to stay!

After the show at the Brighton Dome, Joan needed to take a walk to wind down from a most exciting and energetic concert, so off we went into the dark U.K. night with a full moon partially obscured by clouds. Along the way we ran into several Joan Baez fans who were seeking beverages at a convenience store. It was a lovely encounter, but Joan needed to cut it short in order to get back to the hotel and out of the cold, damp air.

After a concert at Bristol's Colston Hall, the driver pointed the bus toward Cardiff's St. David's Hall, where a grand piano awaited Dirk Powell, the band's multi-talented instrumentalist who excels on banjo, mandolin, accordian, vocals, and practically any other instrument he can get his hands on. Dirk's keyboard work is always impressive, but somehow became magical when he took control of this grand piano. Since Joan would be performing in many significant concert halls on this tour grand pianos were often available, and Jason always made sure they were part of his sound scheme so Dirk could play them during the shows. With or without a grand piano, Dirk's composition "Just The Way You Are," as sung by Joan and with Dirk's skillful mastery of the keyboard, proved to be one of the highlights of each show. In honor of this Wales audience Joan sang a rare, flawless rendition of "The Bells of Rhymney."

After Joan sang one of her biggest U.K. hit singles, "There But For Fortune," for the Usher Hall audience, someone in the balcony yelled, "Sing it again so we all can sing along!" Joan grinned and replied that she couldn't sing the same song twice in the same concert, but she would do "Dona Dona" so everyone could sing along, after which she concluded her solo segment of the concert with a favorite of Scottish audiences, "Mary Hamilton." Joan then dedicated "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" to U.S. President Barack Obama. She stepped away from the microphone and filled the hall with the natural beauty of her voice, commenting that "...it's nice to have a President who gets accolades instead of shoes coming his way."

In Liverpool for a show at Philharmonic Hall, I strolled to a church that was left in its WWII bombed-out state as a memorial with trees now growing through the top where a roof once was, while the band's bass player Todd Phillips walked over to the Beatles museum.

Confusion reigned on the way to the concert at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall, when the replacement bus driver experienced an unexplainable meltdown and threatened to abandon us at the hotel and depart with the bus, all luggage, sound equipment, instruments and merchandise! All we could figure out was that the driver lacked enough experience to handle the extensive tour with thousands of miles of driving and maneuvering the large bus with a trailer hitched to the back through crowded, tight European city streets, and difficult to reach concert venues. Tour manager Blair immediately got the situation under control and had the distraught bus driver removed from the tour and replaced by the very capable and accommodating Kenny and his co-driver Warren, who quickly became welcome members of the tour family!

While in Nottingham, Emma, Jason, Joan, and I headed out on a shopping spree to procure an outfit for Emma to wear to a wedding that would take her back to the U.S. for a few days. After rejecting a lot of garments in numerous stores, Jason led us to Hugo Boss where Emma and Joan spotted the perfect outfit, which, reports indicate, dazzled the wedding attendees back in Minnesota. While Emma was away, the rest of us headed to Bruges, Belgium, for a show at the magnificent Royal City Theatre in the heart of the city, where a police escort had to maneuver us through streets that are closed to all but pedestrian traffic in order to get us to the venue. Once we were parked, Dirk headed out to find a Santa hat for a photo shoot he was doing for artwork on a holiday recording, which he proudly continued to wear at that day's soundcheck, while Susanne, Jason and I scouted the shopping district for fine chocolates.

Next up was a couple days off in magnificent Amsterdam with its thousands of bicycle riders and maze of canals. On a walk through the internationally renowned floating Flower Market near the heart of the city, Joan and I spotted Cannabis in a Can, plainly situated among things like Tulips in a Can! It seemed remarkable to us visiting Americans that such a product could be sold like common flower bulbs. That night Dirk had a concert at Paradiso, where he invited Joan to join him and his band for impromptu versions of "Joe Hill" and "Long Black Veil."

Five concerts followed in France, where Joan changed the shows' set lists and sang favorites with French audiences like "Here's To You" and "Plaisir d'Amour." The tour's only outdoor concert happened in Montpellier's Esplanade du Peyrou for some super-charged 16,500 citizens. However, the exciting event was not without its share of controversy. Singer/songwriter Marianne Aya Omac had been promised an opening set at Joan's concert by some local "officials," but was advised not long before show time that there would be no opening act that night. A somewhat exasperated Marianne, who had traveled from Canada for this performance and is a favorite performer in Montpellier, took matters into her own hands and started playing her guitar and singing in the audience. The crowd cheered and tried to shut down the recorded music that was playing over the venue's speakers so they could hear her. When Joan got word of the situation she invited Marianne to her dressing room and personally escorted her onstage and joined her in an impromptu duet of "La Llorona," then left the stage for Marianne to finish her opening set. Marianne presented Joan with a copy of her latest CD which became a dance favorite on the bus for the rest of the tour.

After completing the shows in France, Paul and Warren chaffeured the bus for a few days off at one of Joan's favorite places which she writes so lovingly about in her recently republished autobiography And A Voice To Sing With, the Chateau de Canisy in the Normandy area of France. Everyone enjoyed lavish comforts, fine dining, and Dirk and John's lovely wives and daughters joined us. Todd transformed himself into the resident disc jockey in the castle's disco, inspiring many to dance the night away. A very special memory from this visit was when everyone gathered in the Chateau's music room for a private performance by Joan and her entourage, including Dirk and his wife Christine Balfa performing Cajun tunes, John Doyle doing his lovely composition "Little Sparrow," and Joan with Dirk on a grand piano offering "Just The Way You Are." Joan sang a couple of songs with only her guitar, and I managed to use the tour's Flip camera to capture the event to share with Joan's mother back home in California. Our wonderful hosts made the stay most memorable. After only one evening at the castle, Paul and Warren headed out on the bus for a long drive to Denmark where they would greet us a few days later at the airport.

The Scandinavian concerts were Joan's first ones in about 30 years, and the receptions in Gothenberg, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen were astonishing. One day I left a venue to run some errands when a group of folks saw my Joan Baez laminated pass around my neck and ended up chasing me down an alley, hoping to find Joan Baez at the end! While in Sweden Joan and the band added a unique a capella vocal introduction to their arrangement of "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)," and Joan paid loving tribute to her and her mother's favorite singer, Jussi Bjorling, before dedicating "Carrickfergus" to his legendary memory.

A day off in Stockholm provided time for Stefan Olmars of the Jussi Bjorling Society to escort Joan and myself to the Jussi Bjorling Museum and Bjorling's gravesite, some two and half hours away by train. The museum is usually closed on Mondays, but the accommodating staff opened the facility so Joan could fulfill her dream of visiting these shrines to the great opera singer's memory. At the end of the visit, a press conference was held, and Joan posed for photos with a bronze statue of Bjorling.

From this point the tour was quickly winding down. Little time off remained and lots of bus miles were required to complete the tour so it was time to put the old noses to the grindstone! Antwerp, Belgium was followed by a return to the U.K. with shows in Reading and Salisbury, where Todd opened the case for his upright bass at the tour's final soundcheck and discovered that the neck had been broken off during transportation to the Hexagon venue. Quick action by Jason and one of our favorite promoters, Mark Howes, resulted in a bass arriving in time for the final concert. After the show we were all delivered to a Heathrow Airport hotel where flights would take most of us to our homes in the U.S. the next day. Joan and Jason headed to an event in Prague, Czech Republic, where Joan would sing with the Symphony Orchestra and join Vaclav Havel in a tribute to the 20th aniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

This tour report would not be complete without thanking all those concertgoers who make Joan Baez' continued performing an exciting joy for all of us. Amazing things are happening for Joan as she continues to sing and be an activist for the social causes, taking the members of her tour team on an exciting ride! Personally, I need to thank, once again, the familiar faces of fans I see often all over the world, and especially those few who help with the tour product management like Catherine and Didier from France and Germany's Michaela and Andrea. Please keep your eyes on the tour schedule. You never know when we'll be in your neighborhood!

All photos by Jim Stewart, 2009

Be sure to take a look at the many other photos from this tour. Enjoy!

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