MICHAEL McDONALD and JOAN OSBORNE
at
WOLF TRAP FILENE CENTER, Vienna VA
July 10, 2005
by Dawn! E. Robinson
for VocalMusician.com
JOAN OSBORNE
You know what? The kid's got guts! JOAN OSBORNE opened the show at the Wolf Trap Filene Center this evening with only a guitarist and drummer/percussionist as backup and gave a performance I can probably best describe as... courageous. Dressed in a long clingy black skirt and black t-shirt she opened with a song I think was called "Spider Web" before doing her hit song "St. Teresa." That edgy, gritty texture that I like in her upper vocal register was definitely present this evening, but her higher notes were a bit under the pitch. Whether it was nerves, the heat and humidity or the fact that the two guys playing behind her weren't giving her much support, I don't know. At any rate, she followed with the bluesy-folksy "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" and a song I think was called "Hallelujah." Then she made a really ambitious, but strange attempt at Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (to be Loved By You)." Strange, I say, because, except for the lyrics, the song didn't sound at all like "How Sweet It Is (to be Loved By You)." It was hard to know if the guitar player just didn't know the song or if they were deliberately trying to alter the melody. Regardless, the result was that she started to lose the audience. But she got us back by saying a few words about the film documentary on The Funk Brothers, STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN, in which she had made a stellar appearance. She then did "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted" which had been a high point in the film. Here though, with only the guitar and drums behind her, she just sounded kind of out there on her own. But I think the audience still appreciated it. She followed with probably her biggest hit to date, "(What If God Was) One of Us," which got rousing applause and she ended with a song I think was called "Only You Know and I Know." Overall, I've heard OSBORNE sing better than she did this evening. Also, I really wish her vibe hadn't been so... apologetic - as if someone had told her that no one in Vienna VA would know her who she was. She seemed almost afraid to move. She did her whole set basically standing in one spot behind the mic stand, only really moving to give a cue to the "band." She seemed genuinely excited to be opening for MICHAEL McDONALD but she also seemed really uncomfortable and apprehensive on the Filene Center's huge stage. I'd like to see her live again though, but next time, with a full band.
MICHAEL McDONALD
The fact of the matter is I JUST LOVE hearing this white-haired man SING!!! And, although he sounded a bit road-weary, MICHAEL McDONALD still served rich, smooth, baritone vocals this evening. He is one of those rare singers who get you with the first note they sing. He began with "Peace," accompanying himself on keyboard. Then the rest of the band - sax, Hammond B3, guitar, bass, drums and backup vocals - went into the Doobie Brothers' hit "It Keeps You Runnin'." He followed with "Sweet Freedom" from the movie RUNNING SCARED which he dedicated to the late Gregory Hines (who starred in the film) and then his first solo hit, "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near). McDONALD then acknowledged his opening act, JOAN OSBORNE, and spoke a bit about the Motown documentary and his two CDs of Motown tunes before performing THE FOUR TOPS' "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" and a pairing of The Stylistics' "You Are Everything" and "Stop, Look, Listen." Next he sang "Ain't No Love To Be Found" from his Blue Obsession CD as a duet with his drummer/vocalist which ROCKED. Another Motown set followed with Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," Stevie Wonder's "All in Love is Fair" (which, BTW, he does live much better than the recorded version on Motown) and The Miracles' "I Second That Emotion." Next came Doobie Brothers' hits "You Belong To Me" and "What a Fool Believes" before another Motown medley of "You're All I Need To Get By"/Ain't No Mountain High Enough"/"Ain't Nothin' Like the Real Thing." He then took the crowd to church with a gospel-inspired keyboard solo which led into "Takin' It to the Streets" and closed the show. For encores McDONALD did "Hey Girl," "What's Goin' On," and "On My Own" (with drummer singing the Patti LaBelle parts). By that point he got the cut-off sign from back stage and said his goodnights.
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