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CARLY SIMON:
Live In Ann Arbor * December 4, 2005
By Robert E. Martin
Photos by Kay McEntee
In late November and early December, Carly Simon - arguably one of the most powerful and successful 'confessional' songwriters to emerge from the '70s - broke a decade long hiatus from touring to perform a small series of shows in intimate theater venues in select American cities that included Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Chicago, and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Almost as legendary for her admitted stage fright as
she is for penning such iconoclastic songs as You're So Vain',
Anticipation, and No Secrets, Carly's December 4th
stop at Ann Arbor's stunningly renovated Michigan Theatre,
witnessed the now 60-year-old pop star at the peak of her powers,
performing songs spanning the breadth of her incredible catalog, laced
with s handful of songs from Moonlight Serenade, her latest take
on selected gems from the American Popular Songbook that was recently
nominated for a Grammy Award this year.
Opening the sold out show were Carly's children,
Ben and Sally Taylor (fathered by then husband James
Taylor) that proved to be the biggest musical surprise of the
evening, perhaps not because of their innately inherited talent so much
as the affable and nonchalant manner in which they handled the stage and
communicated with the audience. As leggy as her famous Mom and lanky as
his famous father, Sally & Ben quickly won over the crowd with a
smattering of their own uniquely crafted compositions; one of the
highlights, a twisted and humorous tale of masculine affections as
chronicled in My Best Girl's Boyfriend, written and performed by Ben,
demonstrating a resonant and intimate vocal timber not unlike that of
his famous father's.
Indeed, at one point Sally addressed the audience,
letting us in on how fortunate we were that this show was even taking
place. "Mom lost her voice to laryngitis last night, so we had to cancel
the Indianapolis show. But thanks to an incredible doctor in Ann Arbor,
she's good to go.' Sally then explained how if Mom were to perform all
of the many hits and classics from her expansive songbook, we would be
listening until dawn, so went on to perform her own version of Mom's
That's the Way I Always Heard it Should Be. At that moment, it was
difficult not be awestruck by Sally's careful vocal balance of
confidence and vulnerability.
Undoubtedly bolstered by having her offspring
gathered around her on-stage during the holiday season, after a brief
intermission Carly Simon took to the stage with her 11-piece band
and proceeded to quickly blow away any doubts about her talented command
of performance. Opening with a medley of songs from Moonlight
Serenade, she went on to joke about how the Uncle from her mother's
side of the family had actually been asked to write lyrics for the
famous Glenn Miller title song, only to have them rejected.
With Sally & Ben playing in the band and backing Mom
up, Carly Simon quickly set about the task of running through the
musical chestnuts that have sparkled and defined her career. Her
enthusiasm for the music and interaction with the audience never
wavered, and indeed grew stronger as her music triggered the undeniable
force of memory in the audience.
By the time she sat at the Steinway Grand Piano
striking the introductory chords to her classic Haven't Got Time for the Pain, the band building the song
with note-for-note perfection, my spine was tingling by the powerful
emotive passion emanating from the lower registers of Carly's
unmistakable alto voice, the audience spellbound by the tales of loss
and resurrection embedded in her lyrics.
After an hour and forty-five minute journey through
her musical legacy, Carly's voice was starting to go, even though the
energy was rising. With a closing duet of Mockingbird, which she
performed with son Ben, it was a candlelit glow that radiated from the
faces of the audience as they left the theatre, and one of the best
'Christmas' concerts (even though no Christmas songs were played) that
I've yet to experience.
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