Photos and review by ALYSON CAMUS
LOS ANGELES – Joni Mitchell delivered a spectacular three-hour show at the Hollywood Bowl last week, performing twice in a row, and I was lucky enough to attend Sunday night’s event.
The experience was spectacular for several reasons: First, Joni hasn’t performed often in recent years because of health issues and I thought I’d never have the chance to see her live. Secondly, the show, which was briefly interrupted midway, became truly “star-studded” when Joni returned to the stage joined by Elton John, Meryl Streep, Jon Batiste, Celisse, Annie Lennox, Marcus Mumford, Allison Russell, and Rita Wilson.
Despite the relatively expensive tickets, the Hollywood Bowl was packed from the pool to the nosebleed seats, and the ambiance felt like a nostalgia fest, with mile-long lines at the merchandise booths.
I imagine very few people ever expected Joni Mitchell to perform again. Her return to Los Angeles’ largest outdoor stage was nothing short of a triumph – a career-spanning retrospective filled with deep cuts and crowd favorites, surrounded by famous faces and friends.
At 80, Joni Mitchell, with her two long white braids around her face, performed while seated on a royal-looking white and gold throne, using a cane to keep the beat of the music. Throughout the three-hour show, she didn’t stand up, yet her voice remained strong and even powerful without losing any of her trademark wit. Choosing material from a half-century-long career can be tricky, and while Joni could have stuck to just the hits – some of which, such as “A Case of You,” California,” and “Circle Game” were included in the setlist – she also chose to perform many deep cuts. Regardless, every song was met with enthusiastic and loving appreciation from the crowd.
Superfan Brandi Carlile, who, according to Mitchell, brought her “out of retirement,” provided backup vocals throughout the entire show, alongside vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius. Carlile was obviously at the top of a mountain during the entire night: “Shit Joni,” she said, “I thought you sounded good last night but holy (cow) you sound unbelievable tonight,” Carlile said at one point. Mitchell’s voice has lowered as it is expected with age, so her high soprano is now something of the past, but her phrasing and the unusual rhythms of her music remain intact.
The Hollywood stage was packed with the most hyped band you could have imagined, the so-called Joni jam: there was a good representation of the young generation including British songwriter Jacob Collier on piano, Abe Rounds on drums, Wendy & Lisa from Prince and the Revolution, Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons fame on percussion, Celisse on bass, Sistarstrings (who played with Brandi last time I saw her) on strings, Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith, Carlile’s longtime collaborators Tim and Phil Hanseroth, Taylor Mackall, and Blake Mills (the musical director for the Joni Jammers) on guitars plus Joni’s longtime collaborator trumpet and soprano sax player Mark Isham. It was a full house, but it became even more star-studded during the second half, with more famous faces joining in.
In any case, the intergenerational band served as a powerful demonstration of the impact of Mitchell’s music across generations, testifying to her influence and the broad appreciation of her work. The audience was equally diverse in age, with entire families present, although boomers (and older generations) were well represented.
The first part of the show featured a mix of melancholy or more upbeat songs performed by the Joni Jam band, with Joni herself occasionally sipping white wine from a large glass between songs and smiling throughout. This brought a real intimacy to the show happening in such a large venue. Joni sitting among her close friends, having a little conversation in the most relaxed way you could imagine. She was even laughing at the end of each song. It was a wonderfully eclectic set, including many songs I wasn’t very familiar with. Some songs made their live debut, while others hadn’t been played in decades, as the setlist reflected Joni’s personal favorites and a deep dive into her vast catalog.
After “Be Cool,” “Harlem in Havana (a live debut), “Hejira,” “Cherokee Louise,” she delighted the crowd with the much loved “Coyote,” followed by a long series of songs including “Carey,” “The Sire of Sorrow,” “Sunny Sunday,” “If I Had a Heart,” “Refuge of the Roads,” “Night Ride Home.” She also performed one of her collaborations with Charles Mingus, “God Must Be a Boogie Man,” and the first set closed with the timeless “Both Sides, Now,” leaving the entire audience teary-eyed or at least overwhelmed by powerful emotions and cherished memories.
When the Hollywood Bowl’s rotating stage turned for the second time, Elton John, Meryl Streep, Annie Lennox, Jon Batiste, singer Allison Russell, and actor Rita Wilson had joined the large band. The audience erupted with excitement during the first song, the beloved anthem “Big Yellow Taxi,” which quickly became a singalong. This second half focused on more upbeat tunes, with Batiste rocking on the piano during “Raised on Robbery.” Marcus Mumford took the lead on “California,” sitting next to a delighted Joni Mitchell, while Lennox performed “Ladies of the Canyon” with her signature powerful pipes.
By this point, I was expecting each celebrity to take a turn covering a song, but Elton John, without moving from his seat, joined Joni only for an edited version of his hit “I’m Still Standing.” It was a comical moment, with Joni seated on her throne while singing the lyrics. Carlile explained that Elton John and Bernie Taupin received the Gershwin prize and Joni was happy to fly to Washington DC and sing this song: “She said she’d do it if she could just do the most Joni Mitchell thing ever which is rewrite all the lyrics to the verses.” “Not all of them just some of them” Joni added, “This is called ‘I’m Still Standing,’ but I think we’ll have to call it ‘I’m Still Sitting’ after all these years.”
Mitchell remained in the spotlight of the stage despite the amazing star-power surrounding her, but the incredible cast seemed genuinely thrilled to share the spotlight with the folk icon. I noticed Meryl Streep raising her arms to the sky a few times or covering half her face with her hands in emotional disbelief. Streep likely joined the chorus on a few songs, but her presence was initially a bit puzzling. I assumed she was simply a dedicated fan joining the celebration, but I later read that she is rumored to play one of the versions of Joni in an upcoming Cameron Crow biopic.
After the Gershwin classic, “Summertime,” the catchy chorus of “Come in From the Cold” with Joni on vocals, “A Case of You” was a showstopper with moving strings and piano keys, earning a standing ovation from the entire Bowl including Elton John. ”Still I’d be on my feet/I would still be on my feet,” she sang still seated.
She dedicated one of her most political songs, “Dog Eat Dog” – a track that mentions “snakebite evangelists and racketeers and big wig financiers and explores themes of lies, cheating, and scams – to Donald Trump without even pausing in her singing.
The song “Shine” transformed the entire Bowl into a scene of Christmas magic with a gospel vibe, as thousands of iPhones lit up the audience. “You are beautiful, once in a lifetime!” Brandi exclaimed while Joni encouraged everyone to take civic action, saying, “Don’t forget to vote!”
They closed the three-hour show with an incredible rendition of “The Circle Game,” which brought the entire Bowl to its feet as a visibly emotional Joni stood up for a few minutes. It was clear there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience.
Setlist
Set 1:
Be Cool
Harlem in Havana
Hejira
Cherokee Louise (followed by band introductions)
Coyote
Carey
The Sire of Sorrow (Job’s Sad Song)
God Must Be a Boogie Man
Sunny Sunday
If I Had a Heart
Refuge of the Roads
Night Ride Home
Both Sides, Now
Set 2:
Big Yellow Taxi (followed by band introductions)
Raised on Robbery
California (with Marcus Mumford)
The Magdalene Laundries
Ladies of the Canyon (with Annie Lennox)
Summertime (George Gershwin cover)
Come in From the Cold
A Case of You
I’m Still Standing (Elton John cover) (with Elton John) (“Joni version” lyrics edit)
Dog Eat Dog
Amelia
If
Shine
The Circle Game