much belated live performance in the most unusual but fitting venue: natalie merchant at the oregon convention center for the public libraries association conference. shar was stoked when she found out that natalie was playing. i never got a chance to see her with 10,000 maniacs or even when she went solo. she's doesn't seem to tour much since becoming a mama. i wasn't really sure why natalie was playing the pla conference, but it made sense when she went into the extensive research she put into her latest album, leave to sleep, out april 13. the album comprises of 19th and 20th century poets. some obscure and some more well-known. i also found out she opened the ted conference last month.
wooooh weeeee. she pretty much went through the entirety of the new album, which my friends is stellar. i particularly loved "the janitor boy", which sounds a lot like nickel creek's "anthony". the inspiration of the song came from a 10 year old gal named nathalia crane, who lived in sheepshead bay, brooklyn. she wrote the poem dedicated to a crush she had on a little red haired boy. shar feels you, nathalia.
i also really loved "if no one ever marries me", original poem by laurence alma-tadema. p.s. she never did marry. natalie saved the best for last coming back for a encore and touchingly, with some tears, dedicating "kind and generous" to all the public librarians in the room.
1 comment:
Oh what a treat! Natalie Merchant is so wonderful live. Your post reminded me of just how great she is (especially live!), and I'm in love with her all over again. Thanks Shar. Public libraries association, huh? charming, and very shar, too.
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