Waitsfield, VT - Nov. 18, 2006

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shari
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Waitsfield, VT - Nov. 18, 2006

Postby shari » Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:23 pm

Sue Ellen posted to the setlist site. Here is the link to the setlist, followed by Sue Ellen's wonderful review! Enjoy!!!

http://ellispaul.setlistarchives.org/showlist.php?show=200611183

Antje was as beautiful in voice and presence as ever. She started with some brief comments on existential angst and opened with Diamonds. She then moved into "a happier song": Go Now. After, she said, "Well you may not think that was to up-beat, but after this next one you will": Judas. It was the most emotive I've heard, and brought tears to my eyes. She made a few comments about her songs "kind of being downers," and added that she tends to do that to people; she told a story about pulling through a toll booth and the agent commenting that he loved his job, that beautiful women kept coming by to give him money. She responded by saying, "Yeah, but then they leave you and you don't even get to keep the money." Next up was Pearls, followed by a new song, which is on her myspace page, I Was Lost, which apparently has generated calls from many ex-boyfriends. Antje ended with Jerusalem. It was really great to hear her.

This was my first Ellis Paul show in my home state and it was perfectly home. The venue is along Route 100, in Waitsfield, a rather large town, relatively speaking. The venue is an old, brick Town Hall type building, with that dusty, musty old New England churchy smell that reminded me of the Mill Village Chapel I went to when I was little. I was half expecting church ladies in hats with a pot-luck layout, but was not disappointed by the coffee and donuts. The bathroom out front was really cold, and I couldn't help peek into the closet door, which opened to a little brick passage-way that lead under a staircase. The crowd was appreciative, in a stoic, Vermont kind of way, and I kept having the sense I was at Town Meeting. In fact, it actually was a town meeting: In introducing Home, Ellis offered the audience a choice between the perfect version in the Key of White, or the imperfect B-flat version. The vote was by show of hands, not a single hand went up for the "Perfect" version. The town meeting continued when Ellis asked for requests for his last tune. Many requests were shouted out, including a request for an encore of Maria's Beautiful Mess. Someone toward the back to the right requested 3000 miles. Ellis said, "Okay 3000 Miles. Any protests?" After several seconds of silence, someone to the front on the left said, "Yes." Ellis looked over quizzically, brows raised, and three or four people, in unison, replied in a disgruntled, reprimanding sort of way, "Martyr's Lounge." After another pause, Ellis said, "Okay....3000 Miles." To his gracious credit, he did perform Martyr's Lounge as his final encore.

Ellis and Antje performed on a good-sized stage, and I don't think there was a bad seat in the house as far as listening went. Consistent with the Town Meeting aura, the chairs themselves were designed to keep one alert through dicomfort. The sound was great and clear, even when they were unplugged. Ellis told tons of stories, and was very soulful in his singing in playing.

Thanks Sue Ellen!!!

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Sue Ellen
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Postby Sue Ellen » Sun Nov 19, 2006 2:23 pm

Thank you Shari, your site is great, and after putting dinner in the oven, I am relieved not to have to rewrite the show notes.

The only thing to add is that my dad went with me, not because he was overly interested in hearing Ellis or Antje, but because he didn't want me driving up the 100 by myself at night; fathers seem adamently opposed to that particular proposition. The drive up was funny, because my dad, who was born in Windsor and has lived in Vermont almost his entire life (save for short stints in Delaware (yes that state whose existence I always lament) Pennsylvania and Massachusettes) kept wondering if we had some how missed Waitsfield....You'd enter a town (Pittsfield, Randolph, Hancock, Lower Granville, Granville, etc.), pass a church and thirty seconds later leave the town. He did not appreciate it when I said, "Must be, we just passed a sign that said, "Bienvenue au Canada."

Well, he really enjoyed the show, and even though he sat with his arms crossed, in that reserved old Yankee kind of way, he chuckled at least a dozen times at Ellis's stories, thought he was "masterfull" and was so appreciative of Anjte that, after he told Ellis how much he enjoyed his show as we were leaving, that he really enjoyed his "female" as well.

Sue Ellen
"...I implore you, I entreat you, I challenge you to speak with conviction, to say what you believe, in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it, because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker, it is not enough these days to "question" authority, you have to speak with it, too."
Taylor Mali, "Like, You Know?"

mm
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Postby mm » Sun Nov 19, 2006 10:14 pm

Sue Ellen, thanks for an awesome description of that show. I could very much imagine almost being there and the ambience. Sounds like a really good one. And your dad there!

wendy
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Postby wendy » Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:13 am

Sounds just about classic! I love your analogies to the classic New England Town Meeting. After that response, you'd better believe they'll go home and talk about Ellis and Antje for the next several days... :lol:

Thanks for the great reports!
-wendy

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KarenZ
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Postby KarenZ » Tue Nov 21, 2006 12:13 pm

Sue Ellen,

Thanks for such a wonderful report. Had to chuckle at the image of you peeking in the closet. I guess you were multi-tasking again. ;)

But the audience had to request "3000 Miles"? :shock: Jeezum crow.

KarenZ
"Some people are born to make great art and others are born to appreciate it. It is a kind of talent in itself, to be an audience, whether you are the spectator in the gallery or you are listening to the voice of the world's greatest soprano. Not everyone can be the artist. There have to be those who witness the art, who love and appreciate what they have been privileged to see." -- Ann Patchett in Bel Canto.


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