Review and illustration by A.E. Kieren
Friday, March 12, Joanna Newsom performed the opening date of her new North American tour in Grand Rapids, at the Calvin College Chapel. The Chapel was an ideal venue for Newsom. The audience was seated in 360 degrees surrounding Newsom and her enormous orchestra harp. Calvin's Show Promoter, Kenneth Heffner rightfully bragged that even when filled to its 1,000 seat capacity, no audience member is ever further than 50 feet away from the act.
Newsom played a two-hour set of mostly new material, with the occasional bone thrown in for the fans of her previous albums. The new songs are all wonderful and she gave a great show. It should be mentioned though, that apart from a Joanna Newsom concert, there might be few opportunities to watch a beautiful woman play a full-size pedal harp. The visual element of the experience adds another dimension of value to the concert tickets. After the set, Miss Newsom graced the audience with an encore, followed by a brief, moderated Q&A.
The show was a unique and extraordinary live music experience.
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