Bettye LaVette at the Old Town School of Folk Music - 5-7-11

[catwoman55]

Just wanted to mention that, this time last Saturday, I was en route to a highly anticipated performance by Bettye LaVette at The Old Town School of Folk Music. And, oh, was a fabulous show it was! Bettye was back at the venue, due to popular demand. To me, Bettye is ALWAYS amazing, and never disappoints...The sold-out crowd, their reactions and number of standing ovations helped to tell the story - perhaps, better than I can.

The set list was similar to the one from the Old Town School performance from last year that I saw but, this time, she included "Damn Your Eyes", a song that she hadn't performed live in several years. Despite the similarity in song choices, though, Bettye and her band's performances NEVER get old, for me...I always notice something different, each time around. Oh, yes, and a BIG shout-out to her band - top notch in every way! You NYC folks are so lucky to have Bettye in residence at the Carlyle...I hope you all get over there to see her.

A couple of fellow SDF folks were also in attendance - Geetee and Paladin. As always, guys, it was fun, hanging out with you two :) And, thanks again, Bettye, for taking time to meet and greet with us after the show. That was a special treat! I should have a couple of photos to upload here from the festivities soon.

If any of you get a chance to see Bettye LaVette, just GO, and get your ticket ASAP, 'cause her shows can sell out with a quickness.

Cat

[GeeTee(HPK)]

Nice review Cat, and we really enjoyed Bettye's performance last Saturday. :D

Thanks again for taking the time to meet,and chat with us afterwards.

The photos should be coming soon. Thanks again ! :D :cool:

[paladin]

Enjoyed is putting it mildly. Although these posts are a tad late, sometimes life gets in the way. Mrs. Lavettes performance at this venue was simply fantastic. I [[we) have saw Betty many times over the years and she commands the stage and your attention like the true professional that she is. Before I go any further let me give you a taste of what Betty is like in person, behind the scenes, up front, close and personal, if you've seen it before, cool... just enjoy it again........ this comes very close to our backstage conversation last Saturday...........


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djuQJDlGpbk&feature=fvwrel

[paladin]

Ok, now back to her performance, Betty simply sang something from all of her last three albums, no I don't remember all the songs, and its not because I don't care, its just that if you see her "live" you will remember two or three tunes but probably not all of them. Each time she performs there's something magical that happens, in essence, her persona takes over and you begin to care about her vocal delivery and dynamic execution of the material. You know her range, she rarely purr's but she can dam sure growl while simultaneously expressing a wide range of emotions, the hurt, sadness and love contained in her subject matter that makes us all human. You begin to care about Betty.......she demands your attention by her stage presence.

The woman can sing anything, but I steadfastly maintain that she can make the most "pop" inflected tune sound like the blues. She can reconstruct the most insignificant ballad and wring out every single teardrop of heart felt emotion leaving you not only stunned but breathless. I am struggling to write this because she is so hard to describe. So don't disregard what I say, in fact I challenge you to see and hear Betty live, its an experience you won't soon forget. Although I have warned you, you may not remember all the songs, but you'll never forget the performance. Many times during the show, I simply had to close my eyes and listen to her band, they are better than exceptional. I'm sure that Gary and Cat will give you their names, you see even though I talked with them, know them, seen them and heard them......I forgot......Betty Lavette is simply that powerful.

Betty knows that I love her and she sang my favorite song "Close as I'll Get To Heaven" and for me everything was right in the world at that moment..... still is, that's something I'll never forget........she received three or four standing ovations.........more later........

[paladin]

Betty reminds me of Mr. Mickey McGill of the Dells. She is a walking testament to the history of the music biz. We had some lengthy discussions about people, places and things after the show. This woman can discuss Motown, Stax, Philly Soul, whatever you want to talk about. As we were just shooting the breeze, she dropped a bomb on me......"she asked me [[us)what was wrong with a mutual friend who shall remain forever and eternally anonymous......I said What? ..... at that point you could hear a pin drop... and I deflected the question and asked who was the gentleman sitting behind and to the left of me, she replied thats so and so from DownBeat Magazine. There was a tad more silence and I looked at her and said truthfully I dont know, this is my short answer, but really I dont know, nor do I care, that persons ego was once the size of Rhode Island, now its as big as Texas. She laughed, we laughed, and then she started giving The ChiTown Mafia suggestions about making people offers that they couldn't refuse........ here is a photo taken by that writer from the DB magazine, thanks to you my friend we get to keep a little bit of history......

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[catwoman55]

Hey, fellas...Great posts :) Thanks for eloquently filling in the gaps in telling the story of our Bettye LaVette experience last weekend. Thanks also to Paladin for posting the photo and video clip.

Cat

[GeeTee(HPK)]

I had to go to Bettye's website,to get the names of her musicians.

Alan Hill [[Music Director/keyboards)
Chuck Bartels [[bass)
Darryl Pierce [[drums)
Brett Lucas [[guitar)

Fantastic bunch of musicians !!!!!!


By the way, take a look at the website. Great layout,and nice photos and info !

http://www.bettyelavette.com/miss_bettye_lavette.html

[paladin]

Great site my friend........ uh guess you forgot too huh ? Anyway yes Cat, some of the names were changed to protect the innocent.......but the impact of her performance is still with me. Gary has this crazy way of getting under my skin.......during the performance he would remark, I know what you're waiting for.....and for a minute I wasn't even cognizant of what he actually meant, but Gary has ears like a bat, and as the band was prepping for my favorite song, Gary said, you ready ? I said What ?? You ready because here it comes...... What????? ...and the band proceeded to crank up the intro into Close as I'll get To heaven.........uncontrollably I yelled out...Thats My Song !!!! Embarrassed yes.....Gary was laughing his azz off.......standing ovation.........fini.......

[catwoman55]

LOL, Paladin! I shouted out when I heard my song, "Joy"...I wasn't ashamed...LMAO Yes...I am still remembering her performance that night, as well as the significant conversation that ensued backstage after the show. Simply priceless...;) There is nothing like face-to-face interaction and communication. Good thing, too, that G. posted the band members' names, 'cause I couldn't remember either [[although I could spot any of those guys on the street)...LOL. Now, let me go back and review that video clip...

[chidrummer]

Damn, I hated missing that gig. Once again, I'll have to wait 'til next time. I've got my ticket for Coffey in June though.

[ralpht]

Great thread dedicated to someone that truly deserves it. Love the pics of Bettye with my main dudes, Kdub and GeeTee. Looking SMOOTH guys.

[paladin]

No problem, "Ralphie Boy"....dam I've been waiting a couple of years to use that Old Honeymooners line......but truthfully you are absolutely right. This woman....Betty Lavette deserves every single accolade that she receives, granted she is a great performer, but she's a better person.