What is Rickie Lee Jones Like Live These Days?

RLJ is coming to a town near me next month. I'm a casual fan and have read that her live performances can be erratic - a bit like Dylan's.

Looking at youtube footage - none of it professionally shot - I'm undecided. Her setlists seem pretty good but the impression I get is that she doesn't always deliver.

Anyone had any direct experience? I seem to recall a few reports on here a few years back....

 

If you're talking about the Leamington Spa gig ... just go, don't overthink it. I have no idea what she's like live, never having seen her, but the thought of seeing one of the genuine greats in such a comparatively small venue (the capacity is only 400 seated) left no room for hesitation. I felt that I'd kick myself if I passed up the opportunity.

 

Yes, I was and I think you're probably right.

 

I wonder if she is really erratic, or if it's just the usual thing where different standards are applied to female performers than male ones? I asked a venue owner I know about booking her, and he was wary due to the stories - but they could have been spread by another venue owner who hit on her and was rebuffed. Who here has seen her in concert?

 

I've been looking and can't find it now but I seem to remember someone posted something about her in the 'rudest performer' thread a while back. Apparently, she can be a bit like Chrissie Hynde with audiences. Press reviews seem to be mostly good but 'ordinary punters' speak of variability (of the Dylan variety).

You may have a point about the 'hitting on' aspect of it, though.

 

We went to see her about 3 years ago in a club, playing with a local pick-up band. It was wonderful, really good, and she was in great voice and spirit.

 

I've seen her great and I've seen her bad. she played a venue in my area a couple of years back and she's no longer allowed there. then I heard last time she was around it was really good. I'd say it's worth the gamble.

 

Rickie Lee Jones can be rude to me any time she likes. I'd go.

 

Saw her many years ago, probably around 1990 at the Wiltern in LA. She and her band were excellent then. Don't know much about her shows now though.

 

For being rude? That's ridiculous. Unless she trashed the place, seems like a double standard in play.

 

I saw her five years ago in a small theater and it was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. She played piano and guitar with only another guitarist and a cellist for accompaniment.

 

I believe she had a problem with drugs and alcohol for a while. That may have been it.

 

I wasn't there but I heard she was rude and abusive to her band, the audience and the venue staff. the venue even sent letters to all of the attendees apologizing for her behavior and that she was no longer welcome there.

found the revue.

Rickie Lee Jones @ The Egg, 4/29/11

 

That's the kind of gal I like

 

A friend of mine who has seen her many times gave up on solo shows. He's said "Rickie Lee Jones just solo, following her train of thought, can be a very dangerous thing."

 

we saw rickie lee at a club on long island several years back.the front table were like $75 a person and $35 for standing.at the front table,3 women kept trying to talk to rickie lee between every song like they were her long lost family.then they started with the cell phones.and this was in a club setting! she finally had to put them in their place.the same night,a guy near the back was talking quite loudly so she could even hear it on stage.she threatened to come and find him after the show with an empty beer bottle if he shut the **** up.she wasn't feeling well to begin with so she was already on edge. after a while she settled in and it was a very good show.

 

I've seen her twice (back in 2003/04 on her The Evening Of My Best Day tour, and 5 or 6 years ago when she played her first two albums in their entirety, but not in sequence), and she behaved like a good little girl both times. As far as I could tell, she didn't make anyone in her band or in the audience cry...

I'd say if you're at all interested, go see her. IIRC, her tickets aren't that expensive, and at least something unexpected might happen. Unlike most veteran acts where tickets cost $100+ and shows & setlists are planned down to the second.

 

Fixed that for you.

 

I saw her last summer . She was touring as a trio ( guitar, and a exceptionally good percussionist ). I've seen her 4-5 times and this was the best.

On the topic of her being difficult, I previously saw her in Chicago at Lincoln Hall. She started late, everybody was waiting in line to get in because she was trying to get the soundcheck right. During the gig she kept calling the soundman, Sound-BOY.

 

I saw her shortly after he debut came out and then again on The Magazine tour. More recently I've seen her twice at the Stoughton Opera House, a small Wisconsin venue with gorgeous acoustics. I'm not sure I'll go again. Her voice still has tremendous power, but she doesn't have as much control over it. It might have just been an off night.

 

I saw her live 3 times. Some ups and downs.

1997, Paradiso, Amsterdam: Awful. All of Ghostyhead, with "Running From Mercy" and Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic" as encores. That was all.
2010, North Sea Jazz, Rotterdam: Wonderful, with probably the best versions of "Satellites", "We Belong Together" and "On Sunday Afternoons in 1963" I've ever heard.
2013, Paradiso, Amsterdam: Better than in 1997 and again a career spanning setlist. Very good, but a small step down from 2010. At times it sounded like RLJ wasn't that interested.

 

As @Sordel has mentioned above this is a no-brainer. Rickie is one of those artists that I would travel to the UK to see in concert. Luckily, she is playing Dublin this time around but, initially, I had thought about doing Edinburgh as well.

No issues at any of the gigs I attended in the past. I met her outside the Jazz Cafe in London about 10 years ago and I found her very pleasant.

 

BTW, the contrast between those early shows was amazing. For the first concert she came out in a black negligee holding a bottle of Jack Daniels. She put it on the piano and drank two-thirds of it during the course of the performance. Her voice kept getting stronger and stronger as the night went on. For The Magazine tour, everyone came out wearing warm up suits and went through near-calisthenics dance routines. Both were great shows, but incredibly different from each other.

 

I've seen RLJ four times over the years and each time has been excellent and a different experience. The first show was when her first album came out and was simply spectacular, encoring with the then unreleased "Rainbow Sleeves." In 1984 it was totally different almost multi-media production supporting "The Magazine" album. My wife and I waited at the stage door in the snow to meet her and she ended up inviting us backstage. I still have the autographed "RLJ" songbook somewhere. We next saw her on the tour for "Pop Pop" which of course included some incredible covers including the breathtaking Coming Back to Me finale. The last time we saw her was about five years ago in a small club with a small combo playing songs from her first two albums. It was a great show but a bit too short at just over an hour. Just a few more songs would have made it feel perfect.

No problems the times I saw her, but I've heard she can be prickly and unpredictable. I'd say go to the show if you haven't seen her before. Chances are good that it will be well worth it and at the very least interesting.

 

This sounds close to my experiences with my first two shows. I don't remember a bottle, but she definitely was feeling better as the night went on. Fantastic show though.