Just found this piece on Marianne Faithfull, there's a great version of Sister Morphine amongs others.

[www.expressnightout.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-09-28 18:40 by pgarof.

Thanks for posting. I like to know how Marianne is faring. Glad she's healthy and still off drugs, and feeling creative!

On november 14 I see her concert at the Paradiso in Amsterdam



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-09-30 00:30 by rini.

The Easy Come Easy Go Tour [www.mariannefaithfull.org.uk]

[whats left after four done dates in the US]

3rd October 2009
Royce Hall, California, USA

4th October 2009
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass: Golden Gate Park, California, USA

9th October 2009
Henry Miller Library: Big Sur, California, USA

13th November 2009
Ancienne Belgique: Zaal Staand, Brussels, Belgium

14th November 2009
Paradiso, Amsterdam, Holland

16th November 2009
Kongresshaus: Kongressaal, Zurich, Switzerland

17th November 2009
Salle des Fêtes de Thônex, Geneva, Switzerland

Tour kicked off at Town Hall in NYC a few days ago. Here's NPR's review:

Concert Review: Marianne Faithfull At Town Hall

Last night, I was fortunate enough to see Marianne Faithfull at Town Hall in New York City. I had no idea what to expect from the singer, which is my favorite mindset to be in before a show begins. Faithfull's band, which included legendary guitarist Marc Ribot, came onstage first. Then Faithfull herself entered, wearing high-waisted black satin pants, a white dress shirt and long, dangling pearls; it was Chanel meets March of the Penguins.

Faithfull is a warm but eerie presence on stage. She looks at the audience -- stares at them, actually -- like she's willing her demons onto you. But Faithfull is not sinister, merely honest, merely forging connections, carving out dark, sensual passages with her words and demeanor. Her singing voice is low: a dirt-filled engine-like rumble that occasionally picks up enough speed to soar.
Faithfull's set consisted mostly of covers, from The Decemberists' "The Crane Wife" to Jackson C. Frank's "Kimbie." She sang "Hold On, Hold On" by Neko Case with such anthemic gloom that it sounded like Morrissey, and when she did Morrissey's "Dear God, Please Help Me," the dramatic sour was all Marlene Dietrich.

A cunning and adept interpreter of songs, Faithfull manages to simultaneously crawl inside of a tune and comment on its meaning. Like someone who has spent so many years in the spotlight, and also in its shadowy underbelly, she has the dual ability to be both the watcher and the watched. Faithfull possesses a self-awareness that is unnerving, bold and wholly admirable.

But what I have yet to get across is that this concert was fun -- funny even -- and joyful. For all the strangeness and myth that Faithfull embodies, she seems very grounded and vibrant. In between songs, she joked about the aging process, responded to comments from the audience and told stories from her past. At one point, during an instrumental break in a song, she sat down on a stool and proceeded to remove her stiletto-heeled boots. The boots were stubbornly tight and difficult to take off, so she missed her cue to come back in. She stayed put, finished her task and gestured to the band to keep playing without her.

The demystification of an artist, or an art form, is a sometimes uncomfortable and not always fruitful. As an audience, we want to witness authenticity but not someone completely untethered from the splendor, mystery and otherworldliness of performing and singing. Marianne Faithful is the rare combination of the real and the imagined; she succeeds at being wholly present while also having presence. I, for one, found her to be an inspiration.

And a blog review:

I must admit I came to New York City’s Town Hall with low expectations. Yes, I’ve long followed the extraordinary life story of Marianne Faithfull, but I didn’t expect her to be the significant talent that she is. I was wrong. She definitely won me over. The moment of truth came when Faithfull performed As Tears Go By, the Mick Jagger-Keith Richards song that made her famous at age 17 in 1965. This time the naive innocent voice is gone, replaced by the sound of a woman who has lived a very hard life. There’s nothing like surviving 40 years of sex, drugs and rock ’n roll to bring a genuine maturity to the human voice. It reminded me of the old saying that to be a real bluesman, one has to live the blues. Faithfull most certainly has, and is now a far more powerful singer because of it.

The diversity of her material is impressive. Backed by a nine piece orchestra with violin and cello, accompanying the normal rock ensemble, the concert was to promote Easy Come, Easy Go, Faithfull’s 22th album. The title song, from Bessie Smith, was from another woman who scrapped her way to the top. There are, however, a diverse range of songwriters on the record—from Dolly Parton and Merle Haggard to Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.

Faithfull was joined on stage for a couple of songs, including Many a Mile to Freedom by Jenni Muldaur, daughter of Maria and Geoff Muldaur. Faithfull also did a powerful turn In Germany Before the War by Randy Newman. Her latest CD was produced by Hal Wilner, a man who has pulled remarkable performances from a woman many had written off long ago. Fans gave Faithfull repeated standing ovations, which she well deserved.