A couple weeks ago I heard Natalie Merchant was playing at Mountain Winery in Saratoga. A week ago, I had an impulse to check it out and asked Grace if she could/wanted to go. I went on StubHub and found some 2nd row center seats. Done and done. We were a little late getting to the venue, which is pretty high up in the mountains above Saratoga. It was beautiful up there. We had just enough time to buy the most expensive concession food ever and take our seats before the Natalie and the band came on stage.
I was tapped on the shoulder by someone sitting next to my old colleague, Phil, who also happens to be a fellow Wolverine. The last time I ran into him was at Somerset in Michigan during the holidays a few years ago. Small world.
It’s been over 10 years since I last saw Natalie live. It must be over 20 years since my first 10,000 Maniacs concert. Natalie was as captivating as ever and her voice sounded great. However, we may all be getting a little older because she forgot the words to the 3rd song, but played it off well. About 1/3 of the show as a lecture on British and American poetry, from which her latest album’s lyrics are taken. Because of the late start, she only had time for a few oldies in her encore and some of her solo and 10,000 Maniacs favorites were notably curtailed from the set list. It was a great show, nonetheless.
Even though we were slightly below the median age of the audience, this was a wild and crazy night for us on a Monday. We need to do this more often…
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2 responses to “Natalie Merchant at Mountain Winery”
sorry i missed it.
she does fit squarely within your favored music genre.