The singer and her guitar
There had been the usual announcement about switching off handphones, etc. The background music which had been playing and switched off for the announcement resumed after that. A while later, the auditorium lights were lowered, the background music faded off. No movement on stage – well, not really a stage, as in it wasn’t a raised platform, but a performing area. Then, a guitar started, but there was no one on stage. Where was it coming from? The black curtains behind the performing area parted a little and a slight figure walked out. It had to be her. She walked up to the microphone and the lights came up but just enough to show it was her.
Janis Ian plucking the six-string guitar slung across her shoulders.
And that was all there was to the performance. All night. She played two sets of roughly 50 minutes each, with a 15-minute intermission.
You couldn’t have asked for a purer performance than that. Just the singer and her guitar. Singing her songs. With some stories in-between.
More on the songs and the stories later. For now, two pictures, one from each set. No flash, taken from where I sat, five rows back but higher than the performing area. This was my view of her that night.
Set 1
A formal outfit, and her signature icon as background during the first song |
Set 2
Something more casual, and a bare performing area this time |
Note – Apparently, the guitar was hooked up to synthesizer effects that gave it a full-bodied sound and an additional array of sonic palette. Read full story here:
MTVAsia.com Review: Janis Ian Live in Singapore
