The South Riding RV Travels
				285
04th May 2007- Judy Collins Concert Architecture
In Buffalo there is an excellent concert hall called Kleinhan's Music Hall. Some six months ago I had spotted an advert for a concert by Judy Collins for this weekend. Jan being a lifelong fan of hers, we had planned our trip this year to be able to attend this concert. As with many concert halls this is externally not the most exciting building in the world. It is the home of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, an orchestra of some renown with a reputation for promoting popular modern classics. It was holding a season of events one of which was this evening with Judy Collins. I did worry a little when the tickets arrived since there was only mention of the orchestra and no mention of her. I began to wonder if I had actually paid a lot of money for the orchestra playing tracks she had made famous. The hall is between a good area of Buffalo and one of the less desirable. We came in through the latter. We had to pay for the parking and we caused some confusion since they had never had to park an RV before and didn't know what to charge us. We settled on three car spaces - expensive - but what the hell.... The hall is impressive and the concert on the Friday was not a sellout, unlike the Saturday when a full 2500 patrons were expected. The orchestra was the full blown thing and they played several pieces in the first half (more a quarter). The conductor was a bit of a character who we nicknamed Zebedee after his habit of jumping off the ground to emphasize the point. They also had an item by a local music college choir who sang "We shall overcome". They were excellent but we were struck by how many were of African descent, which surprised us for the Buffalo area. Judy Collins was as good as we had hoped and covered a huge range of material. She joked about now having to draw her social security (pension) but her singing was no different to that on the albums we have from the 1970s... It was a very polished performance with the star in total control. Between songs she talked of the people she had known and worked with like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, and of her father and the influence of his music on her. It was clear to me how she had managed to last with a career which now spans over 50 years as a performer. It all seemed effortless. As we left we overheard one of the gentlemen ushers for the hall say "Gee - that's one AWESOME dame!" A real highlight with which to start our tour of the north-east corner of North America. Collins' quiet charm stands out By Mary Kunz Goldman News Classical Music Critic Concert Review Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra With Judy Collins on Friday and Saturday in Kleinhans Music Hall

Judy Collins is known as such an activist that you would think that when you joined the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra in Kleinhans Music Hall, she would subject us all to her politics. Not so. A discreet, a cappella version of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" - sure, but that was a great lovable 1962 song and was delivered with no sermons.
    Collins' voice, with its sweet high notes, is holding up well. It's on the thin side, but big, powerful pipes were never her stock and trade.
    Her quiet charm was apparent from the start. Sweeping onto the stage in a long, glimmering white suit, she launched right into her biggest hit, "Both Sides Now." could give you a funny feeling. Collins' voice was that close to what you hear on the record. It could have been thirty years ago.
    But it wasn't, and Collins alluded to her age with self-deprecating humour. I'm thrilled to be here," she told us. "I'm thrilled to be anywhere these days."
    Hers is still the voice of the flower child, with a kind of built-in, "Wow." As her set unfolded, the orchestra didn't have a lot to do. Reminiscing, Collins lapsed dreamily into lines and verses of this song and that, singing all by herself.
    You get the sense she's proud of her vocal abilities and enjoys them. The songs she meandered into - "My Funny Valentine", "Shenandoah" - tended to have big leaps. Collins would hold the high notes, just for the fun of it.
    "Send in the Clowns" was everything you'd hope for. Collins also branched out into a standards medley, including "They Can't Take That Away From Me" and "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off."
    The crowd loved her, giving her a fervent standing ovation. She obliged with an a cappella "Amazing Grace" asking all to join in.