The beach in Seaside Heights, NJ is the perfect location for listening to a song to a seagull this Friday, July 26, 2024 evening as Joni Mitchell fans ready themselves for a “Joni Jam” by Jersey Shore musician Emily Grove.
A former student at Boston’s famed Berklee College of Music, Grove has shared the stage with artists such as Glen Burtnick, Willie Nile, and Marshall Crenshaw, and has toured the US and the UK with British musician David Ford. A feather in her cap includes a well-received opening set at Jay Leno’s recent State Theatre New Jersey performance in New Brunswick.
Rolling Stone magazine once referred to Joni Mitchell as “one of the greatest songwriters ever,” and allmusic.com went on to proclaim, “When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century.”
Originally a visual artist, Mitchell — born Roberta Joan Anderson in Alberta, Canada — began her music career singing in small nightclubs in her native country but, in 1965, moved to the United States and began touring. Making her album debut with 1968’s Song to a Seagull, she and her music went on to help define a generation with such popular compositions as “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Woodstock,” along with a series of critically-acclaimed albums including Blue, Court and Spark, The Hissing of Summer Lawns, and Hejira.
As the sun begins to set, Grove makes her entrance onto the beach stage located near the boardwalk just south of Seaside’s Casino Pier. Opening her show with “Dreamland,” hypnotic percussion with an island vibe surrounds music lovers who are stretched out over the sand as Grove sings in her clear, sweet voice, “Walter Raleigh and Chris Columbus/Come marching out of the waves,” on this rhythmic 1977 Joni Mitchell tune.
Guitarists Ray Suhy and Stephen Bryant, keyboardist Michael Gilch, bassist Cody McCorry, horn player John Martin, and drummer Steve Honoshowsky join Grove for “Free Man in Paris” on an arrangement which features singers Reagan Richards and Jacquita May perfectly harmonizing with Grove on the tune’s rhythmic “I was a free man in Paris/I felt unfettered and alive” chorus.
After welcoming the crowd, Grove announces, “I’m going to say hello to my dulcimer — it wouldn’t be a Joni show without it.” Here, she segues into “All I Want” from 1971’s Blue, where her expert rhythmic timing is evident as she sings, “I wanna talk to you/I wanna shampoo you/I wanna renew you again and again,” while accompanying herself on the dulcimer.
The crowd cheers, and Grove suggests, “For this next song, we can pretend it’s morning,” as she and guitarist Ray Suhy perform “Morning Morgantown.” Reminding Joni fans that “this year is the 50th anniversary of Court and Spark,” Michael Gilch plays the keyboard as Grove intones in her resonant voice, “Love came to my door/With a sleeping roll/And a madman’s soul/He thought for sure I’d seen him,” on the album’s title cut.
Concertgoers whistle and cheer as Grove sails into 1971’s “Blue.” The sound of the pounding surf adds to the beauty of Mitchell’s melody and lyrics as Grove cries, “Songs are like tattoos/You know I’ve been to sea before/Crown and anchor me/Or let me sail away.” Announcing, “Here’s one about pirates!” Grove and Reagan Richards duet on “The Pirate of Penance” from Song to a Seagull.
Acknowledging, “This version is a little more ‘in your face’ than that other version,” Grove follows up with her take on “Woodstock.”
Caroling, “We are stardust/We are golden/And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden,” Grove demonstrates her impressive vocal range backed by an upbeat arrangement which features Suhy and Stephen Bryant dueling on guitars.
Strumming her dulcimer, Grove tells a story on “A Case of You” before Cody McCorry skillfully handles the bass part originally created by virtuoso fusion bassist Jaco Pastorius on Grove’s breezy performance of “Coyote.”
Following up with the buoyant “Carey,” Emily channels a circa-1974 Miles of Aisles-era Joni as music lovers enjoy the ocean air while tapping their feet in the sand.
Accompanying herself on dulcimer, Grove’s voice skips to the beat of the rhythmic ballad, “California.” Following ardent cheers, Grove and the band rock and roll to an upbeat version of “In France They Kiss on Main Street.”
Jacquita May is the featured vocalist on the jazzy 1974 Top Ten pop single, “Help Me,” and Reagan Richards handles the lead on the 1969 Clouds ballad, “I Don’t Know Where I Stand.”
Revealing that her next number is one Joni Mitchell wrote to get Bob Dylan to chat with her, Emily sings lead on the rhythmic “Talk to Me.” Then, John Martin’s saxophone punctuates the evening air on Grove’s masterful take on “The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines,” a jazzy number from 1979’s Mingus which elicits avid cheers and applause.
As the sun sets, for her final selection, Grove and friends chant, “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone?” on “Big Yellow Taxi,” before Emily and Co. deliver a rousing encore of “Raised on Robbery,” leaving the crowd aching for more.
For further information about Emily Grove, please go to facebook.com/EmilyGrove. To learn more about free upcoming summer concerts in Seaside Heights — including Soul Shine, An Allman Brothers Concert Experience on August 15 — please click on exit82.com.
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