Re: Jane Siberry

[bloch%mandrill@ucsd.edu (Steve Bloch)]

<bilbo@riker.eng.ohio-state.edu> writes:
>	Anyway I was wondering if she's going to tour in the states, or
>has she already ( I assume BBTB has been out for a bit? ).  Well, next
>best are there any videos out there?  Live stuff?  What's she like live
>anyway?
As somebody else posted, she's currently touring in the UK.  I saw her
in a small night club (c. 50 audience) two years ago on the
"the walking" tour.  A sorta largish band, with two or three backup
singers (apparently chosen for vocal qualities that match Jane's) and
three or four other instrumentalists, and I think there was somebody
hiding on the side of the stage with a Mac doing all the MIDI effects
switching.  No fancy dancing about or mime, but a few of the songs
started with an empty stage or everybody frozen, and had performers
walk on/activate one at a time.  She put a few explanatory notes in
between the songs, and added considerably to the monologue in "Mimi on
the Beach".  Having memorized all her albums, I didn't have any strong
reactions to the live show, but my roommate (whom I'd begged to give
me a ride) spent most of the next forty-eight hours lying on his
back in the middle of the living-room floor listening to her.

>	Also I'd like a discography (with catalog #s if possible)too, 
>the only albums I've seen are TSS, BBTB, TW, there is at least one more 
>right?  (Whereis 'Map I'?)  How do her other albums compare to TSS and 
>BBTB (as far as style).
You're missing two albums (that I know of): _No_Borders_Here_, which
precedes TSS (OA-0302), and _Jane_Siberry_ (SR-002), which precedes NBH.
In most moods I consider NBH her best, with JS and TSS tied for second.
OA stands for Open Air, the same Windham Hill (!) subsidiary that holds
TSS, while SR refers to Street Records: 136 Roxborough St. W. Toronto,
Canada M5R 1V1 (416) 923-7484.
As for comparing these with TSS and BTBB, read my review of BTBB
backwards.  The debut album is largely acoustic guitar and voice, as
befits a budding, impoverished musician.  When trying to describe Jane
in a few words, I usually say "Think Kate Bush with more humor."
Oh, and "Map I" is actually entitled "Map of the World" and is on
NBH.

"Writers are a funny breed -- I should know." -- Jane Siberry

bloch%cs@ucsd.edu