I made my first visit to City Winery earlier this week to catch the second of two sold-out shows by Joan Osborne.

I haven't seen Joan Osborne live since an early club show when Relish was first released (and "One of Us" was getting played to death on the local 'modern rock' station). In watching Joan's live show now fifteen years later, the radio stations back in the 90's may have latched onto the 'wrong' song. Joan's set on Wednesday night featured more roots/blues oriented songs which were closer in comparison to artists like Bonnie Raitt than anything 'modern rock'. If anything, Joan's voice has gotten stronger over the years and she has a solid band that complements her vocal stylings well.



I didn't keep a set list during the 90+ minute set but noted some of the highlights:
- "Brokedown Palace"; a Grateful Dead cover which Joan introduced as a song she rehearsed with the Dead but never sang live
- "Long Black Coat"; a Bob Dylan cover which is back in the setlist after a multi-year absence
- "St. Theresa"; one of my favorites from Relish
- "Spiderweb"; played as a slow, funky jam
- "Hallelujah in the City"; incredible vocals
- "What Became of the Brokenhearted"; a Jimmy Ruffin/Motown cover from the mid-60's

Joan also road-testing some new material and had two new songs in the set.

I really enjoyed City Winery as well as both the sound and the sight lines were great. What I especially appreciated is that the service was attentive without being intrusive. As such, I've subsequently joined City Winery's Vinofile club (which gets you no service fees on tickets) and have bought tickets for the upcoming Suzanne Vega/Lloyd Cole show next month.

Joan Osborne is playing a limited set of shows over the next few months and here are the upcoming tour dates:

Apr. 16, 2010 -- Tupelo Music Hall Londonerry, New Hampshire
Apr. 17, 2010 -- Blue Ocean Music Hall, Salisbury, Massachusetts
Apr. 24, 2010 -- Edmonds Center for the Arts, Edmonds, Washington
Jun. 13, 2010 -- Riverbend Festival: Tennesse Valley Stage, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Jul. 10, 2010 -- Vancouver Island Musicfest: Courtenay Exhibition Grounds, Courtenay, British Columbia
Jul. 24, 2010 -- Churchill Downs - HullaBalou Festival, Louisville, Kentucky

Links:
Joan Osborne