Download a bootleg of Stevie Wonder's recent tour!
If you are a member at dimeadozen (it's free if registrations are open, for more info just read the main page), you can download a very (!) good audio bootleg from his show in Saratoga a few days ago. Click! - I just listened to one song and can confirm: the quality really is great. Looking forward to listening to the rest of the show after lunch ;).
Here's also a lil report/concert review from the taper:
Stevie Wonder played at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga last night, and while I went in with high expectations, I left even more fulfilled musically and spiritually than I could ever have imagined!
Stevie is without question a music genius. He has won more Grammys than any other solo artist (not that Grammys mean a whole lot - but that still says something!).
I am still in a state of bliss from the show, a mere 13 hours after it has ended.... Stevie has the uncanny ability to touch each and every person at his concerts, as long as they are open to it. Seeing Bob Marley was probably a similar experience (but I would not know first hand).
The evening began right on time at 7:30 sharp, when Stevie was escorted front and center stage by his daughter Aisha. He then welcomed us all to the concert, talked a little bit about why he was there, and then thanked us all for taking the time to listen to his music over the years, and providing he and his family with the comforts of financial stability that otherwise probably would not have been readily available to him... a nice home for his mother, etc.
And then the show started. When the first notes of Love's In Need Of Love Today rang through the night air, the already standing crowd became even more transfixed on the grand piano at center stage, and it's sunglass adorned master. Stevie then proceeded to take us on a musical journey through his entire career, leaving virtually no stone unturned, and virtually no hit unplayed.
This was not however anything like what we sometimes today refer to as a nostalgia act. Stevie is just as vital today as he was 30 years ago! His band of 2 percussionists, 2 guitars, bass, keyboard, drums, and 3 backup vocalists (including Aisha), kicked out the jams like the funk and soul powerhouse that they are. Stevie took many opportunities to share stories with us about how a song was written, or why, and generally kind of played with the audience in a way that quite simply I do not see many artists doing today. He poked fun at himself, intentionally exaggerating some of his vocal parts, or trying a song in a different style than usual. Signed Sealed and Delivered as a country song? Stevie showed us what it probably would sound like! And he was genuinely having fun!
What a treat to see an artist of Stevie Wonder's caliber at an intimate venue like the Mountain Winery. And though the tickets were certainly expensive ($99.50 to $250), sometimes you have to say what the fun! From where I stood, nobody left the show disappointed or unsatisfied. And if they did, they must not have been paying much attention...
To those of you who shelled out the cash for any of the Bay Area shows, kudos! I'm sure you agree it was well worth the price of admission. To those who missed it, well, I guess you'll have to hope it was taped! (and it was)...
Stevie Wonder touched my heart last night. I am trying to put the experience into words, but there just isn't a way for me to fully describe what we experienced last night! I think you are getting the gist of it - but sometimes you just had be there. Fortunately for me, I was!
Love,
-Wilson
*Sigh*, I'm quite envious. The setlist is so awesome ("Boogie On Reggae Woman", cool!), yet it totally lacks ANY songs from his latest studio album, 2005's "A Time To Love", which I find a bit strange, yet amusing coz it means you get a sort of Greatest Hits Live.
God I so hope that he'll come to Germany next year. I'D travel anywhere here and pay any ticket price (*jesus*, quite expensive tho I gotta say) just to see this genius live.... for once in my life ;).
Here's also a lil report/concert review from the taper:
Stevie Wonder played at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga last night, and while I went in with high expectations, I left even more fulfilled musically and spiritually than I could ever have imagined!
Stevie is without question a music genius. He has won more Grammys than any other solo artist (not that Grammys mean a whole lot - but that still says something!).
I am still in a state of bliss from the show, a mere 13 hours after it has ended.... Stevie has the uncanny ability to touch each and every person at his concerts, as long as they are open to it. Seeing Bob Marley was probably a similar experience (but I would not know first hand).
The evening began right on time at 7:30 sharp, when Stevie was escorted front and center stage by his daughter Aisha. He then welcomed us all to the concert, talked a little bit about why he was there, and then thanked us all for taking the time to listen to his music over the years, and providing he and his family with the comforts of financial stability that otherwise probably would not have been readily available to him... a nice home for his mother, etc.
And then the show started. When the first notes of Love's In Need Of Love Today rang through the night air, the already standing crowd became even more transfixed on the grand piano at center stage, and it's sunglass adorned master. Stevie then proceeded to take us on a musical journey through his entire career, leaving virtually no stone unturned, and virtually no hit unplayed.
This was not however anything like what we sometimes today refer to as a nostalgia act. Stevie is just as vital today as he was 30 years ago! His band of 2 percussionists, 2 guitars, bass, keyboard, drums, and 3 backup vocalists (including Aisha), kicked out the jams like the funk and soul powerhouse that they are. Stevie took many opportunities to share stories with us about how a song was written, or why, and generally kind of played with the audience in a way that quite simply I do not see many artists doing today. He poked fun at himself, intentionally exaggerating some of his vocal parts, or trying a song in a different style than usual. Signed Sealed and Delivered as a country song? Stevie showed us what it probably would sound like! And he was genuinely having fun!
What a treat to see an artist of Stevie Wonder's caliber at an intimate venue like the Mountain Winery. And though the tickets were certainly expensive ($99.50 to $250), sometimes you have to say what the fun! From where I stood, nobody left the show disappointed or unsatisfied. And if they did, they must not have been paying much attention...
To those of you who shelled out the cash for any of the Bay Area shows, kudos! I'm sure you agree it was well worth the price of admission. To those who missed it, well, I guess you'll have to hope it was taped! (and it was)...
Stevie Wonder touched my heart last night. I am trying to put the experience into words, but there just isn't a way for me to fully describe what we experienced last night! I think you are getting the gist of it - but sometimes you just had be there. Fortunately for me, I was!
Love,
-Wilson
*Sigh*, I'm quite envious. The setlist is so awesome ("Boogie On Reggae Woman", cool!), yet it totally lacks ANY songs from his latest studio album, 2005's "A Time To Love", which I find a bit strange, yet amusing coz it means you get a sort of Greatest Hits Live.
God I so hope that he'll come to Germany next year. I'D travel anywhere here and pay any ticket price (*jesus*, quite expensive tho I gotta say) just to see this genius live.... for once in my life ;).