Judy Collins

The gorgeous Spiegeltent is always a star in any show it hosts, and so it was for Judy Collins’ gig on Tuesday March 13. The mirrors reflected roses on the platform, a grand piano, and a centrally placed microphone, and the near-full house buzzed with anticipation for the songstress, bursting into loud applause when she appeared. Now an unbelievable 72, Collins looked like a confident hippie chick – perhaps with overtones of Suzi Quatro – all in black, with high boots cladding great legs, and clutching her 12-string guitar. The long dark hair that was de rigueur for folk singers in the Sixties has given way to a mass of fair hair – but the blue eyes are still piercing, and her voice strong and confident. Collins opened with ‘Open the Door’ (also known as ‘Song for Judith’). The lyrics “When I see you smilin’/Well, it sets my heart free,” captured the feel of the concert in which Collins recalled the songs and views of her contemporaries: Peter, Paul and Mary, Joan Baez and others who drove the folk movement that is so identified with the political liberation of the Sixties and Seventies. This gig was not confined to one period or genre, however. Collins segued with ease from anecdote to favourites from her early albums (Both Sides, Now) to folk songs like ‘The Gypsy Rover’ and a moving (unaccompanied) rendition of ‘Danny Boy’. The singer has a particular empathy for the songs of her long-time friend and musical associate, Leonard Cohen, pleasing the crowd with a gentle version of ‘Sisters of Mercy’ and the enigmatic ‘Suzanne’. Her diction is still so clear and her voice so sweet that even those new to the Collins repertoire would have no difficulty understanding the words – or the emotional climate – of every song. In particular the room was hushed as she sang a new song she’d written about her mother, ‘She’s a Lady’, alternately titled ‘In the Twilight’. Later in the evening Collins took over at the piano from her accompanist Russell Walden with fewer flourishes but a similar style to his melodic chords. There was a beautiful rendition of ‘Send in the Clowns’ which may have been intended to close the evening – but the audience would have none of it! Someone called out for ‘Someday Soon’; Collins grinned and said “Why not?” before launching into a rousing version of the song that has graced her recordings, from LPs to YouTube, throughout her long career. Long may this legend live – and live on. Rating: Four and a half stars out of five Judy Collins The Famous Spiegeltent Arts Centre Melbourne March 13 – 14