You could hear her before you could see her: a throaty, rat-a-tat laugh — ha-ha-ha-ha — drifting through the cool canyon air. Backed by Carlile and an expansive cast of players that included Annie Lennox, Jon Batiste, Jacob Collier, Blake Mills, Rita Wilson and Robin Pecknold, Mitchell did as many deep cuts as hits, skipping some of her best-known songs, …
Joni Mitchell hadn’t played a full concert for a live audience — an audience that knew she was coming, that is — for more than 20 years. Modeled by organizer Brandi Carlile after the so-called Joni Jams the singer has held in recent years at her Bel-Air home, the instant-classic Newport gig had Mitchell and Carlile seated in glittering armchairs …
