By Will McGuirk
“if we're heading towards something bad, let's head towards it slowly." - Devon Bate, The Weather Holds
Slowcity.ca Open Mic with Laila Biali, Sarah Neufeld, Nathaniel Rateliff, Daysormay, Charles Ellsworth, Mark Nyvlt, Black River Delta, Frànçois & The Atlas Mountains, Buscabulla, and Jack Kays,
By Will McGuirk
“Just before our love got lost you said,
I am as constant as a northern star
And I said, "Constantly in the darkness,
Where's that at?
If you want me I'll be in the bar."
Its the broadness of Joni Mitchell, her artistic scope, the length and breadth of her, truly authentic, really a badass, impossible to capture, an artist as an environment. If there was one to have spent some moments with, oh man!!, but we have the music, and we can spend more than moments with it, we can live inside of it, alongside of Joni.
“My first experience hearing Joni Mitchell's music was when I was still a music student at Humber College. Hejira and Mingus were the obvious starting point for a Jazz novice as equally interested in the musicians accompanying Joni as in Joni herself. But then along came Blue. That was the one, the album that triggered a lifelong fascination with Joni and her songwriting. She made my heart ache with every feeling, love and loss in the same breath. No song captures that more for me than A Case of You. I think it's the ultimate Valentine's song because it can reach you no matter where you're at – whether you're in love, longing for it, or mourning it.” - Laila Biali
“This song is about being obsessed with someone. Spinning round and round, your mind goes in circles and you never change your position. The fantasy remains a distant galaxy. Love is a mental projection. Somehow, this vivid tune resonates with our recent lockdown lifestyle. On loop.” - Frànçois Marry