Richie Havens | World Café Live
By Team JamBase Jan 25, 2008 • 12:51 pm PST

Richie Havens :: 01.12.08 :: World Café Live :: Philadelphia, PA
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The show opened quietly as the tall, soft-spoken man told us stories while he tuned his guitar between songs. “I have two ears, but they both hear different things,” he quipped. With every note he played an incredible would permeated the room. He opened with “All Along The Watchtower,” and afterward told us about his early days in Greenwich Village at the start of his career and long friendship with Bob Dylan.
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Havens never mentioned song titles. Instead, he talked to us about simple things like how he wished the world was or might be. Havens sang, “Paradise is a hard place to find/ Hope someone will throw us a line.” Havens’ show extends to the musical story inside his lyrics like, “As I’m dreaming, sometimes I’m dreaming way down deep” or “Who is going to take away my license to kill?”
Havens plays like he did some 40 years ago, and he still leaps up from his stool and kicks the air when the vibrations demand it. For the encore he played Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm” blended with The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Like his contemporaries (Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Simon & Garfunkel) the music of their youth still holds a meaningful message. It remains beautiful, serene and hopeful like a rising sun, proof that the right musician can still move us.
“Share love. One planet, take care of each other,” said Havens as he waved goodbye.
Continue reading for more images of Richie Havens…
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Richie Havens tour dates available here.
JamBase | Philly
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