April 18, 1977 review: Janis Ian and Tom Chapin at Shea's Buffalo

 


A reminder of how wonderful Janis Ian was at her peak.

April 18, 1977

A Giant Janis Makes

Chapin a Lightweight

          The irony of Saturday night’s show in Shea’s Buffalo was that tiny Janis Ian could be so powerful while 6-foot-5 Tom Chapin was such a lightweight.

          Chapin, dressed in blue, strumming a guitar alone, seemed a more finely-crafted tenor than his famous brother Harry. Star of the children’s TV show “Make a Wish,” he seemed silly to excess, but had a magic way with nonsense lyrics and singalongs.

          Ian and her quartet provided him his finest moments, slipping in behind him on a two-song encore and providing the bite his solos lacked.

          It was a preview of the wallop her set packed.

          Beginning with delicious close harmonies with Claire Bay in  the opening “Will You Dance,” she wowed the crowd of about 1,700 and drew shouts from young women who identify with her anti-glamorous, outsider’s stance.

          Dressed in black pants and vest and a white shirt, the curly-haired singer-songwriter moved from guitar to piano and back, picking selections from her four comeback albums.

          “Jesse,” a hit for Roberta Flack, was slow and deliberate. Songs from the new album, “Miracle Row,” with paired harmonies and snappy Latin rhythms, were especially delightful.

          She saved her hit, “At Seventeen,” for the end of the set and beamed a smile as she too two encores. By then she wasn’t standing less than five feet tall any more. In every other way, she’s a giant.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Janis Ian concert poster.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: Janis Ian indeed had released a new album every year for four years in a row and the afterglow of her 1975 hit “At Seventeen” was still alive on this tour. Her latest effort, “Miracle Row,” featured her touring band, which included guitarist Jeff Layton, bassist Stu Woods and drummer Barry Lazarowitz. Claire Bay had been harmonizing with her since 1967.

Janis was due to visit us again this fall on her farewell tour, but had to cancel due to laryngitis, which left scarring on her vocal cords and made it difficult to sing, or even speak. In a statement in September, she said: “It is most unlikely that I’ll ever sound like myself again. I consider myself lucky that this is not life-threatening, though the loss in my own small world is staggering.”

Setlist.fm doesn’t list the Buffalo show at all and has very little song information from other dates on this tour. Closest approximation is probably what she played on Feb. 19 at Godwin Hall in Harrisonburg, Va., with corrections on titles from the song list on the live album from this tour, which was never released in the U.S.

When the Party’s Over

I Love the Man

In the Winter

(unknown)

Miracle Row

Maria

Let Me Be Lonely

Sunset of Your Life

(unknown)

Jesse

Watercolors

(unknown)

At Seventeen

Tom Chapin had just finished a five-year run as host of “Make a Wish” and his best days were yet to come. He’s won numerous awards for children’s music during the past 30 years, appeared in the Broadway production of  “Pump Boys and Dinettes,” has recorded more than two dozen albums and has joined the storytelling festival circuit.

 

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