CTUALLY, there was no repeat performance when Michelle Shocked brought her travelling band, the MOOD SWINGERS to Bloomington's legendary Bluebird Tavern. (the walls of which are covered with posters of past stellar performers...). In fact she didn't even perform her famous audience participation number, STRAWBERRY JAM...In my opinion, even as a JAM alumni, what we did here was fresh indeed, and often quite inspiring...within the next few days I shall give you my recollection of a night spent in the presence of a truly inspired writer/performer/singer...I wasn't expecting, or even wanting a repeat of May 1996...when she called upon Beanie Bob the first time...

Those lucky and wise enough to get tickets were not dis-appointed. Michelle described the writing of 30 songs with Fiachna O'Braonain for a show she was to do on December 31, 1999...and that they weren't yet recorded. So, the show June 20 was to be mostly this new material...it included reggae songs, calypso rhythms (YAY!), gospel shouts as well as bluesy songs. I do hope that any folks who love the Campfire Tape songs, and who ignored the article in Bloomington's Ryder Magazine were not too sad that she did only a few of her old pieces.
The MOOD SWINGERS consisted of Fiachna, of Dublin, Ireland, of the Hot-House Flowers, on lead guitar; Rich Armstrong on Bass and Trumpet; Sean Dancy on Keyboards; Peter Buck, on drums. Armstrong was quite capable on the trumpet, playing through effects boxes like the latter-day Miles Davis. Michelle backed him on bass on at least one piece. His voice was silky smooth like Smoky Robinson and Marvin Gaye. I was quite happy with this addition to Michelle's "bag of potpourri" - as she relates about her period touring as a duet with Fiachna, "grow and change, grow and change."

All the players in the band sang on at least one tune - at one point, they all lined up in front stage and sang an inspiring un-accompanied version of the 23rd psalm...I dare say, even an avowed atheist might've gotten "the SPIRIT" during this rendering...with Michelle stopping at various points to include the audience. At one point in the rendering of the Psalm, where it goes "forever and ever..." she exhorted the audience in Gospel Tent fashion, to sing along...I was feeling like her "point man" in the dance floor area of the club, right in front of the stage...she could see Beany BOB singing right away - I have walked through "the valley of the shadow of death" more than once in my life and love the Poetic Interpretation Michelle was giving this most widely known of all Psalms - so, she said, to localize her comment about optimistic the author of the psalm was/is, "take Beany BOB...there's a fellow with an optimistic spirit...dancing like the world is his oyster..."

WORD HERE ABOUT "CHAPEL PERILOUS" - I mean by this an experience that is transformational in its effect on one's awareness. Most nights a clientele goes to a local club, the usual things happen, and usually nothing out of the "ordinary" HAPPENS...But then, a traveling show will come through, and open up what Aldous Huxley (who wrote BRAVE NEW WORLD and ISLAND) called "DOORS of PERCEPTION"...people feel as if the room is somehow full of an energy that is not bound by the mundane...that the chasm of atomized isolation that exists between folks in their work-a-day worlds has been bridged, if but for a moment. SHARING and CARING illustrate well what goes on...I guess a simple way to describe the difference is this: The kind of atmosphere that happened that night for some people - it did appear to be a majority of the attendees - was like a sunny day in mid-June or September with but a few billowy clouds a cool breeze, low humidity, and temperatures in the mid 70's Fahrenheit. Too much of the time, I don't go to see bands in clubs because it feels like a hot muggy overcast day in July-August when it's "trying" to rain and doesn't...to continue with the bright sunny day theme - afterwards when you meet other people you saw at the concert, they will get that "bright, sunny day" smile on their face the minute they recognize you as another one of the people they noticed having a good time at the show...and it doesn't matter if you ever met them before - a comradie has developed, much to the credit of Michelle and her Mood Swingers (in this example - I'm sure my reader could name me a list of other performers with whom they've had this experience...where mere "good-time" entertainment expectations are transcended...in other words...Michelle Schocked can shake up yer world! She ROCKS 'n' REGGAES TOO!!!