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Originally Posted by DashingDan
Both of those tours seem to have been hit or miss.
I suspect that she was a bit more consistent during OSOTM simply because by 1991 she had already been on drugs, in one form or another, for an additional 3 years. I saw her in 89 and thought the show was okay, I later went on to hear some bootlegs of very good shows from that tour, so I wrote off my show as being just an off night...her mom had been ill I heard.
I saw the Timespace tour in Mansfield and I, too, took a friend with me, and I have to say that I was very very very dissappointed with her performance. I'm quoting someone here when I say that during "i need to know" her band wanted to go 75mph and she could only muster 45 mph. She sang the entire performance about 20 feet from the stage (like the red rox video), surrounded by 5 or 6 HUGE sound monitors, when she would walk from the side of the stage to the mic she had to be accompanied by someone, who treated her as the frail and elderly woman she was at that point. It was pathetic. I was 2nd row and you could tell that she really couldn't even SEE . I did get to shake her hand during a tepid Edge and her smile was COMPLETELY plastered on, her eyes were glassy and dead, she didn't even blink. I was grossed out (sorry folks, but I was) Her poor health meant she had NO breath behind her voice, no lung power (hence the mono-tone and vibrato-less performance) and her band sucked. The sound man sucked...all of these people on her payroll doing a lousy job, it was disgusting. I was so embarrassed for her. I was so bummed out. The Boston Globe reviewer ripped her apart saying something about her caring more about donuts than the show...which really looked to be the case. No one knew about the "K" she was on. It was a terrible show. These Never-ending intro/outros to every song, bad singing, and silly clothing (even by her standards). I never ever thought I'd see her perform again cos I didn't think anyone would show up after a few more performances at her current level.
Then, I heard the street angel cd and I thought...well, she sounds better, and then I saw the SA tour in Mansfield and held my breath as she came out to the music of Dreams (no Outside the Rain that night) and then she opened her mouth...and she could sing again, and then she talked to the crowd, and she was awake again, and then during a truly powerful Edge, she took the mike off of the stand and sat down during for the middle part (without anyone helping her) and I knew then, that all was right again in Stevie land.
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