Juliana Hatfield Three
Neighborhood Theatre
March 24, 2015
Two-thirds of the way through Juliana Hatfield Three’s hour-long set at the Neighborhood Theatre on Monday night, I noticed a man standing in front of the stage holding up his cellphone, taking video of the 47-year-old singer. Nothing new nowadays, right? Without missing a beat, Hatfield turned inward toward her bandmates. A moment later, she moved back on the dimly lit stage, a few steps toward the drums. As the song ended, Hatfield moved back to her original spot and told the crowd, “I’m always in the same place on this tour and wanted a different view.”
To me, it looked like she didn’t want a cellphone distracting her. .. but perhaps a one-minute change of scenery was needed.
A few songs into the band’s brief encore, though, a woman in front of the stage was taking pictures with her phone. As the flash went off multiple times, Hatfield once again grabbed her mic stand and moved back on the stage. It wasn’t long after that the show ended.
On other tour stops, the band played six or seven songs before calling it a night. Charlotte got four, with the only new song being “Wood.” Hatfield and her reunited trio’s main set consisted of their entire 1993 debut Become What You Are. The small crowd appeared to enjoy every moment, singing along at times, moving to the beat, cheering on the familiar. When the band returned for its encore, Hatfield said they were going to play “a few old songs and a few new ones” from their sophomore album, 2015’s Whatever, My Love.
Was it all the cellphones? Was it the small crowd? Was it simply time to call it a night? For just over an hour, the Juliana Hatfield Three were on cruise control. Bassist Dean Fisher bounced around the stage while drummer Todd Phillips flashed smiles at his bandmates. It’s no surprise the introverted Hatfield was reserved, though moments of guitar brilliance flashed forth at times as she let the notes wander and flow from her fingertips.
Sure, there were times when it looked like Hatfield was simply going through the motions, but it was never evident in the music. Her sweetly toned vocals were on point, hitting all the notes from the album of yesteryear. The songs sounded great … and then it was over.
Maybe I should blame Charlotte? Small crowd turnout and cellphones held on high could dissuade any performer.
Maybe I should blame the Internet? If I hadn’t seen that Hatfield had played a few more songs at other dates, I wouldn’t have had any expectations. Then again, she did tell the crowd they had “a few old songs” and “a few new ones” to play. Does four count as a few? Perhaps.
Maybe I should blame myself? Being a fan of Hatfield since her first solo album, I was hoping to hear a lot more. At least all I did hear sounded great. If you’re in the Carrboro area tonight, be sure and catch the final night of the tour at the Cat’s Cradle.
Setlist
Supermodel
My Sister
This Is the Sound
For the Birds
Mabel
A Dame With a Rod
Addicted
Feelin’ Massachusetts
Spin the Bottle
President Garfield
Little Pieces
I Got No Idols
Encore
What a Life
Dumb Fun
Wood
Fleur de Lys
This article appears in Mar 18-24, 2015.
I was there and was hoping for a little more, as well. I took a couple pictures, but was discreet about it (I think I know which guy you were talking about). I was shocked at how few people turned out, especially since I know they’ve sold out some venues. Alas, I got to see Juliana in person, some 20 years in the making!
The cell phone issue is easily addressed. Just ask the audience to not use them at all or give them a song or two for pictures and ask that they be put away. It works for others. It would have worked here too. Veteran artists have no excuse for not knowing how to address a crowd, especially in a crowd as light as this one was.
Did the crowd have anything to do with the microphone thing? Maybe. My wife ran into Juliana outside before the show and said how much she was looking forward to the performance. Juliana looked right through her and said nothing. Maybe it just wasn’t her night. It happens.
The abbreviated set almost certainly had more to do with the absence of any appreciable crowd in a market like Charlotte than a few hardcore fans who wanted to capture the moment for posterity.
Monday is not a good night for shows. Unfortunately, Juliana’s core audience is getting older and it’s not easy to get out on a Monday.
The last time I saw Ms. Hatfield and company was at Tremont Music Hall approximately 15 years ago. They were magnificent, performing like a well oiled machine. Though an introvert, once the set began and she could feel the love from the crowd, she transformed into a rock goddess. She was engaging and never missed a note. I’ve always credited Juliana for inspiring me to be a singer/ songwriter. When CL posted her show this past Monday I knew I had to be there with bells on. Monday nights are difficult for fans and musicians. The crowd was surprisingly small indeed. My friend and I stood front and center, so I didn’t see much of the crowd until the end of the set. At that time a man walked up to me and said “You knew every word and every chord change, and that was really nice to see!” He shook my hand and disappeared into the dark. But it got us thinking, where were the rest of the die hard fans? It also made me wonder what Ms. Hatfield’s view was like. She never once made eye contact, where as every time I caught Mr.Fisher’s eye he lent a very sincear smile. Mr. Hayles (see 2nd comment); your wife was not the only that got slighted as the band made their way into the theater.
It was a good set, but too short. I got a vibe that she didn’t want to be there, that her heart wasn’t in it, which left me with mixed emotions. The once well oiled machine didn’t play up to there previous standard, played a few songs with an improperly tuned guitar. Juliana Hatfield taught us not to have idols because they will ultimately dissapoint you. I will always admire her but at her request I do my best to remember she is human. Sometime humans have bad days. So we’ll forgive her for having ‘a case of the Mondays’, and keep on admiring her for all the roads she paved.
“I’m a Goddess in your eyes, and I will never die. I was born of people’s needs, and what they don’t wanna believe. But I’m a liar, that’s the truth. Go home and make it through. That’s the harm in mystery, all you know is what you see.” J. Hatfield ‘I Got No Idols’
A grateful fan~ Kristin Harne
I drove 5 hours for a 1 hour show. It was good (even with the disappointing crowd).
When you rarely tour to support your music (has she been in Charlotte since 1995 @ Tremont?) you can’t maintain a fan base.
I also travelled a fair distance to attend this show. In planning to do so I had to contact the club to see if I could make it on time – so can tell you she was scheduled for a 90 minute set beginning at 915pm.
When she zipped onto stage to a mostly empty house fifteen minutes earlier than the venue had scheduled I suspected the show would be brief – as in “come on, let’s get this over with.”
That said I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and liked the venue… My first visit. Been waiting a long time to see her live and other than wishing she’d played a little longer have no complaints.
Having watched mostly from the bar balcony, I think it’s funny that you singled out one dude with a cell phone as a factor in this short performance. Pretty much everyone in the place had one out and pointed forward for at least part of the show. Suspect she sees that every night. Kind of the new reality.
From my perspective at a distance from the stage the stationary fans with cell phones were less distracting than the surprisingly large number (considering the size of the crowd and venue) of guys with full sized digital SLRS running around and bellying up the stage all night to take photos – including, I assume, the ones you took to post here.
Alan –
Yes, I did have a DSLR, but I had a photo pass via the band to use it since I was reviewing the show. I generally stayed to the sides and out of the way of people and never use a flash. I wasn’t on the front row at all, because I didn’t want to be a distraction to the band or the fans.
The one person I singled out was directly in front of Juliana and holding his phone up, arm stretched, directly in her field of vision. She clearly looked at him before grabbing her mic stand and moving back. The girl who was flashing her phone camera was standing in the same place when she moved back the second time. In the hundreds of shows I’ve attended I have noticed two things — a majority of people don’t like cameras held up in their personal space; and musicians usually hate flashes going off because it’s distracting – even if you close your eyes.
I think the cameras were a reason she moved back. I think the small attendance was a reason for the short show. All those cell phones are a lot more noticeable in a small crowd. Either way, I enjoyed the performance we did get.
Totally agree on the performance Jeff. Waited a very long time to see her and really enjoyed the show. If she’d played one or two more oldies I would have enjoyed it, but liked the new stuff too.
Maybe I’m a little biased toward cell phones as have to get most of my love music fix from YouTube these days. Certainly agree that everyone needs to be courteous though.
I caught the tour in LA last week and the show was great! Decent turnout, not completely sold out, but everyone was totally into it. There was a generous exchange of energy between the band and the audience; JH rocked. I felt chills when she nailed the high-pitched vocal runs in “Supermodel.” She did ask people to turn their flashes off during the set and to put their phones away altogether during the encore, and people generally complied.
I don’t believe JH is the most consistent live performer in the world, nor is she one who suffers from an overabundance of confidence. When you go to see her play, you expect to see “the fight.” I’m sorry to hear she didn’t quite win the fight in Charlotte.