Julia Fordham at The Birchmere

Last Tuesday night, Mrs Gunfighter and I had the luxury, for an unprecedented third time in two weeks, to go to see some live entertainment at The Birchmere, which is the best small live entertainment venue in the area.  This time, we were there to see British songstress Julia Fordham, who Mrs Gunfighter has been listing to for nearly 20 years and whom I have enjoyed listening to since I made Mrs Gunfighter's acquaintance 16 years ago.

This was the first time we had ever gone to see Julia Fordham, and one thing was certain from the outset:  This was going to be different than the Tuck & Patti show, and very different from the Jane Monheit perfomance, both of which we recently attended.

Julia's performance was fantastic! She and her three-piece combo played for nearly two hours and she sang songs from all of her many albums, especially .  In person, Julia's wonderful voice, with her great range, sounds exactly like it does on digital recordings.  The music was passionate and personal... including the songs that she did that were dedicated to her three year old child, who was at home in Los Angeles while her mum is on tour.

Now, as I said, this show was different than others we have seen at The Birchemere.  During this show, there was a level of er... audience participation that I just wasn't expecting.  At various pauses in the show, fans would shout questions at Fordham... questions like "How's your sister!?" and "How's Mutley!?" (apparently, Mutley is Julia's dog).  Fordham clearly didn't mind, and kept her answers fairly brief, so that she could continue to sing... I suppose some of the interruptions worked as good segue devices.

Another thing that I didn't know about Julia Fordham, is that although she is straight, she is also some sort of a gay/lesbian icon.  There were an unusually large number of gay couples in the house that night (no, I don't care, it's just an observation). 

Anyway, she played for a good long time, and when she made a curtain call, it lasted for four songs.

If you don't know her music, you should get acquainted, you'll thank yourself.

GF