Kind of looking like Grace Slick
She's the darling of the folk music scene, the voice of an angel but the sense of humor of one of the guys on the docks. Christine Lavin has been writing and performing for 50 years, since she was discovered at an open mike night while waitressing in Saratoga Springs. The guy who discovered her, Dave Van Ronk, is a legend in his own right: House of the Rising Sun? He arranged that.
What sets her apart is her sassy songwriting that could be touching in one song, and bawdy the next.
What a thrill to spend an afternoon with her.
I first saw her at the Women's Literary Club in Grand Rapids 30 years ago. She was riding high on an indie hit single, The Kind of Love You Never Recover From, and getting a couple of songs on some movie soundtracks. My roommate Kathy met her in the bathroom, and helped her with her hair.
Flash forward, I happened upon a social media post that she would be playing a Lutheran church in East Lansing in February. It was a rare Sunday that I had nothing going on, and she would be playing in daylight instead of some dim, smoky nightclub. I had to go.
In another astonishing bit of luck, she welcomed fans to a meet and greet before the show to knit and converse. She had prizes for people! Not a knitter, I grabbed a figure skating dress to stone while listening to stories.
She gave away a CD to the person with the biggest project, a huge knitted afghan. Then another for the newest project, which went to the person who had just started a project with a grand total of eight stitches completed. The last prize went to the person who had worked on their project the longest, an eight-year project that had been started and stopped many times.
While looking for the glue and stones for my skating dress, I happened to have found an old USFSA keychain for the premiere of the documentary Rise, about the 1961 World team plane crash. Christine is a huge figure skating fan, so I impulsively brought it along if I had the chance to talk to her.
After she gave her CDs away, I said "Wait, I have a gift for you." I wanted to give her something as a thank you for writing the song As Close to Flying, which she had dedicated to the lost World team. She gasped, immediately added it to her keychain, and said I have to give you something for this. I weakly refused, saying that was not my intention to gift grub. She gifted me The Subway Series CD, and told the assembled that I was a figure skater, and how she had written three songs about skating.
Oh my gosh, to connect with her like that!
On with the show about Jeopardy, bad boyfriends, crackerjack vendors, and new-aged guys
She started her set at 3pm, a story about how her parents met on the subway ("put down your phones"), and proceeded to entertain us with stories, anecdotes, songs, and plenty of audience interaction. Highlights for me were The Kind of Love You Never Recover From (RIP to the inspiration, a man who passed away in 2013, noting she had dreamt about him the night prior), the revenge story against the New York Yankees and the unfortunate incident of the crackerjack vendor, and the group singalong Sensitive New Aged Guys. She ended the show with a gentle singalong, accompanied by vocals recorded by a folk artist who recently passed, performing the song "(All I Have to Do) Is Dream" by the Everly Brothers.
But a Lavin show can't end until she trots out her batons, which she did with a flourish.
After the show, she approached ME and asked if I'd like her to sign the CD she gave me. Well, I bought another one! She paused, and said, "Wait! I have something else for you!" and disappeared into her private room. The ladies gathering for autographs looked at me wide-eyed. She came out with a small ball of yarn, unraveled it, cut a yard, gave it to me, and asked if I would add a few sequins from her to my skating dress so she was out there with me.
Of course I will!
Cool chick, and as Jeff Daniels says "What an original!"
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