Joni Mitchell breaks out rarities that have not been performed in decades at Joni Jam concert
She also gave several songs their live debuts at her first headlining concerts in Los Angeles in 24 years
by Surej Singh · NMEJoni Mitchell has performed her first headlining concerts in Los Angeles in 24 years, where she broke out numerous rarities that had not been played live in decades – watch fan-shot footage of the gig below.
On Saturday (October 19), Joni Mitchell performed her first headlining concert in Los Angeles in 24 years, dubbed the Joni Jam. To celebrate the special occasion, she performed several fan-favourits that had not been played live in years – some were last performed in 2000, while others were last played in 1985.
To kick off her first Joni Jam in L.A. in over two decades, Mitchell began with ‘Be Cool’, which was last performed in 2000. She then gave ‘Harlem In Havana’ its live debut before moving on to ‘Hejira’, which was also last played in 2000.
Other songs that we performed for the first time in years included ‘Cherokee Louise’ (first time since ’95), ‘Coyote (first since ’01), ‘God Must Be A Boogie Man’ (first since 1983), ‘Sunny Sunday’ (first since 1995), and more, including the politically charged ‘Dog Eat Dog’, which she had not performed since 1985.
Other songs that were debuted during the show include ‘The Sire Of Sorrow (Job’s Sad Song) and ‘If I Had A Heart’. After performing ‘Dog Eat Dog’, a fan shouted an insult directed towards Donald Trump, promoting Mitchell to echo back: “Fuck Donald Trump”.
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Mitchell continued: “Everybody get out and vote. This is an important one. I wish I could vote – I’m Canadian. I’m one of those lousy immigrants.”
Joni Mitchell last night performed a second night of her all-star Joni Jam show at the Hollywood Bowl. Across both nights, Mitchell’s band was made up of musicians such as Brandi Carlile, Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Annie Lennox, Marcus Mumford, Jon Batiste, Jacob Collier and many more.
Joni Mitchell’s Joni Jam Los Angeles 2024 setlist was:
‘Be Cool’ (first time since 2000)
‘Harlem In Havana’ (live debut)
‘Hejira’ (first time since 2000)
‘Cherokee Louise’ (first time since 1995)
‘Coyote’ (first time since 2001)
‘Carey’
‘The Sire Of Sorrow (Job’s Sad Song)’ (live debut)
‘God Must Be A Boogie Man’ (first time since 1983)
‘Sunny Sunday’ (first time since 1995)
‘If I Had A Heart’ (live debut)
‘Refuge Of The Roads’ (first time since 1998)
‘Night Ride Home’
‘Both Sides, Now’
‘Big Yellow Taxi’
‘Raised On Robbery’
‘California’ (with Marcus Mumford)
‘The Magdalene Laundries’ (first time since 1998)
‘Ladies Of The Canyon’ (with Annie Lennox)
‘Summertime’ (George Gershwin cover)
‘Come In From The Cold’
‘A Case Of You’
‘I’m Still Standing’ (Elton John cover)
‘Dog Eat Dog’ (first time since 1985)
‘Amelia’
‘If’
‘Shine’
‘The Circle Game’
Earlier this year, Mitchell won her 10th Grammy Award, for Best Folk Album for her 2023 live album ‘Joni Mitchell at Newport’. The album was recorded at the musician’s 2022 surprise set at the legendary music festival – at which she last appeared in 1969 – delivering a 13-song “JONI JAM” set that featured Brandi Carlile on the tracks ‘Carey’, ‘A Case Of You’ and ‘Big Yellow Taxi’.