Joan Baez

by Sandor Slomovits

Michigan Theater / November 1

Joan Baez last visited Ann Arbor in November of 2008, just a few days after President Obama’s election. Her first words that night were, “Yes, we did!” A lot has happened in the past three years, and the people who’ve gotten teed off at President Obama, and the Democrats in general, probably won’t be in the audience when Baez returns this month. Their loss, because a Baez concert is a remarkable event. Sure, her pipes, now just past seventy, are not quite what they were, but Baez’s slightly diminished voice is still better than most, and the years have not stopped her growth as a singer and interpreter—and in those departments she had few peers to begin with. Besides, with Baez it was never only about the soaring range, the astonishing beauty and clarity of her voice. It was about the depth of character that her voice carried and conveyed—and that doesn’t diminish with age.
$27-$69. 7:30pm. 603 E. Liberty St. 734-668-8463. www.michtheater.org