Calling all the hippies, Jews, gypsies, and queers

(That's a line from the live rendition of one of her songs.)

I'll be seeing Melissa Ferrick tomorrow night at the 8X10 Club along with a sea of adoring lesbian fans and a few of my friends (my goal is always to bring 2 or so new Ferrick fans to a show, and I'm doing it tonight with 2 Ferrick virgins).

I'm getting a little too old for so many social events in one week, but I'm still looking forward to it; also, Friday is a teacher inservice day, which will make it easier. This is probably the 15th or so time I've seen her live - she is seriously the best live performer that I know and has never disappointed me. She has the stage energy of Bruce Springsteen, the guitar prowess of Ani DiFranco, and the vocal power of Jeff Buckley. I've been a fan for almost a decade now, and even booked her a couple times at Michigan State (she mentioned me in her blog!)

This is from an interview I (ahem) granted with the State News back in 1999, after the first time I booked her:

M___ ____________, an English senior and program coordinator at Common Grounds, said he was amazed at the power of Ferrick’s performance when he saw her live a year ago.

“She just blew me away — more than any other live performer I’ve ever seen,” ______ said. “She has a huge fan base in the Midwest and since this is her only Michigan show, we expect it to be a big show.”

Although she has played with big names on the popular Lilith Fair tour, Ferrick hasn’t played in East Lansing since a 1994 tour and said she’s looking forward to playing for fans who haven’t had a chance to see her in an intimate setting since.

More then 300 people showed up that night. I don't think the 8X10 will have that many, but there will be a lot...

Here is a bit of the wonder that is Melissa Ferrick:



And she just exudes sex. This is her at MichFest 2006, notable because of the hilarious ASL interpreter to her left, signing all through her notorious lesbian sex song "Drive."