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April 5, 2004
Innocence Mission
She sings songs that call to mind Paul Simon, she showed up on a Natalie
Merchant album, and Joni Mitchell is a big fan. And when the Innocence Mission
is performing, it's Karen Peris's voice -- with inspiration from the above
artists and a strong strain of Catholic faith -- that entrances and envelops the
audience. At a packed Jammin' Java Saturday night, Peris and her husband,
guitarist Don Peris, and bassist Mike Bitts held the assembled in rapt attention
while that voice floated over the trio's airy, reflective folk songs.
The centerpiece of the Lancaster, Pa.-based band's 90-minute show was a group of
songs from its most recent album, "Befriended." The superb acoustics
of Java's stage made it an ideal setting for the music. Songs like
"Tomorrow on the Runway" and "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy,"
which turned on Don's intricately woven guitar fills, often dropped to
whisper-quiet volume, Karen's voice just a wisp. A further mix of new and old --
"She May Turn Around," "Lakes of Canada" and "Beautiful
Change" -- distilled the Innocence Mission's strengths: gentle, lulling
folk melodies meshed with poetry culled from day-to-day life, caressed by
Karen's distinctive pipes.
The trio passed on its version of John Denver's "Follow Me" -- an
interpretation that won them many new fans -- but did deliver an oddly moving
pair of cover songs during their two encores: first, a lilting take on
"Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?" that offered more
sweetness than sorrow, and a stab at "Moon River" that capped the
evening with a fitting mix of melody and wistfulness.
-- Patrick Foster
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