Review: AMY GRANT Shines A Peaceful Musical Light On City Winery Audience

Amy Grant has been a lot of things to a lot of people. She has sung country music, pop music, gospel music, and, of course, Christmas music. She has written songs that have spoken to her fans as though written just for them. She has, quite literally, been one of the voices with which many have grown up, since her first album, some forty-five years ago.

So why was it so hard for me to find a date to the Amy Grant Show at City Winery on Monday night?

I was so excited when I read that Amy Grant was playing one of the clubs on my beat. In fact, I was afraid that Amy Grant might be too big for me to get a ticket, afraid that she might be sold out and the club might not have room for me. But I was in luck: when I emailed City Winery to ask for a ticket, my contact there said, simply, "You're confirmed," and the night went, happily, onto my calendar. The next task was to find a plus-one, since nearly every venue I review gives me a second seat. I texted a friend who is, admittedly, somewhat younger than I am, but a Christian of great devotion, asking if they wanted to go with me to the Amy Grant concert. "I don't know who that is." I was appalled. I decided to go older, and texted a friend from my college days, someone the exact same age as me who has always been into music. "Are you an Amy Grant fan?" and they replied, "I think I remember her from college." I. WAS. APPALLED. Had I missed a memo? Had Amy Grant gone out? No, that's not possible. Didn't she just get a Kennedy Center Honor? No, there was no way that Amy Grant had gone out, I had just asked the two wrong people. But on Monday night, I walked into City Winery and I did not see a line of people waiting to get in. I did not hear the sounds of a throng of people on the other side of the double wooden doors where lay the stage and seating for a City Winery show. I thought, slightly dejectedly, that I had missed the memo: Amy Grant had gone out.

And then I walked into the room.

City Winery was packed, solid packed, to the last table. There were two empty seats visible: mine and my guest's (oh, yes, I found a plus-one). City Winery (one of the bigger rooms I review) was sold out. It was completely sold out, filled with people who wanted, no, who were excited to see Amy Grant. Members of the cabaret and concert community were joyful and smiling, as they waited for curtain. Kati Neiheisel and Maria Corsaro were sitting with Gregory Toroian, Stewart Green and Brad Simmons had snagged tables close to the stage, and Dorian Woodruff could be seen ordering his usual unsweetened ice tea. Amy Grant was at City Winery, and the people had come out in droves.

And, boy howdy, can Amy Grant put on a show.

Now, don't get it twisted. Amy Grant doesn't put on a spectacle. So when I say Amy Grant can put on a show, I don't want people to get comparisons in their head to Cher or Madonna, where there are lights and effects and dancers - no, there would be none of that... although there was dancing, and it is clear that Amy Grant would be a fun person with whom to take a spin on a dance floor. No, this isn't a dynamic show of shows - this is calm, it's collected, it's cool. Yeah. Amy Grant is cool. She's got this amazing band of musicians and back-up singers who are on the stage while the house lights are still up, and she just sort of walks out onto the stage without an introduction, and the crowd goes wild. And Amy Grant just sort of smiles in a groovy kind of rocker-mom way, and just starts singing. And the voice, audible sigh, the voice, shed a tear, the voice is still there. The voice that has seen me through four decades of Christmases is unchanged by time. Amy Grant isn't coy about her age, she mentioned it twice during her two-and-one-half-hour concert (come on, now!), and she mentioned it in important contexts, during some of her wonderfully generous conversation with the audience. One time, she said she had to re-write some lyrics to some of her classic songs because they mean something different, at sixty-two, than they did when she wrote them at a younger age. That's an artist, and no mistake. And the other time she mentioned her age was when she said that she had some great back-up singers (truth!) because, at sixty-two, she needed a little help with some of the notes - now, this is (in the opinion of this writer) debatable because (as I said before) the voice is unchanged by time. That voice that represents our youth, our faith, our Christmases is the same, only richer with experience and maturity.

And on the topic of maturity, Amy Grant has a lot to say about life and that which she has learned, and that of which she ponders. Her show at City Winery was filled with excellent (underline it) music, but it was also replete with conversation that is, patently, authentic to who she is. Stories about her life, her life on the road, her work as an artist, her work as a parent abounded, as she made her audience laugh, and laugh a lot, and feel, and think. It was art and philosophy in one night, an ongoing exchange of ideas and energy between Amy Grant and her audience. And Amy Grant got to really socialize with her audience, remarking that, usually, in the big venues she plays, the lights are so bright and the arenas so large that she can't quite see the faces, but how, at City Winery, she was able to look into eyes, to see smiles, and to spot the faces of repeat visitors. In fact, during the intermission, I had a chance to chat with an old friend, Benjamin Rutherford, who flew in from Nova Scotia for the concert, and Ben told me that he has seen Amy Grant many times in the past, but never in so intimate a space, and what a treat it was to really see his idol so personal and tangible. This was, clearly, a very special night for all. And, for this writer, there was something that was really special in a very surprising way.

My Amy Grant is the Christmas Amy Grant (although I did play Heart In Motion until the CD had to be replaced). I am not a Christian, so Amy Grant's faith music has not had the play time in my home over the years. I have heard certain songs like "Sing Your Praise To The Lord" (great recording) and El-Shaddai (very pretty) but they aren't on any of my playlists and I don't know the words the way I know every frame of the music video to "Every Heartbeat" - and that's ok. I am, and always have been, happy to lean into my Amy Grant, while the faith-oriented get to enjoy theirs. So when, at City Winery, Amy Grant programmed Act Two to be mostly faith music, there was every chance that I would feel left out, even uncomfortable. But that was not the case. I sat at my table at the back of the venue, where I could see the entire house, and watched Amy Grant, all alone on the stage, play her guitar and sing that most personal music for an audience that was enraptured by her. If it was germane to the moment, people danced, people sang, people raised their hands in the air. And it was beautiful. Even though I am not a believer (not even the tiniest bit), I observed the beauty of Amy Grant's faith and that of her audience, and the exchange of energy between Amy Grant and her audience, in the name of faith. It was a most precious moment in the life of this watcher, of this reporter, of this documentarian of life. Many times in my days, I have left a situation feeling uncomfortable by faith and religion - this was not one of those times. I left City Winery uplifted by the beauty of this shared experience between Amy Grant and her fans, in the name of faith.

Also, I left happy because Amy Grant closed out her concert with "Baby Baby" and "Every Heartbeat," fully with members of the audience on their feet, dancing and singing along - and that's a great way to walk out into the night air after a great concert. And, truly and genuinely, the Amy Grant concert was a great concert. I hope that The Lady will play City Winery again because more people deserve to see her in this intimate setting and enjoy her in this personal way.

So take this memo: Amy Grant will never go out. She is a Lady and a Legend, she is groovy and she is cool, and she is the voice of many peoples' lives, past, present, and future - and that just never goes out of style.

Find great shows to see on the City Winery website HERE.

Visit the Amy Grant website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher; Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

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