Speedsk8er

Takavl, post: 8527 wrote:

Good show last night at the ol’ Colonial in the thriving downtown metropolis of lovely Keene, NH. JC has posted the setlist, beating me to it by a few hours. (I’d actually written one up this morning when I got home but the site must’ve logged me out; when I re-signed in, the entry was gone and my screen was blank…no, I didn’t black out! )

A few mildly amusing anecdotes, as well as random and very subjective observationes —

— First time I’d been to a BH show where the shouted reqs of “Way” and “Rain” and “Jack Straw!” started to become annoying. Imagine how BH feels…That said, I didn’t catch many audience members getting impatient with the more atonal, out-there venturings (“Catenaires,” “Charlie, Woody…,” etc) of our beloved Bruce. Also — first time I’ve had seats on the left side of BH (and relatively close, 3rd row) so I was VERY ABLE to see all of the spider fingerings. Wow.

— He played “Anna Lee” on dulcimer, as noted by JC. Never heard the tune before, but it’s from Helm’s last solo album “Dirt Farmer.” Bruce mentioned that he was practicing on us as he’ll be doing the song at the Helm benefit/memorial show in Joisey this Wednesday.

— I think that BH was using a Steinway loaner; a truck from a Stnwy. dealer from White River Junction (directly up Interstate 91, across the CT River from Dartmouth, NH) was parked outside the venue. I’d wondered how he was gonna do that. This particular piano had a Moog Piano Bar, which enabled BH to get the choral synth washes without his regular kybd. laying on top. Is this something he does now (every show I’d seen his synth would be up top) or just when he’s traveling solo and it’s more convenient to get a piano with embedded tech?

— First time, believe it or not, I’ve seen a show with an intermission!

— Seemed to be quite the townie thing to do; despite it being a semi-hometown show for your humble narrator, my bud and I recognized only two people. Nothing else to do in Keene on a rainy Friday night, so why not? Either that, and/or there were many peeps from the outlying NH/MA/VT areas. Also, during the intermission, they (the townies) just STAND THERE. They don’t move, they carry on chatting in the aisles and walkways, they throng the entryway buying overpriced boxed white wine 😆 and they ignore you when you say “Uh, excuse me…trying to get thru, here…” etc, etc. Ugh, I’ve been here too long. 👿

— The Colonial needs to invest in a renovated sound system, or maybe just TURN IT UP. It’s a concert, people, not a social gathering with background noise…

— A seemingly booze-enhanced shout-out of what sounded like “Booilll Radley!” led to BH ripping on the guy thusly — “What’s that, you wanna hear a tune about Bill Bradley?”

— Was it just me, or did BH seem to be a bit tired? Maybe the constant heavy New England misting outside was bumming him out? Maybe it’s me carping and there were a few too many ballads for my taste, not enough rollicking good timey-tunes. Not to mention that BH spent the second half of the show overly concerned with two lil’ chirruns in the front row, aka the Gold Member section. Also, this show was the first time I’d submitted a setlist and whiffed on the whole thang (for the record, here were the reqqies: “Parisian Thoroughfare,” “King of The Hill,” “The Changes,” “Swing Street”) — maybe I should’ve brought my boys? I know, I know….waaaaaaaaaaah. 😆 Oh well, waddaya gonna do?

On to Rutland, VT for tonight’s festivities!

T

I was also @ the Keene show. I’d never been to The Colonial and dug the intimate setting. It hadn’t seen Bruce solo since ’06 and basically enjoyed the whole show. I too could have gone for a few more rollicking numbers in place of the ballads. I was very happy to hear “Continents Drift” live for the first time.

Just behind us was a very vocal woman who wouldn’t stop calling for “Show Goes On” and whistling very loudly, even throughout the song. It was rather annoying, and slightly tarnished a very nice rendition. I think she was the one who called out about some old show @ Hampton Beach.

I’ve been curious about their latest. Parachutes is a great album. I also quite like Rush Of Blood To The Head. I’m not as impressed with X and Y overall. Some stuff on there I like, other songs not as much.

Sixty four. Born November ’43, like Randy Newman.

David Day wrote:

Touchdown!

Do you think Disc 2 then was a lead up to Big Swing Face?

David Day
Lake Lanier, GA

It could be that he was headed in the “Swing Face” direction and maybe there are signs of that especially on Disc 2.

Speaking of BSF, I like to play the “Big Swing Face” game with people. What I do is start playing “Big Swing Face” to people who don’t know Bruce’s stuff that well (at least the stuff post 1988). I see if they can guess who it is before I tell them. I tried it with a few people and NO ONE guessed correctly. The best guess I heard was “it sounds a little like Ben Harper.” Then they’re always amazed when I tell them it’s BH.

Someone mentioned Yes. I’ve been rediscovering a lot of the Yes catalog again lately. So many of their albums have made their way into my players including “The Yes Album” “Drama” and “90125.” I happen to like Yes from all their various eras and lineups. Many of their CDs (albums) have been remasterd and sound better than ever.

Also in my home CD player now is:

“Buena Vista Social Club”
“Kenny Burrell At The Five Spot Cafe”
Mozart Violin Concierto #2 and #4
Rush “Snakes & Arrows”

I went to the gig, but didn’t record it. Great show, and FREE! I got to stand right up front. WBGO has always been one of my favorite stations in the area. There were probably about 200 gathered around the stage area. The music filled City Hall Park and filled the whole area with great sound. You could hear Bruce’s piano crystal clear blocks away, on the steets of downtown Manhattan. The nearby buildings probably made for good acoustics.

I also got to check out the Carl Allen & Rodney Whittaker project just before Bruce/Christian/Jack. I immediately went to J&R after the gig and got their CD too. Highly recommended – great gospel and Motown tunes done in a jazz context.

I’ve sometimes wondered what kind of influence Yes has had on Bruce’s music. I imagine that Rick Wakeman must have some kind of an influence. Steve has been one of my favorite players for a long time.

Another combo I’d love to see is Bruce and Donald Fagan (or Becker/Fagan/Steely Dan/Bruce) together.

Meetup in NYC

I’m going to the show on Friday, and should be available for a little while before. I live in NYC, and if you all have suggestions on what kind of stuff you like (or don’t like) to eat, I can look into someplace to meet up – maybe on the Upper West Side near the venue. Let me know. Thanks. Looking forward to it.

My first show was Rush, in 1986, with Marillion as the opening band. It was such a great show. Maybe it seeemed great because it was my first concert; and I was young and impressionable. But then again, I’ve seen Rush many times since – and they’re awesome every time. Rush remain as one of my favorites to this day, with Bruce high on that list of course too.

Well, it’s too bad that Oyster Bay had to be my first Bruce show. I’ll be back to see him again, no question. My take on it is that it wasn’t a great show b/c of a combination of things. I was sitting off to the right side under the tent. And there were a few loud, cigar-smoking guys over there who made it hard to hear the show at times. I thought Alexa played a little too long (and talked too much) and that the Bruce set went by way too fast. He and the guys just seemed to have trouble getting into a good groove. And, yes, there were some obnoxious hecklers. It’s too bad that guys like this give New Yorkers such a bad rep. I’m glad a few of ’em got kicked out.

As for the show, the highlights for me were: Line in the Dust/Shadow Hand/Tango King.