Bruce Hornsby
A friend who had an extra Orchestra seat invited me to attend. I primarily knew the videos I saw on TV before seeing the show. My next show would be a Dead show, and at the time I would never have imagined the possibility of a connection between Bruce and the Dead.
Two of my favorite contemporary musicians joined forces for this tour and performed with their own bands and also together, as they did at the Grammy awards.
Above: My program from the Blue Note show.
As soon as I laid my eyes on the full-page notice for this special run of Bruce Hornsby shows in the Village Voice (a copy of the page is above), I decided I was going to all three of these shows.
The Halcyon Days album was out and for me represented a wonderful musical milestone for Hornsby and his great band, the Noisemakers. I was already a big fan (given my piano background, love of the Grateful Dead, and my experiences seeing Bruce play before. I had seen him with his own band a couple of times, but had seen him many times in the Grateful Dead, Further Festival and Other Ones contexts. And I had been lucky to meet him briefly and shake hands, on the first Further tour.
On the first night I was able to get tickets for the early show, and he performed with (saxophonist) Bill Evans as a guest.
This and other parts of the run are documented on a great DVD that was released later, “Three Nights on the Town.”
I sat at a table at the far side of the stage at The Blue Note, just about touching JT Thomas as he sat at his keyboards. On other nights as well as this one, Bruce nicely tied together so many of my musical interests, including my own study of music. (My own piano teacher over many years studied with some of the same music teachers as Bruce at the U of Miami music school.)
I was very excited to see Bruce's first performance at Carnegie Hall, and to have a truly perfect seat to watch Hornsby at the piano. At this point he had not yet made a practice of giving solo performances, so this was a rare and important event for him at the renown Carnegie Hall.
Members of the Noisemakers and members of Bruce’s family were on hand for this event, and many were sitting in the seats around me. Bruce's wife turned around and introduced herself to me to let me know who she was.
When I met JT Thomas that night I discussed the song "Tango King" with him and specifically mentioned that I liked the the caliope organ sound - and he told me that he had personally designed that organ patch.
This show completed the "Three Nights on the Town" run.
A DVD was made of these shows, mostly featuring this night's performance. On one song I think I can spot myself in the last row of the Orchestra at one point. I’m the guy in the white business shirt, ha.
Only a small crowd of Bruce fans showed up for this show out in Atlantic City.
Bruce started by suggesting the possibility of playing the Dead tune "Jack Straw" but the response failed to impress and the band then went right into a standard set. While it was rare that Hornsby would play a show for his own fans that was comprised only of his most well-known tunes, it didn't bother me at all. I was happy to see and hear that show from the first row, and was able to take excellent photos of the band on this night.
I was able to chat with JT Thomas after the show, and he was surprised to learn that Kelly Clarkson was also playing that night in the larger theatre inside the Taj Mahal.
Above: The billboard outside the theatre.
Bruce played with Sonny Emory on drums / percussion, then they played together with Pat Methany's group. Watching Methany perform on one of his double neck Manzer guitars like the one shown above is quite a unique experience. Most Hornsby fans know that Pat helped out on some of Bruce’s albums; but I wonder how many fans of Trey Anastasio know what a primary inspiration/influence he has been on Trey. According to Manzer’s website, Pat’s Manzer guitar collection includes 12 different models and is still growing.
Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers in the late daylight at Red Rocks.
Below: Umprey’s McGee, later joined by Jennifer Hartswick on vocals.
Slideshow: Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, City Winery NYC.
Photo stack above: City Winery N2.
I continued to take advantage of the Noisemakers being out on the road at some low-key places during the summer of 2018, Bergen was one, although it would have been nice to have made it to places like Montana also.
I like this picture at left of Bruce in the spotlight flanked by the two new recruits also clapping in the background.
A nice day at the Indian Ranch, a unique property in Lake Webster, MA, with a nice little ampitheatre and a beautiful lake with steamboat rides.
Slideshow above, photos below: Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers at Indian Ranch.
Los Lobos opening up at Indian Ranch.
