I was a little concerned that there would be a small
crowd for this show
because it was a late addition to the tour. My fears were
dismissed when I drove by the Theatre an hour before the show to see a line
going out of the
Theatre and down the street. This was a nice sight (except
for the fact
that it was general admission, and I was not at the front
of that line).
Bruce walked on stage at about 20 minutes past 7:00 in
an orange t-shirt
covered with a red dress shirt, brown pants and all black
sneakers. He
looked energetic and happy to be there, considering it was
his fourth
consecutive show. Perhaps the thought of a day off
following the show was
enough motivation.
The band went straight into a fine version of "Horses",
which set the
tone for the evening. Bruce seems to particularly enjoy
playing "Give it
Away;" (you really believe him when he sings, "it only
lives when
you.....give it away.") the audience responded
enthusiastically to the intro
and he smiled throughout the song. After "Normal," a woman
yelled out,
"Happy early birthday, Bruce!" He smiled and thanked her.
The crowd this
night was a bit "chatty" (I'm being kind).
The way that the balcony is set up; there are a couple
of seats that run along the side wall, stage right, that are rather close to
the stage and in
full view of the rest of the theatre. There, sat a blonde
woman in some
sort of leather outfit. Although, she didn't sit for long.
She stood and
danced most of the night; while yelling to Bruce in between
most of the
songs. In fact, she talked DURING a few as well. After
"Look How Far"
(which she apparently believed was written exclusively for
her) she screamed
"Play it again!" To which Bruce replied, "You gotta quit
while you're
ahead....I mean, I do." The next song was "Let the Bad Air
Out." Again, the audience really got a kick out of the ending and
Bruce's vocal range.
At song's completion, the balcony blonde once again feels
compelled to say
something. She yells out, "Hey Bruce, sign my C.D.!"
Bruce says, "Excuse
me?" So the woman repeats it, and Bruce replies, "Not at
this moment; but,
maybe if we could find a more suitable place and time."
Predictably, this
got quite a rise out of the crowd and left the woman
speechless (if only it
had lasted).
"Delta" was fantastic! Here's a guy who is a brilliant
lyricist who can
also bring down the house without uttering a word. By just
letting the instrument do the talking, he brought the crowd to a
frenzy. We ate it up!
Steve Lucas' bass solo and Ben Riley's thundering drum work
were just as
impressive. They had everyone mesmerized.
Just before intermission, Bruce mentioned that he hoped
to see everyone
back there afterwards. Judging by the reaction to the
first set, nobody was
going anywhere. My wife and niece, who were seeing Bruce
for the first
time, were loving every minute of it. It was also nice to
see all of the
kids there with there parents. Bruce returned to the stage
30 minutes later
and asked if everyone felt "rested"; before going into
"Pacing the Cage."
The audience cheered, and settled in for a much anticipated
second set.
Before playing the new instrumental, Bruce said, "I get
the feeling that
some of you have seen me on this tour already" (crowd
laughs). "If so,
you're probably feeling Deja Vu" (he laughs). "Since the
last time, this
song has acquired a title (the crowd cheers), it's called
'The End of All
Rivers." (the crowd roars in approval).
After playing "Mango," Bruce stepped to the mic and
announced, "We're
going to take an unscheduled intermission here on account
of I have to take
a leak." I should note that he did this in the Keene, N.H.
show as well (Yes Bruce, this is Deja Vu!). The crowd reaction was
about the same as in
Keene (stunned, and then laughter). When Bruce returned,
the crowd
applauded; to which Bruce responded with a grin, "It's
really not necessary
to applaud." I once again give kudos to the guy for
telling it like it is.
Even if it is more than we need to know. What can you say?
He knows how to
get a laugh.
Before playing "Fools," Bruce explained that since
there were so many
people who had already seen the tour; he would not go into
great detail about the origins of the song. I figured this meant he
would shorten the
intro.. Instead, he simply went right into the song,
without any
explanation. I didn't mind, though someone behind me felt
cheated. "What
about those of us who haven't heard it?" I heard him say.
Just before "Friends," someone yelled out, "Free Bird!"
(this also
happened at the Keene show). Bruce replied, "It could only
be one person."
I assume that this is a guy who follows the tour around and
yells "Free
Bird!" when the mood strikes him. Or maybe Bruce
remembered that from the
Keene show. Either way, it's no longer humorous (are you
listening?). In
fact, a good portion of the crowd chatter between songs is,
in my opinion,
annoying. Song requests are O.K., I guess, but there is a
time to be quiet
and let the artist perform. Fortunately, Bruce is good
natured and
tolerant; and either laughs it off, or ignores it
completely. Although, I
can't help feeling that Bruce avoided talking too much
about the songs
because every break in the music was met with people's
attempts at being
"witty."
At one point, during the first encore, the typical
requests were being
hurled towards the stage when Bruce said, "I can't believe
noone asked for this one." He then performed "Dialogue" to perfection. I
love how the band
stands by during this song, letting Bruce go solo, until
the very end when
he sings "Why don't we celebrate" over and over. Then
Steve and Ben
suddenly join in and It's like a waterfall of light and
sound crashing down
on the audience; emphasizing the intent of the last
lines.....WHY DON'T WE
CELEBRATE!!!!! It almost makes you want to stand up and
testify, Southern
Baptist style.
Before "Blueberry Hill," Someone yelled out amid the
requests, "I hope
you weren't thinking about leaving." Bruce replied, "Not
at this particular moment." Finally, after a gorgeous "Diamonds," (which was
also spiritually
powerful and moving to me on this night) Bruce approached
the mic and said,
"Now I'm thinking about leaving;" and, after thanking us
for coming, he
walked off the stage, leaving behind a satisfied and
grateful audience.
The Palace Theater is a small venue (seems about 500) in
downtown
Manchester, NH. The show looked pretty much sold out.
Bruce opened with a
song that I was unfamiliar with (which is embarrassing for
a 20+year fan).
He followed with "When You Give It Away" and proceeded to
play 10 of the 11
songs on his new release "Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner
in Timbuktu"
(missing only "Deep Lake"). This is arguably his best CD
ever.
He also sprinkled in some older stuff, such as "If I Had A
Rocket Launcher"
which he sang as passionately as any other song of the
evening. "Pacing the
Cage" was great, as was "The Trouble with Normal", "All The
Diamonds",
"Isn't That What Friends Are For" and "Call It Democracy".
The highlight of the evening was definitely "Down To The
Delta" where Bruce
showed his guitar prowess and featured the incredible
6-string bass playing
of Steve Lucas and drumming by Ben Riley that brought back
memories of Carl
Palmer (ELP). By the way, no one was having a better time
than Ben
throughout the night. I hope he isn't getting paid, too!!
Early on in the concert, a fan sitting in the wings asked
Bruce if he would
sign her CD, to which he replied "Not now. But at the
appropriate time and
place, I might."
When he finished playing "Look How Far" one of the audience
yelled for him
to play it again. His response was "I'd rather quit while
I'm ahead". I
would have liked to hear it again myself.
The band played about an hour and fifteen minutes, took a
25 minute break.
Returned to play again and two songs later, after "Mango",
Bruce had to take
an impromptu break because in his own words "I really got
to take a piss".
When he returned to applause he remarked "I hope you aren't
applauding
that!"
Bruce played a total of about 2.5 hours, including 2
encores which each
featured a couple of songs. Sorry I didn't make a set
list.
I am ashamed to say that this is my first Bruce concert. I
don't think I
will miss him again. I have always been a huge fan of his
songs and his
singing, but was most impressed by his guitar playing
method - no pick,
always finger picking.
See pictures from this show at Marie's Page.