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Submitted by Tom:
A great long show from Bruce. I can't remember when I last heard Dust And Diesel live — this version featured a wonderful keyboard solo by Julie. Bruce introduced Jerusalem Poker by chatting about his trip to Israel in the spring and being tied up in customs for 5 hours while they investigated his well-travelled girlfriend.
After Life Short Call Now, he said that a friend told him that it was the saddest song he'd ever written... until she heard this one — and he played Beautiful Creatures. The one-two political punch of This Is Baghdad and Tell The Universe was an audience favourite.
Michael White adds:
Before playing Jerusalem Poker he said Jerusalem was one of the wildest places he'd ever visited, that it was like being on LSD. He pointed out that it was odd how all these different religions merged there, and that the whole atmosphere was just very strange. He said that his girlfriend who was involved with Humanitarian Aid and had countries like Afghanistan and Iraq in her passport was majorly hassled at Customs there, and he was waiting there with her for about FIVE HOURS. He said that his own passport was new, so did not have any "bad" countries in it. He said that they did allow him to break out his guitar, so he played that while waiting and that is where this song came from. He also pointed out that although bizarre it was great and he wished all his Jewish friends could go there to visit at least once.
He then played This Is Baghdad and said that this song came from a similarly odd trip.
He played with Julie Wolf on keyboards and Gary Craig was the drummer; both are excellent at supporting his music.
Almost every time I see Bruce (about a dozen now), it is "the best". This was no exception. The HOB Sunset is a nice intimate place to see him, it's easy to get down in front of the stage, and the sound there is fantastic, perfect. He always does things a little bit differently — or sometimes very differently — and it is always a pleasant surprise to see what he's going to play and how he's going to play them.
Am I crazy or is Bruce just getting better and better on guitar? As an amateur guitar player myself, I am becoming more and amazed at his skill. Jerusalem Poker was one of the highlights for me, and The End Of All Rivers, where he uses the echo effect on his guitar, is just AMAZING, and beautiful!