Venue: Saratoga, CA .. July 14 2004

Thanks to regular reviewer Mike Andrews for this write-up from Saratoga, on the opening night of the 2004 tour:

There are few venues that I know of that match the beauty of the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California. The winery, and the amphitheater, is situated on the western slope of the coastal mountains of the Santa Clara Valley. Originally built by the winemaker Paul Masson in the late 1800's, the working winery is now a concert venue with a fine restaurant, beautiful grounds and outstanding views. When standing at the top of the concert bowl, you can see north to the San Francisco Bay, south to the city of San Jose with all of Silicon Valley stretched in between. The shimmering of the city lights is a sight not to be missed! This was the scene of the July 14th Bruce concert on a pleasant and cool Wednesday evening.

The crowd was the usual assortment of well coiffed middle aged folks with some loyal dead heads mixed in. While waiting for the concert to begin, my wife and I struck up a conversation with another couple sitting nearby. They asked how many times we had seen Bruce. I looked to my wife and record keeper who answered, "I think it's six times for me and seven for you". It was at this moment that it struck me how long I've been following Bruce and enjoying his concerts. The other couple mentioned that this was their first concert. I told them that they were in for a treat.

The concert opened with a performer by the name of Joe Mannix. He was a solo acoustical performer who, despite the lack of an enthusiastic crowd who was milling about on the winery grounds, put on a nice performance of Dylan-esque songs. After a short break and as the sun set, the band of usual suspects sauntered onto the stage to fire things up. Within a few moments, Bruce and Bobby Read completed the band and joined the rest on stage.

The setlist is included on the site so I won't recall all the songs, but rather some highlights I remember. They began to play moving through "See the Same Way" and "Tango King". During both songs, the band seemed quite rough, struggling at times to get into the groove. Bruce mentioned that this was the first show in two years and it showed. While completely proficient with each of their respective instruments, the band just didn't seem sure of each other. A few confused looks were exchanged and some rough segue occurred until some of the rough edges were worn off.

Experienced Bruce concert goers know that most of the experience is based on Bruce choosing from requests. After opening the first song, Bruce made mention that, "gee, there's only a coupla requests here". I said to my wife that this may not have been wise to say. Sure enough, people from throughout the crowd began to bring probably a solid fifty or more request up to the stage. One request, "The Way It Is" done "bi-tonal", caught his eye and he said he'd play it…… but we'd all scream. He then proceeded to play the most dissonant version I could imagine. Just as I was about to scream, the song morphed through strong variations of "Talk of the Town" and "The Way It Is". Sometimes you can tell that a performer is really talented when they can play something completely WRONG, without missing a beat. That was certainly the case here. I also noticed that, like riding a bike, the band soon was working together flawlessly.

Bruce played a few cuts off the new album, Halcyon Days, which included "Candy Mountain Run", "Dreamland", and "Gonna Be Some Changes Made". Unlike the last album, I found these new songs to be much more in the mold of Bruce's more typical work…..soulful stories of everyday people……with everyday struggles…..set to great melodies and a steady cool beat. Before playing "Dreamland", which is a duet tune done with Elton John on the album; Bruce told the story of first meeting Elton. Bruce was appearing on the English version of the Johnny Carson show when Elton John charged into his dressing room, hugging him and calling him a f**cking genius! Based on Bruce's further descriptions, Elton was quite colorful and clearly enthusiastic about him! This was clearly the beginning of a good friendship and Elton continues their occasional collaborations with "Dreamland".

As Bruce continued through the set, the predictable dancing started off to the side stage. Soon some other, more adventurous ladies came up, with one lying on the Steinway. Bruce mentioned that the Steinway folks might not appreciate it. As the gal began to get off the piano, he said "but I do"! Soon the stage was filled with dancers of all ages, shapes and sizes who were grooving to the tunes. The band seemed to feed off the energy, yet the anarchy that was unleashed was more than any show I had seen previously. The women in this group were unusually "affectionate" and Bruce found himself being patted, kissed, hugged and generally pawed. Sometimes enjoying and encouraging, and other times seeming to be slightly discomforted by it, Bruce continued to move between piano and accordion. Directing the band became quite a struggle with ultimately Bruce standing on his piano stool to give cues.

One thing I noticed throughout the performance was an attitude difference. I've not been able to exactly pin it down, but something was subtly different in this performance. First, Bruce chewed gum, sometimes quite vigorously….something I hadn't noticed in other performances. It never impaired the performance, but you could sure hear him chomping on it when speaking! But in addition, there was an air of high energy, and maybe even some cockiness? Bruce has never been short on speaking his mind, but he seemed to be particularly assertive and sure of himself with his statements and jokes. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant. Just different. I ascribe it to the fact that this was his first concert after having a year off. He also mentioned that he has toured seventeen of the last nineteen years. Guess that would challenge anyone's stage presence (in his past performances) vs. a concert after having a year off.

Continuing through the set, Bruce and the band demonstrated the usual abilities to improvise and to create a unique performance from often performed songs. I noticed that Doug Derryberry continues to grow as a member of the band, playing several guitar riffs that were melodic and soaring. It seems to me that his role in the band, and Bruce's use of guitar, has increased over the recent years which I find a welcome compliment to Bruce's strong melodies. Bobby Read also seemed to put on a stronger than usual performance with several solo riffs that were fantastic. J.T. was……well J.T. It's hard to say anymore about a talented keyboardist who is a perfect compliment to Bruce. J.V. and Sonny were fabulous and flawless in the rhythm section as usual. As the concert wound to a conclusion, the band finished off with a personal favorite "Mandolin Rain" which led to "Sad Mood" and back to the completion of "Mandolin Rain". This song embodies what I consider the best in Bruce's music, namely the ability to evoke moods put to beautiful melodies. Earlier, Bruce mentioned that this was the beginning of a tour that would include some dates in Europe. He also hinted that he'd be back in our area, although there are no dates yet. I hope he meant it and that we'll have a chance to see him again, particularly in the beautiful setting of the Mountain Winery.