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Venue: Milwaukuee, WI .. July 29 2004

Thanks to Mark Williams for this write-up from Milwaukee, as the Tour for '04 continues:

The Northern Lights Theater at the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee is a beautiful and comortable facility that only holds about 500. Seating is Vegas-style with tables on the main level and there is a small balcony with chairs. The theater attracts many headline acts. Bruce and the band (Bobby Read, JT Thomas, Doug Derrbyberry, JV Collier, and Sonny Emory) took the stage at 8:05 to a smattering of applause. Bruce took his place at his new (in my book) Steinway and kicked off what was to be a very memorable show.

The White-Wheeled Limo opener was flawless. Bruce began with some comments about the word "Potawatomi" (the name of the casino taken from the name of the Indian tribe that runs it). He very humorously imitated someone with a British accent saying the word "Potawatomi" and, in typical style, he scatted on the word throughout the show. Next up was the great new song, Candy Mountain Run. This one was very well received by the audience. A world premiere of Halcyon Days followed. Somewhat of a snoozer that is derivative of The Way It Is in my book, but still a very pretty song. Next was Gonna Be Some Changes made. Very nice to hear this one live and Bruce followed it up with an extra verse with just his piano as accompaniment. Said it was his only song with the words "skinny dip" and "drooling" in the lyrics! Bruce then announced that he had a really big request. He reached down a picked up a three foot square sign with "Harbor Lights" written in huge blue letters. It could be read from across the theater. Bruce said he do the complete piano intro if he could remember it. Said "I might get myself in trouble here"! He pulled it off beautifully, then the band joined him for more intro before launching into a picture-perfect rendition of Harbor Lights. The stage background had a multitude of tiny lights that changed colors. It looked like a clear starry night and was very appropriate for Harbor Lights.

Bruce then mentioned that "a very special guest", Joey Puerta, bass player from The Range was in the audience. He said Joey now lives in Milwaukee and runs a recording studio in town. The band then did a very nice version of End Of The Innocence. This was followed by an absolutely rocking version of Tango King that was played upon a shouted request. Bruce invited people to dance. He explained the sometimes people even fight at his shows, and he ecouraged the audience to either dance or fight if they want to! Tango King was followed by The Way It Is with some unbelievable independent-hands playing by Bruce. I think he must have again spent a lot of time practicing before this tour. Hard to believe he could get better on piano, but he has!

At this point, I expected a set-break, but this was not to be. In fact, there was no break at all in the show until just before the encore. Next, Bruce invited Joey Puerta to the stage. Joey plugged in and the band stuck up a rousing, blues-style version of Defenders Of The Flag with both JV Collier and Joey on bass! This tune absolutely rocked and the audience went wild at the end. Joey then remained on stage for Across The River that was introduced by Bruce with some comments about Jerry Garcia. Joey and JV did a dueling basses solo in the middle of Across The River that was something to see. JV was watching Joey very closely and kept shaking his head like he couldn't believe what Joey was doing on his bass! Bruce took a turn on accordion and did a lot of mugging with Joey at the foot of the stage. The song ended with Bruce still on accordion while standing on the Steinway.

The band left the stage briefly and Joey did not return for the encore. Sugaree requests had been shouted out throughout the show and Bruce felt compelled to honor The Dead once again. Mandolin Rain followed. It went in and out of Black Muddy River and I swear there was even a Ripples tease in there at one point. Next up was Spider Fingers. It had also been a shouted request. The performance was dead-on and featured a stutter-step finish that seemed to be completely improvisational and was lead by Bruce. They must have finished the song four or five times and then kept coming back. Very cool! Rainbow's Cadillac ended the show with Bruce again taking a turn on accordion. While playing accordion he approached me (I was fortunate enough to have a front-row seat) and mouthed "how ya doin?" I responded by mimicking a basketball jump shot and he said "you got it"!

All in all a wonderful show that might be the best I've seen so far. Of course, my last Hornsby show is always my favorite!


		Tour reports - I'd love to hear about any shows you've been to, recent or distant. If you'd like to share, please mail anything to me, and I'll see that it goes straight up with full credit.
	Venue: Milwaukuee, WI .. July 29 2004 Thanks to Mark Williams for this write-up from Milwaukee, as the Tour for '04 continues: The Northern Lights Theater at the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee is a beautiful and comortable facility that only holds about 500. Seating is Vegas-style with tables on the main level and there is a small balcony with chairs. The theater attracts many headline acts. Bruce and the band (Bobby Read, JT Thomas, Doug Derrbyberry, JV Collier, and Sonny Emory) took the stage at 8:05 to a smattering of applause. Bruce took his place at his new (in my book) Steinway and kicked off what was to be a very memorable show. The White-Wheeled Limo opener was flawless. Bruce began with some comments about the word "Potawatomi" (the name of the casino taken from the name of the Indian tribe that runs it). He very humorously imitated someone with a British accent saying the word "Potawatomi" and, in typical style, he scatted on the word throughout the show. Next up was the great new song, Candy Mountain Run. This one was very well received by the audience. A world premiere of Halcyon Days followed. Somewhat of a snoozer that is derivative of The Way It Is in my book, but still a very pretty song. Next was Gonna Be Some Changes made. Very nice to hear this one live and Bruce followed it up with an extra verse with just his piano as accompaniment. Said it was his only song with the words "skinny dip" and "drooling" in the lyrics! Bruce then announced that he had a really big request. He reached down a picked up a three foot square sign with "Harbor Lights" written in huge blue letters. It could be read from across the theater. Bruce said he do the complete piano intro if he could remember it. Said "I might get myself in trouble here"! He pulled it off beautifully, then the band joined him for more intro before launching into a picture-perfect rendition of Harbor Lights. The stage background had a multitude of tiny lights that changed colors. It looked like a clear starry night and was very appropriate for Harbor Lights. Bruce then mentioned that "a very special guest", Joey Puerta, bass player from The Range was in the audience. He said Joey now lives in Milwaukee and runs a recording studio in town. The band then did a very nice version of End Of The Innocence. This was followed by an absolutely rocking version of Tango King that was played upon a shouted request. Bruce invited people to dance. He explained the sometimes people even fight at his shows, and he ecouraged the audience to either dance or fight if they want to! Tango King was followed by The Way It Is with some unbelievable independent-hands playing by Bruce. I think he must have again spent a lot of time practicing before this tour. Hard to believe he could get better on piano, but he has! At this point, I expected a set-break, but this was not to be. In fact, there was no break at all in the show until just before the encore. Next, Bruce invited Joey Puerta to the stage. Joey plugged in and the band stuck up a rousing, blues-style version of Defenders Of The Flag with both JV Collier and Joey on bass! This tune absolutely rocked and the audience went wild at the end. Joey then remained on stage for Across The River that was introduced by Bruce with some comments about Jerry Garcia. Joey and JV did a dueling basses solo in the middle of Across The River that was something to see. JV was watching Joey very closely and kept shaking his head like he couldn't believe what Joey was doing on his bass! Bruce took a turn on accordion and did a lot of mugging with Joey at the foot of the stage. The song ended with Bruce still on accordion while standing on the Steinway. The band left the stage briefly and Joey did not return for the encore. Sugaree requests had been shouted out throughout the show and Bruce felt compelled to honor The Dead once again. Mandolin Rain followed. It went in and out of Black Muddy River and I swear there was even a Ripples tease in there at one point. Next up was Spider Fingers. It had also been a shouted request. The performance was dead-on and featured a stutter-step finish that seemed to be completely improvisational and was lead by Bruce. They must have finished the song four or five times and then kept coming back. Very cool! Rainbow's Cadillac ended the show with Bruce again taking a turn on accordion. While playing accordion he approached me (I was fortunate enough to have a front-row seat) and mouthed "how ya doin?" I responded by mimicking a basketball jump shot and he said "you got it"! All in all a wonderful show that might be the best I've seen so far. Of course, my last Hornsby show is always my favorite!