Bruuuce.com - tour reports

Venue: Windsor, CT .. August 15 2004

Thanks to Jessica Maynerick for a great write-up from what sounds like a great show - Windsor CT, in August 2004:

Summerwind Performing Arts Center is a fairly new venue in Connecticut, located in Windsor, which is a town just above Hartford. It’s an interesting drive, about four miles down a road lined with nothing but corporate buildings and some farmland. Parking is in another corporate lot, and then a short walk leads to the amphitheatre. There are 1,500 reserved seats and a lawn section (for another 2,500). The crowd was fairly large, with only some empty seats and a full lawn.

Bruce and the band took the stage at about 6:15, under gray skies (but luckily, Connecticut was spared the wrath of Hurricane Charley). The first song was a strong “Pastures of Plenty” and everyone was sounding great. Next up was “The Way It Is”, and after riffing a little for the first verse, it was a fairly straightforward version (much like the one he played on “Good Morning America” the next day).

Bruce had never been to Windsor before, and joked about the name of the town throughout the concert: (Windsor knots, the Windsors of England). He eventually christened the band’s name for the night: Bruce Hornsby and the Bishops of Windsor. At one point he said, “We don’t dance so good, but we play all the crazy s##t we want!”

There were a lot of requests put on the stage before the show, and Bruce stated the playlist was made up entirely of these songs. Then he proceeded to say, “We’re going to play a song for some people who sent back a funny picture with their request. Those tend to get our attention.” I jumped, as that was mine! I had printed a copy of a picture of my fiancé and I with Bruce from 2002. Bruce is making a strange face to the camera, and I was initially quite surprised when I got the prints back, but I’ve come to really like the unique snapshot, and I guess Bruce liked it, too. He then played “Fields of Gray” (which will be our wedding song), and segued into “That’s Where It’s At” and even a bit of “Cupid.” I couldn’t have been more thrilled.

Later, Bruce informed us he would be playing “Gonna Be Some Changes Made” on GMA the next day, and that we would get to hear the practice version. It sounded absolutely perfect for a “practice run”, and the whole band was really getting into it. The energy continued through the end of the first set, with “Spider Fingers” wrapping things up (and a really rousing Sonny Emory drum solo).

After a short intermission, the crowd suddenly found its energy. Many people were up dancing in front of the stage to “Swing Street”, to the security’s chagrin. Bruce tried to intervene, and the dancers were allowed to stay through “Man Smart, Woman Smarter”, when quite a few ladies got up on stage to dance.

This was perhaps the closest I’ve ever been at a show, and I could really see what an incredible band leader Bruce is, often motioning to different band members, changing songs mid-stream, or indicating ‘back to me’ for a solo piano moment. Many times during the night, he got up from the piano and just let the band shine, particularly Bobby Read, who had several nice solos throughout.

Everyone really got to stretch on “Talk of the Town”, segueing for about 10 minutes back and forth, including parts of “My Favorite Things” and “Dark Star” to boot. Bruce had commented that some of the crowd probably wouldn’t know “Talk”, but someone shouted back, “We know all your songs!” which seemed to make him happy.

After a rousing finish to the second set with “Big Rumble”, Bruce and company came back for an encore of “Rainbow’s Cadillac”. He commented that Connecticut is basketball country, and dedicated the song to Rip Hamilton, a UCONN star who now plays for the Detroit Pistons, and to the former Lady Huskies now playing in the Olympics. There were lots of cheers for Connecticut’s collective sports obsession. Bruce got up again to play the accordion for a verse or two, then settled back at the piano bench and wrapped up the show in grand style, as always.

Overall, it was an excellent show, and a real treat getting to see the whole band working its magic. Bruce never disappoints.


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	Venue: Windsor, CT .. August 15 2004 Thanks to Jessica Maynerick for a great write-up from what sounds like a great show - Windsor CT, in August 2004: Summerwind Performing Arts Center is a fairly new venue in Connecticut, located in Windsor, which is a town just above Hartford. It’s an interesting drive, about four miles down a road lined with nothing but corporate buildings and some farmland. Parking is in another corporate lot, and then a short walk leads to the amphitheatre. There are 1,500 reserved seats and a lawn section (for another 2,500). The crowd was fairly large, with only some empty seats and a full lawn. Bruce and the band took the stage at about 6:15, under gray skies (but luckily, Connecticut was spared the wrath of Hurricane Charley). The first song was a strong “Pastures of Plenty” and everyone was sounding great. Next up was “The Way It Is”, and after riffing a little for the first verse, it was a fairly straightforward version (much like the one he played on “Good Morning America” the next day). Bruce had never been to Windsor before, and joked about the name of the town throughout the concert: (Windsor knots, the Windsors of England). He eventually christened the band’s name for the night: Bruce Hornsby and the Bishops of Windsor. At one point he said, “We don’t dance so good, but we play all the crazy s##t we want!” There were a lot of requests put on the stage before the show, and Bruce stated the playlist was made up entirely of these songs. Then he proceeded to say, “We’re going to play a song for some people who sent back a funny picture with their request. Those tend to get our attention.” I jumped, as that was mine! I had printed a copy of a picture of my fiancé and I with Bruce from 2002. Bruce is making a strange face to the camera, and I was initially quite surprised when I got the prints back, but I’ve come to really like the unique snapshot, and I guess Bruce liked it, too. He then played “Fields of Gray” (which will be our wedding song), and segued into “That’s Where It’s At” and even a bit of “Cupid.” I couldn’t have been more thrilled. Later, Bruce informed us he would be playing “Gonna Be Some Changes Made” on GMA the next day, and that we would get to hear the practice version. It sounded absolutely perfect for a “practice run”, and the whole band was really getting into it. The energy continued through the end of the first set, with “Spider Fingers” wrapping things up (and a really rousing Sonny Emory drum solo). After a short intermission, the crowd suddenly found its energy. Many people were up dancing in front of the stage to “Swing Street”, to the security’s chagrin. Bruce tried to intervene, and the dancers were allowed to stay through “Man Smart, Woman Smarter”, when quite a few ladies got up on stage to dance. This was perhaps the closest I’ve ever been at a show, and I could really see what an incredible band leader Bruce is, often motioning to different band members, changing songs mid-stream, or indicating ‘back to me’ for a solo piano moment. Many times during the night, he got up from the piano and just let the band shine, particularly Bobby Read, who had several nice solos throughout. Everyone really got to stretch on “Talk of the Town”, segueing for about 10 minutes back and forth, including parts of “My Favorite Things” and “Dark Star” to boot. Bruce had commented that some of the crowd probably wouldn’t know “Talk”, but someone shouted back, “We know all your songs!” which seemed to make him happy. After a rousing finish to the second set with “Big Rumble”, Bruce and company came back for an encore of “Rainbow’s Cadillac”. He commented that Connecticut is basketball country, and dedicated the song to Rip Hamilton, a UCONN star who now plays for the Detroit Pistons, and to the former Lady Huskies now playing in the Olympics. There were lots of cheers for Connecticut’s collective sports obsession. Bruce got up again to play the accordion for a verse or two, then settled back at the piano bench and wrapped up the show in grand style, as always. Overall, it was an excellent show, and a real treat getting to see the whole band working its magic. Bruce never disappoints.