Bruuuce.com - tour reports

Venue: Northampton, MA .. October 23 2004

Click to check the photos!

Thanks to Charlie Gessner for another great write-up, this time from Northampton, in October 2004:

BRUCE DELIVERS IN RED SOX NATION

With the Red Sox playing in the World Series, and this show taking place in Massachusetts, it was a wonder people showed up to see Bruce. But show up they did, to a very appreciative Bruce and band who promised they would deliver World Series score updates throughout the show.

The show started with Sonny Emory coming out and doing a very short drum solo; pounding away on one of his skins to the complete amazement of the audience. After about 3-4 minutes of this feat, Bruce and the band came out and sailed right into "What a Time".

From there, it was onto two new numbers "Circus on the Moon" (my favorite track on the new CD) and "Dreamland". After Dreamland, Bruce announced to the faithful that the score was 2-0 Red Sox, which got the crowd really going crazy. In fact, Bruce said the song might have brought the Red Sox luck, so he played the last verse one more time and by the end of this verse, the score was now Red Sox 4-0...which lead many to believe that Bruce should keep playing that tune all night long!!

At this point, Bruce went all the way back to the beginning to play "Long Race" which sounded fantastic as well. Requests from the crowd were plenty on this evening, so Bruce went right to them and played the "Fortunate Son > Comfortably Numb" medley which had many just sitting in awe. I've heard him do this at many other shows, but everytime I hear it, it amazes me how he can two songs that are so similar on many fronts (songwriting, arrangements, etc..) and make them sound as one. Beautiful!!

From there is was onto Mandolin Rain (Bruce's fingers were really moving around on this one) and a short version of Going Home, which many of the audience recognized and appreciated. Gonna Be Some Changes Made closed out the first set which left the crowd about 15 minutes to go catch a beer and a break.

The second set opened with Bruce doing a few solo's. Shadowhand, Bach Variation #2 and Hooray for Tom were all beautifully played, with Hooray sounding incredible. This is the first time I've heard this song live and I must say...Bruce, keep playing it!! Lovin' it.

The band came back out to Line in the Dust, Donna Lee (a Charlie "Bird" Parker tune) and a spirited Preacher in the Ring. By now, Bruce could have played anything and I was going to enjoy it.

Bruce caught the crowd by surprise with "Try Anything Once" which had that funk/rap feel to it, and with a spirited audience sing-a-long of Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Red Sox nation was again enjoying the band the World Series score updates (now 7 - 5 Red Sox).

Funhouse (with a little "You Sexy Thing" thrown in), Big Stick, Across the River, and Valley Road (same version as the Oct. 20 show....AWESOME RENDITION!!) closed out the show and by now the faithful were giving a standing ovation.

Bruce came out to close the show with "The Way It Is" and a JT flavored and heavily requested "Cruise Control". All in all, a great show, a lot of old and new stuff, and plenty of banter from Bruce all night long to make this one a memorable evening. And by the way, when we left the show, the Red Sox and Cards were tied at 7 apiece, with the Sox eventually winning....a great night in New England indeed: Bruce and the Sox wowing 'em in New England.

A couple of other quick notes....all in all, the house was about 65% sold out...mostly due to the Red Sox playing in the World Series. No Dead covers and no dancing on the stage, but to be honest, it wasn't missed at all. Bobby Read had many memorable bits during the show, especially on Funhouse where he wailed away!! Sonny also really was hitting hard tonite and blew me away. A great mix of old and new stuff, which kept some of the old-timers happy.


		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: Northampton, MA .. October 23 2004 Click to check the photos! Thanks to Charlie Gessner for another great write-up, this time from Northampton, in October 2004: BRUCE DELIVERS IN RED SOX NATION With the Red Sox playing in the World Series, and this show taking place in Massachusetts, it was a wonder people showed up to see Bruce. But show up they did, to a very appreciative Bruce and band who promised they would deliver World Series score updates throughout the show. The show started with Sonny Emory coming out and doing a very short drum solo; pounding away on one of his skins to the complete amazement of the audience. After about 3-4 minutes of this feat, Bruce and the band came out and sailed right into "What a Time". From there, it was onto two new numbers "Circus on the Moon" (my favorite track on the new CD) and "Dreamland". After Dreamland, Bruce announced to the faithful that the score was 2-0 Red Sox, which got the crowd really going crazy. In fact, Bruce said the song might have brought the Red Sox luck, so he played the last verse one more time and by the end of this verse, the score was now Red Sox 4-0...which lead many to believe that Bruce should keep playing that tune all night long!! At this point, Bruce went all the way back to the beginning to play "Long Race" which sounded fantastic as well. Requests from the crowd were plenty on this evening, so Bruce went right to them and played the "Fortunate Son > Comfortably Numb" medley which had many just sitting in awe. I've heard him do this at many other shows, but everytime I hear it, it amazes me how he can two songs that are so similar on many fronts (songwriting, arrangements, etc..) and make them sound as one. Beautiful!! From there is was onto Mandolin Rain (Bruce's fingers were really moving around on this one) and a short version of Going Home, which many of the audience recognized and appreciated. Gonna Be Some Changes Made closed out the first set which left the crowd about 15 minutes to go catch a beer and a break. The second set opened with Bruce doing a few solo's. Shadowhand, Bach Variation #2 and Hooray for Tom were all beautifully played, with Hooray sounding incredible. This is the first time I've heard this song live and I must say...Bruce, keep playing it!! Lovin' it. The band came back out to Line in the Dust, Donna Lee (a Charlie "Bird" Parker tune) and a spirited Preacher in the Ring. By now, Bruce could have played anything and I was going to enjoy it. Bruce caught the crowd by surprise with "Try Anything Once" which had that funk/rap feel to it, and with a spirited audience sing-a-long of Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Red Sox nation was again enjoying the band the World Series score updates (now 7 - 5 Red Sox). Funhouse (with a little "You Sexy Thing" thrown in), Big Stick, Across the River, and Valley Road (same version as the Oct. 20 show....AWESOME RENDITION!!) closed out the show and by now the faithful were giving a standing ovation. Bruce came out to close the show with "The Way It Is" and a JT flavored and heavily requested "Cruise Control". All in all, a great show, a lot of old and new stuff, and plenty of banter from Bruce all night long to make this one a memorable evening. And by the way, when we left the show, the Red Sox and Cards were tied at 7 apiece, with the Sox eventually winning....a great night in New England indeed: Bruce and the Sox wowing 'em in New England. A couple of other quick notes....all in all, the house was about 65% sold out...mostly due to the Red Sox playing in the World Series. No Dead covers and no dancing on the stage, but to be honest, it wasn't missed at all. Bobby Read had many memorable bits during the show, especially on Funhouse where he wailed away!! Sonny also really was hitting hard tonite and blew me away. A great mix of old and new stuff, which kept some of the old-timers happy.