Bruce Hornsby (Westbury Music Fair)

With his 6 piece band in tow, Bruce Hornsby pulled into Westbury raring to play. Having toured extensively over the last few years, both as a member of the Grateful Dead and The Other Ones (or simply on his own), Hornsby is a man dedicated to playing the piano and creating some of the most enjoyable music one could ever hope to spend an evening listening to.
And boy did he play, and boy did we, the audience, enjoy. Not sold out, but almost so, the Music Fair was the perfect venue for Hornsby; in the round, with the stage turning ever so slowly, the furthest seat from the stage is only about 25 rows back, so all were guaranteed a fine seat for this special offering.

Opening with a great "Barren Ground," the crowd was along with him immediately. As audience members rose up from their seats to dance, Bruce actually them to take themselves to the back of the hall, to avoid any conflicts with security, who happened to be sitting people to sit down. (Security getting these folks to stop dancing to this music would be like asking religious zealots to stop praying at the end of the world.) But at once, the rear of the hall was reminiscent of a Grateful Dead show, with swirling boys and girls, alit in fantasy or hallucinogens, taking over.

"White Wheeled Limousine" was a standout, even with the great "Bar Mitzvah Schlock Sax Solo," as even Bruce himself, referred to it! In fine fetters, tickling the ivories with an aplomb rarely witnessed, Bruce's hands seemingly flowed over the keys effortlessly. "Talk of the Town," his tune about an interracial love in a village not so willing, was another standout, seemlessly merging into his most recognizable tune, "The Way It Is," off his first disc. Bruce used to play an extremely intricate, improvised solo piece leading into this tune, but he now flows out of it into an extremely intricate, improvised, solo piece, which Bruce himself jokingly referred to as 'lite FM fare.' Then, after at least six or so minutes, the group slammed right back into "The Way it Is," bolder and brighter than before. Full out now, the group collectively hit the mark: sweet Leslie organ, wailing lead guitar work and staccato rhythms.

After a cute story about his gym-crazy friend, Jimmy, Bruce let loose with a "Rainbow's Cadillac" that brought over a dozen women to the stage, dancing as he played the accordion.

"Preacher in the Ring," off his great, new double disc, Spirit Trail, opened the second set. As slick as, well... a preacher in the rain, the song got things cooking once again.

Next up was a song most folks don't even know Bruce co-wrote, but after hearing his amazing version of it, they'll never forget that he did. "The End of The Innocence." Yeah, the Don Henley tune. And, in all honesty, Bruce blew Don away, folks. Forever in the audience's minds it will now be, '...that Bruce Hornsby song that Don Henley did a version of once... I think.' Another five-minute (at least) piano solo lead into this one. Intricate and elegant, it sounded like a Chopin etude at one moment, than like a Brahms lullaby the next. You could hear a pin drop in the hall, for the audience was in rapture.

If all that proceeded it wasn't enough, Bruce continued to blow the minds of all the Deadheads by breaking out a tune performed rarely performed live even with the Dead themselves: "Terrapin Station." Stripped down and bare, the lyrics stood out in a way they never had before.

A cajun flavored "When I Paint My Masterpiece" was another blow-your-mind addition to the 45 minute additional set. Only the encore of "Spiderfingers," at the crowd's request, could top the rest of the evening, as Bruce's digits trailed across the ivories like angels fleeting across the heavens.

"Mandolin Rain" was the final offering. Sullen and delicious, we were mysteriously transported to a front porch in Virginia on a hot, sultry night; the fireflies were almost visable if you squinted just a little. Banjo and mandolin melded so perfectly, making this so unbelievably lush, that one could actually cry at the beauty of this arrangement.

The song ended at 10:58 exactly and Bruce stated, "we have two minutes till they turn the lights on." If not, Bruce and company probably would have played all night. The evening was so hot that the Music Fair probably needed a few days to cool down. I'm sure all present did.

Bruce Hornsby
Westbury Music Fair

(Westbury, NY)

reviewed by j bloomrosen

photosbyj.bloomrosen

With his 6 piece band in tow, Bruce Hornsby pulled into Westbury raring to play. Having toured extensively over the last few years, both as a member of the Grateful Dead and The Other Ones (or simply on his own), Hornsby is a man dedicated to playing the piano and creating some of the most enjoyable music one could ever hope to spend an evening listening to.
And boy did he play, and boy did we, the audience, enjoy. Not sold out, but almost so, the Music Fair was the perfect venue for Hornsby; in the round, with the stage turning ever so slowly, the furthest seat from the stage is only about 25 rows back, so all were guaranteed a fine seat for this special offering.

Opening with a great "Barren Ground," the crowd was along with him immediately. As audience members rose up from their seats to dance, Bruce actually them to take themselves to the back of the hall, to avoid any conflicts with security, who happened to be sitting people to sit down. (Security getting these folks to stop dancing to this music would be like asking religious zealots to stop praying at the end of the world.) But at once, the rear of the hall was reminiscent of a Grateful Dead show, with swirling boys and girls, alit in fantasy or hallucinogens, taking over.

"White Wheeled Limousine" was a standout, even with the great "Bar Mitzvah Schlock Sax Solo," as even Bruce himself, referred to it! In fine fetters, tickling the ivories with an aplomb rarely witnessed, Bruce's hands seemingly flowed over the keys effortlessly. "Talk of the Town," his tune about an interracial love in a village not so willing, was another standout, seemlessly merging into his most recognizable tune, "The Way It Is," off his first disc. Bruce used to play an extremely intricate, improvised solo piece leading into this tune, but he now flows out of it into an extremely intricate, improvised, solo piece, which Bruce himself jokingly referred to as 'lite FM fare.' Then, after at least six or so minutes, the group slammed right back into "The Way it Is," bolder and brighter than before. Full out now, the group collectively hit the mark: sweet Leslie organ, wailing lead guitar work and staccato rhythms.

After a cute story about his gym-crazy friend, Jimmy, Bruce let loose with a "Rainbow's Cadillac" that brought over a dozen women to the stage, dancing as he played the accordion.

"Preacher in the Ring," off his great, new double disc, Spirit Trail, opened the second set. As slick as, well... a preacher in the rain, the song got things cooking once again.

Next up was a song most folks don't even know Bruce co-wrote, but after hearing his amazing version of it, they'll never forget that he did. "The End of The Innocence." Yeah, the Don Henley tune. And, in all honesty, Bruce blew Don away, folks. Forever in the audience's minds it will now be, '...that Bruce Hornsby song that Don Henley did a version of once... I think.' Another five-minute (at least) piano solo lead into this one. Intricate and elegant, it sounded like a Chopin etude at one moment, than like a Brahms lullaby the next. You could hear a pin drop in the hall, for the audience was in rapture.

If all that proceeded it wasn't enough, Bruce continued to blow the minds of all the Deadheads by breaking out a tune performed rarely performed live even with the Dead themselves: "Terrapin Station." Stripped down and bare, the lyrics stood out in a way they never had before.

A cajun flavored "When I Paint My Masterpiece" was another blow-your-mind addition to the 45 minute additional set. Only the encore of "Spiderfingers," at the crowd's request, could top the rest of the evening, as Bruce's digits trailed across the ivories like angels fleeting across the heavens.

"Mandolin Rain" was the final offering. Sullen and delicious, we were mysteriously transported to a front porch in Virginia on a hot, sultry night; the fireflies were almost visable if you squinted just a little. Banjo and mandolin melded so perfectly, making this so unbelievably lush, that one could actually cry at the beauty of this arrangement.

The song ended at 10:58 exactly and Bruce stated, "we have two minutes till they turn the lights on." If not, Bruce and company probably would have played all night. The evening was so hot that the Music Fair probably needed a few days to cool down. I'm sure all present did.

Bruce Hornsby
Westbury Music Fair

(Westbury, NY)

reviewed by j bloomrosen

photosbyj.bloomrosen