Wolf Trap | Vienna, VA
It had been 8 years since Bruce Hornsby had played at Wolf Trap. He returned to packed house and a warm welcome. Wolftrap is a very intimate venue complete with a balcony and plush lawn that allows attendees to bring coolers, food, and just about anything else you could imagine. It's very high on culture and an excellent place to see a show. The weather was perfect and celebration vibrated from the crowd.
Bruce took the stage solo right at 8pm and explored some of his capabilities with a nice piano intro. As his band filled the stage he started the evening of with "Great Divide." The sound was excellent and Bruce agreed, "Sometimes you get in a groove and don't want to stop." "White-Wheeled Limousine" followed which is a song about a man getting caught cheating on his wedding day; in the bushes behind the church! The spotlight then turned to RS Hornsby, Bruce's nephew, for a nice guitar solo on an awesome PRS. Bruce has a very unique and active stage presence and he loves the crowd interaction. He showed his appreciation by moving down the sheet of requests into "King of the Hill" > "Mystery Train."
The first set continued with "Mandolin Rain," which had an awesome transition into the Dead's "Black Muddy River," a nice gift to the crowd and to Jerry on his 59th birthday. This was followed by a trilogy of songs inspired by the writings of the Virginian author Lee Smith, "Road Not Taken," "Preacher in the Ring 1" > "Preacher in the Ring 2." Bruce, a native of Virginia has a great love and admiration for the state that he resides in and it really showed in this performance. He ended the first set with the crowd pleasing "The Way It Is," which is probably one of the greatest songs written in our generation. Addressing issues of segregation, unemployment, and the breaking of barriers, it is definitely a work of art.
After a nice break and some good meandering and good conversation with my new buddy Bill who was taping the show, Bruce returned. Giving acknowledgment to the strict curfew that Vienna has, he slammed into a very bluegrassy "Jacob's Ladder" followed by an accordion addition for Harry Bellefonte's "Men Smart, Woman Smarter" which really picking up the energy in the audience. After a nice drum and sax solo, Bruce showed his love by wishing Jerry a very Happy Birthday and teasing a little "Terrapin Station" before a heartfelt "Pete & Manny." He then picked up the accordion again
for a pair of Bill Monroe tunes "Dig a Hole" and "Dark Night, Good Day." Bruce really got the crowd into it by dancing around the stage with a constant interaction. "Western Skies" followed, a song off his first studio album.
He then took a seat for an inspiring "End of the Innocence," with exclamation that "this is not just a Don Henley song" referring to his
co-writing duties on the radio favorite. With his squeezebox in hand Bruce punched out a nice "Darling Cory." Returning to the keys the set was closed with the omnipresent "Rainbow's Cadillac," which is a favorite of mine. With the curfew narrowly approaching Bruce squeezed in an encore with the appropriate "Show Goes On."
Bruce stayed on stage shaking hands with the crowd and with great thankfulness, expressed his desire to return. He promised, "It will definitely will not be another 8 years." An outstanding show from an excellent entertainer on a monumental day. You can't ask for anything more!
Scott Rosner
Set 1: Intro > Great Divide, White-wheeled Limousine, King of the Hill > Mystery Train, Mandolin Rain > Black Muddy River, Road Not Taken, Preacher in the Ring 1 > Preacher in the Ring 2, The Way it is.
Set 2: Jacob's Ladder, Men Smart Woman Smarter, Lady with a Fan (tease), Pete and Manny, Dig a Hole > Dark Night Good Day > Western Skies, End of the Innocence, Darling Cory, Rainbow's Cadillac.
E: Show Goes On
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