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Hornsby for President!
 There is no stopping Bruce Hornsby, gifted Grateful family and classic recording artist on the musical spirit trail -- an artistic campaign which led him to Chicago on Election night. Word of a secret show at Schuba’s small stage on the North Side had spread quietly via email. While a modest crowd gathered to help close the polls with local JamBase favorite WXRT and Bobby Scafish, host of the live event, Bruce warmed his fingers with Mozart fury. He has this larger-than-life quality…beyond his statuesque appearance, a certain consciousness of music, confidence that transcends the airwaves and bellows from his grand piano.
Bruce and his band were in town to play Wednesday at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus and to support their first live RCA release. The double-album is named after a guy that used to come to an old Virginia hangout where Bruce used to gig, and routinely announced Here Come the Noisemakers.
A certain sense of humor prevailed during his live interview and performance, when he razzed a woman on to the stage who had been holding a cell phone with her mom long distance on the other end. Well, what else could Bruce say, but “HI MOM!” In between music moments he joked about how it seems that no matter where he goes, or what he’s playing, he can’t get away from "Jack Straw". It seems the song follows him around with an avid fan, a reminder of his Grateful Dead days, which all though not over, are only a part of Bruce’s musical history. His diverse musical career, which ranges from Pop/Top 40, prolific recording artist, solo acoustic performer, jazz pianist, and an enduring tradition of what he calls the “great song writing” of The Grateful Dead.
After the half hour snapshot, I wanted to hear more on what Bruce thinks about the "Jam" scene, and where he feels he is in the musical mix, that is the year 2000. As he walked off stage I asked him if we could talk more about live music at my Alma Mater the next night. While I was a student at Northwestern, I had interviewed Bruce about his involvement with a charity called Rock and Wrap It Up!, an international food collection volunteer service that picks up leftovers from backstage catering and delivers them to local soup kitchens. He remembered and it seemed like he had more to say, so I figured I would catch up with him at the show.
Bruce emerged onto the superior acoustic island at Pick-Staiger Wednesday night, playing a passionate solo introduction for the energized, hometown crowd, which lead into an all request evening. The band consisting of John “J.T.” Thomas (keyboard/organ), Bobby Read (Sax), JV Collier (Bass), Doug Derryberry (guitar), and Bonny Bonaparte (drums) slowly took the stage, while Bruce pounded into "The Way It Is", a timeless tune from his 1986 album. Although this stage would have been quite comfortable for a solo performance, the lights, action, and audience participation livened the confines, sending swirling dancers to the aisles and up on stage. During an electric "China Doll", I too found my dancing shoes and wiggled my way through a vibrant, jazzy "Barcelona Mona". A sweet, body movin’ "Sugaree", played for Jason in the front row, was a highlight of the first set, along with the Simon and Garfunkel ballad, "The Boxer". Exploring a wide variety of the musical menu, they played almost an hour and a half before taking a short set break.
They were going to play until they had to stop, trying to fill as many requests as possible. Someone yelled "Jack Straw", which got teased and left alone. I didn’t get my "Girl From the North Country", but I’ll take Bruce on the accordion during a rock solid "Rainbow’s Cadillac". Some of the other tunes played (not in order) were, "Last to Know", "Country Doctor", "Road Not Taken", "Fortunate Son", "Tango King", "Hooray for Tom", "Lucky Old Son", "Spider Fingers", "Night on the Town", "Across the River", "The Race is On", and a "Big Rumble" encore.
Whether in a venue with no seats, a concert hall, on tour with The Other Ones, or playing for President Clinton with Steve Kimock, Bruce says, “I want to show the full range of what I do.” Sometimes he does want people to “shut up, so I can play quietly." It’s okay for people to come out for the scene, which he says, “when the dead was popular, people came out to party.” He just hopes they stay to hear the music. “We could choose to play only up-tempo, like on 'Great Divide', 'Spider Fingers', and 'Rainbow’s Cadillac',” which can “create an atmosphere for a party.” As an example, “Galactic is a good kind of party music, but it’s not great songwriting.”
Bruce, who played at a recent Gore rally, says he is friends with everybody, but different because he “was into developing something.” We talked about the Phish phenomenon, and the limitations of being big, and how that hurts bands in the JamBase scene, and Bruce noted that, “Trey Anastasio is a fantastic guitar player.” Reaching deeper into the live music community Bruce insists he is somewhat ignorant of the scene, yet he knows it exists, “ I don’t know much about the Jamband scenario but it helps people delve into other music like bluegrass and jazz.” After a few quick pictures, and our promise of support, I said I’d see him down the road... he’s got my vote!
Sarah Slavin
JamBase Presents ~ Chicago
Go See Live Music!
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