COMMENTS/FURTHER INFORMATION

Submitted by Walter Turati.

A wonderful day, ideal setting, perfect weather, delightful music, enthusiastic crowd, and of course Bruce and band in fine form. From the first number on through the last we were treated with yet another inspiring concert from someone who has become amazing at bringing his lyrical genius and top of the line playing to life. Ben's percussion and Steve's bass were rock solid, Julie Wolf's harmonies and melodic, chilling, and soulful keyboard complemented Bruce's stellar guitar and vocals perfectly. I'm fortunate to have had the opportunity to witness this great event. When I asked him what lies ahead after this tour, he paused a moment and quietly remarked "more of the same"... what more can we ask of him?

This too from Dan Bostdorf, who also contributed the photo.

Bruce played before an estimated full house crowd of 10,000 people at the free concert on the riverfront in Newburyport, Mass. The weather was absolutely perfect in the lower 80's. The family crowd had ages 1 year to 80 years attending. Many had never heard Bruce's music before and were generally enthusiatic about it. Die-hard fans called out "Play Democracy" and other favourites, but Bruce kept to his song list.

He got a late start when a previous band ran over the schedule by half an hour. But Bruce calmly opened his show with Let The Bad Air Out.

This was a "family festival" so Bruce even announced that he was concerned "how you guys might take it" before performing some of his defiant songs of protest and anger at the system.

He generously performed nearly all songs from newest CD, including an extremely well-received Trickle Down, and threw in some old ones like Burn and If I Had A Rocket Launcher to stir things up.

He had a standing ovation that brought him back for more encore songs. He took it all the way up to a glorious sunset before leaving.

Ralph Collipi adds:

Bruce and the band couldn't have ordered a nicer day on the northern coast of Massachusetts. The sun was shining brightly and the sea breeze made it more than comfortable. Folks came early and claimed their spots, marking them with their lawn chairs, blankets, and coolers. Many of those thought it was safe to leave to check out the port city sites or get a bite to eat since the show was not scheduled to start until 4pm. However, those of us that decided to stay to protect our piece of lawn in the park were rewarded with a "sound check" by Bruce and the band at about 1:30pm.

The sound check set the tone for what was to be quite a freebie of a concert. The band decided to "warm up" with a hard-edged version of If I Had A Rocket Launcher that seemed to catch everyone's attention. The second song toned it down a bit with Don't Forget About Delight, but that was short-lived as they kicked up back up a couple notches with Put It In Your Heart. I heard Bruce play this song acoustically a couple times last year and it is quit different with the band driving the beat instead of Bruce's magical right thumb. It is hard to decide which version I like better. They did not play this song during their scheduled performance, so [some audience members] missed out.

During the scheduled performance, Bruce played quite a variety of old and new songs and displayed some fiery guitar work on To Raise the Morning Star. Steve Lucas also delighted with the usual tasty bass solo on Pacing The Cage.

For more about this show and photos, see the reviews From The Road.