Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne Get A Little Help From Their Friends
All-star singer/songwriter lineup finds
them backing each other along with
Bruce Hornsby and Shawn Colvin.
Contributing Editor Frank Tortorici reports:
HOLMDEL, N.J. 霠Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne,
Bruce Hornsby and Shawn Colvin made for a new
kind of supergroup Tuesday night at the PNC Bank
Arts Center.
The four acclaimed singer/songwriters haven't gone
into business together under a new name, but they
shared a stage and backed each other during a
nearly three-hour set in which they revolved in and
out of the spotlight.
"We did this [tour] just so we could sing with each
other," the 49-year-old Raitt told a crowd composed
largely of baby boomers and their young children.
"We are really glad you came to our little party."
The New Jersey show was the fourth stop on
a U.S. tour scheduled to continue through
Sept. 25.
Raitt opened the show with "Thing Called Love,"
from her 1989 breakthrough album, Nick of Time,
but the stars quickly made it clear they were not
planning on doing individual sets. Hornsby
accompanied Raitt on accordion and backing vocals,
Browne played guitar, and Colvin sang, danced and
strummed an acoustic guitar.
The quartet, backed by four supplementary
musicians including longtime Browne cohort David
Lindley on slide guitar and violin 霠who played a
separate warm-up set 霠left each other for only brief
intervals all evening.
Clad in a black jacket and red shirt, Raitt sang with
Browne on the chorus of his 1982 hit "Somebody's
Baby," as the 50-year-old denim-sporting soft-rock
troubadour grinned from ear to ear and got some fans
dancing in their seats.
Though Browne looked slightly uncomfortable
backing his partners, Raitt looked right at home
harmonizing cross-legged on the equipment risers.
Colvin, the youngest and least experienced of the
performers at 41, seemed to relish being onstage
with them as she shimmied like a go-go dancer and
hugged her co-stars frequently.
"I'm just gonna kiss butt all night long," Colvin told
the audience. "I cannot rock. I am the anti-rock."
Dressed in a sleeveless red shirt and black skirt,
Colvin soothingly delivered her Grammy-winning hit
"Sunny Came Home" (RealAudio excerpt) and
other tunes from her 1996 album A Few Small
Repairs, including "Wichita Skyline" and "You and
the Mona Lisa." Though she was in fine voice, the
applause for her paled in comparison to that enjoyed
by the others.
Hornsby, 44, who played piano for the bulk of the
night, drew cheers for staples such as "Valley Road"
(RealAudio excerpt) and his 1986 chart-topper "The
Way It Is." He even received a healthy ovation for
lesser-known jazzy tunes, such as "King of the Hill"
from last year's Spirit Trail, during which he
showcased his piano skills, moving Colvin and Raitt
to square dance.
"Whoever had the idea of having all of them play
together was a genius," Jeanine McDermid, 28, of
Summit, N.J., said. "It was fun because it made you
guess what would come next. It was very
spontaneous."
Most fans seemed to have come out for Browne and
Raitt. Browne drew a partial standing ovation for the
title track (RealAudio excerpt) to his 1976 LP The
Pretender, which is considered a singer/songwriter
classic. The crowd roared at the line "And then we'll
put our dark glasses on and we'll make love until our
strength is gone."
Browne also offered the hardest-rocking song of the
evening with the title cut to the album that came
next, 1977's Running on Empty. Colvin ran in place
throughout that one.
Multiple Grammy winner Raitt garnered a similar
response for a heartfelt version of "Nick of Time" and
her 1991 hit "Something to Talk About," which had
fans bouncing in their seats. The audience grew
hushed when Raitt played the sad ballad "I Can't
Make You Love Me" (RealAudio excerpt).
The highlight of the half-hour encore set was a
pianoless take on Don Henley's 1989 hit "The End of
the Innocence," which Hornsby co-wrote. All the
musicians came to the front of the stage, led by
Hornsby on accordion.
"We'd like to help Don Henley collect some more
ASCAP royalty checks," Hornsby said. "But it's OK,
because I wrote the song, too."
--
gender is just an excuse, relationship shouldn't just be an excuse,
love is often an excuse, although sometimes these excuses are all
we have to hold onto,
death is the reason and living is the celebration
- Beth Orton
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.twbbs.org)
◆ From: access206.ttu.e