Richmond, VA
June 22, 1999
Review #1
submitted by Chris Eng
I've been to five of Harry's concerts in the past few years and this one was the
best one yet. Since this tour didn't have any shows in the Washington, DC area,
I opted for the Richmond show, about 2 hours away. My girlfriend Nicky and
my friend Shelley (both longtime HC Jr. fans) came along with me.
We got to the Landmark Theatre a few minutes before 8:00, and by the time I
picked up the tickets the Ned Goold Trio was already on stage. We got to our
seats and listened to them play for about half an hour (Ben Wolfe was on bass,
but I can't remember the name of the drummer). About 10 minutes went by while
the stage was being set up, and then Harry came out.
The set list consisted of selections from quite a few of Harry's albums, dating
as far back as When Harry Met Sally. He opened with "Charade", giving the
big band a chance to show off, then followed with "We Are In Love" and "I Could
Write A Book". He took a short break every few songs to chat with the audience.
He was in an unusually good mood, so much so that you might've thought he'd had
a few beers before the show!
About halfway through, he stopped to tell a story about a drummer he had played
with back in New Orleans by the name of James Black. Harry, age 15 at the time,
was filling in for Ellis Marsalis at Snug Harbor. Anyway, this drummer was
extremely talented and, apparently, very intimidating to perform with. He had
written a song called "Magnolia Triangle" and Harry decided that the trio should
open their show with this particular song. Long story short, Harry and the bass
player couldn't keep up with James Black, who, after the song, had a beer and
went home in disgust! Harry said that this was the first time he was attempting
to perform "Magnolia Triangle" since that incident. He also mentioned how difficult
it was to mix "serious" jazz in with an entertaining concert, and he thanked the
audience for allowing him to do so.
After this, Harry played solo piano for about 15 minutes, then brought the big
band back for the conclusion of the show. During "Cry Me A River", he walked
out into the crowd, even stopping to sit down next to an audience member for a
few verses. This whole thing was hilarious because there was this bodyguard-type
guy following about 10 feet behind him the whole time. When Harry stopped, the
guy would just stop and stand there staring. Harry walked all around the orchestra
level, stopping to hug his sister several rows behind us. They closed with
"Come By Me", then came back with the Duke Ellington classic "Cotton Tail" as an
encore (Harry on drums).
For those who are interested, here's the complete set list:
- Charade
- We Are In Love
- I Could Write A Book
- Nowhere With Love
- Love For Sale
- How Do Y'all Know
- [didn't catch the name -- cave something?]
- It Had To Be You
- Magnolia Triangle
- Tulips From Amsterdam [solo piano]
- Somewhere My Love [solo piano]
- [didn't recognize] [solo piano]
- Time After Time
- Easy To Love
- Cry Me A River
- If You Go To New Orleans [?]
ENCORE
- Cotton Tail
The only real disappointment, to me, was that Harry didn't perform "Danny Boy". That
has long been one of my favorites, and I was thrilled to see it on the new album. But
I was hoping that he'd perform it in concert too. Oh well...
We talked very briefly with Harry after the show,
and he mentioned that he and Jill check out connick.com on a regular basis, which I
thought was pretty cool. Outside, we ran into Ben Wolfe, who was eating pizza (but didn't
offer to get us any... heh). We were kind of disappointed that the other band members
didn't come out and mingle with the crowd -- I wanted to chat with Mark Mullins and
Shelley really wanted to talk to Lucien (Nicky just wanted to find anyone who
would give her food!). The experience was outstanding and I
wish there was another stop on this tour I could go to!
Review #2
submitted by Ryan Hance
First, a funny little tidbit... My wife and I grabbed something to eat a
block away from the concert hall. I realized that I forgot to bring
Harry's "Come by Me" CD with us just in case he would sign after the
show. So, we walked back to the car to get it and passed a big crowd of
people that were headed to the show. After we passed them, I told my
wife "We'll be passing them again when we go to our seats... in the
second row!" Thanks to the fan club for the opportunity to get great
seats!
Once we sat down, we had a chance to look around. This was a great old
theatre with 2 stories of balconies. The first two rows were actually
in the orchestra pit in front of the stage. I was very excited to get
the show rolling and so it did.
The Ned Goold trio (with Ben Wolfe) started off the show with about a
half hour of music which he dedicated to some of his family members
which were in the audience. The trio was okay, but I wanted to see the
big band!
The curtain was drawn and Harry started out with "Nowhere with Love" and
the crowd was rockin'. He moved on to "We are in Love" which is one of
my favorites. He played a variety of songs including some New Orleans
jazz, solo piano, and some funk, "How Do Y'all Know". During one song
he walked out into the crowd singing. He was hugging some people and
high-fiving some others. He even had a chance to sit down while Lucien
was taking a trombone solo.
It was a great, high-energy show with everything you could imagine.
Harry even played the drums on the encore (and well, I might add!).
Well, I'm glad I went back to get my CD because he did sign it outside the
theatre. I bought a poster at the show and he signed that too. I
highly recommend getting the best possible seats for this show. It was
awesome sitting in the second row in Richmond after sitting in the
nosebleeds in Atlantic City on the "To See You" tour.
