Nashville, TN
July 26, 1999
Review #1
submitted by Katie Taylor
Harry Connick Jr. played at the Grand Ol' Opry House on July 26th in
Nashville, Tennessee. This is the highlight of my year--to see Harry perform
live!
The band's stage was very abstract and their dress was casual. Harry came
out in this awesome silky black shirt and this God-awful pair of black &
white paint-splattered pants. It was one of the first things he pointed out
when he came on stage.
He started the concert with "Charade" and the sound of the big band playing
along with him was amazing. As always, with Harry's unselfish attitude, he
gave each of the members of his band their time in the limelight. He has
the most incredible trumpet player named Leroy Jones. He blew us all away
with his rendition of "What a Wonderful World."
Harry touched on a few older songs like "It Had To Be You" and Star Turtle's
"Mind On The Matter." He followed with a few of his favorites by Cole
Porter and ended the concert with "Come By Me."
His encore was one of my Mardi Gras faves "Mardi Gras In New Orleans" which
brought many of the audience members rushing to the front. That was a first
for me. I'd never seen anyone rush the stage at a Harry Connick Jr. concert.
However, the bodyguards were close in case anything got out of hand, which,
of course, it didn't.
Harry seems worn out from the time he came onto the stage, but I can't
really blame him considering his non-stop concert schedule... not to mention
the fact that he was playing with a broken thumb. But, as he stated, "...the
show must go on!" I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to hear
"Danny Boy" live, but that chance may come another day.
Overall, the concert was wonderful and I, of course, did not want the night
to end. I savored each note like it would be the last I'd ever hear and left
with a huge grin on my face. I had yet another wonderful experience during
this year's concert and made a memory that should give me another year's
worth of blissful dreams. Thank you Harry for all that you do for your fans!