CHRIS CONNELLY AND THE BELLS

This was the sixth time I've seen Connelly solo. There wasn't anything particularly exceptional about the show - just me, one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all time and 3 or 4 dozen others in the same room - which for me is exceptional in and of itself. Chris and company were in great spirits, Chris telling a few short stories inbetween songs and thanking people. This was the stripped down, road version of the band with Chris on acoustic/electric guitar and vocals, Henry Polk on electric bass and MaryDee Reynolds on electric and acoustic guitars and backing vocals. And Chris' old drum machine. They played 10:30 to 11:30.

The set covered over a decade and five albums:

Heartburn, Diamonds Eat Diamonds, The Early Nighters, Blonde Exodus, Ghost of a Saint, Twilight Shiner, Model Murmur, London Fields, Blonde Exodus II

All of them were faithful to the original/studio versions with the exception of "Ghost of a Saint" which had a new musical backing and slower, almost bluesier feel. The band played and sounded great, but Chris seemed to struggle a bit vocally on a few songs. The female backing vocals are a welcome addition live. Henry is always solid. Chris had a cool liquid-y effect on his guitar for a few songs. The merchandise table was wells stocked, most importantly with the limited (100 copies) "Confessions of the Highest Bidder" spoken word CD which will be available soon from chrisconnelly.com .