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 .