Pre-show
Thanks in part to attending a bachelorette party the night before and in part to a certain hooker with a cell phone, I headed off to the Des Moines International airport on Sunday morning after three hours of sleep. Tracy's flight was just a few minutes late and she was off the plane and we were in the car headed out by 11:45am. We drove down to my mom's house in Bussey, IA where I changed clothes and put on *the* shirt to make it official - WE WERE GOING TO SEE HARRY!
We switched cd's and other bits into my mom's car (its more roomier for three people than my coupe) and we were off! We listened to the quartet cd (actually the only time we listened to it on the whole road trip), phone calls from NOLA, and chatted away. It was about a four hour drive. We were totally early (this would become a theme for the trip), so we drove by and cased the joint and then went in search of some food. We settled on a Denny's and managed to put some food in our bodies. I think I listened to Storyville Stompers on my phone through most of dinner. *chuckle* Thanks, all ya'll NOLA kids.
We arrived at the venue, still plenty early and went in to get our tickets. We were all in the 4th row on the left side. Tracy and I farther to the left and my mom on the aisle towards the center. Needless to say, I was a little shocked at the seats since I hadn't sat farther back than the third row since the CBM tour. But more shocking than that was that there was a second show at 9pm that we didn't know about and was sold out! We knew pretty much instantly that we weren't going to get a Meet&Greet. Time heals all wounds because I was pretty livid at the time and now I look back and I just think, "that's ok, it was just the warm up show anyway." We went back outside so I could call people and be steamed. I went up around the street corner and saw the tour bus. Yes, they are driving. And oh do I feel the pain of their bus driver at this point! And John isn't on tour with them, apparently he normally only does the big production shows. There was this other guy putting out water and towels and whatnot. Tracy and I dubbed him Faux John. Then we took a few pictures outside the venue and as we were walking back to go back inside Ginny and David were walking up the sidewalk. I did recognize Ginny, but the "I(heart)Harry" pin was also helpful. [A round of applause to Cathleen for getting these pins made up, they were a hit everywhere we went!] They were in the third row, right in front of Tracy and I, so we lamented our lot in life together for a bit in the lobby and then went into the theater.
It was a small venue for a theater setting (Peekskill still sets the standard for "intimate") and we were maybe 20 or 30 feet back from the stage. The quartet was laid out well so you could see all of them well from wherever you were sitting. Another fan club member and her husband sat next to Tracy. Sitting a seat to my left was a local guy and he pointed out that Buck O'Neil from the Kansas City Monarchs who is well-known in Kansas City was in the audience. A nice lady came out and gave an introduction and then…
The Show
they all strolled out onto the stage! The mini-tour had officially begun!
First things first: Harry has cut his hair, its basically what I would say is his usual length that he's had the past few years, though it does seem more wavy now. He must be using different product. 
And much to the delight of Tracy, he's scruffy! Jazz musician scruff. He was wearing the usual untucked black button down shirt and black pants. As I noted earlier, he never rolled up his sleeves, and that is the first time I can ever remember him not rolling up his sleeve at a show that I've been to. His shoes were leather and suede and looked interesting under the lights, but more about his shoes at a later time… Neal was also in the standard black uniform. Ned was in a black t-shirt and black pants and BamBam (Harry always calls him Arthur on stage now) was wearing a really hip deep fushia button down shirt and black pants.
They started right in with "What a Waste." I was instantly delighted. Even though we could only see Harry's back and one hand, I was transfixed. It only took about 30 seconds for me to remember while I love Neal. I tend to forget in the long spans of time between shows. *chuckle* He is just phenomenal. The song was good but after it ended Harry apologized to the audience and said he got a bit lost at one point because there was this projection up on the wall across from him that was a graphic of a piano keyboard and musical notes and he said he started to play the wall. *laughs* Then he made a comment that he didn't know what Ned was going to do because the projection that Ned could see was of these steps leading up to nowhere, other than maybe take some "Giant Steps." Ah, tenor sax humor. 
Next up was "Such Love" and it was lovely. After that Harry got up and started chatting. We got what I have dubbed the "Thou Shalt Not Lament" where he is all self-deprecating about how TSN didn't do well and all that. He started trying to explain the story and tell how the two songs they had played fit into the shows. He explained that the married couple in the show were cousins and that explained why they set the story in New Orleans, because NOLA people would understand that and that he did since there was that time that he proposed to his sister. Which was just extra funny to me since the NOLA crew had run into her the day before. After that, he turned his comic attentions to a man and woman that were sitting in the front row in front of us (over on the left side). The guy was wearing khaki shorts, a hawaiian shirt, and sandals and they both got the total "thanks for dressing up" sarcasm. It was classic Harry. How I had missed him. *sigh* Next up was "Light the Way." The guys then left the stage and Harry had the spotlight, literally and figuratively. He said he was going to play a little bit and if he could remember the words he would sing. I honestly wasn't expecting any singing, so it was a treat when he sang "All Things." I truly love hearing Harry's vocal interpretations of these songs that he wrote, the expression and emotion is just so pure. The guys then returned and they did "Sovereign Lover" that ended so cool as they just faded out. Its hard to describe, but it was just so very classy and smooth. Next they did "Something Gone Wrong" which is a lyrically/theatrically depressing song from the end of the show. Harry explained how the story ends badly and Neal was doing fake tears and then dabbing his eyes with his towel and Harry told Neal it was ok that he could sit down and take a minute. *chuckle* Harry said they couldn't end the show on that note so they did "Take Her to the Mardi Gras" which was just grooving and then they were done. Standing O and they were off the stage.
Harry then came back out and talked about how he really loved seeing how strong and alive the jazz culture was in Kansas City and closed the show with a piano solo called "Carolina [something]." (No, I never got a chance to ask what it was. Well, I had the chance, but I always seemed to have other things to say.) It had a bit of a ragtime feel to it with NOLA style mixed in and it was fun and then it was over.
Post-show
We left the theater and headed around by the bus even though we were pretty darn sure we wouldn't see Harry. I was thinking I might snag Neal but no such luck. We saw Ned lurking around the bus and the side of the building. (Ned lurking about became another theme for the trip). We took some more group photos outside the venue and then we said our goodbyes to Ginny and David and headed home. I think we rolled into my mom's house around 1am. Tracy and I went to bed ready to wash, rinse and repeat the next day…
Posted in Harry Connick, Jr. |