“If people see me as the godfather of indie rock, than I’m ok with that: clearly I’m not,” said a self deprecating Bruce Hornsby midway through his solo performance on Friday November 18th at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Hornsby was referring to a recent article in Rolling Stone which credits him as “Hot Surprise Influence” as both Bon Iver and Ryan Adams have praised his jazzy pop balladry and bluegrassy jams as a source of inspiration.
Clearly Hornsby will never be confused with Television, Nick Drake or Big Star, but there’s no denying that his distinct piano soul holds a touch of melancholy and instrumental prowess that the ear adheres to. With baggy jeans, sneakers and a long black button down shirt, the lanky and now grey short curly haired Hornsby looks more like a friendly maître d’ than this “lifelong student” of music who continues to evolve and experiment with different genre hats, including his recent album Rehab Reunion where he drops the keys in favor of a dulcimer. And while on tour, you can find Hornsby in one of three configuration with bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs as a duo, with his band The Noisemakers or solo with a grand piano. This night in Scottsdale would feature the later.
Walking out out the sold out crowd, Hornsby took his seat at his bench and in perfect piano posture busted out “Sticks and Stones” from his 2002 electronica album Big Swing Face. If there ever was a “turn your cell phone” off performance, this one was it as the 850 person sold out room,as the ivories demanded silence and attention from the audience. Hornsby’s song-book has become increasingly vast and some of his most enduring compositions are those recorded after his first three with his old band the range which featured rural Virginia nods of roads, skylines, rivers and plains. With his work with the Grateful Dead and other offshoots of the fabled jam band, Hornsby has a whole nother legion of work to pull from but they were negged for this particular evening in favor of older favorites like “Every Little Kiss,” End of the Innocence” and “The Way It Is.”
Midway through the show Hornsby paid tribute to his longtime friend Leon Russell who had passed away the previous Sunday and mentioned he was to speak at the artist’s funeral in Tulsa in a few days. After sharing a few stories of the fallen grey beard, Hornsby with help from a metronome played a rather daring version of his own “Country Doctor” followed by Russell’s “Magic Mirror” from 1972’s Carney LP.
Over the course of the two hour show, Hornsby gave the piano a workout, as much as improvising and redefining old songs into a completely reworked composition. In the midst of a the big ballad “Fortunate Son”, he swung effortlessly into Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” causing an almost transcendental swing. And when it was time to put the Southern boogie down, “Preacher in the Ring” caused for a piano rukus that picked the mood up from some of the otherwise slower moments that had the older crowd looking for a pickme up.
