Bruce Hornsby is a Mad Scientist with a Steinway.
Tuesday night at the Lakewood Theater in Dallas, the piano master mixed up a powerful potion of rock, jazz, blues, bluegrass, Celtic, covers, zydeco, even a little rap. Add in a splash of “hits” like we’ve never heard them before, and the result was a mesmerizing and, at times, wonderfully confounding 2 1/2 hours.
When Hornsby strode onto the stage and played a nearly unrecognizable version of the Star-Spangled Banner, we knew we were in for a night of mischief. “Just wanted to give you a sample of what you missed,” he said, referring to his performance earlier that night at the Dallas Mavericks season opener at the American Airlines Center.
That’s Bruce Hornsby: unpredictable and stubbornly original.
Thumbing through a stack of requests from the audience, he dove into bouncy renditions of Rock Candy Mountain and The Good Life and then shifted gears for a hard-driving rock version of Long Valley Road and a plaintive take on Fortunate Son.
Scooping up a dulcimer, Hornsby again went against the grain and rocked hard with the delicate instrument on his new single, Prairie Dog Town. It was one of the tightest and most impressive songs of the night.
Sure, he played The Way It Is and Mandolin Rain and End of the Innocence -- a big helping of hits for a guy who seems almost indignant about closing the book on his chart toppers of the past. But he wrapped all of these indelible songs in different shades or moods – bouncy, jazzy, bluesy. I've seen him in concert five times, and they’ve never sounded like that before.
“I’ve gotta touch all the bases,” he deadpanned. “Which is a lot after 23 years.”
The Noisemakers, Hornsby’s five-piece band on tour and the new CD, Levitate, held on tight as the maestro grabbed his beloved accordion and tore into Jacob’s Ladder and The Dreaded Spoon and the evening ending Rainbow’s Cadillac, which was infused with a undeniable zydeco harmony. Just one last reminder of how Hornsby is always, always tinkering.
Earlier is the show, when he was going through requests, Hornsby held up us his favorite of the night – written on an edible "bllack rat" (for Black Rats of London, off Levitate). A big smile spread across his face. The Mad Scientist was proud of that which he had created.
