Posted on June 27, 2010 at 10:46 pm
A really warm (in both senses of the word) and fun concert tonight in Portland, my first-ever visit to this beautiful city. A great production of Songs for a New World this afternoon, and then a swell sold-out house tonight for a concert and Q & A (with some really good questions!). Thanks to Chandra Hall and all the folks at Staged! PDX and the Milagro Theater, who did a great job putting all of this together on very short notice.
All Things In Time
I Could Be In Love With Someone Like You
The Old Red Hills Of Home
Long Long Road
King of the World
Being A Geek
Nothing In Common
No Way Now
Over
I’d Give It All For You (I dragged Rebecca Teran, the woman who sang the song so beautifully in the matinee, out of the audience to do the song with me – she KILLED it!)
Caravan Of Angels
Moving Too Fast
Someone To Fall Back On
Then, after the Q & A, I asked the whole Portland cast to come on stage and we all closed out the night with a very heartfelt and gorgeously sung “Hear My Song.”
Bravi to the cast: Rebecca Teran, Elizabeth Klinger, David Cole and Vin Shambry; and extra special yowza yowza to Eric Nordin, who played the shit out of it. Great work from everyone; I was a very proud papa.
[LATE UPDATE: Here are some pictures from the concert and the post-show reception; watch me partying down with the Portland glitterati!]
Next week, workshops in Missoula MT; then working with the cast of “13” in San Diego; teaching at Musical Theatre University in Laguna Beach; and a big concert at Broadway By The Bay in San Mateo CA on 7/24. See you there!
UPDATE: David Kinder posted a wonderful set of photos from the concert on his website. Enjoy!
5 comments
And you, sir, played and sang the shit out of that set last night. Astonishing. I was moved to tears and so appreciated your wit, humor and heart. Loved that you shared your inner monologue – so human. And you were most gracious. Made me proud of the hometown kids. They really did kick ass, didn’t they?
Thank you so much for coming. We were at the show earlier that day and the concert in the evening. It was so much fun to watch you play that music. With your music, more than any other musicals or music, it carries me along the story before I even know it. The accompaniment to the lyrics runs at a visceral level. It so well pulls the story and the emotion along. I have listened to Parade many, many times and even though I know most of the words and can tell you the line that comes next, by the end it can bring me to tears just listening to it. I will probably be bawling if I ever get to see it live. Thank you so much for your work and sharing it with us last night. And allowing the actors to be a part of it, I know it made their day..maybe year? It was great to watch them work with you. And we are all anticipating when we can get “Caravan of Angels,” I just keep humming it to myself. It was a great day/night, even though “Grandpa” was too tired to come out after.
Thank you again, the resident “photographer”
JRB,
Thanks so much for an incredible Portland evening. In awe of your work I am, but to hear you live and hear you play that fantastic music was a gift. Have you been an admirer of Keith Jarrett (esp, the Köln Concert album)? In your solos last night I heard an affinity between you and Jarrett in the freedom and improv qualities combined–thank you. BTW, I’m a transplant from the Upper West Side to Portland, am a vocal coach, and our dear Evan Pappas was one of my NY coachees. No doubt you heard about his horrendous accident 3-4 years back, but he’s doing fine now.
Thank you for you, JRB.
Richard Bower
I ran into several concertgoers today who are still in the post-concert “glow.” Thanks for making it such a great evening. It was truly a pleasure to have you in town. Still humming “Caravan of Angels,” by the way.
It was a pleasure to meet you, an honor to play for you, and a real treat to hear you perform. I hope you will come back to Portland again someday. Very much looking forward to your next new show and I’m especially happy to hear another album is in the works. Thank you for you kind words.
Sincerely,
Eric Nordin
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