SANTA BARBARA BOWL
Jackson Browne returned to the Bowl with all his musical grace and charm on August 27, 2016 for an intimate evening of Browne, his band, and those legendary songs.
Browne is a favorite of the Bowl and of the Santa Barbara area. With his active pursuits in spreading ecological awareness and bringing about change to protect our environment, his political persona fits right in with the Santa Barbara spirit. Browne has always championed local charities through The Guacamole Fund. On this night, he remembered to take a moment to thank our local firefighters during this hazardous fire season, arousing a loud approval from the crowd. A long-time local of the area, Browne reminisced while noodling on the piano, “I’ve played in this place a lot of times.”
Browne’s beloved songs, with timeless lyrics and undeniably soulful musicality, continue to enrapture his fans. An exceptional aspect of Browne’s musical career is his indelible capacity to continue to release new albums and songs as captivating as the old favorites. He performed the self-referencing, “Long Way Around” from his newest album, Standing in the Breach (2014). The song begins with a similar chord progression to the Browne favorite, “These Days” (written in 1964 or ’65, released in ’73), “I don’t know what to say about these days.”
He also performed a couple of covers written by friends, including “Walls and Doors,” originally written in Spanish by the Cuban nueva trova artist, Carlos Varela. With lyrics like, “there are those who build walls and those who open doors,” and “there can be freedom only when nobody owns it,” Browne boldly expressed his opinions about peace and political fairness. Performing with him were Val McCallum on guitar, Mauricio Lewak on drums, Jeff Young on keyboards, Bob Glaub on bass, Alethea Mills on backup vocals, and Greg Leisz on guitar, lap steel, and pedal steel. Browne moved between playing guitar and sitting at the piano, all the while singing with his smooth and venerable voice.
Browne did not disappoint anticipatory fans by sharing the old hits like, “Rock Me on the Water,” “Fountain of Sorrow,” “Late for the Sky,” and “Doctor My Eyes.” He joked, “It’s like being married. You can say ‘I’m gonna do it,’ or you can just shut up and do it.” By the show’s midpoint, those on the floor, were on their feet and dancing at the edge of the stage. A woman near me was brought to tears, singing every word of “Late for the Sky.”
Check out all the show photos by Santa Barbara Bowl house photographer, A Art Fisher, on our photo library.
Take a look back at his previous appearances at the Bowl on our Timeline, or search for his past concerts here.
