Webmaster's Reply:

Hi Michael. Yours is an interesting letter, if only because it's the first truly negative review I've read anywhere from this tour. I've read hundreds of reviews posted here and elsewhere around the Internet and this review is unique.

Jackson's currently tour has been highly publicized as a SOLO ACOUSTIC tour. And if you want a show that exactly like the albums, this tour sounds EXACTLY like his two recent solo releases: Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1 and Solo Acoustic, Vol. 2.

Over the years, the vast majority of Jackson's tours have been with a full band, but sometimes he likes to present a more intimate show... and from what I've heard from his fans, most of them really like the solo acoustic setting. Of course, having said that, there are certainly many fans who prefer the full band shows.

My suggestion before attending other concerts in the future is to do more research to find out what you are getting. Many of the "older" bands who are on tour now are actually touring with completely different lineups than when they had their hits. Some are mostly the same, but with different lead singers. This can be VERY misleading. But there was nothing misleading about this show because it was publicized as a SOLO ACOUSTIC show. Just visit Jackson Browne's official website's TOUR PAGE and the first thing you'll notice is the large photo of Jackson down the right hand side of the current dates with the words: "Jackson Browne SOLO ACOUSTIC".

Frankly, if you wanted a show featuring Jackson's full band performing "Doctor My Eyes", "Rock Me On The Water", "The Pretender", "Running On Empty", "Stay", "Boulevard", "Somebody's Baby" and "Lawyers In Love" (generally speaking his biggest "hits" in the U.S.), you were probably going to walk away disappointed. Jackson does perform most of these songs in concert, but not all of them on any given night. He has released more than a dozen studio albums of songs and he tends to play songs from throughout his career, including many fan favorites that were not necessarily radio hits. Most of his fans seem to appreciate the depth of his catalog, but I can see how the casual fan might be disappointed about a favorite song being left out. With a song catalog as deep as his, it's impossible for him to include every song, every night and please everyone. I was pretty impressed with the song choices when I saw him last month, though again he did miss many of my personal favorites.

Russ

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CONCERT REVIEW: April 18, 2011 at John Labatt Centre in London, ON, Canada

We were fortunate to see Jackson play at Hamilton Place on April 6th. We had the best night and could not resist the opportunity to see him again in London last night. Lucky us... we got front row tickets.

It was a small intimate amphitheatre and every seat was good.

This was Jackson's last Canadian show. He was in top form and seemed to enjoy the interaction with the audience. Despite being mid tour he played and sounded better than ever.

The sound was excellent. Our view was excellent. Jackson's stories were fabulous.

A couple of evenings we will certainly never forget.

Thanks Jackson. We are fans from the time of your original album.



Submitted by: maryannerobertson@gmail.com (MaryAnne and Greg R., Cambridge, ON, Canada)

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GENERAL FAN COMMENTS: Tickets Available

Hi Russ,

I have tix to JB's solo acoustic show at the State Theater, Mpls, MN. May 4th 7:30 pm. 4 seats, main floor row Q--if anybody wants them, or a pair, please have them email me at dralidvm@hotmail.com. Face value for the tix+ ticketmaster fees. Thanks!-A

Submitted by: dralidvm@hotmail.com

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CONCERT REVIEW: April 23, 2011 at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN

I attended the solo acoustic show at Hammond, IN on April 23rd, and Jackson was outstanding. His voice was a little rough at the start, but he got stronger as the night went on. This definitely was a concert for the long-time fans as he dug deep in the catalog, and provided a few stories about the songs. He seemed very relaxed and even though he did not play a request for "Lawyers in Love", he told a funny story about when he played at a party for a lawyer friend and had to look up the lyrics on the internet in order to play the song.

Here is the setlist from Hammond to the best of my knowledge:

The Barricades of Heaven
These Days
Farther On
Fountain of Sorrow
Rock Me on the Water
Giving That Heaven Away
Sky Blue and Black
Rosie
Your Bright Baby Blues
Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate
The Pretender
Call it a Loan
In the Shape of a Heart
Something Fine
Running on Empty
Encore:
Somebody's Baby
Take it Easy

I very much appreciated the solo acoustic format as it gives one the impression of how the songs sounded in their raw form when he wrote them. My only disappointment was that based on reviews of other shows on the tour, the Hammond show seemed much shorter (by about six or seven songs). He did mention at one point that because he was playing at a casino, there would not be an intermission, so I wondered if the show was shorter because of the venue. All in all, though, it was a great night.

Submitted by: mrmsky1@comcast.net (Rich S.)

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CONCERT REVIEW: April 23, 2011 at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN

Russ,

I have read the review from Michael P and your response of the concert at The Venue in Hammond IN and while I agree with you on what to expect I have to agree that this show was not one of his best. Now before you try to explain away about the format I have seen the solo acoustic tour about 6 years ago in Indianapolis and it was one of the great concerts I have ever attended and I have been to about 200. I also have about twenty boot recordings of live shows along with several studio discs, so I think I am little more than a casual fan. I first saw Jackson in 1978 I think, it was a "No nuke" with Graham Nash at the Forum in LA. This show was my 5th time seeing JB and I was disappointed. What I was upset about was the fact that he played only 17 songs versus the 24-27 he had been playing up to this show on the tour. What was the issue? something was not right, I had bragged for weeks to my wife how he had performed for two and a half hours when I saw the solo show before and kept reading the reviews and set lists leading up to this show then it was over in about 90 minutes. It literally took us longer to get in and out of this venue than he played. I have always loved his music but as he gets older he is getting to be exactly what I never thought he was before and that is pretentious and arrogant. I really felt that this show was too short for the money and time I invested( I drove 3 1/2 hours). I hate to say it but I will not go to see him again and I think we as fans that were there deserve to know why the show was so much shorter than the others on the tour.

Thanks

Submitted by: taulbert44@gmail.com (Kelly C.)

Webmaster's Reply:

I can answer this question. The show was in a casino. Casino's usually have very specific limitations on the length of the concerts they host. They want people back out in the casino spending their money. I never go to see concerts at casinos when there is an alternative. They are almost always shorter in length.

Russ