The Hollywood Bowl’s annual Fourth of July Spectacular started off with a bang Tuesday night (or, I guess, it ended with lots of bangs). The three-night event had the audience saluting their military brethren, swaying to the smooth sounds of Harry Connick, Jr., and ending the evening with some of the best fireworks in town.
The night opened as Bowl conductor Thomas Wilkins of the Los Angeles Philharmonic took the stage opening with, appropriately, Leonard Bernstein’s “America” from “West Side Story.” This was a nice reminder that the United States is a melting pot of wonderfully varied people and cultures.
The first act of the night continued with selections from George Gershwin’s “Girl Crazy,” Duke Ellington’s “Solitude,” William Schulman’s “Chester,” Samuel Ward’s “American The Beautiful,” and, of course, our chance to honor the men and women of the armed forces during the “Armed Forces Suite.”
It was a beautiful way to begin the night, as festivities surrounding our Independence Day were in full swing.
See Also: The Bowl’s “Tchaikovsky with Fireworks Always… a Blast!
Act Two brought out crooner, actor, composer, and pianist Harry Connick, Jr., whose early career really took off when he did the soundtrack for Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally. He, of course, sang “It Had to Be You” from the film after a lengthy and meandering instrumental that had the deft piano player showing off his skills at tickling the ivories.
After the first few songs, the handsome entertainer paused to complain about the abnormal length of his pants, to which he tried to make better by cinching the waist up higher. Of course, this changed how he sang, and he admitted he wished he could do the first few songs again. This was fascinating because prior to that announcement, I did think his vocals were a bit off, and I wondered if something was going on. As soon as he just accepted his pants were long, he was back swinging along with the standard “Doctor Jazz,” where his vocals were as strong as they’d ever been.
Throughout almost a dozen tunes, he gave us a few standards like Cole Porter’s “I Love Paris” and Jerome Kern’s “The Way You Look Tonight.”
He also dove into his personal repertoire with “One Fine Thing,” which he wrote for his wife Jill Goodacre, “City Beneath the Sea,” an ode to his hometown of New Orleans, and “Come By Me.”
After the Bowl’s annual fireworks extravaganza (which is truly and honestly spectacular), Connick took the stage once again for “Bourbon Street Parade,” sending the audience into the night on an “independent” high.
Once again, the Hollywood Bowl brings the best of the best onto their stage, pulling in new fans, educating us on music of all kinds, shapes, and sizes, and dazzling us in one of the very best venues Los Angeles has to offer.
Coming up at the Bowl:
- Beck with the LA Phil on July 6th
- Patti LaBelle on July 7th
- Maestro of the Movies: The Music of John Williams and More July 12th-14th
For more information and tickets, visit HollywoodBowl.com.
