The stage was set in this intimate setting at New York City's Bottom Line, with nine candles and bare instruments enveloping the mood. Howard Jones, adorned in a blue satin jacket, sat comfortably behind his piano - it was "acoustic", after all - while percussion veteran Carol Steele waited behind more than 10 instruments, ready for Jones' call to begin.
Howard Jones first performed this acoustic tour in 1992 and, in support of his Plump Records album, Live Acoustic America, he has returned to show American audiences the "other" side of Howard Jones. Casual music fans might remember him for the #1 hit "No One Is To Blame" and "Things Can Only Get Better" (both of which he performed this evening), but it seemed that the Bottom Line's crowd knew every word to each of the eleven "old" songs. This audience, comprised mainly of people who were in their 20's when Jones first came to fame as a synth wizard, was hypnotized by the mesemerizing combination of Jones' piano playing and Steele's percussion wizardry.
What made the evening more special than just the music was the anecdotes which were interspersed between songs. Amusing tidbits, such as the original erroneous Japanese translation for "Like To Get To Know You Well" ("I'd Like To Force Myself Upon You") and the inspiration for "Life In One Day" (when his UK record company decided that "No One Is To Blame" and the future top 10 UK hit "Look Mama" weren't hits, Jones had to remember not to live his life in one day), invited the fans into Jones' world in a way unique to many musicians.
Jones wasn't the only artist in top form on this evening; his partner, Carol Steele, mastereed each of the more than ten instruments which she played during the evening. She also performed a powerful extended percussion jam during "Everlasting Love" which inspired a tremendous thundering of applause.
Two new tracks, "Not One of the Lonely Tonight" and "Wedding Song", graced the thirteen song set. On "Lonely", Jones utilized a new instrument that he confessed he's fallen in love with: a Yamaha VL1, which resembled a melodica in appearance, hooked up to a mixing board of sorts. These songs (both more reminiscent of his slower works than his bouncy keyboard tracks such as "New Song") are both expected to appear on a forthcoming album set for release in late 1996.
After a nearly 90 minute set and brief encore, Jones and Steele departed the stage. One onlooker mentioned how this show brought together every aspect that makes a concert special: good songs, great music, and an intimate appreciation with the audience. This critic couldn't agree more.
