Chute Gate Steak House,
Iron Horse Music Hall
& Swyer Theatre

11th,12th and 16th February 2003
by Lisa Rockland

 News from New England
(We have been Hal fans since 1994)

Three shows, in three different states, all in one week! LIFE IS GOOD! 

First, hubby and I went to see Hal in Terryville CT.  We took a two-hour drive to the middle of nowhere. We pulled into the parking lot and just looked at each other.  What was Hal doing here?  It was a little, itty, bitty local western bar and restaurant. We made our way inside and much to our surprise; it was a lovely mom and pop place. There were signed pictures of EVERYBODY on the walls, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Reba, etc. I noticed they all looked VERY young. Must be a good place to start out!  Anyway, after a huge roast beef dinner, we were ready for the show.  Our seats were about ten feet from the stage!   Hal came out in jeans and a jean shirt. He always looks great. The crowd was quite LOUD. Only a Plexiglas half wall separated the bar.  It was a Tuesday night and I’m sure the locals were saying Hal who?  Anyway Hal did capture them, especially with the upbeat, mainstream stuff but when he slowed down, they did not!  It was a bit disconcerting. You could see it was going to be a rough night for Hal and those of us who wanted to hear only his wonderful voice.  He sang most of his regular stuff, adding “King of Love” and “Man of Leisure”, and told a few stories.  Hal sat and played the guitar to all the songs except Man of Leisure.  Rick was backup on the guitar and Chris Nieto was there, wearing his road mgr hat, no drums. The stage wasn’t large enough to fit the drums anyway!  As Hal made his way out, I happened to be standing in the aisle that he was leaving through.  I had a flower for him. He saw me and gave me a big hug as he said, "Thank you, Darlin." Made the whole night complete! Nice cologne too! WOW. Mark and I got to talk with Chris after the show, which was a good time as well.

The very next day we drove 1 ½ to the Iron Horse Saloon in Massachusetts, where we have seen him many times before. Just as we got out of the car, Mark said to me, “Uh Lisa, there’s Hal”.  I could not believe my good fortune. I called out to Hal and he graciously came over!  We chatted for a bit and Mark took a picture of Hal and me!!!!  Wow, what a way to start show #2.  Then we went to a dog store right next to the IH and there was Chris!  We chatted with him for quite some time. He showed us pictures of his dogs, his beautiful, 43-day-old baby girl and his beautiful wife. I train dogs and Mark and I have two children, 6 & 10, so we had a lot to talk about.  Chris let us in early to the show.  It was FREEZING COLD.  We got the table for two, right in front. The show was GREAT. You could have heard a pin drop!  Hal was much more relaxed this time.  He sang mostly the same songs from the previous night, but added “Skies over Dublin” and “Ordinary Day”.  He said he found an old guitar and O.D was in it.  It was BEAUTIFUL. He wore jeans, a burgundy button down shirt and a black hat. He joked that he had “bus hair”. This crowd always loves and APPRECIATES him. His aunt was there as well. He told a story about how she took him to see his first movie, ELVIS!  Hal sat and played guitar except “Man of Leisure”.  Rick played that one. No drums again for Chris, manager hat.  It was a WONDERFUL DAY. Mark and I met up with Chris after the show.  I got a great picture with Chris too.  Hal was on the bus with family.  In 4 days, I was going on to the New York show with a girlfriend who lived there but had never seen Hal before. Mark asked Chris to look out for us. He did one better…he put us on “THE LIST”.

I had been flying high since I heard that news so I was not surprised that after a 2½ -hour drive and one speeding ticket later, I was in Albany, NY. Laurie and I went to “The Egg” theatre early to find out about “the list”!  Not a bad seat in the house due to its shape-EGG.  As soon as we arrived, we ran into Chris.  He introduced us to the man who ran the theatre. We were able to get in early.  Just as we got off the elevator, THERE WAS HAL! Oh my!  He waved and smiled.  He was getting ready for sound check!  I had brought the picture of us from the previous show for him to sign.  He saw me taking it out and graciously came over.  We chatted a moment and then he commented,  “It didn’t LOOK like we were that cold!”  I asked if he would sign and he nodded.  I LOST MY SHARPIE!  He had to get to sound check.  We sat in on a private showing of Awaiting Redemption and Unforgiven.  I was speechless.  I must be in heaven. Unforgettable time. There were 6 other people there too.  It turned out to be Hal’s brother, who looks a lot like Hal, same kind of hair and EYEBROWS, his family and another aunt of Hal’s.  This show was the best of the three.  He told stories before EVERY song.  A few were about dumb things that he and his brother did as kids.  It was great to see him so ”at home”. He wore a black sweater, jeans and the black hat.  He played mostly the same line up adding Superman and Trail of Tears, solo, BEAUTIFUL.  He added to Chris and Rick, a percussionist that he said he’d known for a long time, saw him at one of the shows a few nights ago and invited him along!  He was a very good addition. He played drums (Congo?) and chimes.  It was a very nice blend with Hal.  He got a standing ovation as he did all three nights and he was gone.

It has been arctic weather here for quite some time but Hal sure warmed up New England this week.

CLICK HERE to see all of Lisa's wonderful photos.