Willie Nile and band ~ 2025 June 21 ~ The Rex Theatre, Manchester, NH
Willie Nile (vocals, guitar, piano), Johnny Pisano (bass, vocals), Jimi K Bones (guitar, vocals), Tom Curiano (drums, vocals).
Set List
Forever Wild - Run - Life On Bleecker Street - Innocent Ones - We Are, We Are - Lost and Lonely World - An Irish Goodbye - Give Me Tomorrow - What Color Is Love {piano} - Wild Wild World - Fall On Me - Children Of Paradise - Hard Times In America - House of 1000 Guitars - Run Free ... encore ... One Guitar - Hard Day's Night {Beatles}
Scroll to below videos for a review of the show.
Videos
Innocent Ones
We Are, We Are
An Irish Goodbye
Review
Willie had the new album with him tonight. It's called The Great Yellow Light. I've heard a few songs from it before, including the truly outstanding song, "An Irish Goodbye." After performing the song as it is on the record, the band took a pause and Willie had the probably mostly sober, but very enthusiastic audience take the part of the denizens of an Irish pub -- and it was their turn to sing. "There's fire in your whiskey, there's mud in your eye!" The venue did their part by displaying the Irish flag behind the band.
The visuals at this venue really do add to the show. Sometimes just WILLIE NILE in big letters like an autograph, but more often, swirling, colored images that matched the theme of the song. Not flashing lights that would be annoying but pretty lights that added to the excitement of the music, and sometimes specific images that matched the song's content -- during the final song of the night, there was Johnny Pisano standing next to London's Big Ben, because the song was a cover of "Hard Day's Night" by The Beatles!
Willie played a total of five songs from the new record, including one lovely piano ballad, "What Color Is Love," and a song he said he wrote in the style of the Rolling Stones, "Fall On Me." The rest of the set consisted of Nile classics that had the audience clapping and singing along and cheering joyfully. A highlight, as it always is, was "Hard Times in America," including a bass solo by Johnny along with Jimi's lead solo. After the show Willie told me that he is keeping that song in the set list for the foreseeable future because of the state of affairs in our usually great country. Usual drummer Jon Weber was absent, out west playing with Rock Of Ages. Taking his place was Tom Curiano.
Willie bantered with the audience a little more than sometimes, telling some stories about his family. There were some family members in attendance and at one point he addressed them, telling them to tell other cousins that Bobby says hello. (I get a kick out of it when he uses his real name.) As he always does these days, he told the audience about his dad Robert Noonan, now 107 years old and living at home in Buffalo ("and he doesn't take any medication"). He enjoys doing crossword puzzles, and Willie recently posted a picture on Facebook of Mr. Noonan beating him at poker!
More Willie Nile
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