People were there to see Michelle Obama, wife of likely Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
But catching some Bruce Hornsby action at last night’s fundraiser at the Harrison Opera House in Norfolk was an added delight—to some.

One boy grew so tired of waiting to hear Obama speak and was so bored with Hornsby’s piano playing, his mother had to wait on the opera house front steps for his dad to come and get him.

If he hung in there, it may have been worth the wait.

Hornsby, the Williamsburg-based pianist who has dabbled in liberal causes, played three songs to kick off the evening, wrapping up with his famous tune, “The way it is.“

As he played the lead in to the song, Hornsby drew a roar from the crowd when he said, “I’d imagine that there was a time when someone told Barack Obama that’s just the way it is, some thing would never change. And Barack Obama didn’t believe them.“

Then Hornsby, who collaborated on songs with rapper Tupac Shakur, quoted the deceased songwriter, saying: “As Tupac would say ‘I need a black president.‘ “