Roaming Roots Revue present Born To Run - Springsteen at 70

Bruce Springsteen, AKA The Boss, turned 70 in September 2019. This landmark birthday inspired Roddy Hart to arrange this years Roaming Roots Revue in Springsteen's honour.

The annual bash, a real highlight in the Celtic Connections calendar, celebrated its 8th birthday by selling out their usual haunt at the Royal Concert Hall

For the first time in the events history, a second night was added, in the stunning Old Fruitmarket in the Merchant City area of Glasgow.

Reports from night one were euphorically emphatic and I was thoroughly looking forward to celebrating my birthday with family and friends to the sounds of Springsteen.

What a show!

The setting, song choices, artists, band and performances were just perfect. And we squeezed in right down the front at the side to have a brilliant up close view of performances.

Roddy Hart and The Lonesome Fire were on fire. I think the all standing venue made a difference and perhaps they were looser after playing the night before.

The guests who joined them on stage were exceptional; The Rails, Ryan Bingham, Phil Campbell, Lisa Hannigan, Karine Polwart, Jonathan Wilson and Craig Finn. They all brought something a little different, all teased something out of Springsteen's catalogue that made you appreciate his work as a songwriter and performer a little more and every artist showed their appreciation for the songs and artist that will make me go back and revisit songs and albums over the weeks to come.

Roddy Hart used the first half of the show to introduce his guest singers, with each performing a song or two. Phil Campbell chose to play a song called Western Star from Springsteen's latest album - it was stunning and will ensure I check the album out later in the week.

Roddy Hart and Phil Campbell

After the interval the show didn't let up. The tech team ensured swift changeovers and the show flowed like ... well like a Bruce show should!

The evening was one long beautiful feel good highlight. Although I guess I should note that the 4 songs I played first thing this morning were I'm On Fire, Brilliant Disguise, Hungry Heart and The Rising.

Lisa Hannigan's take on I'm On Fire was jaw droppingly beautiful. You could have heard a pin drop in the Old Fruitmarket. What a voice! 

Roddy Hart and Lisa Hannigan

Phil Campbell has an incredible voice and an infectious energy to his performances. He blew me away at the Abbey Road Roaming Roots Revue in 2019 and he did so again last night. I look forward to checking out his new band The Byson Family. His raw, rasping, soulful vocals were perfect for Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Campbell threw himself into the performance.

Karine Polwart led a charing version of The Rising that really got the place going. I found it really interesting to hear her singing in this way, I guess with more ferocity in the music behind her, it really suited her.

I loved the interaction between James Walbourne and Kami Thompson, AKA The Rails. Walbourne tore into his guitar and their harmonising was glorious. 

Craig Finn from The Hold Steady is a huge Springsteen fan and his love shone through, he looked super happy to be on stage and taken aback by the audience response. 

Look at the setlist below - stunning. Roddy and his band worked the set (see below for full setlist) order brilliantly, building to huge anthems Born To Run, Dancing In The Dark and Badlands. By this point everyone was on stage, playing guitar, singing lead or backing vocals, or just enjoying themselves.

It was fitting that Roddy Hart, the curator of these fantastic annual events, took to the stage with two of his band on piano to deliver a spine tingling encore of Thunder Road. Hart's voice was magnificent, strong and soulful, possibly the best I have heard him.

Last night left me buzzing all day. A truly fitting tribute to Springsteen.

I do hope that the demand for tickets in 2021 will ensure Roddy's Roaming Roots Revue keeps a second night at the Old Fruitmarket. I have to confess that earlier on today I was thinking of ideas what they could do. I thought of Carole King, she'll be 80 in 2022 so that is one to pipeline as a potential for then.

My friend Ian went both nights and nabbed a setlist from night 1. Ian noted that the set list had 3 changes on the second night (which, incidentally he said was best): Ryan Bingham and Lisa Hannigan did different tracks, and Land of Hope and Dreams was dropped. But what a show

Dancing In The Dark

Cover version of the month #18

Hot Chip cover Springsteen 

Dancing In The Dark is one of Bruce Springsteen's biggest hits; released back in 1984, it was the first single from his Born In The USA album. It went on to sell well over 1 million copies.

It is MASSIVE! Huge synth riffs, a flowing melody an an incredible chorus. Does it get much better than this for a sing-a-long?

You can't start a fire

Can't start a fire without a spark

This gun's for hire

Even if we're just dancing in the dark

This is a song about boredom, lust and fantasising. Also reflection on life; Bruce sings about changing his appearance, longing to break out, recognising where he is and prepared to take on advice.

There's something happening somewhere

Baby I just know that there is 

They say you gotta stay hungry

Baby I'm jut about starving tonight

With the huge synths, sense of escapism and uplifting chorus, this was crying out for an electronic cover. Although instantly identifiable, it is still a brave choice for anyone to take on The Boss.

Step forward Hot Chip.

They don't just take on the legendary Dancing In The Dark, they also throw in a dash of LCD Soundsystem's All My Friends. Incredible! They don't try and compete with Springsteen, instead they pay homage and add their own unique style, taking the listener on a flowing electronic journey, building to a euphoric conclusion.

Find videos for the original and for Hot Chip's Glastonbury performance below. You'll also find their cover on Spotify.

 Also a video for Scottish singer songwriter Beerjacket's own beautiful acoustic cover version.

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' 

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin' 

8. Sound and Vision 

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus 

11. Guiding Star

12. You’ll Never Walk Alone

13. Hurt
14. This Guy's In Love With You

15. I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine
16. California Soul
18. Wonderwall 

4 dates with The Boss

Away back in 2002 I became friends with Ian Pilbeam, a fellow Manchester United supporter and music fan. We signed up to do a trek in the Cederberg Mountains in South Africa for Maggie’s Centres and hit it off in the lead up to, during and after the trek. There were laughs, tears, beers by the campfire at night and lots of chats as we kept each other going. It was a magical and inspirational trip that really led to me changing career to work in the voluntary sector. I’m pleased to say that we are still friends.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been enjoying Ian’s social media posts on his pilgrimage around the UK to catch Bruce Springsteen live on four occasions. So I thought I would ask him to write a blog....and he duly delivered on the train home from London....here it is....

Ian’s blog

4 shows, 132 songs, 57 different tracks, over 13-hours on stage, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town in May in a rainy Manchester; no-one else does it quite like Bruce Springsteen. That’s why they call him ‘The Boss’ and the four UK dates I was privileged to attend over a magical 11-day period were testimony to the endurance, creativity and sense of occasion of this musical leviathan.

Four years ago I had never seen Springsteen live. I was a fan but for some reason had never got round to it. But the first show was a game changer. I had never seen an artist hold a massive crowd in the palm of his hand for over 3-hours.

Backed by a stellar line-up of musical heavyweights in the legendary E Street Band, with nephew Jake Clemons now wielding the saxophone following the sad passing of his Uncle Clarence, the whole band wind their way through his diverse catalogue, much like a review band, conducted by their inspirational leader.

Be it rock classics such as Born To Run or Because the Night, soul covers like Shout, the gospel tinged City of Ruins, stadium anthems like Badlands and The Rising, or 80’s pop classics such as Dancing In The Dark and Glory Days, this musical legend has quite an armoury to choose from. And he uses it to the full, throwing curve balls a plenty, accepting sign requests for songs and involving the audience all the way through each show. The Boss knows how to party.

Bruce in the Manchester rain

Springsteen is not afraid to dive deep into his catalogue, starting two of the shows at the piano playing early album tracks unaccompanied and finishing each show with just his guitar, mouth organ and the lusty audience for either This Hard Land or Thunder Road, returning to the folk poet ground that led him to be declared as the future of rock and roll over 40-years ago,

And a word for the band of devoted fans, many of whom have travelled round the world to see him over many years. As a late convert it was a joy to spend so much tome with some wonderful people in the long hours of queuing for the pit. And to share some of the unforgettable on stage moments, brought to an overwhelming crescendo by the majesty of his powerful masterpiece of Jungleland resounding around a sold out Wembley Stadium on the final gig of this UK leg of the River Tour 2016.

Worth the wait in the queue!

This was preceded by a tribute to the recently passed Mohammed Ali Tougher Than The Rest.

Some might say it is The Boss who is the Greatest and I for one would not disagree.

Dedicated followers of music

The live music scene in Glasgow, at least to me, hasn't show any sign of being effected by the economic crisis that the country has been suffering for the last 5-years. Indeed, with the addition of the Hydro it seems to be growing from strength to strength.

We like to be entertained, even if times are tough, that is just another reason to go out and forget about reality, to get lost in music.

It does come at a financial cost though. I don't get out to quite as many gigs as I used to, although I still do pretty well!

I've become friends with a lovely couple called Gordon and Heidi; couple of music nuts who I bump into regularly at shows and who are big fans of the Vigo Thieves. I thought I would interview them to display just how dedicated people can be. 

I love their answers, they really highlight the passion of Scottish gig goers, not to mention the variety of musical taste and their dedication to going to live shows. It is people like Gordon and Heidi that generate such a good name for a Scottish audience throughout the world.

1. Can you introduce yourselves and tell us about some of your favourite bands and artists?

 I`m Gordon , 47 and I work as a Fork Lift Driver with William Grant and Sons . I have two kids from a previous marriage aged 24 and 22

I`m Heidi , 46 going on 25 and I`m originally from Weert in Holland although I`ve stayed here in Scotland for 10 years now . I work in Tunnocks right now

I like to think that my musical taste is pretty varied but if I pick the bands that I keep going back to listen to then it would be The Jam , Ocean Colour Scene, Bob Marley ( both in his ska and reggae days ) Biffy Clyro and Mr Johnny Cash . There are a few bands about today that might end up on the list eventually . Augustines , Kodaline , Kasabian and The Avett Brothers spring to mind

In my younger days I was into heavy rock , Black Sabbath , Iron Maiden and Judas Priest and I still listen to them . I`ve also always loved Journey . As I`ve mellowed with age I`ve found Biffy Clyro and the Arctic Monkeys , although Elvis will always have a special place in my heart as I grew up listening to him with my dad . Apart from “ metal “ Gordon and I have very similar tastes in music

2. Who, when and where did you see live for the first time?

Journey were the first band I ever saw live in Anaheim , California in July 1982 and I was pretty much hooked on live music right there and then . I worked backstage at various venues in Nevada for a while and it was a job that I loved .

The first band I saw live was The Jam at the Apollo in Glasgow in the early 80`s , I also used to go and see a friends band , The Druids, in Bellshill around that time as well . It made me aware that it wasn`t just big bands out there and that plenty of good music was available by watching unsigned local bands

As a couple the first band we saw was Dogs Die In Hot Cars at Balado in 2004

3. Do you have any idea of how many gigs and festivals you have been to this year?

I had to go and trail through our box of ticket stubs , we keep them all along with the setlists that Heidi manages to grab , and we make it 24 gigs and 2 festivals .

We always try for 2 festivals a year , Wickerman and something else .

4. What have been your top 5 musical highlights so far this year?

These are all in no particular order

Chic at Wickerman . If you were there then you will know why and if you weren`t or left early to go see Stiff Little Fingers then you really missed something special

Aye apparently this is the case and Heidi enjoys reminding me just how good they were after we left , my cousin and I watched 30 minutes and then scarpered up to the Scooter tent for SLF . I have to say that they were a bit of a let down

Watching Vigo Thieves playing a sold out gig at the Arches . We have followed this Wishaw based band for a long time now and we have got to know the guys really well , they are a cracking bunch of lads and when we first saw them at Maggie Mays it was in front of 6 people .

From that to the Arches was amazing , they deserve a bigger audience for certain . This year should be their year .

Ed Kowalczyk ( former lead singer of Live ) played King Tuts in September and it was incredible to see him there , I saw the band play years ago in stadium venues and to be there as he played such an intimate gig was a real highlight for me

I went to this gig for Heidi as I`d never heard of him but he put on a real show , when he played Lightning Crashes I had to laugh at Heidi standing with tears in her eyes.

We differ on the last two;

The Stone Roses at Glasgow Green for me , 23 years was a long time to wait 

Being asked to fake play the saxophone on stage with Vigo Thieves at Wickerman , just because it gave the weekend a right good giggle at the end 

Suede at The Barrowlands because it was a new experience  for me , I went because of Gordon as they weren`t that big in Holland and I had heard of a couple of their songs but that's all . They were absolutely fantastic .

Kings Of Leon at Bellahouston park . Last time we saw them they were going through the motions and had major problems within the band . This time they all seemed to be loving what they did again and the nailed the gig .

5. We are really in thick of gig season right now. What gigs have you been to in November?

Stereophonics ( Hydro) , Kodaline ( ABC ) , Deap Vally ( Oran Mor ) , Vampire Weekend ( Hydro ) Arctic Monkeys ( Hydro ) , The Lumineers ( Corn Exchange ) The Editors ( Barrowlands ) . This has been an exceptionally busy month for us

(It certainly has been!)
6. What do you have coming up in advance?
At the moment we have Australian Pink Floyd , Chrvches , Elbow , The Begbies and The Eagles booked for next year .

7. Do you have a special account for ticket money or anything?

We don`t really but we are lucky that we both work . We tend to be able to afford to go to whatever we want although we baulked at paying over a hundred quid each for Fleetwood Mac at The Hydro . We regretted not going for it almost immediately .

8. Is there anyone you haven't seen that you would like to see?

As I will never see Pink Floyd I`ll leave them out . Just now there are a few that we haven`t been able to go and see for one reason or another . Muse , Foo Fighters , Arcade Fire for me . We can add Pearl Jam and Metallica to those . In terms of venues I`d like to visit Red Rocks in Denver and Paradiso in Amsterdam.

9. What do you think of the music scene in Scotland?

(Answer for both)

The music scene in Scotland for touring acts is superb , there are plenty of great venues out there . It seems to us that plenty of bands want to come here because the crowds tend to know their stuff . There always seems  to be a huge difference in crowds from Edinburgh and Glasgow , east coast crowds tend to be less rowdy .

Venue wise we have more than our fair share of crackers . For us both nothing beats the barrowlands . The sound in there is always spot on and even though the place hasn't really aged well it still has a feel to it . The Vigo`s played there earlier this year supporting The Fratelli`s and I( Gordon ) managed to blag a back stage pass ( Cheers Murray ) and so I watched the gig from the side of the stage

The scene out there for up and coming bands is what they want to make of it . Glasgow has plenty of great small venues , Tuts , Nice and Sleazys , Maggie Mays , Broadcast and The Old Hairdressers to name but a few and they are all excellent for bands coming through . There are plenty of opportunities to get out and take in live music . Keep an eye out for a trio called Calm Fiasco , relatively new and sound pretty tight . There are no excuses for folk who love music not to get out there and take in gigs .


10. What have been your all-time 3 top gigs/shows that you have been to?

Pink Floyd in Rotterdam . It was Pink Floyd , 2 1/2 hours of musical and visual heaven . It felt

like being hypnotised en masse . An amazing experience .

Faithless at The Barrowlands in 2005 . I`d seen them 6 times before but we were almost at the front and the whole crowd just bounced for the entire show , it was special 

Bruce Springsteen in Holland in the early 2000`s . It was with the E Street band and the Boss is unbelievable . No visuals or gimmicks just the man giving it hell for 3 hours . His energy brings the crowd along with him .

Faithless at The Barrowlands in 2005 . Heidi won tickets via XFM and Maxi and Bliss just played their hearts out . I ended up shirtless at the front bouncing about like I was 19 instead of 39 . Insomnia is up there with the greatest tunes of all times in my opinion.

Sigur Ros at Connect in 2008 . Its hard to out this gig into words . Sigur Ros are a musical orgasm , just an incredible noise from them . The setting of Inveraray at dusk with a low sunset lighting up the background made it even more special . It was as close as I`ve come to a religious experience at a music event , it felt as if no-one else was there other than Heidi , I and the band . (I was at this and have to agree that it was very special)

Stone Roses at Glasgow Green June 1990 - June 2013 , The later gig felt like a continuation of the previous one , except we had all aged considerably .

11. Is there anything you dislike about going to live shows?

People too drunk to know where they are and people throwing pints . Why someone would pay that sort of money to be blitzed and not remember the experience is nothing short of a mystery to me  . Anyone throwing drink is just a prick , excuse the language , I can`t add anything to that .

Excessive use of camera phones , people using camera phones and camera phones . Put them away and just enjoy the gig , for Gods sake . Drunks and by that I mean the same as Gordon. Ticket prices are sometimes steeper than they should be
12. Who would you like to see play;

a) The Hydro
b) The Barrowlands
c) King Tuts Wah Wah Hut

a) Muse for me . Metallica for me

b) Augustines , the Barrowlands would suit them down to a tee . I`d like to see Kasabian in here 

c) Anyone , Tuts is a special place no matter who plays it

Together we love music , it keeps us young . We`ll be gigging in our 70`s if we are still here

Why would we ever stop ?

The Boss kicks off this weeks 6 for Saturday