Springsteen's Seeger Sessions gigs: Joyful, uplifting all these years later

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It takes something, or someone,  special to transform a barn like Wembley Arena into a village hall.

Bruce Springsteen did just that when he brought his Seeger Sessions tour to London, and delivered a gig that remains - almost 15 years on - one of the most joyful I have ever witnessed. 

It probably wasn’t surpassed until I saw Paul Simon perform the whole of Graceland with the original musicians at Hyde Park, and 45,000 folk danced with utter glee to You Can Call Me Al.

Wembley Arena is a pretty bog standard venue - four sided, grey, minimal character, banks of seats and with an in-built ability to smother the atmosphere of any event it hosts.

I knew it well as it was British ice hockey’s ‘home’ where fans from every club gathered for glorious championship final weekends, all fuelled by the nectar of main  sponsors, Heineken, which often rolled late into the night.

This was the first time I’d been to a live gig there, and the first time I’d seen Springsteen perform indoors since sitting in the stalls of the Playhouse Theatre in Edinburgh for his original River tour back in ‘81.

What he did that night was to shrink the circa 10,000-12,000 seat venue, and deliver a truly magical, joyful show.

I loved the Seeger Sessions album, but the live gig took it to a different level altogether.

The set list was gobsmacking, the performance of the band simply incredible - drilled to perfection, but Springsteen still retained that knack of making it feel genuinely spontaneous.

It felt like part revivalist church gathering, part hoe down, part community gathering as he mixed the work of Seeger with some of his own, re-worked to fit the vibe.

Memories? 

The band leaving the stage one by one, leaving tuba player Art Bacon in the spotlight, as Springsteen peeked round the stage curtain.

Sitting back mesmerised at the celebratory This Little Light Of Mind, and the smiles which broke out as he led everyone into standards such as Froggie Went ACourting before finally taking his bow.

And looking down on the dance floor with envy as fans danced reels and jigs to American Land which he stretched to the point of near exhaustion for band and audience alike.

It felt like he could have played all night.

Fifteen years on and the tour t-short may have faded slightly, but the memories of a great, glorious, remarkable gig still burn bright.

The return of live music cannot come too soon.


https://viewfromfife.blogspot.com/2020/11/letter-for-you-celebration-of-all-that.html

https://viewfromfife.blogspot.com/2020/06/western-starsthe-perfect-soundtrack-in.html




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