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Tuesday, July 11, 2006 

Bruce & Seeger Sessions Band On PBS

The BBC recorded a special concert by Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band in London earlier this year. The show, will be broadcast on the PBS series "Great Performances." WCNY Channel 24 will broadcast the show locally on Thursday July 13th at 10:30 P.M.

One more chance to see this amazing 17 piece "arena folk" band. Here's a review of the show and setlist from the Backstreets website:

May 9 / London, England / St. Lukes Church
Not a bad spot for the Seeger Sessions Band's brand of gospel: this show was recorded for the BBC at St. Luke's, an 18th Century church restored by the London Symphony Orchestra as an intimate concert hall. "If they were attempting to give this the atmosphere of a country hoe-down in a village hall, then they more than succeeded," Peter Raymond tells us, "but the sheer exuberance and quality of the performance set it way apart from any local jamboree I've ever been to." BBC DJ Johnny Walker greeted "the luckiest 300 people in the world" -- many of them BBC contest winners, with Emmylou Harris, Stephen Merchant, and the Old Grey Whistle Test's Bob Harris also spotted -- before bringing on Bruce and the band. Springsteen quickly dismissed the riotous applause by joking, "you just practiced that -- it doesn't count!" Bruce and the band set aside original material to focus on the Seeger Sessions songs (plus the "Poor Man" centerpiece) from the main set. "How Can I Keep From Singing" went on despite the fact that "We forgot to bring that friggin' organ... we can't let that stop us, can we?" With retakes of "O Mary" and "Mrs. McGrath," the performance lasted 80 minutes, ending promptly after a rousing "Pay Me My Money Down" finale (and despite a persistent audience chanting for more). Nick Corr tells us: "Given it was meant to be a media showcase performance, I thought Bruce and the Band played a storming show, enahnced by the much smaller venue and closer environment... the entire crowd was well into the vibe, which the band seemed to pick up on and play off -- so despite the shorter set, it was the best of the three UK shows I witnessed.

Setlist: John Henry/O Mary Don't You Weep/How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?/How Can I Keep From Singing/Mrs. McGrath/Mrs. McGrath/My Oklahoma Home/Jacob's Ladder/O Mary Don't You Weep/We Shall Overcome/Pay Me My Money Down

I just watched this show last night and what a nice piece it is...I forget sometimes the luxuries felt when I watch something pro-shot after seeing so many fan-shot shows...This show made me envious...and once again that hair brained idea to hit those 3 consequetive Dublin shows started tugging at my passport...
Man, what a vacation that would be...........

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