gig 017 - w/Born to Run @ Mohegan Sun

June 30, 2006
The Wolf's Den
Mohegan Sun, Connecticut

CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE presents Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run
"Cut for cut and note for note"

John Sobol – tenor sax
Craig Martin – lead vox
Steve Butler - drums
Nick Hildyard - piano and vox
Jeff Pearce - bass
Marcus Garrison - keys
Stephen Bahnesli - guitar

7pm and 10pm sets
hard to gauge attendance
the club was not as packed as usual
but there were probably several thousand people listening
in the vast surrounding casino
which remains one of the most over-the-top joints you could ever hope to encounter

This was a great gig
a great band
a great album
and great fun

we definitely rocked it HARD
Craig sang Bruce much better than I thought he'd be able to pull off
buttles remains the most rocksolid drummer around
nicky as always a musical powerhouse
jeff and marcus and stephen all nailing their parts beautifully
all in all a blast

check out the posts on our message board

as for me
i had the immense challenge of blowing Clarence Clemons' parts
'the big man' blows like a muthaf***ka and i had to learn to do the same for this gig
he has pretty much the biggest baddest sound around
and tremendous musicality too
it was awesome to study this master of the screaming sax
steeped in the stomping wailing honkytonk r'n'b horn idiom that is so rarely heard these days
tho updated and with a ferocious edge
apart from the sheer power (like Clarence I can now blow down tall trees with my horn)
the greatest lesson was to learn to manhandle my horn WITH MY MOUTH
this goes against everything most sax players are taught
(not that i ever went to music school or anything)
but it took me a long time to realize that for Clarence the music is in the mouth not in the fingers
he shapes every note with huge bends, growls, slurs, spins, slpas and cries that constitute an incredibly rich narrative vocabulary
and NOBODY plays their horn that way these days
but now I do
:)
big up to the big man!
thank YOU!

Here's us doing the epic song Jungleland

I can't wait for us to do this show again somewhere...

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Risk Factor: 11 (JUNGELAND is terrifying)
Riff Factor: 1 ('note for note' baby)
Props: Standing Os and booty shaking in the aisles
Wild Card: dead guy stretched out in the lobby
Cash Factor: 11!
Parking Lot: dead battery
Joy: 10
Obliteration: 9 (post-gig only tho)
Travel: burning rubber 450 miles each way