The Ghost of Bruce Trio Live at Ruby & Fellas, Tammersmith, 20 February 2015
Ladies and not ladies! After seeing a total of four full-band shows performed by this awesome tribute band, my expectations were high with an open mind. I didn't know exactly what and how they would do, but that was just the charm of it. With Lasse on the piano, Saku on the telecaster, lead vocals and harmonica, and Yyteri Tomi on the acoustic guitar, some serious quality time was at hand, most probably.
After 11.30 p.m., Saku begins the show with a nice solo interpretation of 'The Ghost of Tom Joad', to be followed by a stunning surprise choice of 'One Step Up'! WOW!! Next we hear a beautiful version of 'Promised Land' and happiness fills everybody's heart. 'Prove it All Night' follows, and Saku plays a terrific solo on his Telecaster like there was no tomorrow!<3<3<3 Fifth, Tomi suggests a Jarmo Nikku -style ending for 'Cover Me', and what he says, goes this time. An ever-lovely series of standard choices on Ghost of Bruce shows follows; 'Atlantic City', 'Darkness on the Edge of Town', 'Spirit in the Night', 'Two Hearts' and 'The River' in beautifully performed minimalist trio versions keep our spirits high in the sky and leave our hearts hungry for more.
After a 20-minute break, the fellas return on stage, opening with a lovely 'Thunder Road', to be followed by 'The Rising'. Next, a pretty rare classic makes us happy; 'Fire', originally written by Bruce Springsteen for Elvis. 'My Hometown', 'I'm Going Down', and 'Downbound Train' keep us happy, but then Tomi begins strumming a catchy rock'n roll jam intro, and I'm like: "Is it a bird? Is it a plane??". However, it turned out a nicely different version of 'I'm on Fire'! Great! After this discography road trip across the 'Born in the U.S.A.' -album, we are satisfied with 'Hungry Heart' a different version of 'Streets of Philadelphia', and, of course, the triumphantly wild 'Born to Run'! After a minute or two, the fellas step back on stage for 'Dancing in the Dark' as the finishing wild encore of the night.
