Bruce Juice the Springsteen Tribute Band - The Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh 25th October 2024

By now I had acclimatised to the night. The venue was not too busy, with only around 60 people in a room that claims to hold ten times that number. I am not sure about that claim as the stage takes up over a quarter of the floor space and looks like it's been nicked from a much bigger venue. Anyway, there may have only been around 60 people in the room but what a 60 they were. Nobody had just wandered in for a look, nobody had popped in for a swift half in the passing, no, these sixty were absolute Bruce fans. They knew every word of every song and, props to the band, they played a lot more than just the hits. This was an informed crowd of enthusiasts.

Now the thing about enthusiasts, and Broooooce fans are all at the die-hard end of any spectrum of fandom; they don’t put up with second best. “Rosalita” and “Thunder Road” were played back-to-back and this seven piece band really ripped it up. They absolutely nailed it – no second best was in evidence at all, these were all musicians who really knew their onions. It was clear too they were all fans, each member of the group singing pretty much every word of each song as they took care of their own area of responsibility. Fronting the band is Rhod Lewis, a Welshman, with a big smile and a whole heap of enthusiasm. He didn’t try to play Springsteen, despite sharing a similar taste in waistcoats, instead he regularly paid homage to the Boss and let everyone in the room, although they knew it already, how good the Springsteen catalogue was.

The first ten songs over, the Rhod said it would normally be break time, but with tonight’s curfew being both early and strict, they rocked on without a rest. The second half was more of a trip to Hitsville then the first half had been and the crowd, which had grown a bit by now, lapped it up.

“Born in the USA” got us started and then a personal favourite “Radio Nowhere” kept the dancers moving. I was watching the band play, and it struck me, this is not hard music to do. I don’t mean that in a negative way, it is just a fact – these songs are not complex. Bruce stated his career with a guitar and dictionary. That was all he needed to absolutely change the musical world. He wrote simple music and put it together with words that working people understood and recognised in their own lives, indeed our own lives, love, toil, hope, bravery and small successes. This is simple music played from the soul. Tonight brough that home to me. As I say, I have seen Bruce a few times, but always in stadiums and whilst he certainly rocks those huge venues, I always wondered what it would be like to hear these songs up close in a club setting. That was one of the things I really enjoyed about tonight, the intimacy of an evening spent with sixty other fans in a small room.

“Dancing in the Dark” got an airing. I was all thoughts of Courtney Cox before Friends. Big Drew started his Big Drew sway, another indication of a top night of music. “Hungry Heart” and “No Surrender” were leading us to the end of the evening.

As the band were introduced, Rhod told the story of how drummer Keiron camped out in the hotel the E Street Band were staying in, rather than go to the show. His aim? He wanted to meet drummer Max Weinberg. He succeeded and now has his autograph tattooed to his arm. As I say, the band are clearly fans.

“Born to Run” and “Badlands” ended the night and concluded a fantastic evening of top tunes and top musicianship.

As we wandered off to the pub we were chatting about the gig. Somebody recently asked me, ‘what’s the point of tribute bands’? I wish the guy was with us tonight, he’d have got the point. These bands make people smile on a weekend, they bring the music we love into small, accessible rooms and take us to a place where we can enjoy great songs with fellow fans.

Bruce Juice were great and well worth the £25. Drew didn’t take my money for the ticket so I bought the beers instead. I’m pleased to report that I bought enough been to comfortably secure my ticket next time, and I will very much look forward to that.