Live Review: Max Savage - Born To Run

Springsteen fans are a rabid bunch, and for good reason. Anyone who has watched The E Street band perform in recent times has seen an incredible show. Their repertoire is huge; their enthusiasm knows no bounds. Bruce gives and demands 110 percent every night, and his fans adore him for it.

Many of those fans were at Jive tonight, perhaps to fleetingly revisit the elation they experienced when they last saw The Boss live. It was another sold out show and a jovial mood permeated the venue as a gentle mix of hip young things and wiser, older rockers knocked back beer and debated their favourite songs.

Ryan Oliver, of former locals Oliver's Army, capably ran through the Nebraska album. As each tune finished the Jive crowd erupted into huge, heartfelt applause, although there was more chatter than at Oliver's previous performances of this record. His gentle voice, steady fingerpicking and trendy fedora added a more commercial sheen to what is actually a very lo-fi album. There was something a little unsettling about hearing such personal, introspective and vulnerable songs in such an upbeat, public setting — after all, Nebraska is essentially a demo; the versions fans know and love were never really intended to be publicly heard.

The same is not true of Born To Run. It's life-affirming, euphoric and empowering, and perfectly suited to being heard in a room full of boisterous fans. Max Savage barely had to sing opener Thunder Road — the audience did it for him with all the enthusiasm and joy of an actual Springsteen gig. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out was similar. The False Idols (who tonight included bonafide Springsteen nuts Aaron Nash on piano and Dave Mazzarelli on drums) tore through each number with precision, affection and dexterity. Some PA hiccups marred earlier tunes and Banjo Jackson's acoustic guitar was occasionally difficult to hear, but overall the sound was excellent.

The energy and singalongs were sustained right through to Jungleland. In the encore, Savage delivered the Nebraska-era acoustic version of Born In The USA, followed by I'm On Fire. The band returned for Hungry Heart, and in a flash it was over.

I'm not sure how one couldn't feel great after hearing Born To Run (the song and the album) on record or CD or smartphone, let alone in a live setting surrounded by a few hundred spirited fans. And although Savage's vocal gravel was dialed up to camp proportions and the man himself donned a sleeveless denim shirt, the show wasn't tainted by any pretentions of trying to be Bruce, Clarence, and the rest of The E Street Band. It seemed, rather pleasingly, to be less of a tribute to an extremely successful bloke from New Jersey, and more of a tribute to the power of amazing songs.