Years ago there was a commercial for an audio recording tape that asked, “is it live or Memorex.” The premise was that the Memorex audio tape was so good that the listener could not tell the difference between a live performance and a recorded one.
When the show Bruce in the USA gave a performance in the Bear’s Den Showroom at the Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino on January 19, it was hard to tell the tribute artist from the real thing.
Canadian born multi instrumentalist Matt Ryan looked and sounded like “The Boss” himself. The seven piece band not only performed flawless renditions of Springsteen’s music; but also engaged the full house and invited them to sing along on those songs even letting the audience sing the songs at times.
During the hour and a half show the band performed over 15 songs including “Thunder Road” “Glory Days”, “Badlands” “Hungry Heart”, Out in the Street”, “In the Fire” “Rosie”, “10th Ave”, “American Love” “Promiseland”, “Born in the USA”, “Dancing in the Dark”, and “Born to Run”.
After a standing ovation and screams of Bbrrruuucce!, the band returned to the stage for an encore performance of “Jungleland”.
The avid Bruce Springsteen fans in the house recognized some tunes after only a few notes and were eager to join in on the songs and for those fans the night ended all too soon.
Bruce in the USA has been entertaining audiences across the country since its formation in 2000 in Las Vegas.