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Look at all these pedals… don’t ask me what they do.. my guitar tech knows though..”), Lofgren takes to the stage with multi instrumentalist and foot percussionist Greg Varlotta. The Queens Hall is a lovely old venue with amazing acoustics. At times, Lofgren speaks without a mic, and you can still make him out clearly. The perfect venue to sit back and marvel as Lofgren explains the story behind the song, what went into making it, and how he came to a particular place in his career. You could hear a pin drop, or in a few cases, the ringtone of someone who had forgotten about silent mode! The setlist on this tour gets changed up each night. When you have 50 years of material to choose from, it certainly keeps it fresh, and surprises the fans who are attending multiple dates. ‘Wonderland’ kicks off the two hour plus show, and Lofgren quickly has the guitar heads in the crowd drooling at his amazing technique. Lofgren doesn’t use a “normal” plectrum, instead he uses a thumb pic on his right thumb and picks the strings with the other fingers. There are times where he is using the thumb pic and the other fingers are tapping out a percussive beat on the body of his acoustic guitar. His fingers are fast. It is spellbinding just watching him as he makes music you wouldn’t expect from just one guy with a guitar. Several songs are introduced by a few words about the song, a back story, or just a quick introduction. ‘Walkin’ Nerve’ is introduced with a few quips about how it’s a song about being young and crazy, and even though he’s no teenager anymore it’s good to still stay young and crazy. A gorgeous cover of Buffalo Springfield’s ‘Flying On The Ground Is Wrong’ is prefaced with a story about how Neil Young gave him one of his own guitars as a gift. My favourite though is the quick tale of how Lofgren had met Sopranos producer David Chase backstage at Madison Square Garden. They got talking about the track ‘Black Books’, and the end result was that it featured in an episode of The Sopranos’ second season. After the quick introduction, Lofgren dons a pair of dark glasses as “A song this dark needs glasses”. A dark, cinematic moment that features another incredible solo and some tasty atmospheric keyboards from Varlotta. Lofgren is a very witty raconteur with some great anecdotes, like when he points out that he is drinking water on stage to stay hydrated. There was a time when it would be whiskey getting necked, but his doctor told him that he had developed an allergy to booze, therefore any time he drank he would “break out in handcuffs!” Or when he would consume enough Jack Daniels on stage that he would end up climbing up PA stacks and jumping off, or doing a somersault. His love for somersaults and trampolines on stage has taken it’s toll, as he has had both hips replaced, so he took up tap dancing instead! Cue a quick change into a pair of tap shoes for a tap-off with Varlotta, all the while Lofgren is still playing his guitar. A very, very surreal moment! One of the many highlights during a Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band gig is when ‘Because The Night’ gets aired. Written by Springsteen, given to Patti Smith, it is without a shadow of doubt my favourite Springsteen composition. Since The E Street Band got back together in 1999-2000, it has fallen to Lofgren to perform the incendiary solo towards the end of the song. Watching him spin around on one leg as he wrings every emotion out of his Fender, in stadiums all over the world, will always be a special moment for me, so when the unmistakable piano intro starts, no word of a lie, my jaw drops. I had purposely shunned any set list spoilers from the tour so far, and looked the other way when the set list was taped to the floor. I didn’t know what to expect, and it truly was a hair-standing-up moment. Nils Lofgren continues his ’50 Years… Up The Road’ tour in the UK until May 31st, where it ends in Cardiff. All remaining dates can be found here. For a memorable evening of appreciating rock history, this simply cannot be beaten. Review: Dave Stott Images: Callum Scott]]>
