To mark his 60th birthday, longtime Bruce Springsteen fan Hank Azaria decided to perform a Springsteen tribute show, which debuted at New York’s Le Poisson Rouge on August 1. In preparation, the actor (Brockmire, Ray Donovan, The Simpsons) put in a few months of steady work to turn a vocal impression into a full-on musical celebration.
Hank Azaria & The EZ Street Band have exclusively shared a live performance video from their sold-out concert at Le Poisson Rouge, in form of the Born to Run classic, “Thunder Road.” Whereas some tribute acts simply reprise material, Azaria takes his role further, eliciting an indistinguishable likeness to Springsteen. As presented in this Relix video exclusive, the frontman adopts the Garden State artist’s on-stage presence, using the power of storytelling to introduce select material and carve out a further connection between the band and audience.
From tales of the Nevada desert, backed by light and whimsical piano, Azaria guides everyone on a spoken word journey before dropping into the 1975 released folk rocker, telling the crowd, “And then, there was another sign. And it said, ‘This is the land of peace, love and justice. And no mercy.’ He pointed down the way, and the sign said ‘Thunder Road.’” To welcome the audience’s inclusion, Azaria adds, “I’m gonna need your help on this one, you know where.” The performance peaks with the crowd’s reverberation of the song’s second verse, reinforcing the connection between the musicians and the members of the audience.
As Azaria tells Relix, “It’s amazing to me how genuinely happy it made me to hear a room full of Bruce fans sing ‘show a little faith there’s magic in the night’ to me: it’s a joyful sound I’ll never forget. It took weeks to get that song even close to right and it was worth it :)”
Azaria & The EZ Street Band have cultivated a following in line with the success of their live debut, and regional fall dates will arrive on Oct. 31, with a gig at Brooklyn Bowl Philadelphia. Just over a week later, the band arrives at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl location (Nov. 8), followed by an appearance on Nov. 15 at Asbury Park, N.J.’s Stone Pony. For tickets and additional information, visit www.ezstreetnyc.com.
Watch Hank Azaria & The EZ Street Band performing Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” below.
The post Video Premiere: Hank Azaria & The EZ Street Tap into the Spirit of Bruce Springsteen and Company on “Thunder Road” appeared first on Relix Media.
