Bruce Soord – Requests gig part 2, from the studio 30 May 2020

Bruce Soord – Requests gig part 2, from the studio 30 May 2020

by Pete Clemons

Within minutes of the launch of the SpaceX Dragon rocket in Cape Kennedy, Bruce Soord continued his own personal exploration. Only Bruce's voyage of discovery was through his own, now rather vast, back catalouge of songs. And, similar to the lift off, the on line viewing audience was clearly from many and varied parts of the world.

This time Bruce promised that this session was going to be slicker. Less chat and more songs. Bruce did warn us that he was going to play as many requests as possible but that not be able to fit them all in. And that hopefully there wouldn't be any of the 'button' issues.

With that said Bruce quickly burst into the title track from the ninth TPT album 'All the Wars'. Bruce did seem to be on a mission come the end of that opening tune, as he said: 'lets talk more songs'. Thinking out loud as to how to approach this one Bruce set about a track from the Dissolution album 'Threatening War' that involved the use of looper and shaker.

Preparing himself for his third song Bruce mentioned how blessed we had been in the UK to have had the the spring heatwave accompany us through this lockdown period. A change of guitar and Bruce was now into 'Fend for Yourself' which involved the very clever use of electronic gadgets as the improvisation began.

By now Bruce was literally beginning to feel the heat in his loft as he mentioned how hot it was in there. And it was only going to get hotter this side of the laptop as the next song, 'The One You Left to Die', not only involved looper and shaker but also introduced, mid song, a change from acoustic to electric guitar. A large tambourine was deployed along with an array of improvisation. Bruce had admitted that, at times, he didn't know where, and in which direction, the songs were going to go. This was an incredible journey that displayed skill and deftness.

Taking some time out, Bruce managed to answer a viewers question. And that was 'had he thought about trying this kind of event with the full band'. Bruce's reply was that 'yes he had but the logistics, preparation and rehearsals would be problematic'.

The next song up was 'Someone Here is Missing' which was just wonderful to hear. And this was followed by a song that, apparently, had gone in a totally different direction during rehearsal and that was 'Reaching Out'. It took a second take to get it going, after 'falling on my butt', during the first take but it proved to be an utter delight as it, yet again, produced some exquisite improvisation.

'Why do I do it to myself, I have no idea' Bruce mentioned as he introduced the next song. One, in fact, that he had never played live before. Even as he was putting on his guitar he questioned 'Do I really want to do this?'. The song was 'Seasons Past' from the Magnolia album. It took a second take but it was clear that Bruce really wanted to crack this short yet tricky song. I could almost feel the audience, this side of the screen, willing Bruce on at this point and that, along with his own perseverance paid off.

As Bruce announced the last song he mentioned how much he had enjoyed doing these intimate gigs. They had indeed been very special. He finished with quite a long song from the Variation of a Dream album titled 'Remember Us'. And he warned us that this was another that could go anywhere. But what a finale it proved to be as Bruce looped harmony parts as well his acoustic. And wrapped the whole song off with a flourish of electric guitar. And with that its over as Bruce poured himself a well deserved triple hop Duvel.

And there you have it. 21 songs over more that three hours, culminating in that supreme ending to what had been three unbelievably attention grabbing sessions.

This lockdown has been a surreal period in time. It is not even been a generational thing. This has been a once in a lifetime event and, for many, life will never be quite the same again despite it's loosening and the recent attempts to release us into the new normal.

But these Bruce Soord events have indeed been a highlight of my own personal lockdown experience too. And that is not just me saying it. The final word on all of this goes to a comment I read where similar feelings had clearly been invoked............

'Although online and remote, they somehow feel intimate and personal, which gives them an intensity which is hard to describe. From my own solitary home space. But even with his mistakes, omissions and reminders-to-himself, written in felt pen, the pleasure he gives and the adoration he receives makes being in lockdown feel better and better'.