Glory Days: A Night with a Springsteen Cover Band
Photo courtesy of the E-Street Shuffle
By Sean Randazzo
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MANASQUAN – At 10:30 on a Saturday night, more than 70 people cram into Edgar’s Pub in Sea Girt to hear Sean Loughlin and his rock band play some music. But the crowd did not come to hear Loughlin’s original songs, they’ve come to hear Bruce Springsteen. And Loughlin, who fronts the Springsteen tribute band, E-Street Shuffle, is as close as anyone in the bar is going to get “The Boss” on this night.
The band begins the night with “Badlands” and immediately the crowd starts singing along and dancing.
Photo courtesy of the E-Street Shuffle
“Springsteen has always been number one to me,” said Loughlin, 34, after the show. “Everyone else is a distant second. I want to sing something that I believe in, and my goal for the night when we go out is to get as many people dancing and having fun as possible.”
In just a few years, E-Street Shuffle has traveled extensively, going as far as West Virginia, and playing in venues such as the Trump Plaza, Trump Marina, and the Atlantic City Hilton.
“Playing the big places is a lot of fun,” said Loughlin. “You play for maybe an hour and get paid three times the money you would playing at a bar like this.”
In addition to Loughlin, who has been the lead singer for the band since 2007, E-Street Shuffle consists of his younger brother, Ryan Loughlin, Bill Shanker, Rich Hodder, Chris Rudo, David Turner, and Mark Bistis. They come from all walks of life. Rudo is an airline pilot for Continental Airlines. Shanker, the saxophonist, is an executive at GMAC. Turner, the pianist, is a civil engineer. Bistis, the organist, owns his own printing company.
All the band members have played in various bands, but came together to cover Springsteen tunes. “It’s the right lineup, it really is,” said Rudo, the band’s bassist.
Photo courtesy of the E-Street Shuffle
While they haven’t played with The Boss, they have come pretty close.
“He knows about us,” said Ryan, the guitarist. “We played with the original E-Street drummer, Vinny Lopez, a few years ago.”
At Edgar’s Pub, the band played a three-and-a-half hour set, with just one 15-minute break. The show didn’t end until 2 a.m.
“He’s got a ton of hits and hits that sustain a night of music,” said Loughlin.
The set hit its highpoint when the band went into “Glory Days,” one of Springsteen’s most famous songs and one that taps into the sense of nostalgia that is the appeal of any cover band.
As the set ended, the people on the dance floor walked up to the band, and showered the group with praise and admiration. The band members talked with everyone they encountered. Some in the crowd are loyal fans who had seen the E-Street Shuffle previously.
“We play the hits, like ‘Glory Days’ and ‘Born to Run,’ but we also play the least-known songs, ones that only the most fanatical fan will know, and no other cover band of Bruce can really do that,” Loughlin said.
