Hank Azaria has played many roles in his nearly forty-year show business career, but on Saturday night, July 19th, he played his heart out along with his EZ Street Band during their tribute to Bruce Springsteen at the Greenwich Odeum.
Best known for his vocal work on The Simpsons, where Azari plays Moe the Bartender, PC Wigan, Comic Book Guy, and many others. His movie roles include The Birdcage, as “Agador Spartacus,” Along Came Polly, and Night at the Museum. On TV, he played Phoebe’s boyfriend on Friends and won an Emmy for his work on Ray Donovan.
As a lifelong Springsteen fan, Azaria decided it would be fun to surprise his guests by assembling a band and singing a few Springsteen songs at his 60th birthday celebration. Since then, the birthday band project has grown into a nationally touring tribute to Springsteen’s music, with net proceeds donated to charity.
Hank Azaria and the 8-piece EZ Street Band delivered a high-energy, two-hour set during their appearance at the Greenwich Odeum. The packed house enjoyed the spot-on performance of their favorite Springsteen songs along with many humorous stories and audience interaction from Azaria.
The show opened with “Candy’s Room”, followed by a nonstop set covering something from every era of Springsteen’s catalogue.
A highlight of the evening took place when Azario called up Rachel Kinnevy-Fitzpatrick, the Odeum’s Operations Manager, to the stage during “Dancing In The Dark”. Upon taking the stage, Kinnevy-Fitzpatrickand Azaria reenacted the famous dance sequence by Springsteen and Courtney Cox from the 1984 “Dancing In The Dark” music video. It was also Kinnevy-Fitzpatrick birthday, making the event even more special.
The band closed the show with an encore that included “Hungry Heart” as the final number. The show was truly entertaining on many levels, which included an amazing performance by a very talented group of musicians and an exceptional frontman.
To learn more about Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band visit www.ezstreetnyc.com.
Upcoming shows at the historic Greenwich Odeum include Paula Poundstone, The Legendary Wailers, Belly, Shaun Cassidy, Mickey Dolenz, Cowboy Junkies, and Bruce Hornsby, to name a few.
For the complete list of shows coming to the Greenwich Odeum, visit www.greenwichodeum.com
RILiveMusic had the pleasure of covering Hank Azaria and The EZ Street Band at The Odeum, take a look at a few images captured by our resident concert photographer, Kerry Quinn:
