The Blood on Blood project by Stephen ‘Stein’ Steinhaus with a tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska album. Blood on Blood was Stephen Steinhaus on vocals and Andy Bunn on guitar and backing vocals. It has it’s first public outing at The Drawing Board Tap & Bottle in Leamington with Joni Wright in support.
The full set of my images can bve viewed in my Image Gallery
The gig was a private invitation before the project’s one-off festival appearance at the Upton Blues Festival on Friday 21st July 2023.
First up we had Jono Wright, who like both Stein and Andy are members of the Boss Acoustic group, with his mixture of guitar instrumental numbers and some he sang vocals too. His instrumental numbers included ‘Rubecula’, ‘Shiver’ and ‘Jenny Wren’ before his first song with vocals ‘Five More minutes’ which Pete Hurst (a member of Copperhead Road) attended at the Tramway pub in Stratford-upon-Avon aged 10!
Jono finished with ‘Special Measures’ which he wrote after he was drafted into a school the same day it had an Ofsted inspection, and was put into Special Measures. This is the title track of a new album out later this month called Special Measures.
Then after a break to top up drinks from barman Will, Stein and Andy took to the stage.
The Blood on Blood session then played the songs from the Nebraska album (1982) in song order. As Stein introduced at the beginning of the set, he had two reasons for the gig with the first being the opportunity to play the Folk/Blues/Protest album Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen and secondly, he was at the beginning of the end with live performing which he planned to stop on 8th December 2023. Unless of course he got an opportunity he couldn’t refuse!
The shirts that Stein and Andy wore were in celebration of Stein’s Grandad’s American trucking company Steinhaus Transfer, with the logo from the 1930s & 40s where they were based in Nebraska, along with a trucker’s cap and work boots for his Daddy.
Stein has been over in the UK for over 20 years but is from Chicago, USA.
So the set included ‘Nebraska’, ‘Atlantic City’, which as Stein said was a lot like Blackpool to some local neighbours (who thought Blackpool as a crap town), as his Scottish relatives enjoyed their visits to Blackpool.
Then next up was ‘Mansion on the Hill’, with Stein filling in on the term the Wrong Side of the Tracks which he started to understand more when he first heard the album aged 10.
So, the set moved into angry rock ‘n’ roll with ‘Johnny 99’, ‘Highway Patrolman’, which Stein dedicated to his fellow Blood on Blood member Mr Andy ‘The Bunnditator’ Bunn.
The we moved onto ‘State Trooper’, and then Stein asked which car he associated with your family growing up with Stein’s Dad having a 1973 Mercury Montego in Boger green with toejam black seats! before playing ‘Used Cars’.
They then finished with ‘Open All Night’, and then a dedication to his Stein’s Dad with ‘My Father’s House’ and finally as an encore ‘Reason to Believe’.
Stein thanked the dedicated fans who had showed up and reminded them that the full debut of the project would be at 5pm on Friday 21st July 2023 on the Acoustic & Roots stage at The Upton Blues Festival in Upton-upon- Severn, Worcestershire.
