Sam Roberts
Legend has it that Sam Roberts was Born to Run – that he’s Canada’s long-awaited answer to Bruce Springsteen. Though the 31-year-old songwriter has made quite a name for himself elsewhere, his performance Sunday afternoon still felt like it was make-or-break time. For the most part, the comparison proved sufficient. Roberts specializes in creating unifying, blue-collar rock & roll that’s filled with tension and release, trials and transcendence. His latest album, Chemical City, mirrors Springsteen’s passionate post-9/11 outcry “My City of Ruin” as a personal declaration of isolation and a desperate need for resolution. The difference is that Springsteen goes on to pray for strength, while Roberts attempts to find salvation through the healing power of live music. From the assembly-line stomp of “Hard Road” and “Dead End” to “Brother Down” and the acoustic “Bridge to Nowhere,” a sense of disillusionment and disarray connected the audience to the artist. Roberts, fist pumping and leg stomping, gave his fans every ounce of energy and hope all the way through the 10-minute, raging torrent of “Mind Flood.” Until he writes his Nebraska or The River, however, his efforts will remain in vain.
This article appears in September 22 • 2006.