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Friday, October 30
October 29 & 30: Hall of Fame concerts
Madison Square Garden was the home for the two Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concerts celebrated this week. Bruce Springsteen was scheduled to play the first night, Oct.29th. And it was a wonderful 6-hour show, with some of the greatest pop and rock stars on stage performing that night.
There was Jerry Lee Lewis and Crosby Stills & Nash, followed by Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Dion, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Simon & Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, John Legend, BB King, Sting and Jeff Beck.
The highlight, closing the show, were Bruce Springsteen & The Street Band, accompanied by Ed Manion, Curt Ramm and Clark Gayton on the horns.
Springsteen's show kicked off with energy with "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out". Next he invited soul legend Sam Moore onstage, to perform "Hold On I'm Comin" and "Soul Man" (as they had previously done at a Xmas show in Asbury Park in 2003). Bruce recalled how much he learned seeing Sam & Dave in New Jersey clubs when he was young. The next guest was Darlene Love to sing the classic Spector tune "A Fine Fine Boy", followed by "Da Doo Run Run". "A Fine Fine Boy" was a song Springsteen used to sing in 1975, during his Born to Run tour (though re-named "A Fine Fine Girl").
Tom Morello came onstage moments later, for the now classic incendiary performance with Bruce on "The Ghost of Tom Joad". After introducing John Fogerty , the band went straight into a trio of rock classics: "Fortunate Son", "Proud Mary" and Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman".
The NYC epic of "Jungleland" came next, followed by the exiciting rock sounds of "London Calling" and "Badlands", with Tom Morello back in the band. New Jersey and Long Island met next in Manhattan, when Bruce invited Billy Joel onstage. They played and sang together on 4 songs, including the classics "New York State of Mind" and "Born To Run".
To end it all in grand style, there was a final jam, with everybody on stage, including now Peter Wolf and Jackson Browne, to sing Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher", a song that, we dare say, should close from now on all the remaining shows of the Working on a Dream tour. Can you hear me, Boss?
Bruce Springsteen, this time with Roy Bittan, appeared again on the second Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden. It happened during U2's show, the stars of the night, after Bono mentioned "we have royalty in the house", and that the next song was "very special... It's a Bruce Springsteen song, so we'd like to ask him to join us, and it's also a Patti Smith song". Then U2, Bruce and Patti Smith did a rather disasterous version of "Because the Night". So bad that they decided to play it again, this time with better results. Bruce and Roy stayed for the next song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", in which Bruce sang a verse and played guitar.
"Because the Night" 30.10.2009 (the disasterous first try):
Bruce Springsteen cancel Kansas City show due to death in family
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Oct. 26, 2009) - Due to a death in Bruce's immediate family, tonight's show at Sprint Center has been unavoidably cancelled. All tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase. Bruce and The E Street Band deeply appreciate the understanding of our Kansas City audience and look forward to returning at the earliest opportunity.
The spectacular shows at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, along with the memories from 2008's off-the-charts show in the city had created big expectations for last night's show in St.Louis. And the show, as good as this part of the tour is, was a bit of a disapointment. Still a solid performance, with a rather standard set list.
Born to Run was played entirely, plus a few rarities off sign requests: "For You" (a great, solo piano version), Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" and the return of "Surprise, Surprise", followed by a great "Detroit Medley" and some more encores, until the final "Rosalita". "What Love Can Do" was setlisted, but finally skipped. The tour stops tonight in Kansas City, where the scheduled full album to perform is Born in the U.S.A.
The Price You Pay (different film, with better sound and picture quality, shot from the pit)
Wrecking Ball (the official video, available to buy, only in the USA, off iTunes). Check at 1:33 some cool images of (possibly) Bruce at the Meadowlands en 1981.
The new song Springsteen debuted at Giants Stadium on September 30th has been officially released thru iTunes. The singles includes both the audio recording and a video recording (from the Giants Stadium concerts). The video was editd by Chris Hilson and Thom Zimny, and it's different from the previously streamed video at brucespringsteen.net
Mark your calendar: 20th of October, 2009. The last Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band concert at the legendary Spectrum, before the wrecking ball comes. And Bruce celebrated it with a special, 3 hour and 20 minute show that will hold in Bruce's history as the day he brought back two long-lost gems: "The Price You Pay", opening the show, and "Higher and Higher", closing the main set.
Born in the U.S.A. was the chosen album for the night, and they nailed it, performing it from top to finish. But the show will no doubt be remembered by the first performance in 28 years of "The Price You Pay", the lost masterpiece from The River, that was played just a handful of times on that 1980/81 tour, and never again. More than two hours later, and after "Born to Run", the show went on with another special request: Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher", closing the main set in style, in a terrific performance. The song hadn't been played in 32 years and only resurfaced for this special night.
The encores followed and kept the level up. Former E Street drummer Vini Lopez guested on "Spirit in the Night", with Bruce going around the pit again. It was followed by a vibrant "Loose Ends", another semi-lost gem from his catalog, and then a delirious "Kitty's Back", with numerous solos from Curt, Roy, Bruce and Charlie.
And when it seemed that "American Land" and "Save the Last Dance For Me" would send everyone home, Bruce went on and on, with "Waitin' on a Sunny Day", "Thunder Road" and the final "Rosalita", leaving the audience in ecstasy and exhausted, just like in St. Louis last year. And St. Louis is precisely the next stop of the tour.
The last leg of the Working on a Dream tour is now anything but a tour of the album where its name comes from. Yesterday, even "Outlaw Pete" was dropped, leaving to just one the count of songs performed from Springsteen's most recent studio release.
Half of yesterday's songs were songs Bruce used to perform in 1975, when he had just released the Born to Run album, which was the featured album at the 3rd Spectrum show. The show started with Jackie De Shannon's fabulous "When You Walk in The Room", for the first time since its last live appearance on April 8th 1976, just 33 years ago! (it was soundchecked in St.Louis in August of 2008, but wasn't included in the show). A great way to begin, inmediately followed by thunderous versions of "My Love Will Not Let You Down", "Two hearts" and "Hungry Heart", setting the tone for the night.
After playing the whole Born to Run album and the unavoidable "Waitin' on a Sunny Day", it was sing-request-time, with "Raise Your Hand", more soulful than ever with great licks from Steven and Curt Ramm on trumpet. The signs brought a great "Saint in the City"and two great surprises: "I Wanna Marry You" (first version since the last show of The River tour in September of 1981), followed by an 'Elvis medley' comprised of "All Shook Up" and "Blue Suede Shoes".
The funny thing is that the Elvis request came from an Elvis impersonator, all dressed in white and with cape, who even jumped onstage to sing with Bruce and lead the band. "We have a request from the King!", shouted Bruce before the surreal moment. "Elvis has left the building!... we are truly in Philadelphia!", he exclaimed after the Elvis lookalike left the stage.
The energy level kept going strong with the addition of "Radio Nowhere" and "Lonesome Day". "Land of Hope and Dreams" was back in the encores, as was the music from Rocky before "Rosalita", and a final surprise that used to end some shows on the Born to Run tour: "You Can't Sit Down".
Bruce Springsteen, accompanied by Bobby Bandiera and his band, Patti Scialfa, Southside Johnny and horns, offered his yearly school benefit show, this time for his son's college, at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, last Saturday, Oct. 17th.
The song selection ewas nearly identical to that of previous years, with lots of soul and rock covers, original songs and lots of fun, with Bruce even singing "Seven Nights to Rock" from atop the club's bar.
After five big, huge stadium shows, the tour resumes returning to arenas, with 4 shows at the old Spectrum in Philly, another venue that's gonna be demolished soon.
"Last time we were here, I thought we were closing the place. Now we're back, and we're still not closing this place! The Spectrum will live forever" (Pearl Jam will close the venue at the end of the month). The show opened with a big surprise, 1973's Wild & Innocent outtake "Seaside Bar Song" (released on Tracks), followed by "Wrecking Ball" with lyrics adapted to Philly.
Trumpet player Curt Ramm has a bigger role each day and he was onstage for seven songs at the first Spectrum show. The show included lots of songs from Bruce's classic period, featuring 20 songs (out of 28) written prior to 1985. Fan requests arrived after performing the whole Born to Run album (and after Bruce's guitar went straight to Kevin Buell's face during "Waitin' on a Sunny Day"). And it brought a request for "Little Bit of Soul", the classic from Music Explosion, a first for the E Street Band. "The Fever" came next, in a great version that featured a trumpet solo from Curt, and was followed by a fabulous "Because the Night", then "Last to Die", then "Long Walk Home" and ending the main set with "The Rising", "Badlands" and "No Surrender".
Returning onstage for the encores with harmonica in his hand, Bruce opened with a beautiful "This Hard Land" and closed the show with the classic "Rosalita"
The second night brought a few more surprises. To start with, "Thundercrack" was the choice to open the show. Another 1973 classic that was performed so many nights in clubs in the Philadelphia area before Born to run launched his career. The sublime "The Ties That Bind" came next, followed by a surprise: the tour debut of "What Love Can Do" (in place of "Outlaw Pete"). "Hungry Heart" featured again the crowd surfing, to great effect in a smaller venue.
Darkness on the edge of town came next. The full album, performed with the same passion and energy as at the previous Giant Stadium show. Every song on that album is a highlight so it's hard to mention any. But again, Roy Bittan shone on the marvelous instrumental ending to "Racing in the Street".
"Sherry Darling", with Roy, Nils and Charlie on accordion, came after a fan's request. It was followed by a rare performance of "Human Touch" sung with Patti, present at this show. The energy level kept rising with "Long Walk Home", with its brilliant vocal duel between Bruce and Steve. Another request was choosen for the first encore: "Ramrod", immediately followed by the glorious "Detroit Medley". "Rosalita" once again put an end to the show, though preceded by a short "Gonna Fly Now" (theme from Rocky) played by Curt Ramm on trumpet.
We went to Giants Stadium in hopes of getting a lot of variety and great stuff. And we got it. We attended the first 3 shows, and found quite a lot of differences from one night to another. Needless to say our favorite night was October 2nd, when Bruce did the Darkness album "from top to finish". Not just because of the set list or because it's our personal favourite album (of the 3 being performed), but because the performance was phenomenal.
Night 1. Sept.30th: The first of 5 nights at Giants Stadium, Springsteen debuted a new song, "Wrecking Ball", specifically written for the occasion, and sang the complete Born to Run album. A good performance, but perhaps not a top-notch one as expected. There were good moments, and a great version of "Meeting Across the River", with Curt Ramm on trumpet, followed by a superb "Jungleland", but we still had the overall feeling of a first night performance. The encores brought some fine performances of "The E Street Shuffle" (again with Curt Ramm) and "Growin' Up" (with a long story about his 60th birthday). Willie Nile joined the band for 3 songs, including a brilliant "Rosalita" that ended the show.
Bruce Springsteen performs his new song Wrecking Ball at Giants Stadium
Bruce Springsteen performs Seeds at Giants Stadium
Night 2. October 2nd: The Darkness night, and a show for the ages. The show opened once again, as it would do at each of the 5 shows at Giants, with "Wrecking Ball", followed by an excellent "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" that put everyone on its feet. Springsteen was in great shape, you could sense it, feel it, see it, and when the moment arrived to perform Darkness on the Edge of Town, the energy level increased and the E Street Band was at the top of its game. Each of the songs from the album was performed with fury and passion, with conviction and intensity. Each song arrived and kicked us like a hurricane, highlights being the "Adam Raised a Cain"/"Something in the Night" duo, plus "Streets of Fire", "Prove it All Night" (surreal solo by Nils) and a heartbreaking "Darkness".
The highlight of highlights came with "Racing in the Street", possibly the most beautiful song on the album, performed in such a sublime way that night, with a never ending instrumental finale where the whole band shone like a diamond.
Request time came a little later and brought "Be True" and the E Street Band's live debut of "Jailhouse Rock". Bruce and the band were on fire, and every song was performed at a faster tempo, including a vibrant "Long Walk Home" and a sped-up "Thunder Road" that sounded like in the old days. There's no doubt this show will rank as one of the best E Street Band concerts in years, immediately reminding us of the great St. Louis concert during the Magic tour.
Night 3. October 3rd: Saturday night was Born in the USA night, his most succesful and famous album. The album that led Springsteen to stardom and to Giants Stadium in the first place.
It was the night to have fun and perform all the hits, and the whole audience had a great time from the very beginning, with enthusiastic versions of "Out in the Street" and "Hungry Heart" (that took Bruce all around the pit, and then crowd-surfing from the back of the pit until the front of the stage). The hits from the Born in the USA album brought the show to another level and Giants Stadium was a big party, bringing back the memories of the 1985 tour. It was a solid performance, but like night #1, not his greatest concert.
The rest of the show featured the usual tour standards, plus two great performances of two songs off the Magic album: "Long Walk Home" and "Last to Die", with a powerful performance on vocals from Steve Van Zandt.
Once the anthems were over, request-time arrived for the encores, with Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl". The intensity returned with some old great songs, including a fabulous "Kitty's Back", followed by a fun and strong "Detroit Medley", "American Land" (with lots of guests from the Seeger Sessions band), an unexpected "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" that came out of the blue, and "Thunder Road" to put an end to the show. As good as the performance was, it was hard to beat the emotional level of the previous night.
Night 4 (October 8th) and Night 5 (Oct.9th): Both shows looked a bit like a repeat of shows # 1 and # 3, with a few set list changes. Born to run was again the album chosed to be played in its entirety at the Oct.8th show, and "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" featured an extended horn section, with Clarence Clemons, Curt Ramm, Ed Manion and Jake Clemons (Clarence's nephew), improving the performance.
Rarities arrived via sign requests and included a hot and rarely performed "Saint in the City", plus "My Love Will Not Let You Down", "Because the Night" (again with superb work from Nils) and "Human Touch".
Bruce thanked all the people from all over the world who attended these series of shows, and mentioned "Spain, Italy, Holland and Germany", and then launched into "Sandy", as a tribute to the late Danny Federici. The show ended with "Rosalita" and the classic "Twist & Shout".
Much have been said about the final night and there are mixed reviews. There were lots of rumors about possible guests but none of them came to reality. Some expected an extra-special show for the occasion and were dissappointed, others said it was a great show to end the series and say goodbye to the stadium.
Another Born in the USA night. A very long show, with 31 songs, 3 hrs and 15 minutes of music and a few surprises. After "Wrecking Ball" and "Badlands" arrived an always welcomed "Spirit in the Night", and "Hungry Heart" included again the trip to the pit and the crowd-surfing.
"Tougher Than the Rest" was another addition, sung as a duet with Patti Scialfa, who was back in the band for the last 2 shows. "Last to Die" and "Long Walk Home" were again brilliant. Jay Weinberg joined for "Born to Run" as he did on the second night of the stand.
The encores brought again another phenomenal "Kitty's Back", lots of firecrackers at the end of "American Land", plus the fantastic Rolling Stones tune "The Last Time", (last performed with the E Street Band on January 1st 1979, at the last show of the Darkness tour). "Seven Nights to Rock" was a nice extra shot of rock, and when everyone thought Bruce was going to go on and on and on, he put an end to the show with the beautiful, and appropriate, "Jersey Girl".
Madison Square Garden was the home for the two Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concerts celebrated this week. Bruce Springsteen was scheduled to play the first night, Oct.29th. And it was a wonderful 6-hour show, with some of the greatest pop and rock stars on stage performing that night.
Tom Morello came onstage moments later, for the now classic incendiary performance with Bruce on "The Ghost of Tom Joad". After introducing John Fogerty , the band went straight into a trio of rock classics: "Fortunate Son", "Proud Mary" and Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman".
