Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in a theatre! Something that hadn’t happened since 1980, early on The River tour. Though originally announced as «An Evening with Bruce Springsteen» it was finally a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert. Yesterday’s show raised $3 million as a benefit for the theatre.
If seeing Bruce and the E Street Band in a theatre is already a major event, it’s even bigger when the concert is, indeed, a unique event. As Bruce announced this was «something we’ve never done before and you’re not gonna see anywhere else».
And unique it was, as they performed both Darkness and Born to Run (the albums) in their entirety and its original order. The evening started with the full Darkness album, from «Badlands» to «Darkness on the edge of town», being performed. After a short pause, like in the old times, the band came back onstage to perform Born to Run in full, from «Thunder Road» to «Jungleland», and with a little help: The Max Weinberg Horns (Mark Pender, La Bamba, Jerry Vivino and Ed Manion) came onstage for «Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out», during which Bruce jumped to the front rows and onto the seats, like in the old times.
Come encore time, four more jewels: the 1975 outtake «So Young and In Love» followed by «Kitty’s Back», «Rosalita» and «Raise Your Hand», with Bruce jumping on the piano and the horns in full force (for all four songs).
See complete set list
Video: New Jersey’s Channel 12 TV report.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIoLY8liQeY]