U N C L E *B R U C E* S P R I N G S T E E N *

Newch91 wrote:

This is amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... aJKnjOm6wM

incredible



show/ show notes


Setlist:
No Surrender
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Badlands
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins
Bishop Danced
It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
Jack of All Trades
Candy's Room
She's the One
Shackled & Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Talk to Me
Apollo Medley
The Rising
Lonesome Day
We Are Alive
Land of Hope and Dreams
* * *
The Weight
Rocky Ground (with Michelle Moore)
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out




May 2 / Prudential Center / Newark, NJ
Notes:It was a homecoming show, in a city Bruce has never played. Such an occasion is bound to be a bit strange. It was a leg-closer with a "Last Dance" feel — loosey-goosey, celebratory, loaded up with rarities — even though Bruce and the band will be back on stage in a mere week-and-a-half. It went from sloppy to fierce to holy-shit to predictable to party-time. Considering all that, it's no wonder there was little post-show consensus on this one; for my money, it was the most compelling concert I've caught since the Apollo. And through it all, Bruce seemed to be having the time of his life, without much of a care — which doesn't necessarily make for an intense show, but it makes for a night when anything can happen.

"No Surrender" kicked things off — only the second appearance of the song in a Wrecking Ball set, with the house lights bright, eventually going down just in time for the line "on the streets tonight the lights grow dim." The performance itself may have been on shaky ground, but it was a refreshing start, and they soon found a powerful groove on the traditional opening stretch. Max was particularly noteworthy as his powerhouse drums carried us from "We Take Care of Our Own" into "Wrecking Ball," just the beginning of a major workout for the Mighty One here in his hometown.

"Good evening, Newark, New Jersey!" Springsteen greeted the packed-to-the-rafters Pru Center before "My City of Ruins," taking care to salute this major Jersey city that he was, suprisingly, playing for the very first time. "Birthplace, not but two blocks from here, of the Mighty Max Weinberg himself! Birthplace of badass author Philip Roth. Birthplace — I think — of George Clinton: Parliament-Funkadelic, a lot of good soul coming out of Newark. [And if he was techincally mistaken, Clinton hailing originally from North Carolina, he was right in spirit: George formed the Parliaments in Newark in 1955.] In keeping with his loose, relaxed vibe, Bruce also had greetings for a specific pair right down front: "You two are psychotic — you guys are my stalkers, man..." Soon during Roll Call, he noted Patti Scialfa's absence, singing, "Ohhh, I'm lookin' for my baby... Where, oh where is my baby? Mr. Garry W. Tallent just won't do, I'm sorry! Patti's not here tonight — she's at home, keeping the kids out of our drug stash."

The whole place was into "City of Ruins," hands in the air all around; as the song ended, Bruce gave his positive appraisal: "This is a good building! This building feels good! So in honor of our first time here, we'll do something for the first time! You fans are gonna go, huh? Wha?" And he was right — "Bishop Danced" was a stunner. It may not be the most obscure of obscurities (it was officially released on Tracks, after all, in a live version from 1973 at Max's Kansas City). But it's close, with the shock value and long odds against its performance right up there with "Song for Orphans" in Trenton '05. Bruce hadn't performed the song in nearly 40 years, and never with the full E Street Band. And unlike the meandering "Song for Orphans," this one wasn't just cool in theory. Arranged for the full band, "Bishop Danced" was a blast, stretching out with multiple violin and accordion solos from Soozie and Charlie, Curtis rocking the washboard. Just like "Jack of All Trades" says, "We take the old, we make it new."

"Saint in the City" kept the rarities rolling, the Professor banging it out, Bruce and Steve facing each other at the end for their classic guitar call-and-response as Max's drumroll crescendoed the whole thing to a frenzy. "Jack of All Trades," its stoic majesty grounding the middle of the set, featured a moving solo from Nils, as Curt Ramm came down front on trumpet and Bruce beat that big bass drum. Then Max was on point again as the monster pairing of "Candy's Room" and "She's the One" showed off his versatility, power, and precision. Without feeling forced, everybody was getting a spotlight moment, Cindy coming down to shake it with Bruce at ceneter stage on "Shackled & Drawn," and even guitar tech Kevin Buell called out to the stage again for "Waitin' on a Sunny Day": "Kevin Buell! Where is Kevin Buell? This is my homeboy's 1,002nd show! Help me out..." and Kevin counted in, 1-2-3-4.

An audibled "Talk to Me" might have been slightly less fun without Patti around as a foil, but there was nothing else wrong with this one, a horn-heavy treat from The Promise, played here in Southside country by request for a sign that read "Talk to (or Kiss) Me on my Birthday." And whatever flirting Bruce couldn't do with his baby, he took straight to the crowd. If things lost a bit of steam from here to the end of the set, he picked it back up with a sublime "We Are Alive," nicely intro'd as he had in New Orleans: "Coming to the end of the Wrecking Ball album... I realized I needed to consult the spirits. I decided I'd throw a party for ghosts. The voices of the dead always inform the living. They always inform the future. They're always on your shoulder." "Land of Hope and Dreams" had the horns turned up, with the glorious noise from the brass and another strong showing from Max turning this occasional set-closer into a truly grand finale.

The encore was just the kind of communal party you want it to be, and another completely unexpected treasure (right up there with "Bishop Danced," really) lifted it up from the start. "These guys have been holding this sign all night," Bruce said, taking it from the front of the pit; and while anybody standing behind that sign surely hates to see the positive reinforcement, it was hard not to smile when Bruce turned it around: "PLAY 1 FOR LEVON. Up on Cripple Creek, The Weight, Atlantic City. RIP LEVON." After some strummng, Bruce said, "I used to play this one when we were real young..." but it was the E Street Band debut of "The Weight." Springsteen had plenty of kind words for the dear departed "Levon Helm, the great drummer of The Band... one of the greatest voices in country, rockabilly, and rock 'n' roll. Just staggering — while playing the drums! When I auditioned Max, I actually made him sing." Speaking of staggering... I mean, sure, we know the E Street Band is unstumpable, but it was still astounding that they were able to pull off this beautiful, confident tribute with so little notice. Bruce started on acoustic, soon Garry joined in, Charlie on organ, the horns... Max, Roy, the whole band making it happen and making sonic space for each other. And of course, they had plenty of help from the crowd, the whole darn place singing along on the chorus. From there Bruce didn't miss a beat, strumming his acoustic right into "Rocky Ground."

After a plug for Table to Table, it was houselights up for "Born to Run" (13 guitar windmills at the end, by my count), "Dancing in the Dark," and then, before "Tenth," a bonus "Rosalita": "Are your hands hurting? Is your back hurting? Is your voice hurting? Are your sexual organs stimulated? Are your sexual organs stimulated? Ahhh, not yet! This'll do it!" This third audible of the night did indeed take it all over the top, Bruce mugging with Steve, hugging the roadie who came out to replace his mic, dancing and running all over the stage, even bringing up a few enthusiastic kids at the end who were over the moon to share that moment. Ah, the Last Dance... Wait, huh? Wha? Not even close! "Thank you, New Jersey! We'll see you in September!"

And over in Europe, they know it's just the beginning.

Better Dan wrote:

Any rumors on whether Bruce will play more USA arenas in the fall?

as far as theyve announced its all stadiums when they return from Europe,...

Lanternjaw wrote:

this was off o0f backstreets--
i cann0ot take credit-
alltho it nailed the experience pretty well.

Was that one of Stan's reviews? I talked with him at the Izod2 show in the pit line. He's always terrific.

http://www.backstreets.com/news.html