BERN, SWITZERLAND
Tuesday, July 30

Clappin' All Over the World

By Steven Strauss

Bruce's first stadium show after his excursion into the world of music festivals was met with clapping. Lots and lots of clapping. So much clapping, in fact, that I would have been led to believe clapping is an actual obsession for the Swiss, if not for the fact that many in the audience weren't actually Swiss. The front pit was largely comprised of Germans, Italians, and the British, all of whom took the short drive to Bern just for the Boss (short time for Springsteen fans = less than ten hours). And Bruce gave Bern many things to clap for.

Nils Lofgren began the night on accordion, with a local traditional tune praising the beauty of the Bernese Oberland region. "Badlands" back in the E Street Band's opening slot kicked off a fairly standard start, and the Recession Pack seemed to be following suit--until the tour premiere of "Atlantic City" (combined with "Johnny 99") gave the audience a rare Nebraska double-shot. In much the same way, it appeared as if the commonly played "Raise Your Hand" would follow the Pack... but instead the band shifted into "Hungry Heart," inspired by a sign that read, "After 10 years, Switzerland is HUNGRY."

Next up in the sign section was a true treat--the tour premiere of "I Fought the Law" (another nod to Joe Strummer after Glastonbury's "Coma Girl" and Hyde Park's "London Calling"). A very soulful performance of "Downbound Train" (with an extended outro) was followed by an audibled "Because the Night," giving Nils his much-deserved searing solo of the night.

"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" never fails (at least in Europe) to make everyone in the audience smile. The kid picked for tonight's "cute-kid-singalong-section" was alarmingly cute and had an alarmingly cute voice, leading Bruce to offer the kid Little Steven's job. Little Steven's response? A classic "whatever you say Boss" facial expression.

But the true highlight of the night followed "Born to Run." As the final chords rang out across the stadium, Bruce called for his harmonica and led the band through a brilliant transition into "Thunder Road." After the emotional whirlwind that is a Bruce Springsteen concert, ending with the adventure that is "Thunder Road" is really the only way to do the song justice.

As in Hyde Park, the band remained onstage after their first set of bows and kicked right into the encore. The "Glory Days"/"Dancing in the Dark" twofer seems to be here to stay, Little Steven declaring that, according to his Swiss watch, it was indeed Boss Time. But it wasn't over yet. Bruce returned to the sign pile for one last request, reading, "Marissa asks, 'Is Bruce still ROCKING ALL OVER THE WORLD?'" The band answered that one with a resounding yes, the John Fogerty classic a fitting ending to another spectacular concert in the E Street Band's quest to do just that--rock all over the world.

HARD ROCK CALLING FESTIVAL
LONDON, ENGLAND
Sunday, July 28, 2009

Greetings from Hyde Park

By Karl Birthistle

Hyde Park was Big, Big, Big! There were crowds of people as far as the eye could see--this was a massive venue, with beer tents, side stages, food stalls, entertainments for young and old. The audience was an exceedingly mixed demographic, from rabid Bruce fans pushing down the front (there was no pit), to tourists in London, simply paying admission at the door as they strolled by and wondered what all the fuss was, many seeing Bruce for the first time.

Near the back, thousands were lying on picnic rugs, sipping beer and staring at the sky as they listened to the string of classic Springsteen songs spilling out over the field. And what a collection of great songs in one show, from a riveting "Racing in the Street, to a set-closing "Rosalita," and then the almost indescribable strains of "Jungleland" as the sky finally grew dim. It was a pulsating, energetic, and eclectic show, pitched perfectly for such a venue and crowd.

I Just Can't Stop!

By Nigel Ford

What a show on a lovely, warm summer's night in central London--this was Bruce at his best, and up there with the best gigs I've seen. Even the frantic activity to prepare the stage after an excellent set from the Dave Matthews Band led us to believe we were in for something special. From the moment the Boss walked on stage it was down to business. Three hours flew by in a blur of high octane rock 'n' roll, played with energy (Glastonbury--when was that, then?) and loads of fun. Opening with "London Calling" was an inspired move, and by the end of "Night," called for by Bruce as "Badlands" was winding up, it was evident that the band was in great form. It's not fair to single anyone out, but Garry Tallent's work, especially on "Night," was top drawer, and Nils was on fire.

So many moments to remember: Bruce's first foray down to the audience ended with Steve cackling at his attempts to climb back up the staircase (yes, the stage was a full story higher than the crowd) and Bruce yelling "somebody get me a fuckin' elevator!"... the little boy who was presented with the mic to sing the chorus of "Waitin' on a Sunny Day," egged on by Bruce ("that's great, just a little bit louder!")... collapsing at the top of the staircase before the 1-2-3-4 in "Born to Run," both Bruce and Steve in stitches at this point... Steve prematurely changing guitars at the end of "American Land" ("Steve, come back, brother!")... Bruce and Steve holding aloft a sign from the crowd reading "Greetings from Hyde Park" before reverently laying it on stage in front of the Big Man... and, at the end of "Born to Run," deciding it wasn't worth leaving the stage for one single moment--"I can't stop now, man, I just can't stop!"--and launching straight into "Rosalita."

A brief bow, and then the encore started--but the word "encore" implies a return to the stage, and you can't return to something you haven't left in the first place. No, this was one single set, three hours long, played with a passion, commitment, and an empathy with fans that is unsurpassed. Anywhere, by anybody. The band got what it was looking for in return--the audience was rocking from start to finish. Can't wait for Seville, and wish I could go to Giants Stadium in October...

GLASTONBURY, ENGLAND
Saturday, June 27, 2009

Give the Strummer Some

By Dan French

Bruce Springsteen and I both came to the 39th Glastonbury as virgins of the festival, and I imagine he may have been as intrigued as me by the hype about the event, even circumspect. Would it be worth it? Personally, I'm so glad I was persuaded to go--and I'm guessing Bruce may just have thought so too.

Thanks to inspired timing by my tireless guide and companion Helen, we made it to the very left end of the front barrier as Dizzee Rascal left the stage, and held our positions there while CSN and Kasabian did their sets. Just as Bruce was supposedly due to go on at 10 pm (probably the latest I've seen him start a show), a reporter from BBC's Radio 5 Live came up to us, asking if there were any longtime fans present. He chose me to interview, asking if I'd seen Bruce before. From his reaction, I don't think he expected a triple-figure answer: was I serious? I assured him I was totally serious, adding that I knew many fans who travel all over to see him. I compared it to being a sports fan and following the team you support--if you're passionate about what they do, wouldn't you go see them again and again? The reporter said he had a setlist and asked if I'd prefer to be surprised... the first title "Coma Girl" caught my eye, and I realized we were due for a live world debut as the opener. I had to explain to the BBC man that it would be a cover of Joe Strummer song--as a fan, it felt surreal to be asked what Bruce was going to open with!

10.10 pm, and Bruce and Clarence came out and played an acoustic "Coma Girl," the arrangement highlighting the lyrics which perfectly fitted the occasion, reflecting the late Strummer's fondness for the "festival way out west," a great song from his Mescarelos phase. Then the E Street Band (with Max back on drums, and no Patti) made their Glastonbury debut with "Badlands." As "Prove It All Night" followed it was clear this title would define Bruce's approach to the set, determined to impress the thousands who had never seen him live, and to fulfill the band's vow to "rock the house." He certainly worked as hard as I've ever seen him, and he had evidently done his homework, commenting how he'd been advised to wear boots he wouldn't need again, how it was surprisingly rain-free, and referring to the "little tents out there."

Leaving the stage early and often to mingle with the crowd, during "Raise Your Hand" Bruce abandoned security to jump up and stand precariously on the inch-wide barrier right in front of us, his Glastonbury boots balancing between my hands--I had his knees in my face and was both holding him up by the leg and supporting myself from falling backwards into the milling crowd behind me. Somehow I managed to snatch a few crazy close-up photos with my right hand. A hilarious and magical moment.

Having guested earlier with fellow Jersey boys The Gaslight Anthem for their "The 59 Sound" on a different stage, Bruce invited their singer Brian Fallon to duet on the equally energetic "No Surrender"--and a true duet it was, with genuine chemistry and improvisation.

During "The River" Bruce seemed to be literally smoking, the video screens showing steam rising eerily from him in the stage lights. Talk about being on fire.

He opened a six-song encore with "Hard Times," and many of the band joined him right up front at the crowd barrier at the end of "American Land." "Glory Days" saw Bruce and Steve discussing "curfew time" and "Boss time" as the 12.30 pm curfew was passed, and the set closed with "Dancing in the Dark," incurring a four-figure fine which reportedly the festival organizers were more than content to pay for him.

Credit to Bruce for not succumbing to the temptation to do a "greatest hits"-dominated setlist, but instead remaining true to the format for this year's tour. Despite some puzzled comments overheard afterwards from festival-goers expecting to have heard "Born In the U.S.A.," I'm sure many converts were made among the Bruce virgins that night. As a Glastonbury novice and Springsteen veteran, I was doubly happy.

BONNAROO MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL
MANCHESTER, TN
Saturday, June 13, 2009

Tennessee Stud

By Jeff Vrabel

Even setting aside the Tennessee hot, the sprawling carnival-world landscape, and the frequent need to avoid people who are hula-hooping where you need to be walking, it's safe to say Bruce Springsteen has never played an environment like the one he burned down Saturday night at Bonnaroo. The night was jammed full of Bruce-time idiosyncrasies: it was only the band's second-ever festival date (after Pinkpop), and it unfolded not in the relative safety of an arena but on a lush, pastoral and almost entirely inaccessible farm that 48 hours prior had been prolifically drenched by what amounted to a freak one-night hurricane season (and spent all of Friday being dried out by a sultry sun that seared the grounds and turned the place into a wonderland for fans of the smell of fast-drying mud).

But more than all that, it provided for Springsteen what was maybe as fierce a battle as he's likely to find these days: Instead of looking down to see a sea of veteran, graying, obsessive bootleg herders, Springsteen walked out to probably 60,000 sun-baked, sleep-deprived faces, the vast majority of them young, and a good percentage of them not on hand for the sole purpose of seeing him. In short, here was a challenge to break, a mountain to climb, a—oh, fine, we'll do it—river to cross. A challenge that Springsteen does not find himself facing often these days, and one that he spent the entire near three-hour, 28-song set attacking with a relentless abandon that is getting really, really close to inhuman.

Truth be told, it didn't happen immediately. The early part of the Bonnaroo set was front-loaded with new stuff—including the still-weird "Outlaw Pete," which clocked in at a Phish-length running time but made fully 2/3 of my traveling party roll its eyes—that seemed to struggle to find footing with the massive crowd. This, of course, would not stand. So Bruce went to work.

He stood center stage facing the crowd and screamed like the devil, daring people; he crashed into them for "Out in the Street," he delivered his preacher-man speech early in "Working on a Dream," a challenge about collectively using music to build houses out of faith and love and sexual healing. The Bruce contingent in the crowd probably found it a bit much, but this was not a night for sermonizing to a safely converted congregation, this called for scorching, revival-tent hook-jab-hook '70s-era brushfire evangelizing, and the entire first hour was given to dragging people into that house. With the exception of the volunteer crews scrubbing the grounds nightly of empties and recyclables and expired pot, no one worked harder at Bonnaroo.

And with the stage set, things quickly fell into place: "Seeds" seethed and roared, the boogie version of "Johnny 99" left room for some "Bonnaroo-roo!" train noises, and Nils ate up "Youngstown." But the swing moment came in the requests, before a sweet "Growin' Up" and a lovely "Thunder Road": an appropriately incongruous "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." "It's too f---ing hot for Santa!" Bruce howled with a wink of his eye and a twist of his head, before leading what could safely be christened Bonnaroo's best-ever 60,000-strong mass caroling session.

From there, it was off and running: Jay Weinberg, who is a monster, stepped in on "Radio Nowhere" and drove it twice as fast. He gave "Lonesome Day" a loose groove, he beat "Born to Run" into tiny bits. In a fest full of blog bands and buzz, Jay Weinberg might have been the breakout star. And it goes on like this: "The River" under the stars, "Tenth Avenue" in the encore, a "Hard Times" that makes one wish for a Seeger Sessions revival soon.

But it wasn't over: Most fans figured (and heard eyewitness reports) that Springsteen vanished from the foothills. Not so: Bruce was spotted throughout the weekend taking in sets by MGMT, Band of Horses and Neko Case (evidently I missed him backstage at Neko by minutes, which is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO THINK ABOUT).

Now, full disclosure: I was back in the press tent during Phish's Sunday night show, when my wife texted that Trey Anastasio had just said something about Bruce (that he was his "boyhood hero and still hero"). As such, the subsequent seconds involved a ridiculous frenzy of instinctual Daffy Duck commotion that culminated with a plunging sprint into the massive mainstage crowd, a sweaty throng that was making it rain glow sticks all the way down to the pit (many hippies were injured during this part--sorry, fellas). And with Bruce taking the stage in the meantime, I screeched to a stop just after the beginning of the 10-minute Vermont bar-band version of "Mustang Sally," which was followed by "Bobby Jean" and, for the second time in two nights on the What Stage, "Glory Days" (if you haven't downloaded them already, they're available from livephish.com). Phish fans, as near as I could tell, ate up every second like ice cream, and Phish members had grins on their faces that you couldn't have chiseled off.

But for the Bruce contingent in the Phish crowd, that was the dessert. The main course was Saturday night's sweat-and-sponge-water soaked virtuosic clinic of rock-show stamina, one that, without sounding too cliched and superior about it, felt like a clinic, a showcase, a lesson to the kids about how it's done. And if Springsteen's fest blowout didn't necessarily convert every last fan in the house, it absolutely left scorch marks on them.

BERGEN, NORWAY
Wednesday, June 10, 2009

The Way You Warm Me When I'm Cold

By Graeme Johannessen

The second of two shows in Bergen, an ancient Hanseatic port with a rich tradition of shipping and trading. Amongst other things the "Black Death" first came to Norway via Bergen in 1349 in the shape of an infected rat. Known for being the "gateway to the fjords", the town is more known in Norway for being the rain capital of the world, in much the same way that Seattle gets that title in the U.S.

Tonight's promised rain stayed away, thankfully, and with the sun shining directly on the stage, Bruce and the Band again emerged with sunglasses on. But the temperature had dropped considerably--by the time the band took the stage it was quite chilly, something Bruce himself acknowledged during the show. They even skipped the post-"Born to Run" routine and played straight on into the encores, Bruce saying "It's so cold here, if we stop we'll freeze!"

The show itself was a much faster, tighter, and more structured show than night one, at only 25 songs and clocking in at 2:40, but what it lacked in length was made up for in energy. On Tuesday we got to see the intimate, soulful Bruce who is capable of making a large venue feel like his living room; on Wednesday night it was Bruce the showman on stage. No personal stories, no teaching us how to beg to our women; instead, dedicating a song to the guys in the kitchen of the apartment block (actually a hotel) overlooking the venue; giving the mic to a kid in the crowd during "Sunny day" and then taking it back: "No no no...I can't trust you!" "Spirit in the Night" was unbelievable as always, "Two Hearts" had its tour premiere, and the John Lee Hooker classic "Boom Boom," an old favorite from the Tunnel of Love tour more than 20 years ago, returned by request.

After a false start to "The River"--he started on the intro and then stopped, vamping and doing a little jig as Steve got a guitar problem sorted out--"The River" proper brought goosebumps all around. What an amazing song in an amazing setting. The outdoor venue is not actually a stadium as such, but the courtyard of the town fortress, providing a beautifully historical framework for the concerts. In the encores, "Rosie" come out in Bergen, as well as "Twist and Shout" to finish. A worthy end to a fantastic two-night stand, with a promise of "we'll be back!"

BERGEN, NORWAY
Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Gonna Chase the Clouds Away

By Bo Persson

A very sunny evening at this Norwegian venue, the smallest one of the European leg, and the first of two back-to-back shows here. Bruce walked on stage in his Pilot shades, and most of the E Streeters had sunglasses on, too--I swear I saw the Ghost of Silvio Dante when I saw Steve in his.

"Badlands" opened loud and proud, and the audience went wild. Just to make sure, Bruce asked "Is there anybody alive in Bergen tonight?" before a heavy "No Surrender." Steve's singing was magnificent. "My Lucky Day" rocks, way heavier than on the record, and the band has gotten much more confident about it, obviously enjoying this one a lot. Both Bruce and Clarence gave it all they had, but Jay really shone (his future's so bright he's gotta wear shades). "Out In The Street" saw Bruce getting some vocal help from a small girl in pink ear muffs in the audience. Highly appreciated by the audience of 23,000, and a very joyous performance.

"Outlaw Pete" got another stellar delivery; for a minute it felt like Steve's guitar would never stop playing, and the final chorus seemed to go on forever. "She's The One" rocked--a high voltage performance by the band with Clarence's saxual healing standing out as one of his finest moments, though the Big Man impressed with every solo he took tonight. Perhaps boosted by the sharp gold colored nail polish he wore? Nils impressed as well. Putting those new hips to the best use, he clearly came to dance during the incredible guitar work in "Youngstown."

On to the request portion of the evening: the audience roar when Jay began "Hungry Heart" was deafening, and the Big Man's solo was again outstanding. Bruce clearly enjoyed this one as much as the crowd. Then a wonderful surprise with the tour premiere of "Back In Your Arms" (soundchecked on Sunday in Stockholm). A very soulful and majestic version, and tonight's finest vocal performance--Bruce's singing was out of this world, with both Nils and Steve adding shimmering harmonies. The power of The E Street was stunning on yet another request, a very strong "Because the Night."

Prompted by some raindrops, the prayer of "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" turned the audience into Norway's biggest choir. Bruce's musical umbrella actually stopped the rain! Heading straight into "The Promised Land," the Jersey magic continued at full throttle. Then another request, as Bruce spotted a girl who had "The River" written all over her forehead. The resulting performance was gripping and very moving--you could have heard a needle drop in the audience. Afterwards, Bruce gave his harmonica to the girl, but it was like he gave us all something personal. In terms of the night's highlights, both "Back in Your Arms" and "The River" were outstanding.

The encores took us from a memorable "Hard Times" through a truly inspired "Bobby Jean" to a wonderful display of all the virtues of the band in "Land Of Hope And Dreams"--the Norwegian audience truly committed to this magical anthem. As always, "American Land" made everyone in the crowd feel part Irish, with impressive work from wee lads MacBittan and MacGiordano. "Glory Days" rocked with amazing energy, and finally, Bergen shook from "Dancing in the Dark," with Bruce dancing on stage with a girl from the audience, while the E Street Band once again proved it all night. A very inspired evening, both on the stage and n the crowd.

Bergen is ecstatic the day after, the newspapers are raving and, I must say, there are some great expectations for tonight!

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Sunday, June 7, 2009

I Don't Wanna Fade Away

By Bo Persson

After "Idas Sommarvisa," the band stepped on stage and just floored it for their final night at Stockholm Stadion. The opening "No Surrender," "Badlands," and "Night" sounded even stronger and more focused than usual. During "No Surrender" the screen showed pictures of younger E Street days, as if illustrating the chorus. "My Lucky Day" was without a doubt the best version so far, with the Big Man delivering three killer solos--this song is opening up, showing us more and more of what it can be. On Friday I thought I witnessed the ultimate version of "Outlaw Pete." I was wrong. Longer than usual, tonight's epic performance was just unbelievable (there were even a few bars of The Shadows' "Apache" in the beginning), with a powerful vocal from Bruce and Steve's guitar bleeding into the slowly descending sun over the stadium.

The ongoing live love affair between Bruce and the Swedish fans is 34 years down the road, and yet the passion never ends. To show it, "The River" made its Swedish premiere, and the crowd went wild after the first chords of this magical performance. Then a really raving version of "Mony Mony," with Steve in his best shape. Hardly having time to breathe, a breathtaking "Trapped" made the stadium tremble and shake all over. Gary's bass was incredible.

Waiting in line before the show we heard the soundcheck of "Fade Away" and "Surprise Surprise." And now... here they were, both tour premieres. Bruce picked out the "Fade Away" sign, talking about this one being Steve's favorite and that it's a true rarity. Steve smiled but told Bruce to "Just sing," and Bruce said "Hope we don't fuck it up". They didn't. With a long, emotional monologue from Bruce, it was completely brilliant. "Surprise Surprise" with Bruce's 12-string guitar got an immediate response from the audience. Not played since the Asbury Park tour rehearsals, it sounded unbelievably fresh.

Again, "The Promised Land" impresses more and more. Some big hats off to the backing singers, Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle. Never overused, just really adding dimension and with surgical precision, like here and in "Lonesome Day".

The encores brought one of tonight's biggest responses from the audience, and a sign on stage: "Jungleland." The Big Man's solo was outstanding, and even Bruce seemed in awe of how he made the evening glow. An ecstatic "American Land" turned the stadium into a small, crowded Irish pub with nearly 40,000 attendants. Then the ultimate ass kicking-version of "Ramrod," pushing the overdrive to its maximum. Bruce and Steve as the true blood brothers, driving the audience crazy. "Dancing in the Dark" in a very intense version surely must be the stadium wrecker for Stockholm. But wait, Bruce has one more--he holds up a sign saying "Break stadiums, not asses," a reminder of how he slipped on the wet stage on Thursday's show. And just to make sure, "Twist and Shout" really turned Stockholm into our city of ruins. After three hours, the E Street wrecking ball once again shattered any doubt about them simply being the best live act there is. This one was special!

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Friday, June 5, 2009

Gonna Fly Now

By Bo Persson

No rain and a great 29-song show by any measure, even if for me it didn't quite reach up and touch the sky of yesterday's magic. Lots of changes from the first night, too, not just the fact that it was drier. The opening "Downbound Train" was surreal: that song as the opener? A master stroke! A focused "Youngstown" replaced "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and just blew us away. Even "Hungry Heart" seemed revitalized and revitalizing, with the crowd going crazy. The tour premiere of "Queen of the Supermarket" slowed things down somewhat, but it's still great to see him finally bringing out more stuff from Working on a Dream.

The show got back on track two songs later with a startling version of "The Promised Land"--startling in that it just keeps getting better after all this time--and then a real treat with "Lost in the Flood." That one gave the audience collective goosebumps, despite Bruce seeming a bit doubtful that the band would pull it off: a tour premiere, after all, and the first time ever for Jay Weinberg. But the poetry and the force of this performance were completely outstanding. Best moment of the evening!

In the encores, Bruce delivered some special eye candy to the Swedish women during "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," doing a dance using the microphone stand as a pole... no way this guy is gonna be 60 in September! Had there been a roof on the stadium, it would have been gone by now. And remember Rocky Balboa in the meat locker, pounding on the meat? Well, watching Jay on "Land of Hope and Dreams" really turned him into The Weinberg Stallion. Man, oh, man! The "Detroit Medley," with an added "Land of 1,000 Dances," burned like a fire in the cold Swedish night, right into "Dancing in the Dark." The feeling here is that the third show, on Sunday, will be something truly extraordinary. To quote Thunderclap Newman, "There's something in the air...."

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Thursday, June 4, 2009

Waitin' on a Sunny Day

By Ivar Noer

My 29th Springsteen concert—the first of a three-night run at Stockholm Stadion—turned out to be a very wet and cold one. The rain poured down during the whole show and with temperatures around 7 degrees Celsius, it was time for Roy and Charlie to put on the gloves and black leather jackets. Garry wore a black hat during the whole show, while Bruce started the show with his scarf on. The concert started with Nils Lofgren (with his Swedish roots) coming out alone playing a famous Swedish folk tune, "Idas Sommarvisa," on the accordion. The E Street Band joined him for CCR's "Who'll Stop The Rain," a tour premiere, and we all seemed to forget about the rain.

Following "Badlands," "My Lucky Day" made a very welcome return to the set list. Other standouts in the first part of the show were "Seeds," with a longer ending than usual (Jay Weinberg received a lot of acclaim from Bruce for that one), and "Outlaw Pete." Despite being the 25th anniversary for the release of the Born in the U.S.A. album, Bruce did not mention this during the concert—but he did play "I'm Goin' Down" as the first request number of the night. (Clarence's son came out front, displaying a large homemade poster of the Born in the U.S.A. cover with "Going Down" written over it.) Also in the request section was "Wild Thing," played only for the second time ever!

During the encores—remember, it had been raining all night—Bruce fell flat on his back when jumping downstage at the end of "American Land": He clearly hurt himself a bit, but had a laugh during "Glory Days," stating that it was "ass hurting time!" before Steve corrected him with his usual "Boss Time." "Twist and Shout" followed, Bruce's famous Swedish "stadium breaker," but to everybody's surprise he made room for yet one more after this usual showstopper. "Dancing in the Dark" closed the show, clearly a bonus for everyone who had been out all day in the pouring rain. With that, Bruce said "See you tomorrow...." You certainly will!

TAMPERE, FINLAND
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Rock and Soul

By Laura Tuominen-Lozic

First off, the intimacy of the Ratina Stadium, which holds 30,000 people, was really unique. Quite a small stadium for Bruce, but it was truly a fine choice. There were quite a few younger fans, some of whom actually got to make contact with Bruce. One little girl introduced presumably a kid brother as "Miiro, four years old, his second show," and Bruce commented with a grin, "that's pretty young for a second show!"

The setlist only featured three songs of the new album, but all in all, it was a well-balanced set that really got the crowd rocking. "Outlaw Pete" was so good it left me wondering why didn't they record it like that on the actual album. I loved the edgy "Johnny 99." Nils's solo in "The Ghost of Tom Joad" was another real highlight, like his "Youngstown" solo last year in Helsinki.

The cover of the James Carr song "The Dark End of the Street" was a true gift for the audience. Bruce and the whole band really got into it, and ever the showman, Bruce gave the song a true soul vibe, asking the crowd if there were any men stepping out on their women, or vice versa. He admitting to having been guilty of the same "many, many, many, many many years ago"--not forgetting to send his love to Patti at home for "Kingdom of Days."

Jay Weinberg was great, throwing in some real nice disco-like fills in "Cover Me," one of the songs played by sign request. Filling in for his dad all night, he also got a lot of thank yous from Bruce and the band at the end--a great job. The final stretch of the show had virtually no breaks between the songs, just solid rocking with "American Land," "Glory Days," and "Dancing in the Dark," ending with so many smiles on the faces of us Finns, normally regarded as reserved, that it was overwhelming.

There was a true demand for more, a feeling that nobody wanted to go home from this sweet summer evening with so much energy and warmth which the band produced. My hometown Tampere has never experienced a night like this.

PINKPOP
LANDGRAAF, NETHERLANDS
Saturday, May 30, 2009

From Young Things Mama

By Alexander Verhoeff

Last night Springsteen kicked off his European festival debut with a bang at Pinkpop. As he had announced trough the Dutch press, the show wasn't your typical Working on a Dream show. Jan Smeets, the festival's organizer for 40 years, explained that Springsteen feared a standard set would be too long for a group of kids who essentially came for the festival, not necessarily the Boss. So I was anxious to see how the show turned out and how Springsteen would do with a crowd who aren't exactly converts. Most of the attendees came for the full three-day program, with only 10,000 of the 50,000 tickets initially released as day tickets. Not even the pit would be hardcore cult territory this time around.

The minute he kicked off "Badlands" on this sunny May evening, things were looking to go down pretty well. The last-minute sale of extra day tickets made it so that the hardcore Springsteen fan made up about a third of the audience. The other two-thirds, mainly young kids, proved to be mesmerized under the spell of the legendary E Street band. When the storm was over, Smeets announced that more people had stayed for the closing act than ever before. The Boss had given Pinkpop a 40 year anniversary party that the audience would long remember.

Springsteen seemed to carefully tailor his set for both the festival crowd and the hardcore fan. The wild card slots at the start of the show were carefully picked crowd-pleasers. The young kids around me, who didn't always know the material, would start looking bemused at all these old timers around them who sang along with such passion to Springsteen staples as "Badlands," "Out on the Streets" and "She's the One." Midsong, they would get the gist of it, joining folks old enough to be their parents in the Whoa-Ohs and the Li-Li-Lis. Though they weren't always easily won over, Springsteen once again proved himself a master of audience manipulation. Some times he and Steve had to scold them by stopping mid-song and looking disapprovingly at so little audience noise. A little tug at the Boss' ear while tilting his head to the audience, with a De Niro-like challenging look on his face, proved enough to get the kids in the groove with the dinosaurs. By the time the preacher got into building his house, the kids were adding to the foundation the old timers had laid down for them.

Though it was a festival show of crowd-pleasers, that didn't mean there was nothing for the hardcore fan to enjoy. The recession pack remained intact, complete with Nils' blistering solos during the "The Ghost of Tom Joad." The Boss proved that the E Street Band could still rock harder than most of what the festival had brought that day. The request section, starting with a raving "Raise Your Hand," was kept intact as well, giving the hardcore fans a priceless nugget by way of a request stuck on a little girl's teddy bear. "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)," indeed. Jay proved himself by recognizing a Chuck Berry beat when he heard one and nailed the sucker.

Near the end of the show, a few changes were made to accommodate the festival crowd. Brandon Flowers (of the Killers) got the epic slot early in the show when he got to do "Thunder Road" on stage with his hero. The new rock 'n' roll star was beaming like a kid set free in the candy store.The show soon made a short cut into "Born to Run," a very effective short cut. After taunting the audience, asking if they could stand any more, the band crashed into a long and raving encore, skipping "Hard Times," thus keeping both the kids and the old times on their toes, and going for the total knock out by combining "Glory Days" and "Dancing in the Dark" as the final songs. The Boss left the building, the crowd lingered for a while, exhausted but hungry for more.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY
Saturday, May 23

Incident at the Meadowlands

By Bill Kenney

There we were... Bud and I with our wives, chatting in the Giants Stadium parking lot, huge banner promoting the upcoming Fall Springsteen shows at said Stadium, the last concerts before it is replaced by a new stadium, looming to our left. And the last night of this leg of the tour, the second night in Jersey, awaiting us through the cattle herd of the tunnel just ahead to the arena... From the opening notes of "Badlands," it was another raucous night. Bruce will be 60 when he takes the stage at those stadium shows, but you'd be hard pressed to work the crowd and the stage any harder. It seemed on this night that everything got an extra vamp, an extra push, with no opportunity to encourage participation or any extra yell left untapped. This brought out my cynical hat at times, wondering why it all had to be so on all the time, but the feelings were fleeting, as just about everyone—save perhaps for the kids next to Mary, whose parents forced 'em to come—can't help but get swept up in the passion generated from that stage. The highlights:

* The return of Max. Yes, his son Jay does a great job filling in, and maybe it is pushing Max to new heights. He had a little more swing to his power and just dominated certain sections of the show, such as the climax of the chugging, welcome version of "Cover Me" that appeared in the request portion of the show. Bruce's guitar got a nice workout on this one, but Max blew the roof off to finish. He really has become Star #2 onstage.

* "Good Lovin'" replacing "Raise Your Hand." I associate this song most closely with the Grateful Dead, really, but E Street does a spirited take and of course gets the crowd to do most of the heavy lifting. It seems that the crowd has never been more integral to the show as it is today—certain parts, like the ending to "Out in the Street," demand the crowd fill a role. It's quite unique.

* The light-hearted version of "Spirit in the Night" was fun, but "Something in the Night" was unreal. This is not a song that has meant a ton to me over the years, but man, it hit home on this night. Just expertly played and bursting with emotion.

* One I had a feeling we would get, as he seems to save it for Jersey, "Incident on 57th Street" was just fantastic as well. Bruce raised the roof in the ending solo before its fade into Roy's magnificent piano coda... this song has evolved and aged very well in concert.

* "Hard Times" was sung with gusto, and then "Kitty's Back" was back, surprisingly becoming something of an encore regular at this point. I think they may like the fact that they have this one so well under their thumbs musically now, but Roy's piano solo, with egging on by Bruce and Garry, did become somewhat unhinged, marrying jazz and "Great Balls of Fire" and whatever else in a manic, extended jam, before Bruce ripped into his bit with his typical intensity. It was an inspired reading throughout. I love the opening guitar riff of "Glory Days," and the crowd ate it up along with "Mony, Mony" to finish. When Bruce hollered after "American Land" that the turnpike was closed and we weren't going anywhere, I had visions of some other grandeur to close... heck, even a "Twist and Shout" might have done the trick. But quibble, quibble, the place was rocking to the end, and another grand time was had by all. These shows never let you lag, they just keep the good times rolling. It seems likely some new dates will pop up stateside before the Stadium shows (the European leg ends on August 2 as it stands right now), so stay tuned for more good rockin' down the road...

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY
Thursday, May 21, 2009

Back in the Swamps of Jersey

By Lowell D. Kern

56. DiMaggio. LT. The number of signers of the Declaration of Independence. And the number of times Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will have played the Meadowlands Sports Complex after this weekend.

To this day, I still refer to the arena simply as "the Meadowlands." The still-standing-for-now football stadium to the west is "Giants Stadium." (The new football stadium is unnamed, but cursed in my mind due to the Jets pricing me out of my second generation season tickets via the use of PSLs.) I was there when the arena was opened under the name of a New Jersey governor who would have otherwise been long since forgotten. My Born in the USA tour ticket stubs refer to the building as the "Meadowlands Arena." I was resistant to the airline name, and the current corporate name just sounds wrong. In any case, I always thought of the building as "the House that Bruce built." Bruce celebrated this "old building" Thursday night, the first of a two-night homecoming stand, as he had recently with the Spectrum in Philly and the Nassau Coliseum, and I remembered back to 1984, when Bruce thanked the staff of the then-three year old arena after a ten-night run, saying something to the effect of "we play a lot of buildings like this one, and this is the best-run one."

I saw the banner hanging from the rafters of the Meadowlands before this show and wondered who else would even come close to playing the number of shows in one place that Bruce has played here. I couldn't come up with anyone. I started counting in my head and concluded that I'd seen Bruce more than 56 times in East Rutherford. Slightly confused, I looked up at the banner again and realized that it read "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band." And it hit me—they are overlooking the 16 other times Bruce has played the Meadowlands: 11 times in 1992, once in 1993, and four times in 2005. Evidently the banner is intended to celebrate only the mythology of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Fair enough—most of the memories I have of seeing Bruce here are with the E Streeters.

To start off the encore, Bruce announced that the band would be playing Giants Stadium in the fall, to close out that building "before the wrecking ball." After the show, walking out to the hideous parking structure on what used to be the meeting ground of lot 23, we saw the banner on the side of Giants Stadium announcing the return of "Bruce Springsteen and the Legendary E Street Band" for the fall shows. That was quick—it certainly wasn't there before the show! More memories came back: the banner on the side of the stadium in 2003 for the ten-night run on the Rising tour; the banner on the side of the arena in 1999 proclaiming "Bruce is Back—15 shows." After that lengthy run was over, I remember driving down Route 3, not seeing the sign, and thinking something was wrong.

The Thursday show itself was heavy on nostalgia, and appropriately enough, heavy on E Street material rather then the covers they've been peppering the set with of late. Playing "Growin' Up" as a sign request, Bruce got to the break in the middle and I held my breath, hoping we'd get a story, even if I knew there was no chance that Jim McDuffie was getting back in the bear suit.

2009 will be the first time that Bruce plays the arena and the stadium in the same year. It won't be the longest run Bruce has played at the sports complex—that was 1999. It won't be in front of the most fans that Bruce has played for in a single run—that was 2003. But it will be yet another chance for Bruce fans to make the pilgrimage, the hajj, to see Bruce somewhere in the swamps of Jersey. And to create even more memories.

WASHINGTON, DC
Monday, May 18, 2009

Only Here for Fun

By Magnus Lauglo

Finally, with my third GA ticket of the tour, and at my hometown show to boot, the lottery gods smile on me. I end up in the third row on Patti's side. I've been to dozens of shows, but only been this close to the band a handful of times.

There is a palpable vibe of excitement before the show starts. The Verizon Center is packed to the rafters, with every last sterile skybox and humble nosebleed seat filled to full capacity. Tonight is a good night—DC crowds can be a little uptight, but the show starts strongly and finds its footing at once. And it's a celebratory, upbeat performance, quite unlike the taut shows he has put on in this building over the past eight years, when you got the sense that Bruce Springsteen was here on business. Tonight he's in Boss mode and more than anything else, he's here for fun.

It's such a thrill to be up close again. While I've had a terrific time at plenty of shows from much further away, there is something about the intimacy of being in the first few rows in an arena that is just very special, and something to truly treasure. The pit is inevitably the location where any given crowd is the wildest and most enthusiastic; and it's typically also where the highest concentration of the most dedicated fans can be found. If you want to lock eyes with a stranger next to you and form an instant three-second bond as you both sing along to "Kitty's Back," there's no better place to be. Up front you're close enough to appreciate the subtle interaction between band members without depending on the video screens. If you have a favorite E Streeter who you want to camp out in front of and pay particular attention to, this is the place to do it.

And then of course there's the thrill of being so close to the man himself. The front of the stage, with its three projecting platforms, has been designed specifically to facilitate Bruce's physical interaction with his audience. He moves out on the right and left sides several times, shaking hands, slapping high fives, and of course grabbing every request sign that catches his eye during "Raise Your Hand." I hold up my request sign for "Heartbreak Hotel," and what do you know, he actually grabs it, along with maybe two dozen others. Even though the song doesn't make the setlist in the end, it's as if a small but meaningful connection has been established: I thought it would be a cool song for the E Street Band to play tonight, and Bruce Springsteen—the man whose music has been a major part of my life for 20 years—is at least going to think about it for a second or two. And that's alright with me.

The Joy of Bruce

By Sean Mazur

The DC show was my first show since San Jose and Glendale, and it's incredible how the performance has intensified at every level: the musicianship, staging, lighting, even the accompanying vocals of Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle seem stronger and more confident. As in the campaigns of the past, the mighty E Street locomotive picks up momentum, strength and steam as it thunders down the track.

I will admit that while certainly excited to see another Working on a Dream show, my enthusiasm was not nearly as high as my earlier shows on the tour. After all, I had a fairly good idea as to what to expect (with the set changes, signs, encores, etc.). But as Bruce has done so so many times in the past, the man completely surprised me with the ferocity and freshness of the show. The Depression trio was even more inspiring then its debut in San Jose, with "Seeds" obtaining a soulful groove even with major power chords slamming down (check out Roy on the synth). "Johnny '99" has become downright giddy due to the twangy arrangement. I think "The Ghost of Tom Joad" is Nils' greatest moment on E Street.

And you can't get any more fresh then the joyful solos of "Kitty's Back." Never one of my favorites, this tour de force in DC jazzed my soul as Charlie, Roy and Bruce took extended solos. If you ever wanted to see Bruce as band leader, this was a prime example, watching how he gives his master accompanists bountiful room to just play and have fun. Actually, I don't think anyone had more fun during Kitty then Garry, whose grin went ear to ear while his fingers rode the bass frets way up and way down. Those in attendance had no choice but to get tight, get right and get down....

Jon Stewart rhetorically asked about a Bruce show, "Do you like joy?" DC was simply a joyous night. I didn't come expecting joy, considering all the political clouds and Ticketmaster snafus in DC. But this show had an adorable nine-year-old on stage holding Bruce's mic, folks "Blinded by the Light," and attendees dancing "Hava Nagila" in the aisles (seriously). Not to mention the Chief of Staff for the President of the United States rocking from the first note of "Badlands" to the very last chord of "Rosalita."

But even more intense than the joy I felt afterward was the realization of how Bruce and the Band have taken this tour to levels I honestly didn't think obtainable. San Jose was marvelous. But DC was San Jose on overdrive, with an intense, loose precision that comes from a road-tested and very well oiled musical machine.

HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA
Friday, May 15, 2009

Stealing "Kisses" in the Dark

By Sal Cutrona, Jr. and Dante Cutrona

"At the north end of the field they set up a stand
And they got a little rock and roll band
People dancin' out in the open air..."

For the first time on the Dream tour, Springsteen and the E Streeters took the greatest show on earth outdoors and under the stars tonight at Hersheypark Stadium. But the al fresco setting was just part of the unique atmosphere that Hershey provided the Band and their fans. Surrounded by the flashing lights and whirling sounds of carnival rides, super boxes and even seat backs were nowhere to be found. However, the tents of fresh-squeezed lemonade and deep-fried funnel cakes, crammed under the cracked concrete grandstands were plentiful. If Nassau, the Spectrum, and the LA Sports Arena are the grand old dames of indoor sporting arenas, then Hersheypark Stadium is the granddaddy of high school football stadiums.

From the onset it was clear that this was not going to be just another outdoor show: the atmosphere was different, and you could feel it even before you could see the stadium lights. After a week of clouds and rain, the skies finally cleared this afternoon and the sun and blue skies were a welcome sight as lines of traffic snaked down the two "major" highways to the stadium. The sight of lines of fans decked out in vintage tour t-shirts passing exiting groups of school children with bags of candy souvenirs and fatigued chaperones just added to the festival feel of the show.

Right out of the gate, Springsteen gave us what, in our opinion, was the best opening set of songs we've ever seen at a Bruce concert: "Badlands," "Spirit in the Night," "Outlaw Pete" (complete with a return of the Western imagery and video across the screen behind the stage), "Radio Nowhere" (which has found new life with Jay Weinberg pounding the skins), "Out in the Street," "Twist and Shout" (six songs in!?) and "Working on a Dream." The first seven songs were just a further indication of the night's unique feel.

But that was just the beginning: shifting into Act II while maintaining the same intensity and zeal, Springsteen and the Band powered through the now-standard set of "Seeds", "Johnny 99", and "The Ghost of Tom Joad." Strong solo work from Soozie and Nils powered this set, which has become the structural and thematic bridge of the shows on this first leg of the tour.

The always fun, and increasingly numerous, fan-based signs brought the aforementioned "Twist and Shout" which, if played would cause the young fan holding the sign to "burn my Hannah Montana CD's" an oversized Hershey's Kiss requesting "Give the Girl a Kiss," which came complete with quality, extended vocal work from the Big Man; "Trapped"; and in the encore a rowdy "Rosalita" for an equally rambunctious crowd that was up on their feet, dancing, jumping and screaming along.

Capping off the crazy fun of "Rosie," playing well past his curfew, Springsteen closed the night with an anthemic "Bobby Jean," Clarence Clemons's beautiful solo sending fans home on a high and hopeful note. It was one of those moments, with the stars high in the sky, where 30,000 fans were standing on their feet, singing, smiling, and unanimously wishing that the Big Man and the Band wouldn't have to let that moment go.

ALBANY, NEW YORK
Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Prodigal Son

By Lowell D. Kern

I wouldn't exactly call Thursday night's show in Albany a changing of the guard. Yes, it was the first time that Jay Weinberg played an entire show with the E Street Band, with his father nowhere in sight (and reportedly on the opposite coast). And yes, Jay plays with a completely different feel than his father—he hits harder, with more energy, and adds more fills. But it's still the E Street Band.

As a friend pointed out to me, with both Max and Patti absent, there were almost as many non-E Streeters on stage in Albany as there were members of the "E Street Band." Of the silhouettes on the merchandise, Bruce, Clarence, Steve, Roy, Garry and Nils were there; the additional players were Soozie, Charlie, Curtis, Cindy and, of course, Jay. Bruce still introduces all of them at the end of the night as the "legendary E Street Band."

As for the drummer—Bruce repeated the remarkable fact that 18-year-old Jay has only been playing the drums for four years. He welcomed him as a blood brother. He referred to him as a prodigy. And Jay lived up to the hype.

I'll admit, I was skeptical when I first heard that Jay was going to fill in for Max to resolve the Conan conflict. I thought of many other experienced drummers with touring experience that could fill the role (including the son of a rather prominent mop-topped drummer). But I also realized that it would be hard to work in someone like that for the shows that Max couldn't make—it would have had to be a change for the entire European tour. To Bruce and company, Jay may have seemed like an obvious choice. But aside from his E Street debut at Giants Stadium last summer, I knew nothing about Jay's abilities.

I'm sold.

I know nothing about playing the drums. I play the air drums okay, particularly to Bruce's stuff because I know it so well. (There was one show I was up front playing along to "Badlands" as Garry watched and nodded as I got the changes right.) So I'm not going to try and describe Jay's playing any more than I already have. But the kid makes it interesting to listen to the same music I've heard thousands of times. For the most part, he's playing his father's parts. But he brings something different to the table. Just the wild energy with which he plays, his hair flying around, makes everything sound fresh and new. The fills he throws in that aren't there in my mind make it exciting.

And Jay seems to be a natural. He's taken to the crowds as readily as the crowds have taken to him. He also seems perfectly comfortable playing behind one of the greatest rock 'n' roll bands ever. I've watched Max so many times as he spins his head around three times trying to never lose sight of Bruce. Jay doesn't seem to care. At some point, if he wants to, Bruce is going to be able to catch Jay off guard... but there's something very charming about this "prodigy" seeming so lost in his playing.

Thank you, Jay Weinberg, for making these shows fresh and interesting again.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Tuesday, May 12, 2009

House Party

By Glenn Radecki

When Bruce started doing his "build a house!" preacher rap in "Working on a Dream" this tour, I was probably not the only person in the crowd rolling their eyes at the thought of the same endless rap carrying over from the summer leg of the Magic tour. Nor was I likely the only person making jokes about Bruce's house still being under construction. As I listened to the rap in Chicago on Tuesday night, however, it became clear that Bruce had not only focused his message and shortened the "bit" for this tour, but that it many ways, the rap itself was an effective thesis statement for the show as a whole.

Unlike the Rising or Magic tours, the theme of this tour doesn't mirror the theme of the album the band is touring behind. Instead, Bruce is taking parts of each corner of his career, his newest album included, to craft a setlist touching on the each of the major themes of Springsteen music.

Bruce's rap lays out the entire construction of his live show: "We're gonna take the fear that's out there and build a house of love" explains "Badlands" and "Born to Run" bookending the main set.

"We're gonna take the despair that's out there, and build a house of hope" is the "Seeds"/"Johnny 99"/"The Ghost of Tom Joad" arc, performed each night with as much passion as anything else in the set, and the encore staples of "Hard Times," and "Land of Hope and Dreams," the two songs where Cindy and Curtis add the most to the show.

"We're gonna take the sadness that's out there and build a house of joy and happiness" is addressed every night in the request portion of the show. I'm not a big fan of the signs generally, but nobody could deny the band brought that joy and happiness to the crowd after Bruce called for the "Rosalita" sign to be brought forward at the end of the set, and particularly not as the crowd went nuts for the E Street debut of "Mony Mony."

"We're gonna take the cooling off that's out there a build a house of sexual healing," was particularly on display with charged versions of "Spirit in the Night" and "She's the One" within the first four songs (and "Candy's Room," to boot, in the request portion of the show).

Sure, the preacher act is a little corny, with Bruce always glad to be in "YOUR beautiful city tonight!" and reminding the crowd that "you have got to bring the noise!" Behind the showmanship, though, there's a lot of substance to what Bruce is telling the crowd about the show they're seeing. In Chicago, Bruce indeed brought "the bad news and the good news" to the crowd in an excellent performance for him and the E Street Band.

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA
Monday, May 11, 2009

Taking it Further on Up the Road

By Glenn Radecki

On display Monday night was Bruce and the E Street Band's commitment to and enthusiasm for the standard Working on a Dream tour set as it has existed during the first two months of this tour. Yes, the set has very limited variation--particularly on a night like this one when Jay Weinberg fills in for Dad--but it remains refreshing to see that Bruce and the band continue to evolve and enhance their performances on the "standard" material in the set.

With such a commitment on display to the "standard set," I'm naturally left wanting more: if the band has nailed what's in the show now, it would be further refreshing to see the traditional pattern of Springsteen tours reversed and some more of the new material ("Life Itself"? "What Love Can Do"?) added to the set. But whether the St. Paul show was one's first, fifth, or only show on the tour, one was able to see Bruce and the band take that set a bit farther than they had previously.

In St. Paul, Bruce's solo in "Seeds" continued through several false endings; each of his performances on this song consistently top those from earlier nights. The same trend continues through the recession arc of the setlist: Roy's solo in "Johnny 99" was "brilliant," as per Bruce declaration, and Nils' guitar work in "The Ghost of Tom Joad" was as moody and dark as ever before, building to the dramatic climax as the song ended.

Bruce also took things a little farther in the opening part of the set, calling an audible to follow "No Surrender" rather than going directly to "Working on a Dream." It's not entirely clear why Bruce called for "Out in the Street": was it because he needed a little more from the crowd than he was getting? Or was it to keep the energy high from a good crowd? Although an "ordinary" choice, it accomplished its task far better than "Waitin' on a Sunny Day," which is sorely in need of retirement from the set; its persistence presumably is only because it is easy for the young children at the show to sing along to. Yet even on "Sunny Day," the band took things a little farther, with Nils adding an extra guitar figure on the slide as the song ended, wrapping things up more neatly than usual.

The Rascals' "Good Lovin'" showed the band stretching their repertoire a little farther, as Bruce called out that the band had "never!" played the song before. The performance was so good, including Charlie's note-perfect solo, that I was left wondering if perhaps he meant "never before a paying audience." Bruce demonstrated a perfect read on the audience as he dropped back to allow us to participate in the call-and-response lyrics to great effect.

Even a song such as "American Land," performed at every show for the past three years, has added enhancements. Nils and Charlie have developed a hilarious routine during the second verse in which they trade one hand on each other's instruments. Nils plays the right hand part of the accordion as Charlie takes over the strumming of Nils' acoustic guitar. As he finishes, watch for Charlie to throw the guitar pick in the air and enjoy a mischievous laugh as Nils attemps to catch it and then scrambles to find a new one.

UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA
Friday, May 8, 2009

Bruce's Generation

By Sal Cutrona, Jr. and Dante Cutrona

Already home to the Super Bowl and World Series champions, it seemed that life in the Keystone State could not get much better; however, over the course of a little more than three weeks, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will have played five shows in the Commonwealth. And tell us, could we ask for anything more?

But, perhaps, the best news of all—as we found out tonight in State College—was that school is officially out for the summer.

And is there any better way to start the summer than with an old-fashioned, heart-rockin', pants droppin' E Street house party? The Bryce Jordan Center may not feel as intimate, for better or worse, as one of the countless fraternity houses on campus, but for three hours, Bruce and the Band turned the clean, spacious arena into a humid, tightly-packed house party with students of all ages.

From the opening chords of "Badlands" into the sing-along chorus of "Out in the Street," the crowd was alive tonight and participated in a call-and-answer with the band leader that carried on all the way through the last chords of Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs' classic, "Wooly Bully."

Bruce and the Band have hit their stride on this first leg of the "Dream" tour. They have achieved the unique balance of delivering music with a message, while still maintaining the jovial, fun-loving spirit that makes these shows so special.

Confident in the new material, and even breaking out "This Life"—a long overdue highlight from their newest album—Springsteen has begun to focus even more of his inexhaustible energy on making every and any connection he can with each member of his audience. This night found him disappearing into the crowd during "Spirit in the Night," making eye contact with just about every member of the crowd behind the stage during "Raise Your Hand," and of course, picking out of the crowd a more than capable guest vocalist on "Waitin' on a Sunny Day."

The latter, along with "Lonesome Day" and "The Rising," in particular, were enthusiastically received by the crowd, a good portion of which had their first introduction to Springsteen's music through his now classic 2002 album, The Rising.

Each member of the band also had their moments to shine as well, from Clarence Clemons' flawless performance on "Jungleland" to Garry W. Tallent's effortless solo on a spontaneous cover of The Who's "My Generation." (Note to selves: Avoid watching Nils Lofgren's guitar camera for too long next week in Hershey, as his solo last night, during "The Ghost of Tom Joad," was literally dizzying.)

It may not be Memorial Day just yet, but tonight Springsteen and the Band sent a physically exhausted, incredibly satisfied crowd into the humid Central Pennsylvania night feeling as if summer was finally here. And that's alright with us.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA
Thursday, May 7, 2009

Mama, that's where the fun is!

By Kyle Rogers

It was a beautiful night in Toronto, and Bruce lived up to the weather with a performance that was not only beautiful like the breeze felt outside, but also hot. After a roaring rendition of "Badlands," I noticed Bruce calling an audible, then we heard "come on Max!" and it was the intro to "No Surrender." Bruce seemed really pumped for this one. What a way to start the show!

Bruce did his usual preacher act on "Working on a Dream," telling the people of Toronto about the house that he and the E Streeters were there to build. Overall, I think this is the best live sounding song from the new album (although, we have yet to hear "Queen of the Supermarket," "What Love Can Do," "Tomorrow Never Knows," "Life Itself" and "The Last Carnival").

The recession pack was a powerful trio of "Seeds," "Johnny 99" (with Bruce and Steve goofing around during the brief break before the end of the song) and "The Ghost of Tom Joad," which featured a fantastic solo from Nils (did he really just have hip surgery? You wouldn't know it!). All three were electric, and all three kicked major ass.

Bruce picked up some interesting signs (including ones for "Car Wash" and "Growin' Up," even though they were not played), and after "Raise Your Hand" came a trio of sign requests. The first one was a real treat, with "The E Street Shuffle" played for the boisterous Toronto crowd. A kick-ass "Prove It All Night," which featured a very nice solo by Bruce at the end, was followed by the night's only tour premiere, with "Louie Louie" being played in a full version, unlike the teaser Bruce has used at the end of "Glory Days."

After "The Promised Land," I was thinking we would get "The Wrestler," but then I noticed Bruce calling an audible. When I saw him point at Roy I thought maybe "Backstreets," but to my surprise it was "Racing in the Street!" This was the highlight for me, the icing on the cake. A beautiful performance featuring great vocals from Bruce, a wonderful organ solo from Charlie, great backing guitar from Nils, and wonderful piano work from Roy.

I figured we were due for one more after "American Land," but to my surprise, we got two! First up was a very animated version of "Rosalita," and if that wasn't enough, Bruce really hammed it up for "Glory Days" to end the show. All in all, a great night and a nice Mother's Day gift for my mother. She had a blast.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA
Cinco de Mayo, 2009

Signtific

By Bethaney Dale & Jill Levinson

So let's talk about the signs. Just how do you get Bruce to pick your sign? What is that elusive perfect formula? Is it "just" the song or is it the person offering it up? Is it the creativity or elaborateness of the presentation? It's certainly not penmanship—we've seen many examples that would induce knuckle-rapping from the Sisters. And surely there are some suggestions that are losers right out of the gate (do you really think we'll ever see a sign for "Mary Queen of Arkansas"?). Whatever the criteria, one thing's for sure, they are the highlight of the show.

Take tonight: "You Really Got Me" by the Kinks was the first selection. Brilliant—both the suggestion and the execution. Second was the always fun "Spirit in the Night," sung to a young miss in the pit with pigtails and a smile bigger than Greasy Lake itself. And third was "Gypsy Biker," requested for one our Vets and delivered with all the energy and heart that Vet richly deserves.

For those of you who have been around for a while, you'll remember a time when Mr. Springsteen was quite perturbed by the presence of a sign and was known to have some choice words for the fan that dared to raise one. Now, clearly he, the entire band and the audience rightfully relish this part of the show, so bring your signs and try your luck, you just never know what will strike his fancy on any given night. And even if a request doesn't inspire a performance at your show, they've been known to give Bruce ideas for nights to come.

Oh, and if you keep flaming out with the signs? Bring a kid, we all know what a sucker our Bruce is for a cute kid—just look at the lucky lad who got to join him on stage tonight for "Waitin' on a Sunny Day"! Best

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK
Monday, May 4

The Midnight Gang's Assembled

By Glenn Radecki

"I had a feeling someone would request this song tonight!" was Bruce's response to a request for "Expressway to Your Heart" at the Nassau Coliseum on Monday night. Perhaps, like Philadelphia, his rehearsal of the song earlier in the day was in anticipation of that same sign returning. While it didn't exactly "stump" the band, the performance came off much better as a result. Finding a cover song that E Street can play at the drop of a hat is certainly a fun exercise for many, but ultimately, having that extra time to rehearse pays off for the audience. Tonight's performance left me wondering, "Why hasn't E Street tried this one before?"

The true peak of the Monday's show, however, was something much later in the set. As Bruce returned for the encore break, he gave his usual plug to the local food bank but also took time to note that the "fabulous" Coliseum was a "great rock and roll hall." Like the arenas just played in Los Angeles or Philadelphia, which Bruce gave specific mention to, Nassau Coliseum has no luxury boxes breaking up the seating bowl, and has witnessed some of E Street's legendary shows of the past. In an obvious acknowledgement of his history in the building, Bruce topped everything else he did that night with the second song of the encore.

The back half of the setlist on this tour has at times struggled to match the intensity of the first half, and has seemed as if something extra was missing from that part of the show. On certain occasions, Bruce has added "Racing in the Street" and "Backstreets" to the set to great effect, filling that gap with some of his best epics.

On Monday, Bruce brought out the biggest epic of all: "Jungleland." He announced it was "for Long Island," but this most captivating moment of the show was clearly for Bruce embracing his history, for his old fans, and for still being able bring his band to a good venue for rock and roll.

No song in the Springsteen catalog can transfix an audience in the same way. The houselights don't go up when Roy and Soozie start playing its majestic introduction. Nobody is told to cheer; they just know. Even those otherwise unfamiliar with the show—people waving at their friends three sections over while yammering on their cellphones—stop to watch and see what happens: Bruce with guitar raised as Roy plays at the beginning of the song; the crowd's singing overpowering Bruce; Steve's roaring guitar; the spotlight on Clarence as he steps forward to take his signature solo; the band falling back as Bruce sings "in the quick of the night, they reach for their moment and try to make an honest stand, but they wind up wounded, not even dead;" and the passionate howls as the song reaches its conclusion.

Review of Nassau Coliseum

By Eric Meola

There is none.

How do you review a performance like this?

It's not that there aren't words, or that you can't try, or that you can't come close. It just seems silly to think that there's anything that hasn't been said yet.

I'll say this—I've always felt that people have quoted the less important part of Jon Landau's review from 1974. The part that is truly important begins the sentence after the reference to "rock and roll future": "And on a night when I needed to feel young..."

If truth be told, I far preferred seeing Bruce sit down at the piano—was it Widener '74?—and calling for quiet and doing a very slow version of "For You." But that was then, and last night was last night. And to see thousands singing along with every word, entranced, 35 years later... your mind just doesn't accept it, even if you're Mike Appel.

And how did that Santa Ana punk and his idea of a teenage nation end up in the back seat with a graveyard cough?

And how is it that a song as simple and as simplistic as "The Wrestler" can resonate and dazzle?

I've given up trying to figure out who this guy is. But I have to admit, this was one of the best shows I've ever seen.

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
Saturday, May 2, 2009

With Greensboro just a short hop down the road from Backstreets World Headquarters in Chapel Hill, this Saturday night special was the closest thing we'll get to a hometown show. So we made it a family affair: my dad, my brother, our spouses... and I'll let a couple of them take over in a sec. I've already put my thoughts down over at Backstreets.com—written in that post-show delirium, but one day later, I can't say I feel any differently. It took Bruce and the band took a little time to get the show off the ground, but then it soared, an amazing Carolina crowd helping keep it aloft.

The moments that linger: Bruce and Steve gallivanting across the stage, holding up that "Steensboro" sign. The nitro boost that comes when the band has to truly improvise, as they did on the never-before-played "Seventh Son." The whole place lit up, fist-pumping and hollering along to "Sloopy." And Cindy Mizelle, absolutely going to town at the end of "Land of Hope and Dreams"—a vocal tour de force from the back riser, and one that was practically lost in the general jubilation (and the mix). How many other individual performances get overlooked as they all coalesce in that huge E Street Band sound? Just another reason to keep your ears open and your eyes peeled, every night. Dad, over to you. —Chris Phillips

Through the Woods of Caroline

By Ray Phillips

It was a rocking house in Greensboro last night—or I should say "Steensboro," as a sign provided by a fan read. And the crowd was into it. This part of the country has experienced some great Springsteen shows over the years, and this one was no exception. Bruce thought it must be "something in the water" that produces the enthusiastic audiences in Greensboro, but let's give credit where credit is due: the show!

Jay Weinberg opened behind the drums for the first nine songs. Great job, in my opinion, and, if I dare say it, brings an energy to the band that is very discernable. Max rejoined the band as the "stump the band" portion kicked in. And it's a good thing, too, because only an "older" person would know "Seventh Son," a mid-'60s tune by Johnny Rivers (of Whiskey a Go Go fame) and, at the time, one of my favorites.

In addition to "Seventh Son," highlights for me included "Human Touch," a surprise, but most welcome, addition from the early '90s (let's have more from this era); "Seeds" (new to this fan at the Atlanta show, and how great to still be discovering pockets of Bruce's catalog); and a terrific set-closer, "Cadillac Ranch," a tip of the hat (literally—a cowboy hat from the crowd) to North Carolina fans and to Junior Johnson, Tom Wolfe's "Last American Hero."

As we sometimes are wont to do, we can certainly pick at this show as well as others on this tour. Not enough from the new album (or from a few others Bruce seems to have forgotten about), too much of the tried-and-true, little in the way of theme, a little disjointed... but damn, I had a hell of a good time. And ain't that the point!

Reasons to Believe

By Jon Phillips

I counted them up this morning, and I'm pretty sure this was my 45th Springsteen show. So with that devotion and obsessive-compulsive behavior comes an equal amount of jaded cynicism. And yet... and yet...

A surprising lump in my throat as Clarence played his sax solo during "Badlands" and then the crowd immediately kicks in, full-throated? Check.

An oldie that blows the roof off the place? "Hang on Sloopy" ... Check.

A mid-career song that more than deserves dusting off? "Human Touch" ... Check.

A song I've missed hearing for years? "Cadillac Ranch" ... Check.

New, beautiful harmonies with Cindy and Curtis? ... Check, and wish they had even more opportunities to do so.

A crowd that was with the band every step of the way? Heck yeah ... go Steensboro ... Check.

So, a great, fun show. And now we can add "the chair that comes out when Bruce sings 'I'm on Fire'" to the list of Springsteen contingency items the crew has to keep track of. We know Garry keeps a tuba around just in case Bruce wants to break out "Wild Billy's Circus Story." Backstage, was a guy in a bear suit ready to go if Bruce had broken into story mid-"Growin' Up?"

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Wednesday, April 29

Punk rock doesn't suck!

By Caryn Rose

Twenty-something years ago, when I heard the line in "Jungleland" about kids flashing guitars just like switchblades, I didn't think of New York City, I thought of Philadelphia. I thought of Philadelphia because the crowds down there were deadly earnest, did not trifle with their rock 'n' roll, and playing a show down there was taking a stand for or against something, anything, but it was taking a stand. Philly audiences would settle for nothing less than blood on the stage, but they gave as good as they got.

Twenty-something years later, not much has changed.

Bruce playing the Spectrum was not about the new arena across the street being booked. It was because Bruce wanted to play the Spectrum. I have been to the Sports Arena Complex in Philadelphia many times over the years, but driving into the Spectrum parking lot this afternoon, knowing I was going to see E Street on that stage tonight guaranteed instant flashbacks. I can only imagine what it was doing for Bruce, and in my mind the setlist showed us, beginning with that opening one-two punch of "Badlands" into "The Ties That Bind." (As a note, "Outlaw Pete" in the number-three slot seemed to flow much better.)

But the key ingredient in Philly is the audience, and they, too, delivered. The opening drumroll--not even the intro organ chords, the drumroll that opens "Spirit in the Night" generated the loudest response from an audience for that song within recent memory. The loud, welcoming cheer starting all the way in the back of the room when the camera went to the "Thundercrack" sign warned any pretenders to vacate the premises. And, when "Hungry Heart" gratefully substituted for "Sunny Day," the audience gave the first verse back loud enough to shake the rafters. It was a singalong out of the '80s, when the song was new and barely on radio but it was there and it was ours and we were going to sing it loud and proud. Bruce soaked it all up, running over to the side of the stage at the end to put his mother on the spot and made her sing along, too.

When someone in the GA line mentioned that "London Calling" had been soundchecked I paid them absolutely no mind, dismissing it as the uninformed ramblings of the delusional. I saw the sign get picked, but I saw a lot of signs get picked. I did not expect to hear this song played, and it completely blew my mind. It might seem hypocritical to dwell on a non-Springsteen song after my previous nostalgic waxing for Ye Olden Days, but to me, having "London Calling" here in this room, in this set, was no disconnect. "The River" says 1981? Well, nothing says 1979 in my house like "London Calling." At the moment those chords came out of the PA, I wanted to call every single person I knew in high school and yell, "SEE? PUNK ROCK DOESN'T SUCK AFTER ALL!" -- until I remember that those people didn't much like Springsteen, either (at least until 1984, anyway). Special props here go to Garry W. Tallent, because that bassline executed anywhere south of flawless would have killed the song.

Joe Strummer would have been proud to have been in that room tonight. Joe Strummer would have been honored by that performance.

I am still picking myself up off the floor.

From the Out Of Nowhere Department: "Red Headed Woman," in a duet that I would like to say would have made Johnny and June Carter proud, except that I'm not sure about how June would have actually felt about it. In front of us, some proud parent seized the moment to put their child on their shoulders, and all I could think was, "Please put her down, do you really want your young daughter acknowledged during this song?" (And in case you were wondering, no, he didn't sing that verse.) Compare that interlude to the lovely, appropriate "Streets of Philadelphia," making its first appearance in Philly since 2003. (More kudos to the crowd who voiced their approval at the very first synth chords.) It is easy to forget how beautiful and powerful the lyrics of that song are.

And when we thought we were done, and we couldn't stand no more: "One more for Philly!' and Bruce in the spotlight and those knife-sharp chords heralding the return of--well, you know who: "Kitty's Back." No one was leaving early, no one was trying to beat the traffic. It was rapt, joyous attention to the very last note.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Tuesday, April 28
Wednesday, April 29

Life Itself, Right Now

By Shawn Poole

Death, aging, and the passage of time are major themes in both Bruce Springsteen's new album and the tour supporting it. How could they not be, with last year's enormous loss of Danny Federici and the unavoidable reality that Bruce, the band and many of us in their audience just "ain't that young anymore"? That's one of the reasons why the two-night stand at Philly's Spectrum was such a perfect stop for this tour: a decaying "lovely lady of a building" (quoth Bruce) whose days are numbered, located across the street from the ballpark where one of our city's most beloved sportscasters lay in state just over two weeks ago.

In the wrong hands, this could've been the breeding ground for much morbidity and depression. Luckily, Working On A Dream, the album and the tour, are among the more life-affirming works of art to address the subject of death, though death's impact certainly is never sanitized or trivialized. One listen to, say, "The Last Carnival" off the new record or the performance of "Streets of Philadelphia" on the second night in Philly would be enough for just about anyone to better understand the painful losses and finality that all of us must face somehow during our relatively brief time on this planet.

Bruce Springsteen began realizing a long time ago, however, that the awareness of our mortality and that of those we love also motivates us to avoid wasting time and strive to live the happiest, most meaningful and rewarding lives we can. That's one of the reasons why his older songs like "Badlands", "Hungry Heart," and even "The Fever" mix so well with newer material like "Working on a Dream" and "Kingdom of Days." "The Fever," especially, seemed transformed in this new context. By the song's end, Bruce's deep, blue Philly performance of it on Night One made it seem like one of the saddest songs ever written about loss and loneliness. I've never heard Bruce, or anyone else, give the song that kind of reading before.

Connecting the past to the present and our hopes for the future reminds us that the dead never truly leave us, either. On both nights, a searing version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" performed that task explicitly and harshly, while Bruce's summoning of "The Ghost of Harry Kalas" just before diving into "Thunder Road" did it hilariously during the second night's encores. On each night at certain points, too, despite the fact that Charlie Giordano has very humbly acknowledged that he could never truly play like Danny Federici because doing so requires being Danny Federici, I could swear I heard and felt part of the spirit of the Phantom moving through Charlie and up into those noisy Spectrum rafters.

The rafters and the rest of that giant "house of rock" will soon be gone for good (and, all sentimentality aside, for many of us aging Springsteen fans, saying goodbye to those narrow hallways, basement-only bathrooms and elevatorless upper levels may not be that difficult after all). It's clear, however, that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band don't plan on disappearing anytime soon. Almost a quarter-century after first seeing him perform at the Spectrum, it truly was delightful for me to see Bruce, the surviving E Street veterans and "new kids on the Street" Charlie, Cindy, Curtis and Jay continue to rock and inspire multiple generations of fans. As long as nights like those remain possible, I'm more than happy to count the wrinkles and the grays, all the while laughing gleefully and gladly joining in the work to build that "house of joy....hope....etc." wherever it may need to be located.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Tuesday, April 28

Meet Me at the Wrecking Ball

By Jon Greer

Early in his career, Bruce Springsteen had an open disdain for arenas. He said he would never play an arena and that someone should shoot him if he did. But then, he got popular enough that he had to make a choice: continue to play smaller venues and exclude some of his fans, or "sell out" and move up to playing arenas.

Bruce took his first tentative steps onto the arena rock stage on October 25, 1976 at Philadelphia's Spectrum Arena, and the rest, as they say, is history. In many ways, Bruce redefined the arena rock experience, turning up the house lights to transform the shows into dance parties, venturing into the crowd to sing and be touched by his fans, and generally trying to wring every bit of intimacy out of rooms built for hockey and basketball games.

I saw my first Springsteen concert at the Spectrum at the beginning of the Darkness tour in 1978 and came away pretty impressed by Bruce's command of the venue. But seeing him Tuesday night as he played his 31st and penultimate show at this "house of rock," I was utterly blown away. Bruce knows how to create community even among sweating strangers in a creaky old arena that has a date with the wrecking ball. People danced, hugged, high-fived and generally screamed their way through the show, coming in as strangers but leaving as friends (A shout-out to my newest Bruce bud, Kathleen -- rave on!).

After seeing Bruce open this tour in San Jose on April 1, it was educational to see him a month and 12 shows later. While the setlist is not dramatically different, at the Spectrum Bruce and the band looked completely comfortable with the show they were presenting, in contrast to some of the first-night missteps that were apparent in San Jose. For one thing, there were actually several short breaks in the main set (unlike San Jose, where he raced through virtually non-stop), allowing the show and everyone in the building to breathe.

The band sounded tight, hot and deeply in the kind of groove that comes with mastering your material. I was especially pleased to hear Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle singing their hearts out on many of Bruce's classic songs -- in San Jose, they took frequent breaks, having not yet been worked into the vocal mix. They add a richness and depth to Bruce's sound that amplifies and deepens the gospel effect, and heck, they're just great singers.

Since San Jose, Bruce has developed the new sign-waving "Raise Your Hand" segment, which I love for several reasons: it's a great classic cover, it was originally suggested via sign a few weeks ago, and Bruce jumped on it as the perfect accompaniment to his sign-collection activities ("If there's something you want, if there's something you need, you've got to raise your hand.")

In Philly, a group of fans sitting to the left of the stage not only raised their hands, but they raised the bar for the sign-waving set with a six-person sign requesting "Fire": four people in the middle holding red F-I-R-E letters with flames shooting out the top, and two on either side holding flames. Bruce originally didn't see it, but Steve pointed it out to him, causing Bruce to call for the spotlight on the group, praising them ("that's a good sign!") and saying those wished-for words ("we're going to do that one!"). After "Fire," he pointed to another group holding a huge "Fever" banner, and Bruce introduced it as the first of his "Philly Specials," but it was a bit of a set-up, because Bruce himself had already setlisted the song. No matter. Bruce indulged in a terrific, searing guitar solo at the end of "The Fever," taking what I normally think of as a '70s soft-rock ballad and turning it into a burnburner.

Another Philly Special followed by request, Harold Dorman's "Mountain of Love," a song I've listened to a million times on the awesome Main Point '75 bootleg (and a replacement for the setlisted "Thundercrack," also featured on that boot). Bruce must too, because he name-checked that show before launching into a super-fun, rollicking version. A third Philly special came in the encores, when Bruce called for the sign "with that Dovells song" -- "You Can't Sit Down." The Dovells were a Philly band, naturally.

In keeping with the Philly crowd's legendary Bruce hipness, a fan to the right of the stage waved a "New York City" T-shirt at Bruce -- you know, the one John Lennon is wearing in that famous picture of him -- and Bruce acknowledged it and its reference to the December 9, 1980 show at the Spectrum the day after Lennon was shot and killed. That night, Bruce took the stage and said "It's a hard world that asks you to live with a lot of things that are unlivable. And it's hard to come out here and play tonight, but there's nothing else to do."

Bruce is not a fan of the new mega-arenas with their rows of luxury boxes that further detract from the intimacy he is desperate to create, and he made a reference at the end to how much he liked playing old arenas like the Spectrum that lack those modern amenities. Clearly, Bruce long ago got over those misgivings that caused him to think he should avoid playing such big venues. As he now knows, it's not about letting the venue dictate how intimate you can get, it's about making the venue you're in as intimate as possible. Because there's nothing else to do.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Sunday, April 26

Clearing The Bar

By Ray Phillips

Okay, I admit it: I went to Sunday's show at the Philips Arena in Atlanta with some misgivings. My last show was the "you shoulda been there" Magic show in St. Louis last August--a tough act to follow. And after hearing a few less than enthusiastic reports about the Working On A Dream shows, I was feeling apprehensive. I must have been smoking something!

As any longtime Bruce fan knows, or should know, there are no "bad" Bruce shows. We compare one with another and at times lose sight of the fact there are only great shows and better-than-great shows. Bruce has set the bar pretty high. But in Atlanta Sunday night, he and he E Streeters cleared the bar with plenty to spare. What a great show from, as he put it, "the greatest bar band in the land"!

Atlanta seems to draw a raucous crowd that always gets into the show from the get-go. The moment the band walked on stage, the packed house was with them. And when during "Working on a Dream" Bruce exhorted the crowd with "The band supplies the music, you supply the noise," the noise almost became unbearable.

Great moments in the show: Jay Weinberg was on fire, especially on "Land of Hope and Dreams," and I'm sure Max is as proud of Jay as I am of my two sons. "Trapped": ever since I first heard it on the Essential album, I have wanted to hear it live. "96 Tears," yet another cover request from out of left field, ragged but right. "Outlaw Pete," much better live than on the album. The "'Atlantassteenagers' deserve Jungleland" request fulfilled, with the new slimmer, trimmer Big Man knocking it dead. And the bartender's last call "Detroit Medley" to finish off the show.

Yep, lesson learned.

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
Friday, April 24

"Give me some guitar, Monty!"

By Lou Masur

Going into the show, fans in Hartford may have felt a little nervous that, after two blazing nights in Boston, and with Philadelphia soon to come, Springsteen and the band might not have been up for the Capitol city. They need not have worried. Bruce has always been good to Hartford, launching the Magic tour here and then returning several months later.

The energy in the XL Center was high, fueled by one of the youngest crowds I've seen at a show in a long time. This is the most difficult challenge of all for artists, winning over new generations, and it seems clear that Bruce has succeeded through his latest work and added visibility (the Super Bowl!) with attracting listeners who are not sitting around aching to hear a rarity. Through them, to whom all the songs feel fresh, long-time followers of the band can also find renewal.

Such was the case with "Badlands" as opener, which served its purpose. But it was with the tour premiere of "Jackson Cage," third song of the set, and apparently an audible, that the band took off, not to come down for the rest of the evening. "She's the One," which followed, pulsated throughout the arena, and included scorching guitars and harmonica.

Bruce spoke about building houses, and about the power of rock 'n' roll to create and sustain community, to help get us through bad times and good. Following "Working on a Dream," Jay Weinberg took the drums and the effect of having him come out so early in the set deepened the emotional core of the show--"Seeds," "Johnny 99," and "The Ghost of Tom Joad"--and added youthful vitality: hair and drumsticks flying everywhere.

And then the joy. Tonight's version of "Stump the Band" led to a nailed a cover of The Troggs' "Wild Thing" from 1965, complete with piccolo interlude. "I don't think we ever played that one before," grinned Bruce. And the band followed with John Fogerty's "Rocking All Over the World." "E Street Shuffle" then followed in the spot that introduces new fans to classics from the earlier part of Springsteen's catalog.

From there out, it was just gorgeous rhythm and pounding bass and a string of songs that reminded those listening closely that life is shadows ("The Wrestler" and "Lonesome Day") but also light ("Waitin' on a Sunny Day" and "The Promised Land," and "Kingdom of Days," sent out to Patti who is still recovering from her spill). At one point, Bruce ventured a bit too deep into the pit and Nils had to help retrieve him from impassioned fans. He left one of the sleeves of his t-shirt behind, and so rolled up the other and went back to work, grinning all the while.

What followed may have been my favorite moment of the night, and it had nothing to do with the music. After "Promised Land" Bruce threw his harmonica to a young boy sitting near me. An adult caught it, gave it to the boy, and a torch was passed to a new generation of fans, which is what so much of all of this is about. I grew sad at one point, thinking about Danny Federici, watching how difficult it is for Clarence to walk, knowing that Bruce is turning 60 and praying he can continue at this level, and worrying a little every time he does the knee slide. But then there is nothing to be done except go out and play--and listen--as if your life depended upon it because in a very real way it does.

For the first time on this tour, the set didn't end with "Born to Run." The crowd was loud and involved and Bruce, much to the surprise of setlist watchers and the band itself ("Give me some guitar, Monty"), audibled "Cadillac Ranch." Lights on in the house, strangers dancing and singing, the building itself began to levitate.

The encores offered an epitome of the theme of the whole evening: working to end hard times, joining together on a journey toward hope and dreams, being part of a common project in this American land, but also finding joy in the face of fear, whether on Tenth Avenue seeking the light of the living or with sweet Rosie hoping that the worst times will one day seem funny.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Tuesday, April 21
Wednesday, April 22

Back-to-Back in Boston

By Lou Dembitz

The back-to-back shows in Boston not only provided yet another demonstration of the longstanding support that Boston has given Bruce and the E Street Band and the genuine affection that the band has for the Boston fans, they also served as a barometer of the current state of E Street Nation.

While the show has continued to evolve steadily through the early part of the tour, it remains puzzling that Bruce is playing so few songs from the new album, and the show is not built around new material. But the Boston shows proved that this doesn't mean that the show lacks focus. Themes are emerging, if one looks for them.

Several reviewers and tour followers have written that they consider the "Seeds"/"Johnny 99"/"Youngstown" or "The Ghost of Tom Joad" three-pack to be the emotional core of the show. But if you look to the bookends of this three-pack, they combine to form a more complete expression. "Working on a Dream," communicating the unity of purpose in trying to build (and rebuild) an inclusive society is an updated expression of Bruce's long-stated "nobody wins unless everybody wins" philosophy. This sets up the three-pack, an exploration of the damage to and destruction of people's lives that's been an all-too-real consequence of social and political policies that have placed the interests of a smaller privileged group above those of society as a whole. And "Raise Your Hand," which follows the three-pack ostensibly as a call for the fans to offer up their sign requests, also works as a larger metaphor: If there's something you need, if you want to be a part of the process of building a new social order, you've got to step forward and be counted.

The request portion of the show follows, and provides another theme: the celebration of the E Street Band. While Bruce has sung his band's praises for the past several tours ("You've just seen the...legendary E Street Band!") playing three or more requests in a row recognizes both the history and the continuing vitality of the band in a more direct way than anything since the 1999-2000 Reunion Tour. In Boston, "I'm Goin' Down," "Growin' Up," "Spirit in the Night" and "For You" reached back into the band's history and called to mind tours of old. Covering ZZ Top's "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" and The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" proved that the E Street Band is not on cruise control, serving up predictable selections for a complacent crowd. Bruce's declaration that "You can't stump the E Street Band" expressly recognizes that the band is a living, thriving unit that can deliver new and unpredictable experiences. This declaration is especially resonant in light of the band's recent losses and dealings with the realities of the aging process.

When you're not at the show, and following the setlists at home, it's easy and perhaps natural to focus on the nuggets and the one-off songs as being the story of the shows--perhaps moreso now with the relative absence of new material in the set. And it's quite true that in Boston, the request performances were sublime moments. But when you're at the shows, you experience these moments in a more holistic sense, and feel their interplay with the more commonly performed songs in the creation of a show that is wholly vital and satisfying, performed by a powerful band living in the moment.

LOS ANGELES, CA
Thursday, April 16

In the Stratosphere

By Neil Van Harte

I'm struggling. I'm not going to lie. I've been asked to write about a show that I can't describe. Every time I think I've got something, I'm stumped again. The descriptors never seem to be good enough.

In what has to be the best show of the tour by far, Springsteen managed to transform the LA Sports Arena into a Jersey Shore bar, inviting 15,000 of his closest friends to forget all the "bad news" and get their pent up frustrations out in a collective primal scream. This second night of two was a bar stompin', beer drinkin', booty shakin', (and maybe even Viagra takin') good time.

I have no idea how you take a show as great as Wednesday night, throw it away, start over, and then create a show that is even greater. Really?

Yes. Really. It's the essence of Springsteen.

The only recognizable element from the first L.A. show was the building. And Springsteen even changed that. On Thursday, the L.A. Sports Arena was transformed from the 'joint that don't disappoint' to the 'dump that jumps'. And jump we did, to eleven different songs than the night before, all of which were absolute blow outs: "Candy's Room," "No Surrender," "Adam Raised a Cain," "Youngstown," "Proud Mary," "Growin' Up," "Hungry Heart," "Backstreets," Social Distortion's "Bad Luck," "Thunder Road" and "Glory Days."

But the real story of Thursday was not the energy, it was not the new songs, the amazing collaboration with Mike Ness, the tour premiere of Jay Weinberg, the Tom Hanks dedication or even the celebrity sighting of Sting.

The real story of Thursday is that Bruce picked my sign.

I've never really been sure about creating a request sign. It seemed like a lot of effort, you have to lug it around, and you're never assured a good spot in the pit. For some reason, however, I felt this need to make a sign.

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to hear, what would mean the most to me, and what might catch Bruce's attention. When the idea struck, I went to work.

I wanted to hear "Growin' Up." I grew up in Wall Township, NJ, which is on the Jersey Shore. My parents went to high school with Bruce and always bragged that they had a photo of him in their yearbook. It's not the graduation picture that usually makes the rounds, though. This is a photo of Bruce as a freshman, wearing proper preppy school attire, hair coiffed just so, with a youthful eagerness and large ears that his head hadn't grown into yet.

I printed the photo, and captioned it with "Play Growin' Up... For This Guy," with two arrows pointing to the photo of Bruce. It was three feet by three feet with bold type. I wanted my chances to be good.

During the sign collection phase, Bruce grabbed it, started to tuck it under his arm, and then realized who "this guy" was. The look on his face was utter disbelief and then laughter. It was precisely the reaction I'd hoped for. When Bruce grabbed another "Growin' Up" sign from a young boy, I knew we were golden.

Eventually, my sign emerged from the pile and made its way to the microphone stand. Bruce showed it to the only member of the band who might actually know who "that guy" was. Steve struggled to contain his fits of laughter as Bruce announced to the audience, 'Who IS this guy'? The best part is that he never told the audience that it was him. It was like a private joke between myself, Bruce, and Steve.

The song was amazing. I was a "local hero" in the pit, and the little boy got to sing a verse of the song.

Ahhhhh good fortune indeed.

And by the way, I think I found a descriptive word after all.

Delirium.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Wednesday, April 15

The Joint That Don't Disappoint!

By Neil Van Harte

History has a way of making itself present on hallowed grounds. Similar to the intangible feeling that exists at Yankee Stadium or Wrigley Field, the LA Sports Arena, in Springsteen folklore, is about as hallowed as it gets and always brings out the best in the Boss. Whether it be the great River tour stands, the Vietnam Veterans show, or Bruce presented in a casket for Halloween--twice!--the Sports Arena is the only appropriate LA venue for a Springsteen show.

Wednesday night brought a great intensity and communion between the band and the audience. For a Jersey transplant like myself, a Sports Arena show is dirty, gritty, and the closest I can get to seeing Springsteen in the Garden State. As Bruce said himself this evening, the Sports Arena is the "house that rock built" and the "joint that don't disappoint"!

Despite the obvious absence of Patti tonight for the first time on this tour, the band was in great form. "Badlands" is a blistering opener and welcome in the first slot, as it successfully amps the energy of the show from its opening notes. The tour premiere of "Darkness on the Edge of Town" in the second slot, while appropriate to the tone of these shows, was one of the only disappointments of the evening, as it seemed to dissipate the firestorm brought on by the leadoff track. "My Lucky Day" from Working on a Dream would have kept the heat on in this slot, and also served to represent the new album.

Despite my personal misgivings and uncertainty about WOAD, Springsteen has proven the master of breathing new life into studio tracks. The addition of Curtis King and Cynthia Mizelle has introduced a welcome richness and harmony to the E Street Band that is exploited to great effect, especially on WOAD tracks. The title track of the album is phenomenal live.

The "Seeds"/"Johnny 99" arc opened up a fresh can of whoop ass with the addition of "The Ghost of Tom Joad," featuring the guitar insanity of Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave/The Nightwatchman). While not the first time Tom has teamed with Springsteen on this track, Morello brings a freshness to his fretwork each time he interprets this song. It's a lot of fun to watch Bruce, Nils and Steve marvel at Tom's dexterity and speed. As he walked off stage, Bruce quipped that Tom was "one of my best guitar students."

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was the tour premiere of "Raise Your Hand," a classic Eddie Floyd cover. The band absolutely nailed it, capped by Springsteen standing on Roy's piano working the crowd into an absolute frenzy. With no conceivable reason to stop there, the band unleashed yet another tour premiere with "Spirit in the Night," which they also effortlessly killed. This song saw Springsteen sing while sitting stageside, then physically enter the crowd, grab an audience member's hat, return to the stage to perform a high kick routine, sing a verse with a child, and swing around the microphone stand six times to wrap up the song. All in five and a half minutes. Think we got our money's worth? We were only an hour in.

"Racing in the Street" offered another highlight that showcased Roy on the keys for a solo that was stunning.

While LA crowds tend to get a (rightfully) bad rap for being apathetic and aloof, this was not the case tonight. The energy and noise were superior to the outstanding Phoenix show I saw a few weeks ago. This was a blue collar crowd, and we worked hard for our check. The glitterati stayed home and we were better for it. The closest celebrity sighting I had was standing next to Adam Corolla's wife Lynette, who shouted every word to every song, fist pumping and dancing like a true hardcore fan.

The encore brought back Morello, who added a tremendous blues solo to "Hard Times," which again benefited tremendously from the vocal harmonies of Curtis and Cynthia. The E Street interpretation of this Stephen Foster classic is not to be missed.

"Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" saw Bruce in the audience again, high fiving, trading vocals, and capped by a Super Bowl-esque knee slide that helped reinforce his position as 'crotch cam' wizard. When it (literally) looked like Bruce was on the verge of collapse, out came "Rosie," which blew the roof off the dump. We left exhausted and exhilarated, looking forward to another night of jubilance.

As with most two-night stands, Thursday promises many setlist surprises and twists. As long as we're in the house that Bruce built, I can't wait to go to work. Let's get dirty.

DENVER, COLORADO
Friday, April 10

Mile High Madness

By Bob Mason

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's stop at the Pepsi Arena in Denver was a high altitude performance that had the crowd gasping for air. It amazes me how much effort and joy Bruce and the Band create.

Denver has been the recipient of some rowdy E Street Band antics historically (a rainy night at Red Rocks, which Bruce referenced tonight, and the wild and wooly rescheduled snow-out on the Born in the U.S.A. tour.) While Bruce brought his Devils & Dust solo show here in 2005, it's been more than five years since Colorado was treated to an all-out rock performance -- Mile High Stadium in September '03 on The Rising tour -- and we were ready to rock.

I've been watching the setlists closely since the tour started last week in San Jose and have been anxious to see what kind of show he would craft for the Mile High City. The night opens strong with a new second-slot song, "The Ties That Bind," and "Outlaw Pete" shifted to the three-hole comes across stronger and more dynamic than I imagined. I was floored with the passion of their performance on this one -- feels like an instant classic. The new material (what there is of it) really gets up on its feet live -- though Bruce has now moved his familiar "build a house" rap into "Working on a Dream," and with its evangelistic delivery it sounds a little hollow and misplaced integrated into this song.

The "Seeds"/"Johnny 99"/"Youngstown" arc is unbelievable. The guitar work by Bruce on "Seeds" is incredible, and I was very excited to see the band resurrect that one after so long. Nils' solo on "Youngstown" is just stunning, as expected -- Bruce has to give him more solos during the show.

The signs brought more setlist changes bringing "Prove It" and the great and all-too-rare "E Street Shuffle" (why can't this be played in rotation with "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out?). But the highlight of the night was "Racing in the Street." To hear Roy's piano introduction and realize what the song was brought gasps from the crowd. The piano, drum and guitar blending to a crescendo at the end of the song is clearly a definitive E Street Band moment.

From this point on we were ready for anything, and looking around the arena with the house lights up during "Born to Run" and watching everyone singing and the video screens with the crowd's images was great! From here on it was exhausting in the best way, with "Thunder Road" worked into the encore, and while I think that "Land of Hope and Dreams" and "American Land" is a little redundant (I'd love to hear some classics in this spot), the performance and energy from the E Street Band was top-notch. The crowd consumed "Glory Days," savoring it as you do with the last bites of a great meal. Totally uplifting. At the end Bruce said that the Denver crowd was the best of the tour so far -- well, he and the band repaid in kind.

HOUSTON, TEXAS
Wednesday, April 8

Shine Not-So-Silently

By Michael Pemberton

For me, one of the benefits of seeing multiple shows on a Bruce Springsteen tour is that it gives me the perspective to step back a bit from the spectacle and energy and focus on the individual players. Having seen the show in Austin on Sunday, in Houston I found myself focusing on the differences in the style and approach of Bruce, Little Steven, and Nils Lofgren as guitarists. The Houston show was lighter on flashy guitar work than the Austin show (no "Prove It All Night" or "Because the Night" in Houston), but what these guys did play more than made up for that. Steven's straightforward, melodic, and LOUD leads on "Outlaw Pete" and "Johnny 99." Bruce's intense, athletic solos with that strangled tone and with sweat flying in all directions, his solo on "Seeds" being especially powerful at this show.

The "guitar duel" between Bruce and Steven to end an unrehearsed, ragged-but-right version of "It's So Hard to Be a Saint in the City" really highlighted the differences between them in terms of tone, style, and even facial expressions: Bruce looking like he was lifting weights, Steven with that ever-present mischievous grin.

And then there was Nils Lofgren. There is no way to talk about the guitar work in this show without highlighting Nils. Bruce once called Nils the "most overqualified second guitarist in show business," and he excelled all night in his support role, whether it was the dirty blues introduction to "Seeds," the understated acoustic accompaniment on "The Wrestler," or the sweet steel solo on "Kingdom of Days."

It was during his moment in the spotlight on the electrified "The Ghost of Tom Joad" that Nils really shined, taking two incredible solos that can only be called monumental. Bruce also took a short lead during this song, playing with his back to the audience, before nodding to Nils to take it home. Nils eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas, and off he went on one of his thousand-note runs that take you right up to the peak of the mountain but never quite go over the top. At one point he was strumming with one hand while pumping his other fist in the air, working both the crowd and guitar like a master. Later in the show Bruce introduced Nils as "one of the greatest guitar players in the world," and at least on this night, I didn't hear anyone argue.

TULSA, OKLAHOMA
Tuesday, August 7

Lights on Tonight

By Lowell D. Kern

The lighting at Springsteen concerts has usually been minimalistic. Colors are used to set and reflect the mood of a song; the house lights are up at the start of "Badlands" and throughout "Born to Run." Bruce's silhouette has been projected across the arena during "The Rising," and there was occasionally some mood lighting on the backdrop during the Devils & Dust shows. But, at least to this untrained eye, there was never anything fancy.

The Super Bowl, of course, required something more. I have no idea whose suggestion it was to use the LED lighting panel at the Super Bowl, but it was something fresh, with the potential to be put to great creative effect.

Last night in Tulsa, which was Springsteen and the E Street Band's first Oklahoma concert in more than 30 years (since the 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town tour), I was dead center with a straight-on view, so for the first time, I had the chance to get a good look at the way the LEDs are being used. Consistent with past designs, the LEDs were not overwhelming to the point of distraction. But they brought something new to the party.

The second song in the set was "Outlaw Pete." The LEDs were used to enhance the western feel of the song, as the backdrop was simply a panorama of Saguaro cacti. Nothing over-the-top, just something to add to the setting. For "Working on a Dream," images of sky and clouds, evocative of the album cover, again just set the mood.

The design was more artistic for "Johnny 99," as the backdrop was a stylized series of prison bars. From the beginning of the song, the lighting was the cue to what was going to happen. That was followed by "Seeds," but this time, the display reflected the idea of the song without being explicit. While the protagonist in the song ends up sleeping in his car, the backdrop showed a railroad yard and people camped out in a boxcar, bringing to mind the mid-'90s book Journey to Nowhere, which was one inspiration for The Ghost of Tom Joad album. (I wouldn't be surprised if the picture is actually one from the book, which has some remarkable, albeit depressing, photographs from Michael Williamson. Unfortunately, I'm writing this on my flight home from Tulsa and can't confirm.)

The lighting was more literal for "Sunny Day": a clear blue sky that clouded over on cue with the lyrics, ready to be chased away.

The two uses at the end of the main set brought the crowd into play. On "Lonesome Day," bright white circles mimicking spotlights flashed on as the crowd thrust their hands in the air. And closing the main set with "Born to Run," the LEDs literally reflected the audience, as live crowd shots filled the screen.

During the encore, the light panel added to the party mood. A la the Super Bowl, the title of the song scrolled across in huge letters during "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out." And at the end of "American Land," the familiar comic lettering of "E Street Band" was shown. The final use of the panel was again literal, showing the crowd Dancing in the Dark.

I don't think anyone wants flash pots and smoke machines at Springsteen shows. But this addition to the stage lighting is a welcome update to the presentation of Bruce's music.

AUSTIN, TEXAS
Sunday, April 5

Texas Gunslinger

By Lowell D. Kern

Master showman. Band leader. Songwriter extraordinaire. Those are words that are often associated with Bruce Springsteen. Sunday night in Austin, Bruce reminded the crowd that there is another phrase that should be in the same sentence: guitar hero.

When Springsteen made two songs available for the video game earlier this year, "Prove It All Night" was not one of them ("My Lucky Day" and "Born to Run" made the cut). But if Activision wanted to add another Springsteen download, last night's version of "Prove It" would be the perfect challenge.

Pick whatever rock 'n' roll descriptors you want - wailing, shredding, incendiary, whatever. Bruce totally nailed it.

That was just the start of the amazing guitar work Bruce displayed. He jammed on the solo at the end of "Seeds," the anger in the song coming through his guitar in force. And to show that he was really feeling it last night, Bruce waved off Nils and kept the guitar solo in "Because the Night" for himself. No spins or somersaults, just an amazing guitar player showing his stuff.

Whenever Bruce does step out front, I'm always surprised by the reactions I hear around me. Typically, it's along the lines of, "I didn't know he was so good." I'm not sure why that is, though. Is it because he makes sure Steve and particularly Nils get their moments in the spotlight? Or is it because the stage presence of Bruce Springsteen overshadows everything else?

Maybe it was just being in the music capital of Texas that brought out the best in Bruce. There were some Austin guitar legends in the crowd, and Bruce was simply rising to the challenge.

GLENDALE, ARIZONA
Friday, April 3

The Big Man is Dancing Tonight

By Jeff Morgen

The desert show proved a very strong follow-up to the tour opener, adding "Night," "Working on the Highway," and "The Rising," plus the sign-requested "Downbound Train," "Because the Night," and "Rosalita." Signs, kids under 10, and girls in their summer clothes were out aplenty in Arizona, a locale Bruce has a warm spot for from his days of riding his motorcycle through the desert sands, as he reminded the crowd.

"Because the Night" brought the house down, with Bruce taking on one of his longest-ever solos, perhaps inspired by Nil's blistering strokes on "The Ghost of Tom Joad." "The Rising" was done by request and seemed like a one-off. While performed with its usual red-hot intensity, it seems out of place on what is generally such an uplifting setlist (after all, we're seeing "Happy Bruce" on this tour).

"Working on a Dream" was a triumphant reminder of the human spirit, and connection between the man, the band and his faithful. When he asked for "noise from the crowd" to help him "build his house of hope, love, sexual healing, and faith" the crowd responded tumultuously and kicked the song's closing into a higher gear.

Seemed like some extra love tonight for the Big Man, who added sizzle to "Night" and "Rosie." The encores were blistering, with "Hard Times" and "Land of Home and Dreams," and totally joyful with "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" and "Rosie." And just when you thought it was all over with the usual closer of "American Land," he finished with a triumphant "Dancing in the Dark." After a 2:45 show, fans danced out of the arena to a beautiful star-drenched desert sky. A dreamy night indeed.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
Wednesday, April 1

Runaway American Dream

By Jon Greer

In 30-odd years of going to Springsteen concerts, I've never had the opportunity to go to a tour opener, so it was a thrill to have Bruce open this tour on my home turf. But this was a tour opener like no other.

For starters, as Bruce noted from the stage, this was the quickest turnaround after a prior tour since the early '70s, and on that score, the band was in mid-tour form, only still needing to work out the kinks of staging and presenting some of the new material. But more importantly, while it was the opener of a tour to support his new album, the show itself was not, and apparently could not, be about the themes that drove his new record.

To me, Working on a Dream is a very personal record, reflecting on loss (Danny's death, Terry Magovern's death), aging (approaching 60, starting to empty the nest) and the the celebration of meaningful relationships (20 years in a marriage and relationship with Patti). As an aging married rocker myself (albeit a bit younger than Bruce), these themes resonated strongly with me, and I love the new record. I don't have a problem reconciling Bruce's current music with the times we are living in -- in fact, this record gives me something to think about other than the headlines and the pathetic state of my retirement savings. I would welcome a show featuring cuts like "Life Itself," "This Life," "Kingdom of Days," and "The Last Carnival."

But as a performer who has more or less staked his career on speaking up for those crushed in the wheels of our brutal economic system, Bruce clearly felt that a show based on his new album wasn't the one he was called to perform.

So for the start of this tour Bruce chose largely to sidestep the thrust of "Working on a Dream" and build a show that is a musical response to, and reflection of, these scary economic times. "Badlands" moved from a set closer to a show opener ("lights out tonight, trouble in the heartland") and "Born to Run" moved from the encores to a set closer ("In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream"). While he did play six of the 13 tracks on the new record, the heart of the show was the recession-oriented four-pack of "Seeds," a hard-rockin' "Johnny 99," a scintillating electric "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (featuring two blistering Nils guitar solos) and a downright bleak "Good Eye" from the new record.

Then, Bruce signaled the other major theme he wanted to present -- release -- with the golden oldie, "Good Rockin' Tonight" ("Tonight I'm gonna rock away all my blues"), leading into a "party" trio of "Darlington County," "Growin' Up" (as requested by a couple of sign-wavers -- yup, he's taking sign requests again) and "Waitin' on a Sunny Day."

Even the inclusion of a gorgeous "Kingdom of Days" toward the end of the main set, with Patti coming to center stage to sing side-by-side with Bruce, seemed calculated to fit the "hard times" theme. Like it or not, these are our days, the days when we have to struggle side-by-side with the ones we love and cherish, because we have no other choice.

During different times, it might have been the natural segue into "This Life" and its key line, "We reach for starlight all night long/but gravity's too strong/chained to this earth we go on and on and on." But not this night and not in these times.

ASBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY
Monday, March 23
Tuesday, March 24

Convention Hall Warm-ups: Bruce's Good Luck Charm

By Christopher Phillips

"Some very, very difficult times out there, as you know," Bruce Springsteen told the crowd at his Asbury Park rehearsal shows last week, which served as a sneak peak at the upcoming E Street Band tour and the theme on Bruce's mind. "I wrote a lot of songs in the late '70s and early '80s, when we had a tremendous recession, but we haven't seen anything like this," he said, adding, "I always say our band was built for hard times." So what better time for the E Street Band to be back on the road?

Asbury itself has seen more than its share of hard times, but there's been a notable uptick of businesses on the boardwalk since Bruce and the band's last visit here to their rehearsal site of choice, the tiny seaside Convention Hall, in 2007. Debuting his Working on a Dream show to just a few thousand lucky fans on March 23, Springsteen continued the ten-year-old tradition of opening those Convention Hall doors to fans as tour prep reaches its peak. "It's always our good luck charm," he said, "starting out here, looking out at familiar faces." Bruce and the E Streeters first played this venue on March 18, 1999, warming up for the reunion tour. It was here that Springsteen debuted "My City of Ruins," originally an ode to this perpetually down-on-its-luck town. And while Asbury may be seeing better days, Springsteen's words about our current economic struggles rang as true here as anywhere.

His mission statement was reflected most directly in the encore opener, a hard-hitting reinvention of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More" from more than a century ago. "I Ain't Got No Home," a Woody Guthrie tune Springsteen originally recorded in the '80s, was a perfect pick. He also dug out some choice cuts from his own catalog, with "Johnny 99," "The Ghost of Tom Joad," and the long-lost "Seeds" feeling more vital than ever. Though not exactly rarities in recent years, the pairing of "Night" and "Out in the Street" on the first night was a pointed nod to the "nine-to-five" life that may have seemed like a drag not long ago, but feels more and more like a luxury.

Cuts from the new album came alive, too: "Outlaw Pete" has a chugging momentum that gets the crowd bouncing (and of course "Can you hear me?" is tailor-made for the stage). "Good Eye" is another killer addition to Bruce's bullet mic canon. "My Lucky Day" scratches that hard-driving "My Love Will Not Let You Down" itch. "Working on a Dream," complete with a whistling solo from Clarence (blow, Big Man, blow!), got noticeably better just from night one to night two. "The Wrestler," spotlighting Springsteen on the acoustic with restrained backup from the band, is moving and perfectly performed. The night two performance of a soaring "Kingdom of Days" reveals set-closing potential in this one -- though "Born to Run" (moving out of the encore for the first time since the Hoover administration, I think) as the actual set closer was undeniable. The real prize of the debuted material was "This Life," basking in complex Pet Sounds harmonies.

We're left with five songs from the new album still unperformed, and unlike the Magic tour, the new album doesn't form the heart of the show. At this early stage, Springsteen understandably fell back on a big batch of road-tested crowd-pleasers. "The Promised Land," "Badlands," "No Surrender," "Waitin' on a Sunny Day"... there's a sizeable portion of Springsteen's audience who won't be displeased by that at all. But as someone who went into these shows with mixed feelings about Working on a Dream, I left feeling that the most exciting, life-right-now thing that Bruce could do would be to work the new album and work it hard, to differentiate this tour from the last, and embrace the sounds that called him back into action so quickly in the first place.

Helping create that full sound on stage are a couple of new faces -- well, new to an E Street Band show, anyway. Background singers Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle, from Springsteen's Sessions Band, stand to Charlie Giordano's left (and occasionally make their way to the front of the stage for some all-out vocal throwdowns, notably on "This Life," "Ain't Got No Home," and "Hard Times"), stretching out the onstage roster to 12. Adding their voices to the mix with those of Bruce, Clarence, Patti, Soozie, Nils, and Steve, and you've got richness of a kind we haven't heard before. Remember how three lead guitarists changed the sound in '99? And Soozie's fiddle brought another sonic shift in 2002? If these rehearsals are any indication, and if Springsteen doesn't relegate them to just a few choice numbers, Curtis and Cindy could do much the same.

Another new face was Jay Weinberg, a chip off the Mighty old block, filling in for his dad on a handful of songs in preparation for some all-night substitutions coming later in the tour. He's still working on his repertoire -- "four down, 150 to go!" Bruce laughed -- but there's no doubt the kid's got what it takes. I have a feeling that his fill-in shows just shot to the top of a lot of fans' lists.

Toward the shows' end, Springsteen reminded us that these nights weren't just for the "guinea pigs," not only "a runthrough to see what flies," not just "to get our wheels underneath us" -- they were benefit shows. He ran down a list of local charities and organizations in and around "the fabulous resort city of Asbury Park!" that would be helped by these two hometown concerts. As he named each one there were big cheers for Joan Dancy & PALS, and for The Danny Fund, but the loudest roar came for the Asbury Park Seniors, after Bruce added with a laugh, "That's most of the guys in the band right now!"

Coulda fooled me. For someone like me who's always looking for that new place Bruce wants to take us, the map's still a little hazy, but based on the second night's performance in particular, he and the band are raring to go. You'd think there might be more rust on these guys after seven months off… maybe the intensity of the Super Bowl shook it right off. "We'll see you out on the road!" Springsteen hollered as the rehearsals wrapped -- so grab your ticket and your suitcase, that's just around the corner, with the Wednesday night tour opener in San Jose.

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