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Setlists: 2007 December 19 / London, UK / The O2 Arena Nearly the same setlist as Paris, only with "The River" replaced by two songs back-to-back, "Working on the Highway" and "Racing in the Street." This was only the second "Racing" of the tour, after its debut in Oakland nearly two months ago, and it was an audible, played by request: "You've been following us around for two months with that one sign," Bruce nodded to a guy in the crowd, "So we're gonna get that one for you." The rarity was an especially welcome moment for those who have been seeing these shows night after night, too. Here at this last E Street Band show of the leg and of 2007, Bruce sent them a special shout-out in the encore, "I'd like to thank all the fans that followed us across Europe."
In the encore, Clarence -- introduced tonight as "the next King of England!" -- did a royally good job on "Jungleland." (Last time "Racing" and "Jungleland" were played in the same show was 23 years ago, 12/13/84 in Memphis.) For the 25th and final song, Bruce asked, "Do you believe in Santy Claus?" He encouraged the lobbing of hats onstage, and as the band was haberdashed for the last time this year, a little girl had some special headgear just for Steve: bobblehead Santa earmuffs. Steve hemmed and hawed, but he couldn't say no. Surely a classic photo in the making (anyone?). "Happy holidays from the E Street Band," Bruce called, wrapping up the 2007 Magic tour, and "We'll see you in the summer!" Which brings us to a TICKET ALERT: A second 2008 London show at Emirates Stadium, just announced for May 31, goes on sale tomorrow morning, December 20, at 10 a.m.!
Setlist:
Radio Nowhere No Surrender Night Lonesome Day Gypsy Biker Magic Reason to Believe Because the Night She's the One Livin' in the Future The Promised Land Waitin' on a Sunny Day Working on the Highway Racing in the Street Devil's Arcade The Rising Last to Die Long Walk Home Badlands * * * Girls in Their Summer Clothes Jungleland Born to Run Dancing in the Dark American Land Santa Claus is Comin' to Town Notes: With the setlists all but static here at the end of the European leg, we've first got to acknowledge some frustration among repeat attendees, the Loneliness of the Long-Distance Tour Follower. A "real ballbuster" says one of tonight's show, the penultimate night of the '07 tour, being virtually identical to the last three -- while of course granting it's a great show for anyone who's not catching multiple nights. ("You do it to yourself," as Radiohead says.) Differentiating the Paris set from Belfast was a shake-up of the standard opening trio (adding both "Night" and "No Surrender" in between "Radio Nowhere" and "Lonesome Day") and most remarkably, a killer "Jungleland" in the encore. Clarence was perfect, Bruce sounded great, and "it hasn't sounded that good since '78" was a reasonable reaction. Bruce sent "Jungleland" out "for Leonardo, and for Paris." It wouldn't be Paris without Elliott Murphy, and a couple songs later Bruce's old friend and regular guest was onstage for "Dancing in the Dark." For the closing "Santa Claus" -- "Croyez vous au Pere Noel?" -- enough Santa caps were hurled onstage that Springsteen was able to go around and make sure everyone in the band got one. The Boss himself got a custom model -- when Kevin Buell came out with the guitar for the song, he also brought the red cowboy hat from Belfast, which Bruce clearly took a shine to. And with the entire band decked out, tonight demonstrated what we've said before: no one wears a Santa hat like Bruce. Not even Steve, though the headscarf/hat combo is a unique touch. "Joyeux Noel from the E Street Band!" Radio Nowhere No Surrender Night Lonesome Day Gypsy Biker Magic Reason to Believe Because the Night She's the One Livin' in the Future The Promised Land Waitin' on a Sunny Day The River Devil's Arcade The Rising Last to Die Long Walk Home Badlands * * * Girls in Their Summer Clothes Jungleland Born to Run Dancing in the Dark (w/ Elliott Murphy) American Land Santa Claus is Comin' to Town December 15 / Belfast, IRE / Odyssey Arena
Setlist: Notes: A smoking show, both literally and figuratively -- the Koln Arena must be one of the last such venues where lighting up is still permitted, and when the lights came up they revealed quite a cloud overhead. A surprisingly simlar set to the previous night, considering it's just a couple hours' drive. But the enthisiastic Cologne crowd, on their feet all night, set this one apart -- and who can complain about "Because the Night" two nights in a row? "The Promised Land" had that newly added "People Get Ready" gospel coda again, too. "Kitty's Back" was absolutely smoking, particularly Roy's solo -- a killer, jazzy improvisation, which Bruce echoed as he followed it with an extended solo of his own. The end of "American Land" brought a patented James Brown routine, as Bruce fell over backward, "exhausted," still on the floor as the band went into a bonus "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town." Nils and Steven helped him up to sing, and a special guest joined in, too. "Wolfgang, do you believe in Santa Claus?" Bruce cried to Wolfgang Niedecken -- like Joe Grushecky in Pittsburgh, you can pretty much bank on Niedecken joining in when Bruce comes to Deutschland. The German rocker didn't really seem to know the song, rarely stepping to the mic, but all eyes were on Bruce anyway, especially once he put that Santa hat on. How does he manage to make that thing look good? Tilting it at a rakish angle, twirling the pom-pom around like a helicopter... no one wears a Santa hat like Bruce. Hey, the guy's a professional. Setlist: December 12 / Antwerp, BEL / Sports Paleis Springsteen spoke Flemish and French, both official languages of Belgium. "The Promised Land," which has had a gospel-style outro on this leg, tonight went into a full-blown "People Get Ready" coda, with Soozie, Nils, Steve, and Clarence all joining in on vocals. The Big Man, or "Mr. Soul Santa Claus," as Bruce called him, added some particularly hearty ho-ho-hos to "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" -- said the Boss, "Don't tire yourself out, Santa!" Setlist: December 10 / Stockholm, SWE / Globe Arena "The River" came out for the second show in a row -- as in Copenhagen, this was a tight, album-style version of the song, as opposed to the drawn-out version of tours previous. It's a spare rendition, too, with no electric guitar: Bruce on just harp and vocals, Steve on acoustic, and Nils on pedal steel. Oh -- and plus the vocal stylings of about 15,000 fans.
Setlist: December 8 / Copenhagen, DEN / Forum Copenhagen Setlist: Notes: "Cadillac Ranch," not played since October, was an audible, played by request in place of the setlisted "Backstreets." Also in the set were "Jackson Cage" and "Tunnel of Love" (with Soozie still filling in for Patti). And Norwegians had "Santa Claus" to keep them warm, as some went straight from the show to queue up for tickets to next year's Oslo show, on sale in the morning. Setlist:  Notes: After Friday's postponement, Springsteen made it through back-to-back shows -- Saturday's make-up show in Arnhem and tonight in Mannheim -- with hardly a sniffle. "Bruce was amazing as always, despite getting over a bad cold," Daniele Clark tells us. "Full of energy as usual," another showgoer says, "one hell of an E Street blast." The European setlists have remained relatively static so far, without the tour premieres that marked so many of the U.S. shows; maybe that's to give Charlie Giordano a chance to get up to speed, or to present a set to Europe that worked so well in the states, or maybe both. But it's worth noting that on these two nights Bruce has moved the "Darlington"/"Working on the Highway" slot to just after the nightly "Promised Land," a shift that makes for a less jarring transisition into "Devil's Arcade" a few songs later. Good to see him keep tinkering. With Patti Scialfa still absent from the European leg, Bruce dedicated "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" to the "Maedchens of Deutschland and two girls from Jersey!" And for the next song, "Santa Claus" -- the one new addition on this leg so far, premiering the night before in the Netherlands -- came to Deutschland, too.-Photograph by Riku Olkkonen Setlist: Notes: The Netherlands concert was postponed to give Bruce a little extra time to recover from a severe cold. Just a 24-hour delay, but that made this a December show instead of a November show -- so all of a sudden, it's holiday time! In fact, the Dutch holiday of Saint Nicholas' Eve is mere days away. "Someone told me... is it Sinterklaas?" Bruce asked, "Sinterklaas? December 5? Okay, in honor of the Netherlands...." And with that, out came the first "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" of the year. Setlist: Notes: A fantastico setlist for the Italians, with the first "Adam Raised a Cain" since Oakland, "Incident on 57th Street" following "I'll Work For Your Love," and a handful of audibles shaking up the plan. Bruce decides to forego "Working"/"Darlington" altogether, having "Incident" go right into "The E Street Shuffle" instead. In the encore, "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" replaces the setlisted "Growin' Up," and "Thunder Road" is played in place of "Kitty's Back." And then there was the crowd:
Setlist: Notes: Madrid and Bilbao may be 400 kilometers are apart, but Bruce still gave these two Spanish cities the Night A/Night B treatment, in terms of setlists. For this second night of the European leg, Bilbao got six songs not played the night before. In the main set, "Night," "Jackson Cage," "Backstreets" ("Incident" was an alternate on the setlist), and "Darlington County." In the six-song encore, "Tenth Avene Freeze-out" made its second tour appearance, after its debut on the final night in Boston; it went right into "Kitty's Back" ("Born to Run" was not between them, as originally reported). Our friend Salvador Trepat from Point Blank tells us: "This was the best show I've seen since 1981. Period. Think of Philly #2 this year, and double it. Unreal energy, performance, and atmosphere. Bruce was on fire. Forget Barcelona 2002, which was great -- this was perfection from beginning to end, with some of those moments that we wait for. "Tenth" into "Kitty's" (which they absolutely nailed) was one of them. I'm sure no tape or video will be able to capture that, you had to be there. 100% agreement among fans when leaving the place. Everyone was in absolute ecstasy." I think he liked it! Setlist: November 25 / Madrid, ESP / Palacio De Deportes Radio Nowhere No Surrender Lonesome Day Gypsy Biker Magic Reason to Believe Darkness on the Edge of Town Candy's Room She's the One Livin' in the Future The Promised Land I'll Work For Your Love Tunnel of Love Working on the Highway Devil's Arcade The Rising Last to Die Long Walk Home Badlands * * * Girls in Their Summer Clothes Thunder Road Born to Run Dancing in the Dark American Land November 19 / Boston, MA / TD Banknorth Garden
And what else do you do? If you're Nils, you spend as much time as you can up on the organ riser, playing shoulder-to-shoulder. If you're Bruce, you head over to Danny during the bows at show's end and throw your arm around him, with a look on your face that says "godammit, I know we said we weren't going to talk about this tonight, but you can't stop me from doing this," and you bring him to the center of the pack, and he takes a bow of his own. And if you're the crowd, you chant "Danny! Danny! Danny!" It was as spontaneous as the "E Street Band" chant at Madison Square Garden on July 1, 2000 -- with fewer dry eyes, I imagine, both onstage and off. Setlist: Notes: The first night in Boston, "Home of the World Champion..." Bruce began, putting on a dejected face as the crowd went nuts for the Sox, "ah, you know the rest." That was his only sullen moment of the night -- it was a high-energy show start to finish, with a typically great Beantown crowd to match. "She's the One" was especially intense, Bruce channeling his energy at the end into a high toss of his guitar to tech Kevin -- right over Garry's head. Good thing Kevin's got hands, and good thing Garry's not a couple inches taller. A special moment came a few songs later, before "I'll Work For Your Love": "I'm kind of like a captain of a ship," said Bruce, "We've got a little proposal going on!" At the front of the pit was a guy with a sign that read "We met 15 years ago, I'm proposing tonight!" The lucky lady was held aloft during the song as Bruce blessed their union. "Alright, kids, remember... you gotta work, work!" (And to stress that point, he went into "Tunnel of Love" next.) He also added, "Next time try a candlelight dinner, bottle of wine, the usual." Clarence was spot-on all night, especially on... wait for it... yep, "Jungleland," in the encore. The Big Man nailed his spotlight moment. The only real curveball in the set, "Jungleland" went out to Bruce's friend Bob Coles, as well as a whole host of "mamas" in the crowd, including Max's mom and George Travis's too, who's 93! Also in the house, hometown fave -- and frequent Springsteen guest, though not tonight -- Peter Wolf. Maybe tomorrow? Setlist:  Notes: A stunner of a setlist, and a start-to-finish smoking performance to match. First of all, the "Reason to Believe"/"She's the One" sandwich was a double-decker, with both "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "Candy's Room" in the middle -- cool on paper, and incredibly powerful in performance. But it wasn't the jaw-dropper of the set. For that, we direct your attention forward a few songs, to what Bruce called a "double shot from Wild & Innocent!" It was a passionate "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" into "The E Street Shuffle," both rarities in their own right, and back-to-back like this we're talking hen's teeth. This was a crowd that appreciated what they were getting, too. For "Sandy," it was spotlight on Danny Federici, literally -- Phantom Dan was bathed in light as he stepped out from behind the organ for some beautiful accordion playing. The last E Street Band performance of "Sandy" was at Giants Stadium in 2003, but for "E Street Shuffle," you've got to go back to the end of the reunion tour, July 1, 2000.
Setlist: November 14 / Pittsburgh, PA / Mellon Arena
Setlist: November 12 / Washington DC / Verizon Center And it's not as if related themes are ever lacking in the Magic show. "Gypsy Biker" was a hot one, "Devil's Arcade" was sent out "for Veterans Day," and before "Last to Die," Springsteen hollered "This is for John!" Surely that was John Kerry, the source of the song's title, who was indeed in the house. Before "Livin' in the Future," Bruce sang the praises of Washington DC, in his own way: "It's always an inspiring place to come to see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial... it brings you back to the things the country was founded on. There's also something about the city that reminds me of the handle on the screwdriver." Song highlights included two from The River: "The Ties That Bind" and the second tour performance of "Jackson Cage." They owned "Jackson Cage" -- with Garry Tallent the majority shareholder -- and the transition from there to a high-energy "She's the One" was flawless. "Thunder Road" took the encore wild card slot, and "American Land" was particularly rousing tonight -- hell, Garry was doing a jig! -- both a celebratory and a clear-eyed look at the American Way here in our nation's capitol. And with the lyrics on the screen, even the lobbyists were singing along. Except for maybe that one line toward the end. Setlist: November 11 / Washington DC / Verizon Center
Setlist: November 9 / New York, NY / Chelsea Piers Setlist: November 7 / New York, NY / Town Hall Setlist:
November 5 / Auburn Hills, MI / The Palace Setlist: November 4 / Cleveland, OH / Quicken Loans Arena Setlist: November 2 / St. Paul, MN / Xcel Energy Center
Setlist:
October 30 / Los Angeles, CA / Sports Arena Setlist:  Notes: The wildfires may not have reached the L.A. Sports Arena, but the heat sure did. On the figurative side, it was a powerful performance that had the usual staid, laid-back L.A. crowd on their feet and putting their cell phones away. "I love the Sports Arena!" hollered Bruce, and though the venue has seen better days, returning to the E Street Band's old '80s haunt rather than the cavernous newfangled Staples Center surely had something to do with the energy -- "very old school!" as he put it. On the literal side, also very old school, it was hot. As in fainting hot. Springsteen brought water to the pit from his own supply, and soon water bottles were being distributed, but a couple folks still went down. "We only lost one, right?" Bruce asked toward the end of the show. "Oh, we lost two?..."
Setlist: Notes: This was originally the only Bay Area show on the schedule, so it's been long-sold out, and the energy in the place was high -- even before the show started, with spontaneous cheers arising before the lights went down. As one fan puts it, "Church was back in session tonight... another great show, but this time with the appropriate feedback from the crowd!" Six songs not played the night before, including "Tunnel of Love" and the debut of "Working on the Highway," both of which were setlisted but not played on night one; plus as the tour premieres of "Two Hearts" (complete with the "It Takes Two" outro) and "Racing in the Street." "Working" was a whole lot of fun, feeling fresh and recalling more its closing slot on the '92/93 tour than its place as a semi-disappointing post-"Tenth" wildcard on the reunion tour. It's good to see Bruce remember that he's got other songs in the canon that can do the job of "Darlington" (and of course this is still just the top of the iceberg). "Racing in the Street" brought the energy level down a bit -- "I've seen 'Racing' build at the end to have crowd coming to its feet," says another fan, "but it didn't do that tonight" -- but it was still absolutely gorgeous.
Setlist: October 25 / Oakland, CA / Oracle Arena Of course, Bruce having to work hard to get the crowd into it ain't always a bad thing. "Adam Raised a Cain" absolutely killed, with a screaming lead from Bruce, and he eventually got everyone singing along on "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" in the encore. "Your Own Worst Enemy" came out for just the third time, and it was the only moment when the band, rather than the crowd, seemed tentative; Bruce turned up the bandleader juice, though, and it picked up as it went along. "Thunder Road" in the encore again came across as rejuvenated, a song Springsteen wants to play. And the crowd lapped up older material like this -- when he came to the edge of the stage with that old battered Esquire, letting the front row bang away at it to "make it talk," you could throw any thoughts about the crowd being reserved out the window.  Setlist:Radio Nowhere The Ties That Bind Lonesome Day Gypsy Biker Magic Reason to Believe Adam Raised a Cain She's the One Livin' in the Future The Promised Land Town Called Heartbreak Backstreets Your Own Worst Enemy Devil's Arcade The Rising Last to Die Long Walk Home Badlands * * * Girls in Their Summer Clothes Thunder Road Born to Run Dancing in the Dark American Land October 22 / Chicago, IL / United Center Clearly about to play "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," Springsteen called quite an audible to lead off the encore instead. The change of heart came from seeing some kids right up front in the pit: "There are a lot of young folks up here tonight," he said, switching guitars and calling out (an un-soundchecked) "Thunder Road" to the band. "Last time we played this was five years ago... but we played it for 35 years before that, so maybe it'll balance out." It did -- well-rested, with Bruce clearly wanting to play it rather than feeling obligated, it was the best "Thunder Road" in recent memory. The crowd lapped it up. No Double Thunder, though -- Bruce dropped "Thundercrack" from its usual slot, keeping the encore to just four songs. A very different experience from the second night in Philadelphia -- while Philly 2 was all about intensity, tonight in Chicago was very fun and loose -- but they're evenly matched as the best of the tour so far. Setlist:  Notes: Heading into tonight's show, the first of two in Chi-town, a friend of mine (who can't make it for show #2) was concerned about "First Night Syndrome" -- in which the first of a two-night stand gets a straight "model A" setlist, with all the rarities saved for night two. No worries this time. Who knows, Bruce may go completely off the map tomorrow, but Chicago 1 got a nice batch of wild cards. "No Surrender" had only its third tour airing, "Adam Raised a Cain" was the meat in that always-tasty "Reason"/"She's the One" sandwich, and check out the post-"Promised Land" three-pack: "Your Own Worst Enemy" (played tonight for the second time ever), "Backstreets," and "Cadillac Ranch."
Patti was absent tonight, and Bruce dedicated "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" to her: "Patti sends her regards... it's a kid thing, that's all I can tell ya!" The band's other redhead, Soozie Tyrell, came downstage from behind the piano to take Patti's spot, even dueting with Bruce on "Magic."
Setlist:  Notes: Night two at the Garden, with six songs not played last night, including the tour premieres of "Meeting Across the River" and "Jungleland" (played back-to-back, natch). Springsteen introduced the pair with a dedication to the late Peter Boyle: "An old friend passed away a while back -- we met him when we first came to New York City... Today would have been his birthday." "Meeting" featured just Bruce, Roy on piano, and Garry on stand-up bass. A trainspotting note: the "two grand" practically sitting in the singer's pocket is now "three grand" -- chalk it up to inflation. On "Jungleland," Clarence did himself very proud with the sax solo, and his Boss was smiling ear-to-ear. Other rarities in the set were "Tougher Than the Rest" and "You Can Look." While Bruce always wants the asses out of the seats, tonight he was noticeably working hard to make sure everyone in the crowd was into it. He was particularly into it himself on that ever-intense three-pack from "Reason to Believe" through "She's the One," this time with "Candy's Room" between. Banter included hawking of new wares -- "We've got a new line of E Street Band sexual toys. What we use in the comfort of our own home, you can use in the comfort of your own home" (strangely, the merch tables seemed to be sold out after the show) -- as well as more playing on the rivalry between New York and New Jersey. Not forgetting where he was, though, he came out for the encore after a rare costume change, wearing a black "New York City" T-shirt. Notable guests in the crowd included Howard Stern and his staff, Bette Midler, and Caroline Kennedy. Notable guests onstage were five members of the Sessions Band, joining old bandmates Soozie, Patti, Bruce and the rest for the show-closing "American Land": Lisa Lowell on vocals, Jeremy Chatzky on bass, Larry Eagle on percussion, Charlie Giordano at Roy's piano (whlle the Professor played accordion), and Greg Liszt on banjo.Photograph by Ruth Barohn Setlist:  October 17 / New York, NY / Madison Square Garden
Setlist: Notes: For the back half of their two-show jaunt to Canada, Bruce pulled out more of a standard set. No Arcade Fire repeat performance; that was a one-off for Ottawa only. But the nightly tour debuts continue -- tonight's was a brisk "For You" -- demonstrating how remarkably on their mettle the band is for this early in the tour. Another golden oldie, "Incident on 57th Street" was dedicated to Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV Canada and a longtime Bruce fan, who personally guaranteed his customers that they'd love Magic or get their money back. This was Kadaner's 87th Springsteen concert. The crowd at this sold-out show (there were a couple thousand empty seats in Ottawa -- keep kicking yourselves, A.F. fans!) ate it all up. They clearly knew the new material, and while the more obscure "Thundercrack" didn't seem to ring bells for many, it wound up being very well received. It didn't hurt that the band absolutely nailed it. No one was complaining nine nights ago in Philly, but since then the confidence, the pacing, the tightness, have all dramatically improved. Also during that time, "Dancing in the Dark" (with the house lights staying up, following "Born to Run") has found a consistent home as the night's penultimate song, replacing "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" for a much stronger encore. This is a show, and a band, that's ready to take Manhattan. Setlist:  October 14 / Ottawa, ON / Scotiabank Place Setlist:
October 13 / Rumson, NJ / "Kick Up Your Paws" SPCA Fundraiser Setlist: October 10 / E. Rutherford, NJ / Continental Airlines Arena Setlist:  Notes: Well, Saturday night in Philly would have been hard to top no matter what happened at this show. Not that Bruce and the E Streeters didn't try -- the story the setlist doesn't tell is that they were on fire tonight. Can't say the same of the Jersey crowd, though. "Take 'Reason to Believe,'" says one guy who saw both shows. "In Philly, everyone was singing along. Tonight, they were sitting on their asses." Later in the show Bruce needled his fellow New Jerseyans, "Philly was much louder than this!" An old showbiz trick, of course, and the audience went nuts in response... but you got the sense Bruce wasn't really joking. Some technical difficulties, seemingly with Roy's electric piano, prompted some setlist switch-ups, right in that middle section where Springsteen still seems to be struggling with what to do. An audibled "Darkness" subbed in for "Town Called Heartbreak," and (speaking of heartbreak) the setlisted "Incident"/"Backstreets" and "You Can Look" slots were filled by "Brilliant Disguise" and "Darlington County." "Darlington" did at least bring some signs of life from the Jersey crowd. And overall, despite those few obstacles, this was a very strong performance -- very high energy from the band, the guitar solos in "Gypsy Biker" continue to astound, Bruce even worked some of his "Boogaloo" dance moves into "Dancing in the Dark," having a laugh on himself.Photograph: A.M. Saddler Setlist: Notes: Only three shows into the tour, and Bruce and the band have found that next level. Chalk it up to the locale, to it being the second show of a stand, to their determination to rise up to a challenge, whatever -- Philly 2 was an electric show. That was signified right out of the the gate with "Night," a real shot in the arm as the opener, bumping "Radio Nowhere" to the second slot for the first time. In all there were seven songs not played the previous night, most of which served to elevate this very high-energy show.
Setlist: October 5 / Philadelphia, PA / Wachovia Center |
Before a lovely "The River," Springsteen mentioned that his brother-in-law was in the crowd, the "inspiration" for the song (along with Bruce's sister, of course). And just in case anyone needed the dots connected between "The River" and "I'll Work for Your Love," a wedding party was also in the house, apparently having come straight from the nuptials. When Bruce called out "Are there any lovers here tonight?" as usual, he was quickly directed to them -- the bride still in her gown, the groom still in his tuxedo. "Did you get married today?" Bruce asked, and dedicated the song to them. Performance high points were the "Reason to Believe"/"Because the Night"/"She's the One" trifecta, "Kitty's Back," and "Santa Claus," which featured some impressive headgear. Someone threw onstage a red felt cowboy hat with white fur trim and a white band that read "Merry Christmas." And once again, Bruce managed to make it look good.
Notes: While everyone had a great show tonight, and Steve was very into it, clowning around even more than usual, there was no denying this was the Big Man's night. With "She's the One," the crowd began bowing "we're not worthy!"-style during Clarence's solo, and they kept it up for his turn in "Working on the Highway" and onward. By "Dancing in the Dark," Bruce and Steve were doing it too! "Dancing" also featured Clarence's son Christopher on acoustic, and during the band intros Bruce proclaimed Clarence "The Godfather of Swedish Soul!"
Yes, a tremendous Swedish audience as we've come to expect, with great energy -- everyone into the show, singing along in all the right places. And not in the wrong ones -- when Bruce went to shush the crowd as usual before "Reason to Believe," they went pin-drop silent before he even finished his request. And you better believe Bruce took notice, saying in the encore, "It's an incredible audience out there tonight," and granting an enormous banner's request of "Jungleland," dedicating it to the crowd. "Jungeland" was played in place of the setlisted "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"... but a few songs later, Bruce decided to keep the show going after "American Land" for the first time, adding "Santa" to cap the show as a bonus track (the way it should be, we think), with a merry "God jul from the E Street Band!"
Notes: The Danes were an energetic crowd, and the venue setup didn't hurt the vibe -- the smallest of this European leg, holding only 10,000, and dominated by a large floor with very few seats at all. Introducing "Livin' in the Future," Bruce said that the band had decided that Europeans should be allowed to vote in the next U.S. election, "Because it's everybody's ass!" "Darkness" got a big response, but not compared to the elation in the crowd at the tour premiere of "The River." Rob Smith tells us: "I've never heard a wilder response to a Springsteen song. It seemed like everyone in the whole joint was belting out every word from start to finish." That went right into "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out," the song's first main-set appearance on this tour, which sustained the peak. No visit from "Santa Claus" tonight, despite its place on the handwritten setlist and a Santa hat thrown onstage -- instead, Bruce called an audible after "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," ripping right into "Kitty's Back." Which was far from coal in the stocking.
Notes: Early arrivals to the European opener in Madrid caught Charlie Giordano practicing before the show, getting ready for his E Street Band debut. Despite that pre-show entertainment, it was a restless crowd that had to wait until 9:50 for the concert to start -- they kept themselves occupied by doing the wave and chanting "Bruce! Bruce! Bruce!" Springsteen himself appeared to be suffering from a cold, but he fed off the energy of the wild audience, which sang and shouted along from the beginning. Ross Miller describes the scene: "There were 200 pit bands issued, but no lottery; instead, just the mad dash of old, and a check for wristbands at the pit gate. By the mid-point of the show there must have been 600 crazies in there. As is typical for Spain and Italy, far more respect, sobriety, sense of community and love than on Bruce's U.S. home turf, reminiscent of the passion that used to be a part of the pre-1984 North American fan behavior. Exactly why Europe is the essential Bruce experience." "Darkness" was a standout, and "Thunder Road" was played by request -- a request that was echoed by 20,000 people calling for it, too. "Okay, okay, we got it!" said Bruce. A strong showing from Clarence, and Dan Federici wasn't the only bandmember missing -- Patti Scialfa was absent, too. Surprisingly, they kept "Tunnel of Love" in the set anyway, with Soozie Tyrell stepping up. And as for Giordano, Miller tells us, "There were points where he was clearly in awe. To paraphrase the old Oldsmobile ad: this isn't your father's Seeger Sessions show."
Federici's "Kitty" solo, at Bruce's urging, went on and on. "Sandy," too, was a spotlight moment, with Danny strapping on the accordion; bringing him front and center, Bruce called out, "Ladies and Gentlemen, winner of the Ted Mack Amateur Hour!" Tossed-off ad lib that it was, that remains a significant moment to me as I think back on the show today. It was a night of good humor. It was a night of musicianship, of history, of shared history, and of the joy of making music together in the present moment. It wasn't a maudlin night. There was no overt reference to any leave of absence, certainly no mention of any health issues. What do you do in the face of those things instead? You get up there and play. And they played their hearts out. "Darkness" was ablaze. The whacked-out funk coda of "E Street Shuffle" was a killer, with Max going nuts on the drums. "The Rising" was more determined than I've heard it since '03. "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" was a blast, and wicked tight, even with a way-loose Peter Wolf up there shakin' it with Patti. 
In the encore, Springsteen dedicated "Thunder Road" to Matty Delia, "one of my best friends in the whole world," on his 53rd birthday. And after the spirited crowd held their own, singing out the beginning of the song up to "that's alright with me," Bruce stepped back to the mic and said, "Me too!" No Patti tonight, but we hear she'll be back for Boston.
Notes: "Patti's not here tonight," Springsteen told the Pittsburgh crowd after "The Promised Land," "but we've got a special guest: Joe Grushecky, the man who singlehandedly brought sexy back to Pittsburgh." You mean that wasn't Justin Timberlake? Yes, a couple weeks after Light of Day 8 came and went without the traditional Springsteen appearance, the two singer/songwriters reunited in Grushecky's hometown for a song they wrote together, the tour premiere of "Code of Silence." It was a little rough -- Bruce's recording of the song is on Essential, Joe's is on his own A Good Life (with Bruce guesting), and tonight's sounded at times like the two crashed into each other -- but it was good to get, and you can be sure the crowd appreciated seeing their favorite son up there. 
"Backstreets" was played by request, an audible in place of "I'll Work For Your Love." And another impromptu Steeltown special kicked off the encore: Springsteen was strumming the chords to "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" as usual, when he got an idea: "Let's do something we haven't done." There was a change of guitars and a quick conference with the band, essentially letting them know he'd be going it alone. "We haven't done a lot of acoustic stuff on this tour," he told the crowd, going into a solo reading of "Youngstown" -- cheers at "Monogahela Valley," of course, and kudos to the lighting guys for thinking fast and bringing up the red light for this one. Five more songs followed, including a "Kitty's Back" that just keeps getting better (if that's possible), and closing the show, those listening carefully heard Springsteen welcoming the Grusheckys to these shores in "American Land."
Notes: While tour premieres were initially on our minds for this Veterans Day show, what seemed to be on Bruce's mind were the guys in wheelchairs sitting beside the stage -- which quickly put everything in perspective. Before the show, Bruce, Patti, and Evan Springsteen spent the afternoon visiting wounded soldiers at 
Notes: "So glad to be in your wicked -- I mean, your beautiful city tonight!" Bruce said at this first of two shows in our nation's capital. He also took note of the setting before "Magic," after talking about living in an age where lies can be twisted into truth and vice versa: "Hey, this is where it happens! This is the City of Magic!" Not only location but also the occasion was clearly on Bruce's mind tonight, with a resonant "No Surrender," "The Promised Land" going out to the good people from the Bethesda Naval Hospital, and a particularly strong "Devil's Arcade" dedicated to "my good friend Bobby Muller, and for Veteran's Day." (
Things really got cooking in the encore, which stretched out to six songs with a knock-out double-shot of early material: the tour premiere of "Growin' Up," into an incredible "Kitty's Back." Cousin Frank from the Sessions Band joined in on acoustic guitar and vocals for the show-closing "American Land." Hope they could hear that one on the Hill...
Notes: The fifth annual 
Notes: Finally, one of the M.I.A. Magic songs joined the party, as "I'll Work For Your Love" debuted in Detroit, paired nicely with "Tunnel of Love." Earlier in the day at the Palace, Springsteen and the band also soundchecked "You'll Be Comin' Down," so maybe that holdout will soon get its due as well. "Jackson Cage," last played in August 2003 (Pittsburgh), also had its Magic premiere, setlisted to be the second song but Bruce switched it to the post-"Reason" slot. A third new addition to the set was a total audible, not played since September 2003 (Hartford) or even soundchecked, and we owe it to a six-year-old named Noah who was very into the show. "This kid's been rockin' all night!" Bruce said, showing the crowd his sign, (which even gets points for politeness), and obliged with a rockin' "Ramrod." That took the place of "Kitty's Back" on the set, but we haven't heard anyone complain. Certainly not Noah, who was given quite a few tangible souvenirs from the band as well. Here's lookin' at you, kid. Elder folks in the crowd were Martha Reeves, Dave Marsh with his mom, and our pal Gary Graff, whose Detroit review is 
Notes: A knockout performance for Cleveland, with a setlist to match. Every E Street album was represented in the show tonight with the exception of The River -- and if you count River-era B-side "Be True," which had its tour premiere, it was a sweep. Representing Greetings was another tour debut, "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City." Paired with "She's the One," it was just massive. "Tunnel" represented Tunnel, and from The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle in the encore, it was another stunning "Kitty's Back." All that, and they still had room for "woman power," as Bruce put it, with Patti spotlighted on "Town Called Heartbreak" as she returned to the fold after her absence in St. Paul. Oh, and speaking of woman power, Bruce referenced the Lynn Goldsmith photography exhibit down the road at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: "I hope they don't have pictures of me with my pants down!" In the crowd: The Raspberries' Eric Carmen, and retired longtime Plain Dealer rock critic (and huge Springsteen fan) Jane Scott.
Notes: A fun, high-energy show for a great crowd in the Twin Cities, which went nuts when necessary and quiet when called for (and it was called for, Bruce shushing the crowd a few times for the "Reason to Believe" harp intro). A bunch of teenagers were right up front, and Springsteen seemed to be having a great time playing to them. Basically, it was a classic example of what Bruce means when he talks about the crowd and performer being "in concert": He was into the crowd, they were into him, and they just fed off each other. Setlist-wise, nothing to raise eyebrows, no tour premieres... but "Incident on 57th Street" was an amazing performance, they played the pants off it. Garry Tallent in particular was a wonder to behold as the song's solid bedrock. Going from "Incident" into the all-out goofiness of "Working on the Highway" was the epitome of "from the sublime to the ridiculous"... but it worked. Garry even stepped up for backing vocals on "Highway" -- go Funky! 
Other notables: "Gypsy Biker" was an early stand-out, as was "Reason." No Patti tonight, so Soozie once again took over the "Magic" duet. And "Thunder Road" still has life in it yet, played by "special request" -- with Bruce wielding the Fender Esquire from there into "Born to Run." Kudos to management and security at the Xcel Center for a phenomenal job with the GA process; expecially considering there were 1,135 fans wristbanded for the lottery, the entry was organized, orderly, safe and smooth. That certainly didn't hurt the vibe in the arena. "Thank you, Twin Cities. You've been a fantastic audience," Bruce said at the close of the show, and he offered a benediction: "Long live happiness!" And as the lights came up and fans read what was on the screens, there was one more thing to be happy about: "Bruce returns March 16. Tickets on sale November 10 at 10 a.m."
Notes: A spooooky beginning to this All Hallow's Eve Eve show, with cauldrons and jack o'lanterns on the stage, a touch of smoke... Gotta love Bruce's sense of history, not to mention sense of fun, as 27 years since his first of two Halloween shows at this very venue (10/31/80, 10/31//84), he once again came on stage in a coffin. A half-dozen crew members dressed as zombies served as pallbearers, Bruce's hand rose up to take his guitar, the coffin tipped forward and off we went into "Radio Nowhere." Cool, cool, cool. [Watch the video clip at 
"Gypsy Biker," with its screaming guitars, was awe-inspiring, and "Reason to Believe" took the set to another level -- followed by "Candy's Room" and "She's the One," and the place was jumping, no one in their seats. There was a great reaction to new material from Magic as well, which Bruce referred to as "our smash hit album." There were screams for "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," as Bruce sent it out to "all the California Girls!" A terrific story preceded "Thundercrack." Bruce talked about the band's first visit to L.A., for the 1973 Ahmanson Theater CBS showcase -- notable because it was the first time any member of the E Street Band had ever been on an airplane. He introduced the song as "our big showstopper back then," adding that by the time they'd played it the show had pretty much stopped (to visible laughter from Clarence and Danny). He didn't play "Haunted House" with a mention of his 
Notes: The first Magic show on the West Coast, and a solid one for the Bay Area, though there was the typical drop in audience effusiveness. Not an indifferent or disrespectful crowd, just to be clear -- fewer people seemed to be taking bathroom breaks or looking for excuses to sit than elsewhere -- just less demonstrative. A thunderous performance of "Backstreets" was met with relatively little reaction, and there seemed to be less audience familiarity with the new material. 
Introducing "Thundercrack" as his original showstopper, Bruce said that the song "goes all the way back to the Quiet Knight days." The Quiet Knight was a Chicago club that no longer exists -- Springsteen played a 
Notes: A solid, fun show for night one at the Garden. Springsteen wasn't in man-on-a-mission mode, he just seemed to be enjoying himself thoroughly. Not to suggest there wasn't plenty of power on that stage: "Backstreets" kicked ass, and the "Reason"/"Adam"/"She's the One" trifecta is hard to deny. But there was just more of the relaxed feel that comes with this kind of "friends and family" show. Spotted in the crowd: James Gandolfini, The Killers, and Bono (who was rumored for a guest spot, but didn't leave his seat all night). 
At the end of "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" Bruce dropped a Beach Boys reference (besides the song itself), saying, "I wish they all could be New York City girls...." And he cast his mind back to his early days in the city for "Thundercrack": "This was our show closer when we first played Max's Kansas City. It was us and the Wailers -- that was a good bill." I'll say. During "Dancing in the Dark," Bruce hollered, "C'mon, Stevie -- let's dance!" And Steve didn't disappoint, going right into the Monkey. It was that kind of night.
"Town Called Heartbreak" was suddenly transformed, with a full-band treatment and a particularly happening organ intro. That song went right into a true Philly special, "Incident on 57th Street" -- which they nailed. Odds would have seemed against such a thing this early in a tour.... but hey, it's Magic. (And "incidentally," that'll teach anyone who decided to hit the bathroom during the Patti song.) Next up was the wildest one of the night, a completely spontaneous "Cadillac Ranch." A true audible, Bruce impulsively called for solos left and right, catching Steve in particular off guard, and pushing Soozie to center stage to countrify the song a bit. In the encore, "Dancing in the Dark" was also ramshackle but right, working really, really well as a replacement for "Sunny Day." 
For all our talk about rehearsals honing the new songs, chops, transitions, pacing, yadda yadda yadda... all those things have to be there, sure, that's the foundation (and you don't think "Incident" sounds that good without practice, right?), but this one demonstrated that what really makes for a powerful show is spontaneity, energy, and a venture or two off the map. Keep keepin' 'em on their toes, Bruce. If Friday was a bit wobbly, they fixed all those wheels for tonight, clearly the best Magic show yet.