Bruce Springsteen

What a perfect way to end a career at the Spectrum as last night’s Spectrum finale rocked the house for nearly three hours.  This was undoubtedly the top show of the 2009 tour, and one of the most exciting since the 1999 E Street Band reunion.  Of course, it can’t hurt to get one last visit from “Kitty” before saying goodbye to the Spectrum!  Here is the full setlist with tour premieres are in bold:

Badlands
The Ties That Bind
Outlaw Pete
Spirit in the Night
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Youngstown
Raise Your Hand
London Calling
Red Headed Woman
Thundercrack
Hungry Heart
The Promised Land
Streets of Philadelphia
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run
* * *
Hard Times
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land
Kitty’s Back

What a great show!  Thanks for all the memories at this perfect venue!  Here are a couple of videos from last night.

VIDEO: LONDON CALLING

VIDEO: KITTY’S BACK

The audio track is a little request for the Philly shows to come : )  The song is called “Take ‘Em As They Come” and is an outtake from The River sessions.  However, the version below is not the official version released on Tracks, but rather a slightly different arrangement with some different lyrics.

As most of you know, the Bruce Springsteen community is one of the most giving and charitable communities in all of music!  We give to many great causes including, most recently, Melanoma Research in honor of the late, great, Dan Federici.

Now, here is another cause that is very close to the hearts of many from the Jersey Shore Music Scene.  In fact, Bob Bandiera’s 2006 Hope Concert at the Count Basie Theatre was also in honor of this great fight.  Of course, Bruce showed up that night to help out as well.

ALS is a disease that is becoming ever more prevelent.  We need to find a cure soon, or many more lives will be taken.

A friend of mine, who happens to be a  20 year-old college student named Brooke, has started a website in honor of the mother of her closest friend (named Cindy) who lost her battle with ALS in November of 2007.  By all accounts, Cindy was a truly remarkable mother, wife, and all-around person.

This website serves as a signup for an ALS walk as well as a spot where people can come to make donations which are greatly appreciated.  However, they are not only greatly appreciated, but they are also greatly needed.

In these tough economic times, I know that it is not as easy as it once was to find a few extra dollars, but think how much harder it is for those affected (and their families) by this terrible disease.  They need all the help they can get!

Here is the website link: Brooke’s ALS Page

I guess the only thing left to say is, “No retreat, no surrender.”

Thanks for reading ~

This is truly a great cover of a great song. The original version was recorded by Creedence Clearwater Revival and written by that band’s singer/guitarist, John Fogerty.  Springsteen has played the song in years past at smalls bars during guest appearances as well as with the E Street Band.  The version above was recorded at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on April 16th, 2009.  Here is a list of all the times the song has been played by Springsteen (guest appearances are noted if needed):

Aug. 28, 1981 - Los Angeles Sports Arena - Los Angeles, CA

Sep. 14, 1981 - Riverfront Coliseum - Cincinatti, OH

Apr. 11, 1982 - Big Man’s West - Red Bank, NJ (with John Eddie)

Jan. 14, 1984 - Patrix - New Brunswick, NJ (with John Eddie)

Apr. 8, 1984 - The Stone Pony - Asbury Park, NJ (with Cats on a Smooth Surface)

Jun. 1, 1984 - The Stone Pony - Asbury Park, NJ (with John Eddie)

Sep. 3, 1984 - The Stone Pony - Asbury Park, NJ (with John Eddie)

Aug. 2, 1987 - The Stone Pony - Asbury Park, NJ (with Cats on a Smooth Surface)

Aug. 27, 1987 - Tradewinds - Sea Bright, NJ (with Cats on a Smooth Surface)

Oct. 21, 2000 - Hedgerow Farm - Middletown, NJ (“Special People United to Ride of Monmouth County” Benefit)

Apr. 13, 2002 - The Stone Pony - Asbury Park, NJ (Rumson Country Day School Benefit)

Oct. 1, 2004 - Wachovia Center - Philadelphia, PA

Oct. 5, 2004 - Xcel Energy Center - St. Paul, MN

Oct. 13, 2004 - Continental Airlines Arena - East Rutherford, NJ

Apr. 16, 2009 - Los Angeles Sports Arena - Los Angeles, CA

This song is absolutely awesome. It was recorded during The River sessions on July 18th, 1979, at The Power Station in New York City.  I have a strange feeling that had all Steven Van Zandt’s recommendations been put into play, “Loose Ends” would have been officially published on The River.  However, it did eventually make it onto Bruce’s 1998 Tracks box-set.   Some of the other River-era songs that were not included on the 1980 release were: “I Wanna Be With You”, “Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own”, and “Where the Bands Are.”

The performance of “Loose Ends” seen above was shot at Madison Square Garden on June 27th, 2000, during the final stand of the Reunion tour.

Hearing “The E Street Shuffle” live in concert is somewhat of a legendary experience to Bruce Springsteen fans.  This is an honor that very few can claim theirs.  Well, the fans who were at the Pepsi Center on Friday night can add their names to this sacred list.  Here is a video of the performance of this great song from Friday’s show in Denver, CO.  After you watch the video, read on for a little bit of history that will prove the rareness of the song!

Interestingly enough, “The E Street Shuffle” was played at various times during the mid-1970’s.  However, it saw a long absense after it was played December 12th, 1975 (as you will see).

Dec 12, 1975 - Bucknell University - Lewisberg, PA
Jun 17, 2000 - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
July 01, 2000 - Madison Square Garden - New York, NY
Dec 17, 2000 - Convention Hall - Asbury Park, NJ (Holiday Concert)
Dec 18, 2000 - Convention Hall - Asbury Park, NJ (Holiday Concert)
Dec 04, 2001 - Convention Hall - Asbury Park, NJ (Holiday Concert)
Dec 06, 2001 - Convention Hall - Asbury Park, NJ (Holiday Concert)
Dec 08, 2001 - Convention Hall - Asbury Park, NJ (Holiday Concert)
Apr 29, 2003 - Count Basie Theatre - Red Bank, NJ (The Hope Concert)
Nov 15, 2007 - Times Union Center - Albany, NY
Nov 19, 2007 - TD Banknorth Garden - Boston, MA
Nov 28, 2007 - Datchforum - Milan, ITALY
Apr 14, 2008 - Toyota Center - Houston, TX
Apr 10, 2009 - Pepsi Center - Denver, CO

Bruce has opened every show of the actual tour (not including the two benefit rehearsal concerts in Asbury Park) with ‘Badlands’, from 1978’s Darkness on the Edge of Town record.  What a great opener! Having said that, it shouldn’t be long before ‘Badlands’ is bumped down to the number two slot in favor of Bruce’s famous “wild card” openers which were made so famous on the Magic tour.  Come to think of it, a one-two punch looking something like ‘My Love Will Not Let You Down’ segueing right into ‘Badlands’ would get any crowd roaring!

Here is a Youtube clip of Bruce and the band opening their recent April 3rd, 2009 (Glendale, AZ), show with ‘Badlands.’

After the first show of a tour, we always like to look at and analyze the setlist to the point where we know it inside and out.  Well, the good news, after last nights tour opener at the HP Pavilion (a.k.a. “The Shark Tank), is that this show was much better than most opening nights.  Though it may have been a very similar set to the second Asbury Park rehearsal show on March 24th, this set stretched to two hours, forty minutes.  Before I go on, here is the entire setlist from last night:

SETLIST:
Badlands
Outlaw Pete
My Lucky Day
No Surrender
Out in the Street
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Good Eye
Good Rockin’ Tonight
Darlington County
Growin’ Up
Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
The Wrestler
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Born to Run

ENCORE:
Hard Times
Thunder Road
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land

Overall, I would have to say that I am quite pleased with this start.  You have to take into consideration that this is also only night one of a tour that promises to stretch far past the announced August 2nd date.  I would expect this tour to evolve into one in which rare songs pop up very often and requests are plenty.  In fact, last night brought the “signs” back from the Magic tour.  “Good Rockin’ Tonight” was also a pleasent surprise as a nice mid-show cover (something that Bruce has been doing since the latter stages of 2008).

All in all, this was a very positive start.  Now, it’s on to Glendale, AZ on Friday night!

Here is a video of “The Wrestler” from last night: