Erin and I went to see Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band on Friday night. It was a very entertaining show. We are pretty much Greatest Hits fans. We don't know much of the album cuts. I've always heard how great it is to see Bruce live and we knew going in that he wouldn't be playing the hits. So we were set up to not be let down by the fact that he didn't play Glory Days. Which of course he didn't.
We have been listening to his new CD the past couple of days and he played a few songs off of that. Highlights from the new album were Devil's Arcade, Long Walk Home, Last To Die, and Radio Nowhere. There was an interesting cover of Blinded By The Light. The place went nuts from Badlands and Born To Run. He also did Erin's favorite Bruce song Thunder Road. She was excited even though she thought the timing as all over the place. I enjoyed hearing Murder Incorporated.
He opened the show with a video montage to Danny Federici (Bruce's keyboard player) who passed away about a week ago. During the show he thanked the fans for all their cards and prayers, saying "We appreciated it much, his family appreciates it much." The song Blood Brothers played and you couldn't tell if the band was playing it or if it was pre recorded. It sounded recorded but the harmonica part sounded live.
The whole band brought great energy to each song and Bruce's face looked like it was in pain as he played. He handed out a few of his harmonicas after he played them and one went to a little girl who just lost it. At one point Bruce was on his knees in front of the crowded and a few people were actually reaching up and playing the guitar with him.
Max was slamming the drums and everything Clarance went up to do a solo the place went nuts. Clarance seemed to shuffle around the stage and before the encore instead of going off with the rest of the band he sat on a throne in the corner of the stage.
A few fans in the front had signs with song titles on them and Bruce grabbed two of them, showed them to the band, and then placed the signs at the bottom of the mic stand as they broke into the song.
He ended the show with American Land which was this really cool Irish jig type of song. They even put his teleprompter on the screen so we could all follow along.
The set list:
Reason to Believe
Out in the Street
Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Blinded By the Light
Your Own Worst Enemy
Trapped
Murder Incorporated
Prove It All Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Bobby Jean
Point Blank
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
Encore:
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Rosalita
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
American Land
