Bruce Springsteen

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WOW WEE. What a night. gott a number for tomorrow. had a couple of beers at The Gov - bumped into a guy played footy with who was blown away. a casual fan who has never seen him before but has 3 or 4 early albums.

got home after 1. cant sleep house is stinking hot but have a 7am roll call. more tomorrow.
 
I know I didn't hear a bunch of much-loved songs and it just doesn't matter. The show is so good you feel like you're walking with Bruce on a musical wonderland of his catalogue and his interpretation of a few classics, even not so well known ones.

Bruce and the extended E-Street Band are having a magical time and there can't be a performers who enjoys giving his audience a show as much as Bruce. Even though it was ****ing hot in Adelaide that may have been the impetus for Summertime Blues. What a way to kick off the concert, then the Detroit Medley, I thought that was a collection I would never hear live. I was already soaring and The Boss had only started.

It was irresistible from beginning to stripped-back end where Bruce, his voice battered from the preceding extravaganza, came out in a tribute to his Adelaide fans and played a stand-alone acoustic set.

Three and a half hours of over-indulgence. You could only be overwhelmed. I still am.
 
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Cruyff14 said:
Saw your pic on twitter ManWithNoName !

The first half of the show was a little underwhelming. Once Human Touch and Darkness came out.... then Prove It 78 came out I started to feel envious.
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No.
 
ManWithNoName said:
No.
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In regards to songs I think it was, obviously My Love would have kicked arse and Badlands, but everything had been done before, not saying it wouldn't have been good if you were there, but it wasn't wowowowow or anything.

Just my opinion.
 
Cruyff14 said:
In regards to songs I think it was, obviously My Love would have kicked arse and Badlands, but everything had been done before, not saying it wouldn't have been good if you were there, but it wasn't wowowowow or anything.

Just my opinion.
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Summertime.
Detroit.
An amazing Jack of All Trades.
A powerful trio of WB songs beforehand.

Nah.
 
ManWithNoName said:
Summertime.
Detroit.
An amazing Jack of All Trades.
A powerful trio of WB songs beforehand.

Nah.
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Like I said, in my opinion. I am not that familiar with STB and DM. Jack is boring for me, has never grabbed me.

I am not dismissing the WB songs, obviously they are powerful, but we have seen them done before.
 

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Ok let me write some thoughts.

The best thing about all this - well almost - is the people you meet, if you do the line up stuff a few times. You get to meet some great people who share your passion usually like no one else, or only one or two other people you know in your normal world do.

Meet about half a dozen people from my pit line up experience in Sydney 3rd show last year, who I caught up with at last nights show and over the last couple of days in the line up including Nigel Neil the 60 odd year old who got up and danced and then played guitar with Stevie during Dancing in the Dark. More of that later.

Meeting Bruce and Andrew from Melbourne who were #73 and #74 and they had the Incident sign at Hanging rock 2. I was #75. Meeting fellow Port supporter Hodges 153! in the line up at the 10pm Monday night (but 15 minutes before) roll call, meeting his 6 year old daughter who wandered over to where I was sitting, before I met mum and dad and I asked if she was going to the show and I asked if she was going to sing Waitin' on a Sunny day. She didn't know the song so I found a You tube video of a girl about 4 singing with Bruce and she was watching the video intently and asking dad if she could do that. Meeting one of Ford Fairlane 's mate from the footy who we usually analysis the Port game at half time at the back of the stand. I recognized his face but initially couldn't work out where from.

Talking to Danni - one of the US fans who does the role call - in the pit and finding out that he used to own a club/bar and about some of his non Bruce musical experiences as well as about Bruce shows and different Bruce crowds in USA and Europe. 5 or 10 minutes before the show I said to my little group, we should run a book what he will open with and Danni said I can tell you - its Summertime Blues. The man is in the know. has some great stories.

I took my Incident sign and was determined to get in front of Stevie because as ManWithNoName said, he adds so much to the flow of the show and interaction with Bruce. In front of Stevie the stage rail jutted into the crowd from the stage as this was the rail for the camera person. The legendary Selina from Greasy Lake was in that corner. Danni behind her on the rail - #70 in the line Nick, and then me behind him and Bruce and Andrew from the line up to my left and they were 3rd from the front. Also knew the people behind me who I met in The Gov's carpark 3 or 4 times and they were in the 130's.

The legendary Val squeezed her way up beside me and we chatted. When Ford Fairlane txted me that he was in the building I rang him, we chatted, worked out where each other was, and then I handed the phone to Val and Ford and her caught up like old friends. Bruce signed Val's upper arm after the first show so she went and got the signature tattooed.She said it was still a bit sore. She ended up watching the last 1/3rd of the show on the front stage rail.

Bruce finally gets on stage and starts of with the usual hello's, but asks why the **** is it so hot here?? Great little opener and I was surprised how much of the Summertime Blues was stored in my memory banks.

Then as he finishes, he looks to the people at the back/rear view are and he sees a professionally made sign - plastic material and properly printed on the front rail middle of the first row of rear view seats
" RIP
Danni and Clarence
Please play the :hearts:
DETROIT MEDLEY"

Bruce goes Stevie, Stevie, look at this and then asks a couple of times for a spot light to go onto the sign - it doesn't happen - he organises the band and then goes into the Detroit Medley. I met a girl a couple of numbers after me in the Sydney line up called Molly and I said if he plays Detroit Medley its got Good Golly Mrs Molly in there. Molly was at yesterday's show, so she would have got a kick out of that. If you look at his set lists from the mid 1970's to BITUSA tour the Detroit Medley was a standard part of the encore either last or second last song. As soon as he saw the sign and I knew he would play it, I thought - we are in for a big night.

Badlands in the pit is always magical. It is the hardcore fans' song I reckon. By that I mean as a collective group.

My Love Will Not Let You Down is a great song that is just classic full energy song. When I go for my runs I regularly play the Live in NY CD and that song is my kick starter. It wasn't my kick starter last night but it was pushing me towards the summit.

I wrote about it when I heard it in Sydney last year, but High Hopes with the new big band is bloody fantastic live and it would be at home in any music club in Latin America.

JLFW was big in the pit. Everyone around me knew the words and sang along.

Then we get the Wrecking Ball quadrella - We Take Care of Our Own, Wrecking Ball, Death to My Hometown and Jack of All Trades. It was non stop pulsating rock and roll from the start until Jack of All Trades. 50 minutes of solid rock. I'm not sure if JOAT was played because of the Toyota plant closing announcement but it seemed a strange choice to me..........more later
 
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RussellEbertHandball said:
Ok let me write some thoughts.

The best thing about all this - well almost - is the people you meet if you do the line up stuff a few times. You get to meet some great people who share your passion usually like none one else or only one or two other people you know in your normal world do.

Meeting fellow port supporter Hodges 153! in the line up at the 10pm Monday night (but 15 minutes before) role call, meeting his 6 year old daughter who wandered over to where I was sitting before I met mum and dad and I asked if she was going to the show and I asked if she was going to sing Waitin' on a Sunny day. She didn't knew the song so I found a You tube video of a girl about 4 singing with Bruce and watching the video intently and asking dad if she could do that.
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So good to catch up REH!

As you say, we had an amazing time talking to ppl you get to know....

We'd spent a lot of time with Kim, and ended up standing with her at the rail as it turned out.....

She was the one whose letter Bruce took and read......

Amazing.
 
Songs played at every gig in Australia so far:

Badlands
Dancing in the Dark
Born to Run
Shackled and Drawn
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
High Hopes
Heaven's Wall
Just Like Fire Would
Thunder Road (solo acoustic)
 
pjcrows said:
Say whaaaat?!
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I can't be bothered getting into another argument.

SB and DM don't do much for me (not saying they are poor songs/shouldn't have been played). My Love into Badlands is always gonna be amazing. HH double is standard (again not saying it's poor by any means), and have seen the WB thing done several times, no real variety is what I'm getting at.
 
Cruyff14 said:
I can't be bothered getting into another argument.

SB and DM don't do much for me (not saying they are poor songs/shouldn't have been played). My Love into Badlands is always gonna be amazing. HH double is standard (again not saying it's poor by any means), and have seen the WB thing done several times, no real variety is what I'm getting at.
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Nah I'm not trying to argue, and you're making your points well. Seriously though, last night's gig in isolation shat all over Hanging Rock 2 last year, a show at which they played my favourite song of all time.

You'll notice the difference Cruyff - it might be Stevie's presence, but there's even more energy and interaction and musicianship this time - if that's even possible.
 
Part 2

Human Touch - I've alway liked the song but didn't think he would play it at any show I attended. I met a young couple on the train to Sydney 2 last year. The guy was a fan but not hardcore but the girl didn't know too many songs. She asked me if I thought he'd play Human Touch? I said I doubt it? But last night's version was like WOW.

Spirit was the usual great interactive song where he visited the crowd. he sat down on the back stage and had two starry eyed woman next to him. they wanted to talk and offered him a beer. he said something like not now Im working girls. I couldn't resist shouting out - he was never going to hear me - "that will cure the Summertime Blues." Did a bit more interaction with the crowd behind the Pit area and then this was his crowd surfing moment. It was a bit of a struggle but my hometown crowd got him back finally.

He then strutted around the stage grabbed a Back in Your Arms sign, talking and asked a question but, I didn't hear it properly and I don't think the crowd did and he basically said oh come on, I don't believe you Aussies. He then asked again, and it was basically "have ever ****ed up a good thing." The crowd heard clearly and he got a resounding yes. Talked about it and then sang the song. Beautiful song and beautiful performance.

Heaven's Wall brought the whole band back into the action.

The pit went wild with Darkness and then Prove it All Night 78 intro had us all in silence but moving the body to the guitar riff. I have no idea how the seated crowd took to it, 'cause I was just concentrating on the guitar.

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain and Mary's Place went down a treat with everybody in the building and those of us dealing with Adelaide's record heat spell. Everybody in the building was singing the chorus.

Bruce a couple of songs earlier I think had taken the letter from the woman Hodges 153 mentioned and spent 90 seconds or so reading it while the band just played music. He at the start of This is Your Sword said this is for the lady who gave me the letter and whose daughter is in the army.

The Darlington County rift comes up and Bruce walks to microphone at front stage that juts out to the crowd and rips out the stand and takes it to the back and sings to the rear view audience in front of Detroit Medley sign and everybody in the rear view gets up out of their seats as he knows he's made the effort to sing to them, so they make the effort to get involved.

Shackled and Drawn was my moment of the evening. Stevie swapped with Garry and was playing the banjo and I could clearly hear his banjo picking so I looked at him play it for about 45 seconds, he noticed I was looking so he looked back, I nodded my head a few times then gave him the big thumbs up and he flashed his pearl whites at mee to say thanks. The guys next to me saw it and gave me a pat on the back and they flashed their thumbs at me. Cindy came up front, in line with the others as Bruce stepped forward to play guitar and Cindy just dominated. The crowd gave her a big ovation she smiled that big smile of hers - I call her Smiley - and Bruce finished off the song.

Best Waitin' On a Sunny Day I have heard/seen. Bruce takes his time to find a kid and in front of Soozie finds a boy on Dad's shoulder that says "I've been waitin to sing on a sunny day." So Bruce grabs the sign shows the TV camera then grabs the kid and takes him centre stage up front. Gives the kid the mike and he signs, and has a good voice, Bruce takes his head band and puts it on then hands it back and before he gets the chance to tell him what to do next, he swings around and says "back to you E Street band." A big roar from the crowd. Bruce loves it, puts him on his shoulder and gives him the mike to keep singing and walks him back to his parents.

The Ghost and as expected Tom shines here.

The Rising is the closing song of the main performance. What a great rendition it was. You forget how good a song is if you haven't played it for a while.

Then the lights go down as they walk off, but it was a very ordinary effort to get the crowd demanding more, as it was about 15 seconds before everybody started walking back on stage. I though he'll do BITUSA. But no Highway to Hell. Starts in the dark and then full house lights on and they stay on for the rest of the night.

BTR - brilliant as ever.

Then Bruce goes to Stevie, we have a sign request Stevie. A couple of the girls and a lady have a bit low cut tops and have written stuff on their chest. The cute blonde with Ramrod on her chest gets her request.

I gotta go back for the roll call but next instalment the story behind Nigel Neil who got up and danced and played guitar with Stevie.
 
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13 new songs to his Australian tour of the 31 played last night. That makes 70 different songs played in Oz over 4 nights and 88 over 8 gigs on this tour.
 

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