The web is pretty amazing in that you can find information such as the SET LIST with only a few keystrokes. There was even someone showing the entire concert on FaceBook Live, which NCB, a.k.a. New Cousin Barbara, was watching from her home in Massachusetts while texting me about it (I didn't notice until the end of the concert).
- (Tour debut, first time with… more )
- (Commodores cover)
- (Acoustic with Barry Danielian on trumpet)
- (Patti Smith Group cover)
- Encore:
- (Followed by Band Intros)
- (Pictures of Danny Federici and Clarence Clemmons)
- Encore 2:
- (solo, acoustic)
1) This was an amazing show!
2) I expected more from Bruce and was highly disappointed.
You can't please everyone.
As I'm typing this I'm listening to the concert using the FB link. I'm so glad I was not in the pit with the obnoxious people singing louder than Bruce, but off-key and a bit drunk. Too crowded for my taste. He is also giving a running commentary throughout the show. While I'm enjoying it at home, it would have annoyed me to no end live. Unless the pervasive scent of pot relaxed me enough to tolerate the scene. Yes, now that CBD is legal you can smell it everywhere. Don noticed the people down the row from us were removed, probably because it is illegal to smoke anything in the venue.
We last saw Springsteen perform in 2016 at Citizens Bank Park (home to the Philadelphia Phillies). That was a record breaking 4 hours, 3 minutes, and 56 second show, his longest in the United States. This slow clocked in at 3 hours with only one additional song.
That said, he is 73 years old (turning 74 in September). I didn't stand through the entire concert, nor did I sing that much, and I certainly did not play guitar. He is still bringing his A-game to the stadium. Last week he cancelled (postponed until 2024) his Philadelphia shows.
I also noticed the lack of signs. Later I read you were not allowed to bring signs into the stadium (though some managed to sneak them in -- I won't ask how). In 2016 those signs had a lot of song requests on them -- he is not taking requests in this tour.
My observations, he is aging like a fine wine. He seemed more generous with sharing the spotlight with most of the 18-member backup band, especially with saxophonist Jake Clemons, and Little Stevie. He still works the crowd and moves as close to them as security will allow. Coming up the stairs Don and I both observed he seemed to lean on the mic for support for a moment. Still spryer than I feel 20 years his junior.
After one of his songs he handed his harmonica to a preteen girl up front. The look on his face was (dare I say) grandfatherly. Her eyes were enormous! It is a moment neither she nor her mom standing behind her will ever forget. He also handed guitar picks to a couple of other children in the front of the audience.
My favorite part was when he stopped singing and told the story of his friend George who invited him to join his band when Bruce was a 15-year old. It was Bruce's first band. George died in 2018. Four days before his death he wrote "Last Man Standing," which he performed acoustically for us, with Barry on trumpet. The rest of the band had a chance to drink something and hit the backstage port-a-potty. I'm always amazed at Bruce's stamina to not only perform, but not take a breath or a sip of water the entire time he is on stage. Maybe he sneaks them in when he swaps out his guitars (how many different ones does he use in a show?).
My second favorite song was "Nightshift" a Commodores cover song. As NCB typed to me, "Jacquie (echo Jacquie Jacquie)." What are you doing now? She set the world on fire. She is a friend of mine.... How could it not make me smile to hear The Boss sing that to me?
My third favorite was "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" with a montage to "The Big Man," Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici. Even I was crying.
I love his second encore, a solo acoustic rendering of "I'll see you in my dreams." As he told Little Stevie, "no one wants to go home," so like the rest of those glued to their spots in the stadium, when he left the stage I hoped he would return and sing a few more songs. "Born in the USA," "Jersey Girl," he has over 265 published songs -- about ten times what he performed that night. No set list would make everyone happy. This set list reached throughout his entire career.
Here are some pictures from the show:
After the show we dawdled waiting for traffic to die down. We were rewarded with a stunning view of the New York City skyline behind the American Dream mall's Ferris Wheel.
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