Julie in the rv mirror
19 Apr 2012, 23:56
*Major spoilers, so stop reading now if you don't want to know!
So, I finally got to see my first Springsteen show of the tour, this past Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio, and all I can say is, Oh my Lord, what a show! :D
At the outset, Bruce said that he wanted to send us home with our feet hurting (check), our hands hurting (check), our voices hurting (check), our backs hurting (check), and our sexual organs stimulated (I’ll never tell)! :-P Lol
I missed this band so much- two and a half years is a looong time (too long), and it was so good to see them all (well, most of them) again, as well as a few new faces. This time out, Bruce brought along a five-piece horn section, consisting of Clarence’s nephew Jake Clemons, as well as Ed Manion on saxophone, Curt Ramm and Barry Danielan on trumpet, and Clark Gayton on trombone. Backup singers Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle are back, as well as a new percussionist, Everett Bradley. Also along for the ride is Michelle Moore, who has been performing her part in “Rocky Ground” every night.
There was some concern amongst the diehards that with all the new band members, the setlists would be considerably more static than in the past, but with the exception of the first few shows, that has not proven to be the case. Bruce has been mixing it up as usual, and some real gems have come out already, considering it’s still relatively early in the tour. The band has more than risen to the challenge, and they’ve been sounding very tight.
We went the General Admission route this time, and missed the pit unfortunately, but still ended up with a pretty decent spot on the floor.
The show started with a bang, straight into “Badlands” with the house lights up, and, we were off! :D A couple of the new songs followed, which sounded really strong, and then on to the first wildcard of the night, which was “The Ties That Bind”. I’d never heard this one live before, and I had been wanting to for a while. Jake took the sax solo, and he didn’t disappoint.
“Death to My Hometown” followed. This is one of my favorites from the new album, and the band did a great job with it. Next was “My City of Ruins”, which is one of my favorite Bruce songs, period. The new arrangement with the horns sounded wonderful! Bruce has been using this song as the first of two tributes of the night. After introducing the band members, he asks, “Are we missing anybody?”, to which the audience responds with cheers, to which he replies, “If you’re here, and we’re here, then they’re here”. Tuesday night, he sang the lines instead of saying them (the first time he’d done so), and between that and the “Rise up!” refrain, the song was very powerful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_v8YKi5bbQ&feature=relmfu
Now that we’ve been to church, it’s time to party! :D
After seeing it (on video) from the first few shows of the tour, I was hoping that “The E Street Shuffle” would stay in the set, but it was dropped for other classics the last several shows. It returned the other night, and it was a killer version, complete with a blistering guitar solo by Bruce:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mH3BsJEXKs
“Jack of All Trades” gave us a chance to catch our breath (great solo by Nils), before another one of my favorites, “Trapped”. What followed was a searing version of “Youngstown”, which rocked as hard as any metal band I have ever heard. :metal: I’m amazed that Bruce had any voice left at all after the way he let loose on this one: :cool:
liAsheohHnM&
That went into “My Love Will Not Let You Down” (another first for me), featuring a triple guitar assault by Nils, Bruce and Steve:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EMkQZErWo8 Max had a chance to shine on this one as well.
Whew! I’m exhausted by this point, but the show’s not even halfway over yet. “Shackled and Drawn” was next, followed by “Waiting on a Sunny Day”. During this one, Bruce usually pulls a kid up from the pit to sing a chorus or two. This time, he went out to the small stage in the middle of the floor, and chose a little girl (who was very cute) from behind the pit barrier. After she sang, he (presumably) asked her if she wanted to do the knee slide. She nodded, and he proceeded to carry her all the way back to the stage where she showed him up! (The guy is 62, after all- give him a break!) ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H7_mN2WuQY
“Promised Land” was next, which I love- that one never gets old for me. By this point, we’d gotten some amazing songs, so I could hardly believe my ears when I heard the opening notes to “Racing in the Street”. It was a simply gorgeous version, beautifully sung by Bruce, and the most stunning outro led by The Professor’s beautiful piano work: (video not the greatest, but sound excellent)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh4tgqROCqE&feature=related
I looked over at Bruce during the outro, and he seemed to be as lost in the music as many of us were.
Next came what’s becoming known as “The Apollo Medley” (“They Way You Do the Things You Do”/ 634-5789), complete with Bruce crowd surfing and chugging a beer he was handed by an audience member (I’m sure he was quite thirsty by this point). :lol: Then, I almost didn’t believe my ears again, but yes- it was indeed “Because the Night”! Bruce took the solo himself, and killed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svJ-wBJ_zm8
Nils is awesome, but I’d rather hear Bruce on this one. Next came “The Rising” (another favorite of mine), and “We are Alive”.
When we were first let into the arena, we had to stand in the vestibule for a bit before they let us onto the floor because the band was still soundchecking. One of the songs we heard was “Light of Day” (the other was “Streets of Fire”), and I got very excited, because this one has become a favorite of mine after hearing it in Pittsburgh last November. I was thinking that we couldn’t possibly get that one too, after all the gems we had gotten already, but sure enough, it was next, and it was spectacular! More killer guitar work by Bruce. (Sadly, no video yet) He explained in the intro that the movie for which he’d written the song was set in Cleveland, hence the connection. He also worked in parts of “Land of 1,000 Dances” and “You Can’t Sit Down” into the tune.
We got another chance to rest when Bruce brought Michelle Moore out for “Rocky Ground”, which is another of my favorites from the new album. She has a lovely voice, and I love the way Bruce sings this one as well. Then it was back to the party with “Out in the Street”, another oldie that I never get tired of. That was followed by “Born to Run” with the house lights up, the crowd screaming along joyfully, and Jake nailing the sax solo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7zPVEy2-kg
Always the highlight of any Springsteen show.
“Dancing in the Dark” was next, followed by the night’s closer, “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out”. Bruce again ventured out to the small stage in the middle of the arena for the night’s main tribute to Clarence. After the line, “The change was made uptown, and the Big Man joined the band”, the band stopped dead in it’s tracks, while Bruce elicited the crowd to make as much noise as possible while a short video of various clips of Clarence and Bruce was shown on the screens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmenEECbaGY&feature=related
It was another sad yet uplifting moment. And then, after just short of three hours that had flown by, it was sadly all over. What a night! I can only imagine how Bruce must have felt. He said at the beginning, “I feel just like you”, so he must have been exhausted! :lol:
I did miss Clarence at several points during the show. No one can ever replace the Big Man, but the fans have really embraced Jake. He has some very big shoes to fill, literally and figuratively, and I think he’s been doing an admirable job.
I’ve got one more show coming up in a couple of weeks, in New Jersey, of all places- my first time seeing Bruce there! After that, that’s it for me until the Fall leg when he comes back to the States. All of you that are seeing him this Summer across the pond, I know you are in for some amazing shows! Have a blast, but don’t tire him out too much, okay? ;)
So, I finally got to see my first Springsteen show of the tour, this past Tuesday in Cleveland, Ohio, and all I can say is, Oh my Lord, what a show! :D
At the outset, Bruce said that he wanted to send us home with our feet hurting (check), our hands hurting (check), our voices hurting (check), our backs hurting (check), and our sexual organs stimulated (I’ll never tell)! :-P Lol
I missed this band so much- two and a half years is a looong time (too long), and it was so good to see them all (well, most of them) again, as well as a few new faces. This time out, Bruce brought along a five-piece horn section, consisting of Clarence’s nephew Jake Clemons, as well as Ed Manion on saxophone, Curt Ramm and Barry Danielan on trumpet, and Clark Gayton on trombone. Backup singers Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle are back, as well as a new percussionist, Everett Bradley. Also along for the ride is Michelle Moore, who has been performing her part in “Rocky Ground” every night.
There was some concern amongst the diehards that with all the new band members, the setlists would be considerably more static than in the past, but with the exception of the first few shows, that has not proven to be the case. Bruce has been mixing it up as usual, and some real gems have come out already, considering it’s still relatively early in the tour. The band has more than risen to the challenge, and they’ve been sounding very tight.
We went the General Admission route this time, and missed the pit unfortunately, but still ended up with a pretty decent spot on the floor.
The show started with a bang, straight into “Badlands” with the house lights up, and, we were off! :D A couple of the new songs followed, which sounded really strong, and then on to the first wildcard of the night, which was “The Ties That Bind”. I’d never heard this one live before, and I had been wanting to for a while. Jake took the sax solo, and he didn’t disappoint.
“Death to My Hometown” followed. This is one of my favorites from the new album, and the band did a great job with it. Next was “My City of Ruins”, which is one of my favorite Bruce songs, period. The new arrangement with the horns sounded wonderful! Bruce has been using this song as the first of two tributes of the night. After introducing the band members, he asks, “Are we missing anybody?”, to which the audience responds with cheers, to which he replies, “If you’re here, and we’re here, then they’re here”. Tuesday night, he sang the lines instead of saying them (the first time he’d done so), and between that and the “Rise up!” refrain, the song was very powerful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_v8YKi5bbQ&feature=relmfu
Now that we’ve been to church, it’s time to party! :D
After seeing it (on video) from the first few shows of the tour, I was hoping that “The E Street Shuffle” would stay in the set, but it was dropped for other classics the last several shows. It returned the other night, and it was a killer version, complete with a blistering guitar solo by Bruce:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mH3BsJEXKs
“Jack of All Trades” gave us a chance to catch our breath (great solo by Nils), before another one of my favorites, “Trapped”. What followed was a searing version of “Youngstown”, which rocked as hard as any metal band I have ever heard. :metal: I’m amazed that Bruce had any voice left at all after the way he let loose on this one: :cool:
liAsheohHnM&
That went into “My Love Will Not Let You Down” (another first for me), featuring a triple guitar assault by Nils, Bruce and Steve:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EMkQZErWo8 Max had a chance to shine on this one as well.
Whew! I’m exhausted by this point, but the show’s not even halfway over yet. “Shackled and Drawn” was next, followed by “Waiting on a Sunny Day”. During this one, Bruce usually pulls a kid up from the pit to sing a chorus or two. This time, he went out to the small stage in the middle of the floor, and chose a little girl (who was very cute) from behind the pit barrier. After she sang, he (presumably) asked her if she wanted to do the knee slide. She nodded, and he proceeded to carry her all the way back to the stage where she showed him up! (The guy is 62, after all- give him a break!) ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H7_mN2WuQY
“Promised Land” was next, which I love- that one never gets old for me. By this point, we’d gotten some amazing songs, so I could hardly believe my ears when I heard the opening notes to “Racing in the Street”. It was a simply gorgeous version, beautifully sung by Bruce, and the most stunning outro led by The Professor’s beautiful piano work: (video not the greatest, but sound excellent)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh4tgqROCqE&feature=related
I looked over at Bruce during the outro, and he seemed to be as lost in the music as many of us were.
Next came what’s becoming known as “The Apollo Medley” (“They Way You Do the Things You Do”/ 634-5789), complete with Bruce crowd surfing and chugging a beer he was handed by an audience member (I’m sure he was quite thirsty by this point). :lol: Then, I almost didn’t believe my ears again, but yes- it was indeed “Because the Night”! Bruce took the solo himself, and killed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svJ-wBJ_zm8
Nils is awesome, but I’d rather hear Bruce on this one. Next came “The Rising” (another favorite of mine), and “We are Alive”.
When we were first let into the arena, we had to stand in the vestibule for a bit before they let us onto the floor because the band was still soundchecking. One of the songs we heard was “Light of Day” (the other was “Streets of Fire”), and I got very excited, because this one has become a favorite of mine after hearing it in Pittsburgh last November. I was thinking that we couldn’t possibly get that one too, after all the gems we had gotten already, but sure enough, it was next, and it was spectacular! More killer guitar work by Bruce. (Sadly, no video yet) He explained in the intro that the movie for which he’d written the song was set in Cleveland, hence the connection. He also worked in parts of “Land of 1,000 Dances” and “You Can’t Sit Down” into the tune.
We got another chance to rest when Bruce brought Michelle Moore out for “Rocky Ground”, which is another of my favorites from the new album. She has a lovely voice, and I love the way Bruce sings this one as well. Then it was back to the party with “Out in the Street”, another oldie that I never get tired of. That was followed by “Born to Run” with the house lights up, the crowd screaming along joyfully, and Jake nailing the sax solo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7zPVEy2-kg
Always the highlight of any Springsteen show.
“Dancing in the Dark” was next, followed by the night’s closer, “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out”. Bruce again ventured out to the small stage in the middle of the arena for the night’s main tribute to Clarence. After the line, “The change was made uptown, and the Big Man joined the band”, the band stopped dead in it’s tracks, while Bruce elicited the crowd to make as much noise as possible while a short video of various clips of Clarence and Bruce was shown on the screens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmenEECbaGY&feature=related
It was another sad yet uplifting moment. And then, after just short of three hours that had flown by, it was sadly all over. What a night! I can only imagine how Bruce must have felt. He said at the beginning, “I feel just like you”, so he must have been exhausted! :lol:
I did miss Clarence at several points during the show. No one can ever replace the Big Man, but the fans have really embraced Jake. He has some very big shoes to fill, literally and figuratively, and I think he’s been doing an admirable job.
I’ve got one more show coming up in a couple of weeks, in New Jersey, of all places- my first time seeing Bruce there! After that, that’s it for me until the Fall leg when he comes back to the States. All of you that are seeing him this Summer across the pond, I know you are in for some amazing shows! Have a blast, but don’t tire him out too much, okay? ;)