I finally saw my first Bruce Springsteen show on Saturday night! The show was great and worth the $87.50 we had to shell out for the tickets even though we were sitting about halfway up in the balcony. The only drawback was he didn't show up until 8:20, almost a full hour after the show was supposed to start. The show still went for like 2 hours 20 minutes so you didn't feel like you didn't get your money's worth. There was a huge will call line when we walked up and apparently they postponed the start to the show to get everyone inside. This made Bruce look a little bad because the tickets came with a note saying that the show would start promptly at 7:30 p.m. and no drinks would be sold 10 minutes prior to beginning. People started yelling and clapping for him to come out but the ushers in our section said the delay was due to the long line outside. The line had something to do with the VIP tickets and avoiding scalping and the lack of windows at the venue.
The stage set up was very sparing with only a half circle of monitors in front of the microphone stand at the front of the stage. A grand piano was placed about a 1/3 of the way back with the front facing the left front corner of the stage. A small electric organ was placed at a 90 degree angle from the piano keyboard so he could sit on the same bench to play both. There some simple candelabra-like chandeliers hanging from the rigging and some opaque drapery hung from the rigging and draped to the stage. The lighting was simple and yet emotive. They used the drapery to project lights onto, and also back lighting from the sides and back of the stage. There was also to large video screens on either side of the stage with close ups of his face and hands during the songs.
When he walked out he strode up to the microphone and asked the crowd if he could get as much quiet possible during the set and therefore set the tone for the evening. The crowd seemed to adhere to his request for quiet during the show. The crowd was very respectful of this request and stayed restrained to roars of applause after the songs. I was actually pretty impressed with the crowd during the show. There were a few outbursts but no one singing along (above a whisper that is) and limited amounts of clapping during the songs.
He even mentioned the beauty of the Fox Theatre and remembered being there during
The Ghost of Tom Joad tour in 1996 and how lucky St. Louis is to have a venue like that.
He started the show with "Back In Your Arms" on the electric organ from
Tunnel of Love. This was not the beginning I was expecting but a good start nonetheless. I had expected him to come out playing something on guitar first, but that must have been too obvious.
When he played "Reason To Believe" next it sounded like he was singing and playing harmonica through on old antique radio or bullhorn, and a drum beat was made by his foot stomping a beat on the stage. His boot had to have been miked or something and it made the whole vibe very powerful as it sounded like a giant pounding on the stage. The song had an edgy, gritty, sexy, and pulsating blues sound that the version on
Nebraska could never emulate! The song left you wondering, "How'd he do that??" after it ended and to be honest, I never recognized what song he had played until I saw it on the setlist after the show. After the song I asked, "Where's Tom Waits?" there was that sort of feel.
He played "Devils and Dust" and "Black Cowboys“ from the new
Devils And Dust album next on guitar and both were true to their sound on the album. Being both new songs there is not a lot of new interpretation here.
Before he played "Long Time Comin'," from
Devils And Dust, he mentioned that they had their first teenage party recently, likely his oldest son Evan, he said, "It went over good, once we got rid of the drugs," and the audience laughed. Then he said, "No, they were MY drugs!." That elicited more laughs, then he said, "No, I've never done drugs but I've been thinking about starting, hell I've made it this far, what have I got to lose?" He did a good job playing this song on guitar as it's one of my favorites from the new album. After he played "Long Time Comin'" he made some comments about the line "I won't fuck it up again." He said, "Maybe I should've made that line – this time I won't fuck it up TOO bad, or I'll TRY not to fuck it up, after the most recent predicament I've gotten myself into."
It was back to the electric organ for "County Fair" an outtake on the 3rd disc of the
Essential Bruce Springsteen compilation. I recognized it right away, but mistook it for a song on The River because it has that vibe. Bruce actually forgot the lines after getting thru the first stanza the song! This was hilarious and he had the whole place cracking up. He was singing, and he stops and says, "Fuck that's not right." He then tried to figure out the lines going over the lyrics on top of the organ and he says, "Oh well I'll just go to the chorus." So he just kept moving and finished the song. That was the most hilarious moment of the night, by far. The song's sentimental lyrics aren't poetic or cerebral, but this song does bring some up emotions - for people with a Midwestern upbringing the lyrics make you think of summer nights in your hometown.
Next up was "The River"....This was a highlight for me because it is a song I love and a perfect transition. He was at the piano for the first time during the evening. He had some great piano chops, but I'll admit, I missed the classic introduction with the harmonica. Nevertheless, a great version of the song, reminiscent of the version that is on the
Live/1975-1985 box set
At this point in the show he mentioned the recent European swing in the tour. He mentioned that he was telling the European audiences about the debates between men and monkeys here in America. He said something to the effect of we know where the men are and where the monkey is - an obvious reference to our leader at the White House. Then he said, "Don't applaud for that it feels like I'm preaching to the converted." He mentioned the Scopes Monkey Trial and discussing that on the road and just before he played the song he said that "it's good to be back home" and then played "Part Man, Part Monkey" from the
Tracks box set. He used a cool, beautiful Gretch hollow body guitar with lots of tremolo on this song
"All the Way Home" was next this song is my favorite on
Devils and Dust, but it is much better live. Bruce's guitar work here was amazing this was one of the faster songs during the evening.
Going into the show I figured he would play something from
Nebraska and the second song he pulled out was "Highway Patrolman." At the time I didn’t know that because I had not recognized “Reason To Believe.” He played this one on guitar and this version was close to the album version. This is also a nice song to play in the Midwest with the references to dropping wheat prices, the importance of family, and taking a job out of necessity to feed the family.
“Reno” was the next song and he played a straightforward version. This is my least favorite song on
Devils And Dust. He made no mention of the explicit lyrics in the song and just started playing.
Bruce was back at the electric organ for “Nothing Man” from
The Rising. This song is one of my favorites from that album and he did a great job with this on the keyboard. During the part where he did the do do do do do do – he sang them very high and it was a nice touch.
By far the highlight of the evening came when he played "Backstreets" from the classic
Born To Run. Apparently the back story was that some fans at the previous show in Grand Rapids, MI asked for him to play this song and he used it for soundcheck there. He asked before the song if Bobby and his dad had made it into the show. Before he started the song he said, "I'm going to take a swing at this thing," he said as he sat down at the piano without naming the song and noted, “I've never played this by myself before and I never will again, so any missed notes are SUPPOSED to be that way!" (laughs) "I'm sure I'll fuck it up." Then he said, "All right, all right, let me prepare," then briefly went "ommmm," laughed and struck the opening notes familiar to the fans. He played the piano much like Roy Bittan on this one and didn't seem to hesitate once. This song received the biggest round of applause afterwards. I really hope this one ends up on a live album or something – a great version!
Next up he played the title track from
The Rising. Whether with the full band or with just a guitar, this song is very powerful. The experience of just the voice and guitar made it seem more powerful. The lighting was even emotional because the spotlight was turned off from the front and a spotlight directly behind his head was shining toward the crowd. My thought the light gave an effect of the emergency lights in a smoky staircase or even the narrator in the song speaking from heaven – this hit me especially during the first lines of the song. He did all of the backing vocals at the end of the song as well.
He pulled out a 12 string guitar for the title track from
Lucky Town. This is not a favorite song of mine but I liked his guitar work. The mix was too high on the guitar and his lyrics were nearly impossible to hear.
Bruce played the piano for “Jesus Was An Only Son.” He spoke before the song about growing up on his street with many family members living in the houses along that street. From the way he described it the majority of his family lived on this one street in about 5 or 6 houses. He then mentioned his though process for the song and how Jesus could own a bar and Mary Magdalene could tend bar and what kind of responsibilities he has as an only son and the consequences of his actions. He also made a mention before the song when speaking about Adam & Eve and the tree, and he says, "God KNEW we'd do it! How many times could they walk around it? That temptation NEVER goes away."
Here he played a version of “Two Hearts” from
The River that varied from the original not in intensity but in the way it was played on guitar. The song was hard to recognize at first, but by the time he got to the chorus I had figured it out.
He ended the regular segment of the show with “The Hitter” and “Matamoros Banks” and both were close to the versions on
Devils And Dust. He walked off stage very briefly after that, but came back within a minute or so and started the encore.
The encore started with, “Cynthia,” a rare track from the
Tracks box set. This version was much better than the original with the tinge of 1980's keyboards and production.
The oldest song he played during the evening was "Wild Billy's Circus Song" from
The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle. He used the organ again on this song and this worked great with the circus and boardwalk imagery he uses in the lyrics. Another song that I didn't recognize at the time he played it, but once I listened to the album I remembered it.
The song he chose to play from
The Ghost of Tom Joad was the final track, "My Best Was Never Good Enough." He sang this song with a lot of emotion almost like he is paying for some sort of sin right now.
“The Promised Land” from
Darkness On The Edge Of Town. He played this very different from the original, but different is sometimes good. He used a guitar but didn't really strum it at all. He would hit the bridge and you could hear the strings ring and the sound from the acoustic chamber of the guitar.
"Dream Baby Dream" - Springsteen has closed all of his shows since May 11, 2005 with an extraordinary cover of "Dream Baby Dream." According to Nick Hornby this is an old song by the scary punk-era experimental duo Suicide. He played the majority of the song on the organ and then he got some kind of echoed loop going out of his pump-organ and strolled around the stage singing and repeating the song's disconnected phrases; there were no beats, of course, but it was as hypnotic and hymnal. Hornby asked Springsteen about this song in an interview from July 17, 2005 posted on
www.brucespringsteen.net/:
NH: How did that Suicide thing come about?
BS: I met Alan [Vega] in the late Seventies. I was just a fan. I liked them, they were unique. They're very dreamy, they have a dreamy quality, and they were also incredibly atmospheric and were going were others weren't. I just enjoyed them a lot. I happened to hear that song recently, I came across a compilation that it was on and it's very different at the end of the night. It's just those few phrases repeated, very mantra-like.
NH: It's especially striking in a show that's built almost exclusively on narrative.
BS: Right, but it's the fundamental idea behind all of the songs anyway (Laughs) It's just a different moment at the end of the night, where you go to some of the same places with virtually very few words. I like narrative storytelling as being part of a tradition, a folk tradition. But this envelops the night. It's interesting watching people's faces. They look very different while that's happening. It's a look of some surprise, and that's part of what I set the night up for - unconventional pieces at the top to surprise the audience and to also make them aware that it's not going to be a regular night. It's going to be a night of all different things and the ritualistic aspect of the night is dispelled. As long as it's not something that I've done before ...
His mood of the evening was mostly somber except when he was telling stories and cracking himself up. He really never looked up at the crowd much, even when he was shaking hands with the front row at the end; he kind of kept his eyes down.
In the interview Hornby asks Springsteen about his choice of material on this tour and mentions that he has not played many songs from the first 4 albums. Springsteen's response was that, "My only general rule was to steer away from things I played with the band over the past couple of tours." That's why I cherished some of the obscure songs he played. I thought that he did a great job of playing songs that spanned his entire career. The only albums he didn't touch on were
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.,
Born In The U.S.A., and
Human Touch. He didn't play the greatest hits, but he did pull from his bag of memorable songs and that's what I had expected all along. I'm ready to go again.
Bruce Springsteen
Setlist
Fox Theatre
St. Louis, Missouri
August 6, 2005
1. Back In Your Arms
2. Reason To Believe
3. Devils And Dust
4. Black Cowboys
5. Long Time Comin'
6. County Fair
7. The River
8. Part Man Part Monkey
9. All The Way Home
10. Highway Patrolman
11. Reno
12. Nothing Man
13. Backstreets
14. The Rising
15. Lucky Town
16. Jesus Was An Only Son
17. Two Hearts
18. The Hitter
19. Matamoros Banks
(encore)
20. Cynthia
21. Wild Billy's Circus Song
22. My Best Was Never Good Enough
23. The Promised Land
24. Dream Baby Dream (Suicide cover)
