Good Night, It's All Right (Pittsburgh, November 4, 2011)

Sometimes, you might just need a fix. That was the first of Bruce Springsteen's two shows with Joe Grushecky here in Pittsburgh.

Other times... other times, you might hope for something more than just a fix. You don't quite know what it is, just that you'll know it when it happens. And when it does, you just say, this is what I came for. That was the second of Bruce Springsteen's two shows with Joe Grushecky in Pittsburgh.

Last night, Bruce Springsteen went to a dark and mysterious place, and drew forth something truly stunning. That he was "on" for this performance was evident right from the start, when he guested with the opening act, The Composure, for a hard driving version of "Dancing in the Dark." Unlike the first night, this time the auditorium was mostly full for the guest show. And, as we soon found out, he was just barely warming up.

The show structure was nominally the same as the first night: Guest with the warmup act, short acoustic set, then Grushecky and the Houserockers for a couple of songs, and then Bruce with Grushecky & co. for a mix of Bruce and Grushecky songs, through to a finale after which Bruce would serenade the crowd solo. A solid formula, though at times a bit ragged on the first night. But there's a difference between "solid" and "coming from another planet." Last night was interstellar.

Bruce started the acoustic set with "Your Own Worst Enemy," the song which opened his 2nd show last year. His voice was superb. Then he followed with a request from Joe Grushecky. As Bruce strummed the opening notes of "Incident on 57th Street," a wave of recognition started to sweep the room. But it didn't really hit until the first words. How to describe? Sublime? Perfect? HFS? All of the above? Yeah. That.

The main set was strong all the way through, with more setlist variations than I would have expected. Bruce highlighted "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "Adam Raised a Cain," and Grushecky brought out "A Good Life" from his catalogue. The Houserockers were noticeably tighter this night on songs such as "Because the Night" and "Two Hearts," and provided solid backup throughout.

Bruce's guitar playing was stupendous again. I thoroughly enjoyed the jam on "Pumping Iron," though some friends thought it went on too long. But that led to an absolutely monstrous solo passage to open "Light of Day," one of those jaw-dropping "did I just see that?" moments.

At the end of the show, Grushecky's family was invited on stage for renditions of "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Twist and Shout," first Grushecky-style (deliberate, almost salsa) and then full-throttle rock and roll. The stage became very crowded, and as some fans infiltrated, Bruce -- only half-jokingly, I think -- called out for security.

After this, we prepared for the serenade of "Thunder Road" to close this most perfect evening. Except, except, except, Bruce wasn't done. Bruce and Joe were out of songs. But they weren't. Resurrected from last year's show, they dug out "Pink Cadillac," with Bruce putting in some hysterical lyrical changes -- e.g., approximately, "just won't last / over too fast" as the rhyme in the final verse.

And then, the serenade. Only it wasn't a serenade, it was another acoustic mini-set! Although it included "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?," the highlight for me was "Surprise, Surprise," dedicated to a Grushecky family member whose birthday coincided with the show. Bruce opened up a bit, explaining how he wrote the song, and then, to the birthday girl, said, "live every day as if it's your last."

Finally, the show ended with Joe joining Bruce on stage for "Thunder Road." An astonishing evening, completed. Good night, it's all right.