Last night in Pittsburgh, Bruce Springsteen put on a show that might have been a hard core fan's dream. A brilliant setlist for the long-time fans, including world premieres and tour debuts, nearly half of the High Hopes album, highlights for all of the band members, and inspired Brucetalk bits. A show that was conspicuously absent of the features so many hardcore fans love to complain about. A show in which more than half of the songs weren't in the set just two weeks ago in Cincinnati. Who on earth changes up their sets
that much?
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| Johnny 99. Photo - Matthew Orel |
But was it a great show?
Let's start with the almighty eternal everlasting ass-kicking power of the night. And there was a
lot of ass-kicking power last night, from the very first note of the evening. Bruce's blue shirt, black vest, and tucked-in tie are gone, replaced by the Joe Strummer look. And last night, we got a bit of the Joe Strummer sound as well, as the band opened with a hard-driving version of The Clash's
Clampdown Bruce and Tom traded verses while the horn section, the E Street choir and Max Weinberg combined to form a massive nine-piece drum line.
Impressive barely begins to describe it; combined with "Badlands" it created an opening two-pack salvo that left the crowd breathless.
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Monday, I'm gonna rock with George!
Photo - Ron Valle |
But Bruce was just getting warmed up with his ass-kicking mode, continuing with a roaring "Johnny 99" honky tonk, the band bathed in red light, Curtis King kicking the song up with the cowbell, and the horns coming forward. Bruce called out "C sharp!," which could only mean something rare and unexpected was about to happen, and so it was: a tour premiere of the very rarely played Stand On It (the original B-side version without the extra verse that appears on the
Tracks version).
Continuing right along with the rockabilly segment of the show, Bruce called out more keys. "D sharp!"
("D sharp??”) "E!" And a hysterical performance of "Seven Nights to Rock," featuring the queen of E Street, Patti Scialfa. Anyone who may have forgotten her role as Bruce's partner and on-stage foil needs to hear Patti's vocals on this one, first singing about a "different little boy" in every different town, and then ticking off the days of the week attached to different boys' names. She got through George and Paul, and some guy name Tom (John and Ringo were presumably for next week) before Bruce announced, "What's good for the goose!"
But was it a great show?
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| Two Bruces and a pair of ducks. Photo - Ron Valle |
As Bruce started "Just Like Fire Would," he shouted to the audience, "C'mon, Pittsburgh, don't be so lazy out there!" For "Hungry Heart," that wouldn’t be an issue, as we had a new item: Bruce crowd-surfing with a balloon figure of himself from
ballooniacs.com. You
think you've seen Bruce crowd-surfing before, but you haven't seen him crowd-surf like
this.The balloon Bruce remained seated in various positions at center stage throughout the remainder of the show.
The sign request segment — the only pause for signs this night — produced a tour premiere of I Wanna Be With You. Sure, Bruce had already soundchecked it, but it always helps to have a sign. He dropped to his knees. He pled his case. And then, a jaw-droppingly brilliant version of "Back In Your Arms," unplayed in the United States since 2009 and a bucket-list song for me. "In life, we don't get many chances to re-do our mistakes..." Then, turning to advice, he added, "Do not hesitate to beg! It's not pretty, but it works, sometimes." As Bruce continued through his intensely soulful singing of the song, I thought, "there goes another $15, I'm downloading this one."
But was it a great show?
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| Hungry Hearts. Photo - Ron Valle |
During "Back in Your Arms," while some fans were mesmerized, there was noticeable chatter in the stands. As Bruce continued with "Wrecking Ball," it became more obvious that much of the audience — the upper bowl in particular — was
not coming with him. Oh, Bruce tried to get them back. "Youngstown" had a huge solo from Nils Lofgren. "Mary's Place" had the stage slide— the crowd loved that... and then took their seats again. Tom Morello got them going during "The Ghost of Tom Joad," and "Radio Nowhere" gave Eddie Manion and Max Weinberg a chance to shine. What's wrong with any of these, and why wasn't the crowd more engaged? Was it the omission of crowd-favorites such as "Waitin' on a Sunny Day"? Was it the general lack of direct audience participation? Or the lack of hits or oldies? It may have been a dream set for the hardcore fan, but were the so-called "casual fans" fully engaged?
For the encores, Bruce came out on piano and played "The Promise" by request, referencing again that begging sometimes works. The patrons in section 102 talked right over it. It'll sound great on the download.
A stunning version of "The Wall" followed, introduced by a tribute to Walter Cichon and Bart Haynes. Curt Ramm's trumpet part got two verses, with Bruce doubling the part with keening the second time through. Its pairing with a floor-rattling take of "Born in the U.S.A." finally got the crowd's attention; it should be a permanent part of the show.
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| Dancing in the Dark. Photo - Matthew Orel |
Joe Grushecky and family came on for the next suite of encores, including playful versions of "Light of Day," "Frankie Fell in Love," and "Dancing in the Dark," and Bruce announced upcoming dates with Joe at Soldiers and Sailors Hall in May, after this leg of the E Street Band tour concludes (
May 22 and
May 23). The crowd, now fully re-engaged, helped Bruce out with "Shout" and bathed him in a sea of lights for a beautiful finale of "Dream Baby Dream."
note - this review, along with pictures and video, originally appeared in www.backstreets.com
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