Sorry I've been neglecting the blog lately, but it's hard to type when you're pinned down by Bosnian sniper fire...
K and I went to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Greensboro Monday night. This was K's first Springsteen show, and my fourth. I've seen him twice with the E Street Band, on the Born in the USA and Tunnel of Love tours in 1985 and 1988 respectively, and in 1992 on the E Street-less Human Touch tour. This show would be different than any others I had seen, for a few very significant factors.
First would be the addition of violinist/guitarist/vocalist Soozie Tyrell, who joined the band in 2002, and the presence of Little Steven Van Zandt. Van Zandt had been Springsteen's long-time lead guitarist until leaving the E Street Band in 1984 and rejoining in 1995. Having never seen Little Steven play with the E Street band, I was curious to see what the on-stage dynamic would be.
Next would be the absence of keyboard player Danny Federici, a founding member of the E Street Band. Federici had been fighting melanoma for three years when he passed away earlier this month. The show began with a moving video tribute to the late "Phantom Dan," may he rest in peace.
Also to be considered would be the Boss' age. Springsteen is known to be one of the most energetic performers of any genre, famous for marathon shows of four (sometimes more) hours - he once said that his goal was to wear the audience out, that he would still be ready to play until the final audience member surrendered, saying "Uncle!" Would he still have that Energizer Bunny quality? I hadn't seen him in sixteen years, when he was in his early 40s; he will be 59 this year. Could New Jersey's favorite son still move like the Boss of old, the guy from the "Dancing in the Dark" video that played non-stop on MTV in the mid-80s, or would he just be a shadow of his younger self?
The answer: the Garden State still has every reason to be proud. Almost 60 and a father of three, Springsteen showed the Greensboro audience how he earned his reputation as one of the greatest live acts in music, and why he still deserves it. He doesn't play the marathon shows of his earlier tours (well, maybe in New Jersey) but for an intense two and a half hours he gave one hundred percent, proving why he is one of a handful of live performers who is actually worth the high price of a concert ticket these days. (Tom Petty is another one who comes to mind; I've got tickets for him later this summer.)
One of the great things about a Bruce Springsteen show is the element of surprise - you never know what the set list will be. You can check out websites such as Backstreets.com and get an idea of the majority of the set list, but it's never the same any two nights. This show opened with two songs that were only released on Tracks, a collection of studio outtakes and B-sides - "Roulette" and "Don't Look Back." This was also the tour premiere for both songs - neither had been played on any prior dates. Truly a treat for the hardcore fans.
The other side of this coin is that inevitably you will not get to hear something you wanted or expected to. For someone with such an extensive back catalog, this was the case even with the longer shows of Springsteen's earlier tours; cutting the shows back to two and a half hours just makes this more problematic. Gone from the set list were such E Street Standards as "Jungleland," "Prove It All Night" "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Thunder Road." Also absent was anything from Born In The USA, but personally I can do without that album in favor of material from Darkness on the Edge of Town or The River, which are much better. Of course, we did get a couple of songs which in part made up for these omissions, namely Springsteen's wonderful version of Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped" and "Because the Night," which he cowrote with Patti Smith and was a huge hit for her.
Also surprising was a lack of on-stage banter. Springsteen is known as a master storyteller, not just in his lyrics but the introductions he provides to his songs in a concert setting. There was very little of that in Greensboro. He did make some comments about wiretaps and the Constitution while introducing "Livin' in the Future" from his new album, Magic, mercifully leaving the political rhetoric at the door for the rest of the evening (I don't care if an entertainer's political views are in line with mine or not, when I go to a concert I want music, not politics, damnit). For the most part, though, the music did the talking.
So the verdict? Not exactly the rock and roll tent revivals of the mid-80s, but a more mature, grown-up Springsteen who can be an adult and still rock with the best of them, showing the young ones how it's done. If love rock and roll and you've never seen Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live, do yourself a favor and make the effort to see them while you can. They've already lost one member to the fate that comes to us all eventually; they won't be around forever, and neither will you. Life is too short not to experience what may be America's greatest rock and roll band.
