Friday, October 19, 2007

Bruce at the Garden 10/19/2007

Absolutely awesome show last night. One of the best I have ever seen. Bruce
was in great spirits and the crowd was fantastic. Everyone went nuts
(especially me) when he played Meeting Across the River and Jungeland. Also
I have never heard "Thundercrack" live in concert before. American Land was
fun at the end when he brought up members of the Seeger Sessions band. Here
is a blog report on the concert:

Meeting and Jungleland at MSG on Night 2
Posted by Stan Goldstein October 19, 2007 1:12AM

Thursday's second show at Madison Square Garden was a
special night because of two songs.
The tour debuts of Meeting Across the River (my
favorite Springsteen song) followed by Jungleland.
Five of the eight songs from the Born to Run album
were played.


Show began at 8:26 p.m.

1. Radio Nowhere
2. Night
3. Lonesome Day
4. Gypsy Biker
5. Magic
6. Reason to Believe
Two shhhhhhhushhhes again by Bruce before as the crowd
started getting into the song. Toward the end of the
song Bruce put his harmonica in water and then
splashed it around the stage.

7. Candy's Room
8. She's The One
9. Livin' In The Future
In his rap before the song, Bruce said "The Bill of
Right has to get louder cheers than cheeseburgers!
Damn people!"
Bruce also mentioned how the Statue of Liberty and the
Jets and the Giants are in New Jersey and that the
theme song from New York/New York was sung by a guy
from Jersey.


10. The Promised Land
11. Tougher Than The Rest


12. Meeting Across The River
Just Bruce, Roy Bittan on piano and Garry Tallent
playing the stand-up bass.
Bruce said before playing it:
"I have a special dedication tonight. An old friend
passed away a while back. When I first game to New
York City I met Peter Boyle. I had just put out Born
to Run and Peter told me how much he liked it because
of the failure and redemption on the album. Tonight
would have been his birthday."
Perfectly done. It just doesn't get better than this
at a Springsteen show for me.


13. Jungleland.
What can you say. A perfect song to be played in
Madison Square Garden. The place went nuts. Clarence
sounded great on the sax solo. Bruce gave Clarence a
double tap on the shoulder after he finished playing
it.


After Jungleland Bruce said: "That's for Peter. We
love you!"


14. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch).
Bruce has a lot of fun on this song with Steven.


15. Devil's Arcade
16. The Rising
17. Last To Die
18. Long Walk Home
19. Badlands


Main set over at 10:10 p.m .


Bruce came out for the encores wearing a black T-shirt
that had "New York City" on it.


20. Girls in their Summer Clothes
21. Thundercrack
"This was our original showstopper before there was
anybody at the shows to stop," Bruce said. He
mentioned again how he used to play the song at Max's
Kansas City when he was on a bill with Bob Marley and
The Wailers.

22. Born to Run
23. Dancing in The Dark
24. American Land
Five members of the Sessions Band joined the E Street
Band on this song: Lisa Lowell on vocals, Jeremy
Chatzky on bass, Larry Eagle on percussion, Charlie
Giordano at Roy's piano and Greg Liszt on banjo.
.
Show over at 10:48 p.m.
Great show.


Spotted in the crowd: Howard Stern and his fiancee
Beth Ostrosky, (although they left before "The Rising"
was played); Jack Ford from Cout TV, actor Ed Norton,
Chuck Zito and NBA (Knicks) TV-announcer Mike Breen.

Overall six songs played tonight that weren't played
on Wednesday night.

Bruce Springsteen "Magic"

First there was "Bruce Juice" to brighten up my day, now there is "Magic"
to cast off the gloom of the Mets night.

There is a process that you go through when you approach a new album from
Bruce. It really unfolds like a new relationship. Initially you don't know
what to expect. There are always the erroneous first impressions- Why that
song? What is he trying to say to me? Why doesn't he use Clarence more?
Where are the rockers? You have to peel away and peel away until you get
to know the music, the words, the feelings, the gestalt of the album. Then
it becomes an intimate old friend that you know differently than everyone
else.

Finally, you see Bruce perform the songs live and the relationship changes
again. Your old friend is now stepping out in his/her party clothes. Their
true personality shines through and the relationship escalates to a whole
new level of passion and appreciation. You become aware that Bruce and his
music have changed you forever.