Naples and “Thunder Road”

Tonight’s show in Naples featured the first solo-acoustic “Thunder Road” of the tour, in the closing spot, for a post-”Twist and Shout” bonus for the crowd.

The performances of “Thunder Road” this tour have been generally excellent, and Bruce has noticeably become more free about allowing and encouraging the crowd to sing along.  Tonight, at the end of the show, he quite literally relies upon the crowd to carry the song, and it was indeed an outstanding performance, from both Bruce and the audience.

“Thunder Road” has occasionally been used as the closing song of shows before, including the 2002 European leg of the Rising tour.  A solo-acoustic performance to end the show is a relatively new development, however, and something that Bruce has used at some of the private (fundraising benefits for his childrens’ schools) and charity (the Light of Day performances) shows that he’s done in recent years.  This was the first time it’s been done at an E Street Band show, however.

It also appears that encouraging the crowd-singalong to “Thunder Road” at the end of the show may well have been Bruce’s tip of his hat to his last concert in Naples, on May 22, 1997, at the very end of the Ghost of Tom Joad tour.  With a large crowd assembled below the theater singing “O Sole Mio,” Bruce takes a curtain call on the second-floor balcony, and then emerges with guitar, harmonica and Kevin Buell in tow, holding a mostly-unnecessary lyric sheet.  The video below tells the rest of the story; notably, the only words that one can actually hear from Bruce are “The screen door slams…” before the crowd takes over.

Setlist, Melbourne Night 3

Much of what is written here deals with potential changes (and possible improvements) to Bruce’s live set, so it would only be fair to laud him when things go right.  The opening of the third night in Melbourne was a FANTASTIC opening to a show.  (And yes, I say this without having been in the audience).

The opening songs – “Long Walk Home,” “Radio Nowhere,” “My Love Will Not Let You Down,” “Better Days” and “We Take Care of Our Own” is the best opening run of songs any any show this entire tour.

One one level, these are all appropriate choices for Australia, as the first four songs had never before been played there.  Crowds down under never got to see the Lucky Town material as the 1992-93 tour never reached Australian shores and they never got to see Magic songs as that tour also skipped Australia.  The Reunion tour – and its common opening song “My Love Will Not Let You Down” – also missed Australia.

The fifth, “We Take Care of Our Own,” had been inexplicably dropped from several shows earlier in the Australian tour, and its return is hailed here, not just because it is an excellent song, but also because is the most important of the new songs and should be in the show every night.

In a broader view, the presence of this material is also welcome because they are some of Bruce’s finest and most underplayed songs.  The absence of Magic material is at times plain baffling.  “Better Days” has had only four performances since 1993, and “My Love Will Not Let You Down” has been a rarity since the end of the Reunion tour.

To say that this show is a positive indicator for the rest of the tour is an understatement.  Well done, Bruce.

On Band Introductions and Dropping “My City of Ruins” from the Show

Sunday night’s show in Melbourne was the first of the Wrecking Ball tour to not include “My City of Ruins,” a song played at every show to date on the tour. Not only was this cornerstone of Bruce’s current live show mysteriously absent, but Bruce either forgot or deliberately omitted introducing the various members of the band on stage.

A fair analysis of the band introductions would certainly acknowledge they could tend towards being overblown, overwrought and occasionally too long, yet they also served as a humorous counterbalance to Bruce’s more serious material. On this tour, they served to introduce the numerous new faces to the crowd (the horn section and singers, in particular) who the more casual fans would not otherwise know while also allowing Bruce to acknowledge the absence of Clarence and Danny. Accordingly, it remains a big surprise that they would be omitted, even if Bruce felt it time to drop “My City of Ruins” from the show.

The importance of the band introductions is underscored by how rare it is for them to go missing. When was the last time they weren’t part of the show?

1. There were no band introductions during any of the three rehearsal shows for the Magic tour in September of 2007. Yet when the tour started on October 2 in Hartford, Bruce had taken to including them at the very end of “American Land,” where they would remain every night of that tour, and every night of the subsequent Working on a Dream tour.

2. There were no band introductions on the Vote for Change or Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tours. These shows, while headlined by the E Street Band, were multi-artist bills, resulting in a shortened set for Bruce. Consequently, the introductions were missing from these shows.

3. The last full-length show to be missing band introductions occurred at the very end of the Born in the USA tour on September 27, 1985.

At the beginning of the Born in the USA tour, “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” regularly ended the main set, and included the band introductions, as it had for the prior ten years. Once “Rosalita” dropped out of the show, Bruce started introducing the band during the “Travelin’ Band” section of the “Detroit Medley,” although there were certain shows (beginning with the November 8, 1984 show in Tempe) where the introductions would occasionally be omitted, usually in favor of an additional song in the medley — in Tempe, it was “I See a Train.”

When the “Detroit Medley” also dropped out of the set, the band would simply be introduced in the encores, usually between “”Born to Run” and “Ramrod” or after “Rockin’ All Over the World.” Some shows, however, simply omitted the introductions entirely, the last of which was the September 27, 1985 show in Los Angeles. Every full-length, tour-proper E Street Band show since then had included introductions until Sunday in Melbourne.

Brisbane Thoughts (via YouTube)

A few notes and observations as someone who has been living vicariously through YouTube clips (thanks to everyone who uploaded), photos and show reports:

1. Bruce is relying on Nils to carry a greater load with Steve absent.

Nils is joining in at Bruce’s microphone for the last verse of “Badlands” (video). He also was playing the acoustic guitar part at the start of The River (video).

Also of note: Tom Morello was playing Steve’s banjo part on “Shackled and Drawn” (video) but did not play the mandolin part on “Land of Hope and Dreams.” (video)

I did quite enjoy seeing Morello put his hand in the air, right along with the crowd, for the “I believe in the faith that can save me” line from “Badlands” and “faith will be rewarded” line from “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

2. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out lacks the usual audience sing-along (video night 1, video night 2).

This is likely due to the fact that “Tenth Avenue” had never been performed in Australia! It’s not just that the Reunion tour (where the sing-along originated) never made it down under, but the song wasn’t played on the Australian legs of the Born in the USA or Rising tours either.

3. Bruce has added another crowd-surfing song to his arsenal: “Out in the Street.” (video)

That makes four this tour – in addition to “Out in the Street,” he’s also used “634-5789,” “Hungry Heart” and “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day.”

4. Security probably isn’t having as much fun as Bruce.

His trips into the crowd now aren’t limited just to the stage at the back of the pit — he went into the pit to dance during “634-5789″ (video) and apparently almost to the very back of the floor for “Darlington County” (video).

5. The disappearance of “We Take Care of Our Own” was unexpected.

Aside from “Just Like Fire Would” and “High Hopes,” the biggest surprise from Brisbane is that Bruce would drop another new song from the set, and in particular one that is a key song from the new album. This could be (and I hope is) a similar situation to that of the July 5, 2008 show in Gothenburg, where “Radio Nowhere” was dropped for the only time on the Magic tour.

That being said, it was unusual to see a setlist with only four Wrecking Ball songs so early into this leg of the tour. I was hoping to that “This Depression” and “Rocky Ground” would appear as the alternates for “Jack of All Trades” and “We Are Alive.” The omission of “This Depression” is particularly strange given that Tom Morello is readily available to play the guitar solo.

Australian Tour Preview

Bruce’s first tour of Australia in ten years begins in one week. What can be expected?

Setlist Changes for Australia
It stands to reason that Bruce will return to setlists with more Wrecking Ball material, including key songs such as “Jack of All Trades,” “We Are Alive” and “Rocky Ground,” all of which fell out of the set on the Fall leg in the US. They may not remain staples throughout 2013 but given that nothing from the Wrecking Ball album (save the old arrangement of “Land of Hope and Dreams”) has ever been played in Australia, it’s a safe bet that they appear this month.

Less certain, but certainly appropriate, would be the inclusion of material from Bruce’s other albums of the 2000s, in particular Magic but also potentially Working on a Dream or even Devils and Dust. As the tours supporting those albums never traveled to Australia, Bruce would serve his audience well by adding the best of that material – “Radio Nowhere,” “Long Walk Home” and “Gypsy Biker” to the setlist. The new full-band arrangement of “Devils and Dust” would be welcome as well.

Working on a Dream songs remain a longshot, but certainly are not out of the question. Given how little effort Bruce gave to those songs in 2009, I would be surprised if many of them were played, although the title song may show up. I also suspect that, to my chagrin, “American Land” could be played a time or two.

While they have certainly grown tired in the American shows – and even at times in the European shows – the Australians haven’t had the opportunity to experience Bruce’s full-fledged embrace of the audience’s sign requests. It seems quite likely that there will be multiple requests granted per night. I would expect them to include a balance of hits and favorites – “I’m Goin’ Down” or “Because the Night” – as well as obscurities, such as “Loose Ends” or “Talk to Me.”

Tom Morello
The March 14 show in Brisbane will be the first E Street Band show without Steve Van Zandt since October 15, 1988.

One way of looking at Steve’s absence is that the show will go on without much changing. While the show suffered greatly the last time a band member was temporarily replaced, Steve’s role in the band is certainly far different than that of Max Weinberg. Accordingly, I suspect his absence will affect the overall performance of the band to a significantly lesser degree. It would be fair to note that Steve’s most important musical contributions to the band are as arranger and vocalist (rather than guitarist), and while not having him there is unfortunate, it isn’t a critical loss. The E Street Band did play 243 shows in the Eighties (including eight in Australia) without him.

I imagine Steve’s absence will be most noticeable with respect to the band’s on-stage persona. Steve’s role as Bruce’s best musical friend might be hammed up but overall, it isn’t an act. Particularly with the loss of Clarence, Steve has done a great job this tour in the role of Bruce’s primary foil onstage. He’s one of the few band members who seemingly has the run of the stage without taking specific direction from Bruce as to positioning and performance antics and I predict that this will not be an insignificant loss.

The alternate way of looking at this temporary change is that having Tom Morello on stage will be a challenge of sorts to Bruce, requiring him to increase his intensity, both for the loss of Steve and knowing that the person standing to his left can run circles around him when it comes to guitar skills.

Morello has, of course, guested numerous times with the band over the past year, although mostly on material that is played every night, such as “Death to My Hometown” and “Land of Hope and Dreams.” “Jack of All Trades” is a likely inclusion, as noted above, although it may well alternate with “This Depression.” Each Australian city should be able to count on hearing Morello’s feature “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” although perhaps not every single night.

The hope here remains that Bruce finds some additional songs to feature Morello’s playing. The prospect of them ripping up “Lucky Town” together may be a pipe dream, but “Murder Incorporated” or “Further On (Up the Road)” would be welcome choices.

On another band personnel note, it remains unclear if Patti Scialfa will be joining the band for the Australian tour. She’s been absent since the first New Jersey show last September, but she did make a few surprise appearances in Europe last summer. If she does indeed make it to Australia, “Easy Money” will probably make the set, and it also offers the potential of some Tunnel of Love material in the show (another tour that never reached Australian shores).

Multi-Night Stands
Also notable about this leg of the tour is that the tour plays multiple nights in each city, with three-night stands in both Sydney and Melbourne. Presumably this will mean that Bruce’s back catalog, already opened fairly wide to date on the tour, will continue to get a workout in each city, with plenty of opportunities for changes from night to night. “Second” nights have been rare this tour, but the few that have occurred, such as Paris, Gothenburg or Fenway Park, have been some remarkable shows.

Sydney and Melbourne will also feature the extremely rare third show (only previously done this past September in New Jersey). One aspect of the Reunion and Rising tours that is missed in recent years is the band setting up for multiple shows in one venue: not only does it lead to setlist variety, but by the end of the stand, the band is usually playing at a particularly high level. These upcoming stands have the potential to result in some great shows.

12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief Preview (and Wishlist)

What exactly is in store for the lucky thousands at the Garden and the millions watching on TV on Wednesday?

Bruce’s set

Rolling Stone had initially reported (on November 20) that Bruce and the E Street Band were one of the main acts that would get an approximately 45-minute set. That news came before the addition of the Rolling Stones to the bill, or the change that “Bon Jovi” would appear (ie. the entire band) rather than “Jon Bon Jovi” (just the one person). It would seem more likely that Bruce (and the other main artists) will be restricted to a slightly shorter set.

“My City of Ruins” would seem to be a lock (hopefully in a four to five minute version), and “We Take Care of Our Own” likely as well. “Born to Run” always works. What else is there? One obvious path is to stick to the crowd-pleasers, such as “Dancing in the Dark” and “Hungry Heart.”

My preferred set would be to go thematic, and find some things from the catalog that fit the tenor of the evening. “This Hard Land,” “Rocky Ground,” and yes “The Promised Land,” the latter of which would be a good opportunity to bring up a guest (Eddie Vedder?)

Artists Guesting with E Street

Perhaps having Bruce and Alicia Keys do “New York City Serenade” remains a pipe dream. But certainly she and Kanye West could lend their talents to “Rocky Ground” to marvelous effect.

Dave Grohl would do a fine job on “Badlands.”

If Bon Jovi is brought up for a duet, I hope Bruce sees fit to think outside the box somewhat and avoid the inevitable “Thunder Road.” I actually would quite enjoy seeing Bruce and Jon do “Talk To Me,” as a tip of the cap to the Jersey Shore.

There’s plenty of the spirit of “Long Live Rock” in “No Surrender,” and I think it’d be perfect for Bruce to do with Pete Townshend.

Bruce guesting with Other Artists

I’d expect Bruce to come out during Billy Joel’s set, so I’m hoping it’s for something other than “New York State of Mind.” “The Stranger” seems right in Bruce’s wheelhouse.

A guest spot during Roger Waters seems unlikely; during Kanye West is just wishful thinking. Eddie Vedder may well get the (obvious) guest-spot with The Who but if they do bring Bruce up I think it’d be for something from their earlier catalog: “I Can’t Explain,” “My Generation,” or “The Kids are Alright.”

Bruce. Jagger. “Street Fighting Man.” This needs to happen.

Stand Up for Heroes

The live stream of the event was great and I hope it extended the fundraising capacity of the event quite a bit. (Note to the organizers: if you’d asked for the $10 just to get to the stream, I’d have kicked it in just to watch).

In my opinion, this was probably the best of the six sets Bruce has performed at the annual Stand Up For Heroes events. I note that I am also partial to the very first one, done in 2007, which had a setlist of This Hard Land, Devil’s Arcade (in its only ever acoustic performance) and Thunder Road.

Bruce seemed in great voice, and the version of “We Take Care of Our Own” was perhaps stronger than any of those done at the rallies in support of Obama over the past month.

At this point, anything from Tunnel of Love is a treat but I quite enjoyed the acoustic “Tougher Than The Rest” with Patti. It’s the first time they’ve sung it together in an acoustic format since their performance at Sonny’s Southern Cuisine in Asbury Park in July 2002. I just wish Patti could make it to more of the regular E Street shows so this would have chance at making the set.

The live stream unfortunately cut off just as the auction was about to take place: traditionally, the guitar Bruce was just playing is auctioned off.

Bruce Springsteen and Halloween Night (and Rochester wishlist)

With the news that the Rochester show has been postponed to Wednesday brings the first Halloween night show for Bruce since 1992.

History and past performances tell us that this is one of Bruce’s favorite holidays. Now that Halloween festivities at his house are no longer an annual event – a victim of “catastrophic success” and too many visitors in his neighborhood, as he wrote on his website a few years ago, here’s hoping he has something up his sleeve for the fans in Rochester instead.

Bruce has had four prior special performances for Halloween:
1. October 31, 1980 – Los Angeles Sports Arena

Bruce is carried on stage in a coffin and starts the show with a cover of “Jumpin’” Gene Simmons’ “Haunted House.” Youtube (audio) link is here. This performance was previously discussed on this site as one of Bruce’s best one-time-only covers. Lesser known about this show is that Bruce also did a special cover this night to start the show’s second set: the instrumental “Out of Limits” (a takeoff on the “Outer Limits” television show theme), originally done by the Marketts in 1964.

2. October 31, 1984 – Los Angeles Sports Arena

The show starts with a skit about “midnight in Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory,” and how “they were trying to awaken the monster. They tried all sorts of scientific methods, such as the mystery of electricity…then they tried to awaken his sexual perceptions…and then they performed an attack on his auditorial system (as “Louie Louie” is blasted)…but nothing seemed to work.”

“But then they tried Professor Frankenstein’s foolproof monster-wake-up, and then out of the darkness came a mystery man” – and Bruce is presented a guitar, leaps out of the coffin, and starts playing “High School Confidential.”

(A further description of the night’s proceedings can be found in Dave Marsh’s Glory Days).

3. October 31, 1992 – Target Center, Minneapolis

A special keyboard introduction by Roy leads into a rare “Spirit in the Night” opener.

Bonus – October 30, 2007 – Los Angeles Sports Arena

No special song this time, but back at the Sports Arena (this time, the night before Halloween), Bruce is again carried on stage in a coffin. Steve presents him a guitar and he asks “Is there anybody alive out there?” as he starts the standard “Radio Nowhere” opener. Video of these events was originally shown on Bruce’s website and can be found on Youtube here.

Note: there was also a Halloween show during the Born to Run tour in 1975 but there is no known tape and no known details about anything “special” for the holiday.

Special Songs for Rochester?

What might Bruce break out on Wednesday night? There are many possible choices, and not just the ones discussed above:

5. “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”. Yes, it’s obvious. Yes, it’s cliched. But that didn’t stop Bruce from playing this rarity in Paris this past July 4, either.

4. Wages of Sin.” This Nebraska era-outtake may only have a tenuous connection to Halloween – one particular lyric about “the devil snapping at my heels” (a line that was also used in “My Father’s House”) – but the general mood of the song and the verse about the narrator trying to make it home through the woods before darkness falls are plenty spooky on their own. Never before performed live, this song resides on the famous Disc 2 of Tracks, well known to be a favorite of Steve Van Zandt. The past three tours have included the live premieres of “Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own,” “Restless Nights,” and “Living on the Edge of the World,” all from that same Disc 2, so perhaps this one’s not totally out of the question.

3. “Monster Mash.” Novelty songs have their place, and that the crowd will know it certainly helps its chances. The band (in particular, the backup singers) should have no problem with this. A possibility for the encore, particularly if there’s a sign requesting it.

2. “Werewolves of London.” Part of what has made Hurricane Sandy so big of a storm is the high tides associated with the full moon. Technically, the full moon is today but that’s close enough for some howling on Wednesday night. Even without the connection to the storm, this classic by Bruce’s friend Warren Zevon would perfect for the occasion.

1. “A Night with the Jersey Devil.” Notable as the first time Bruce released original material on his website, this composition was made available on Halloween 2008 as an MP3 download with an accompanying video. Halloween night in Rochester seems as likely a time as any for the live debut of this composition, which gave writing credits to “Bruce Springsteen / Robert Jones / Gene Vincent.” Check out the official video here and keep your fingers crossed for Wednesday!

Wrecking Ball Fall 2012 Tour Preview (+ Obama Rallies Preview)

Wrecking Ball Fall Tour Preview

Obama Rallies

The tour officially starts up again on Friday on Ottawa but first there is the matter of Bruce’s two appearances in support of President Obama’s re-election campaign today. Some of the song choices are probably predictable – I’d put good money on “The Promised Land,” for example – but there also exists the chance for some material different than what was played when Bruce joined John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008.

One clue, for example, lies in the message Bruce posted on his website today in support of the President: a quote from “Long Walk Home,” a song that would be quite topically appropriate.

In 2004, John Kerry was using “No Surrender” long before Bruce showed up and played the song at his rallies. “The Rising” was heard at plenty of Obama campaign stops in 2008 and again, Bruce played the song at rallies supporting the campaign. So will tomorrow feature the debut of an acoustic version “We Take Care of Our Own?” I’m looking forward to finding out. I give it a better shot than a version of “Shackled and Drawn” (dedicated to Mitt Romney).

Continuation of the “Wrecking Ball” Tour

As for the rest of the tour, I don’t think there will be lots of surprises in Ottawa on Friday night but once the tour moves along, I think there’s great potential for the show to evolve, particularly with it back indoors.

One obvious possibility is for Bruce to refocus on the “Wrecking Ball” album. No longer constrained to the short attention spans of stadium crowds, “Rocky Ground” may well return to the set on a more regular basis. “This Depression” was such a revelation in its performances at Wrigley and in New Jersey that I think it also stands a good chance of making more appearances. Additionally, with the exception of the Oakland and Anaheim shows, this leg of the tour will be visiting markets that haven’t had a show yet, and I think that increases the possibility that Bruce will want to give the crowd the opportunity to hear those new songs.

Hearing lots of songs from The Promise, Tunnel of Love, and Lucky Town may be a longshot wish oft-cited here but I am more optimistic that Bruce may finally see fit to include some of the “Magic” material in the show again. “Livin’ in the Future” and “Gypsy Biker” would be perfect additions to the set but I’d settle for the above-mentioned “Long Walk Home” and perhaps the occasional “Radio Nowhere.”

Other factors to consider:

-Sign requests were almost entirely eliminated by the end of the US stadium leg; not a single request was granted via sign at the three New Jersey shows. Hopefully this trend continues.

-Material from The Promise will probably remain elusive but it was encouraging that Bruce had “Ain’t Good Enough For You” on his planned setlist for the second night in Philadelphia. Combined with the fact that “Talk to Me” has gone over extremely well in each of its (rare) appearances this tour, perhaps Bruce will continue to at least consider this material more often than he does Tunnel or Human Touch songs.

-Soundchecks on the most recent leg of the tour revealed lots of songs that might not be perfect for stadiums, including “Nothing Man,” “TV Movie,” and “Give the Girl a Kiss.” Maybe these songs themselves don’t get played but hopefully they show a continued interest in digging around the dusty corners of the back catalog.

The “Stay Hard, Stay Hungry, Stay Alive” Fall Tour wishlist:

5. “Rocky Ground,” in the set every night.

4. “Swallowed Up (in the Belly of the Whale).” Just once. Even if it’s only in an acoustic version opening the encore.

3. “Ain’t Good Enough For You.” This could be the new crowd participation number.

2. Something new from the ’92 era. Yes, its understandable why Bruce is generally cool to the idea of playing these songs with E Street, but given the instrumentation on stage, it would be a tremendous missed opportunity to not try a song or two with this band. “Better Days;” a rocked-up version of “The Big Muddy;” a full-band “Real World” – the potential is overflowing here.

1. “I Wanna Be With You” – still #1 on my list of things I’ve never seen the band do in concert.

On “Drift Away” and “Open All Night” from the Foxborough show

Drift Away
When signs requesting this appeared (and they have appeared often over the past few tours) I would typically dismiss them as overly optimistic, the same way I felt about the “Higher and Higher” signs in the days before Curt Ramm joined the band.

Why people want the song is no surprise: its two prior performances were nothing short of spectacular.  The song was performed twice on the Born in the USA tour, both times with special guest Steve Van Zandt singing the song as a duet with Bruce.  Steve would make guest appearances at ten different shows on the Born in the USA tour but “Drift Away” was only present the first two times: at the final night at the Meadowlands Arena (August 20, 1984) and again in Memphis (December 15, 1984).

Although the Miami Horns (including Ed Manion) were present at the first performance, I am generally partial to the Memphis version, for the superior vocal performances of Bruce and Steve. Their duet was pure soul, likely an influence of the show’s setting.

The Foxborough performance is only slightly disappointing in that Bruce elected to sing the entire song himself, rather than as the duet. (He also notably leaves off the lyrics to the bridge and last verse).

In some ways, that may be better, as the emotional space in which the song was sung in 1984 probably can’t be recreated at the drop of a hat.  The song was a special choice for Steve’s first return to the stage after his departure from the E Street Band, with the lyrics, including the key line “thanks for the joy that you’ve given me” an obvious tribute to Bruce and Steve’s rock-and-roll friendship and camaraderie.

While seeing the E Street Band get “challenged” on stage can be fun, this is one of those things that seems like it could reach full potential with just a small bit of practice. I could see this as a definite possibility for the setlist at the last few shows of the tour, whenever that actually will be.

Open All Night
The reappearance of this gem from Nebraska is notable for a few different reasons:
-It was the first appearance of the song at an E Street Band show since Melbourne in April 1985;
-It was the first full-band performance by the band; and
-It was the first time Bruce had used a Seeger Sessions re-arrangement of one of his own songs when playing with E Street.

“Open All Night” was a highlight of the Seeger tour but seemed a bit miscast in that arrangement in an E Street Band show on Saturday. I won’t be waiting for Bruce to be telling the story about pleading “guilty with an explanation”** anytime soon but I’d prefer that he consider the version he used for two performances at the Meadowlands in 1992 as the base of an arrangement. 3:00 AM on the “golden roadway of the East” doesn’t really fit with a jump-blues horn arrangement and New Orleans boogie-woogie piano.

One very encouraging thing about the reappearance of “Open All Night,” however, was that Bruce was willing to grant a sign request for a rarity from his own catalog. When collecting signs on Saturday night, he even mentioned specifically that it was a “a deep crowd, a lot of unusual [requests].”

The covers can (and are) great fun but with so much of Bruce’s catalog getting very little play in the past few tours — particularly in comparison to all the different covers — here’s hoping for more Springsteen songs to appear as well.

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** One of Bruce’s all-time best in-concert stories.  This topic to be explored soon in a future post.