Jen and I went to see Bruce Springsteen last night. She’s a huge fan, and I was along for the ride, having never been much of a fan (although I really dug The Rising). Bruce is on a solo acoustic tour to promote his new album, Devils & Dust. Here’s what he played (tunes marked with * were played last night for the first time on this tour):
- Prove It All Night*
- Reason to Believe
- Devils & Dust
- Empty Sky
- Long Time Comin’
- Black Cowboys
- 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)*
- Leap of Faith*
- State Trooper
- Nebraska
- Maria’s Bed
- The Line
- Reno
- When You’re Alone*
- You’re Missing*
- The Rising
- Darkness on the Edge of Town*
- Jesus Was an Only Son
- If I Should Fall Behind
- The Hitter
- Matamoros Banks
- Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
- My Best Was Never Good Enough
- The Promised Land
- Dream Baby Dream
For me, the only weak link in the show was Reason To Believe, which was so distorted and nonmelodic that you couldn’t understand the words or the tune. Very cool effect, though, with Bruce singing through a distorted harmonica and pounding on an amplified footboard. Highlights included 4th of July, which was beautiful; Maria’s Bed, which rocked; You’re Missing, which still chokes me up; Jesus Was An Only Son, which I found very moving despite my obvious disagreements with the ideology, mostly because of the good stuff he said about parents and kids; and Dream Baby Dream, which was one of the coolest show closers I’ve ever seen.
All in all, a very cool show, and I’m glad I went. Jen was quite surprised. She had no idea where we were going, and didn’t figure out who was playing until we got right up to the arena (which has no sign out front) and heard a little of The Rising playing on the sound system outside.
JEN: “Y’know, this is getting a little annoying, actually.”
(Takes two more steps, hears music.)
JEN: “Is this Bruce?”
JASON: “Yup.”
JEN: “It IS?!?! Now I’m excited!”
While you’ve still got Bruce on the brain, check out this excellent interview of Bruce, done recently by author Nick Hornby (Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, A Long Way Down). Thanks to Jeff Vrabel, himself a fine music columnist, for the link.
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