Friday, August 1, 2008

bruce springsteen "magic" tour at giants stadium: review, photos and setlist




last night was my third springsteen concert in 28 years - with a slight 24 year gap in between my last bruce show, during the "born in the u.s.a." tour in the summer of 1984! it was also pat's very first springsteen concert! i can certainly report that his glory days aren't anywhere near coming to a close. springsteen came on LATE - i'm not talking about the typical 45 minutes to one hour late he's known for. while tickets stated 7:30 - and most fans know that means an 8:15-8:30 real start time, last night the concert didn't start until 9:30!

that may have been an unavoidable result of the huge traffic nightmare that developed yesterday afternoon when a tanker overturned on the thruway and caused major stretches of the highway (including exit 16w to the stadium) to be shut down for hours. while no official announcement was made about this at giants stadium, it was the topic of conversation as most of the seats remained empty until well after 8. but it seemed that everyone eventually made it in by the time bruce kicked off with "summertime blues!"

springsteen has lost none of his energy - and may even have gained endurance - over all these years. he ran thru hit after hit with unrestrained enthusiasm - i mean this figuratively, and literally (as he repeated ran from one end to the stage to the other). with that high energy level pouring off the stage, the audience couldn't help but get pulled into the excitement. especially so since he followed up "summertime blues" with "tenth avenue freeze-out!" pretty cool, if you'll excuse the pun.

song highlights for me, after "freeze-out," included "spirit in the night" (my all time favorite bruce tune), "candy's room," "blinded by the light," and "she's the one." my favorite song of the night was, unquestionably, "because the night!" while he had written this one for patti smith, and her version of it is definitive, bruce took it back last night and redefined it in my book! truly spectacular performance of a classic!

other notable moments included pulling out and doing "pink flamingos" for his wife, patti. and the tossing water on the crowd when things got really heated during "mary's room." plus, taking requests via fan placards - including reading them out loud and putting them on display via the monitor - cool. the things i could do without: listening to his political laments (which, thankfully, he kept brief) and the row of drunken frat boys that occupied the seats directly behind us! i also wanted to hear "thunder road" (my other favorite bruce tune) - but since he had played it during the two previous shows, i didn't really expect to hear it.

all in all - this was a great bruce show! go SEE him! fwiw, one woman pat talked to as we entered the stadium had just driven 9 hours from virginia to catch this show (her 15th). that certain rises to the level of deadhead commitment - haha.
____________________________________________












________________________________________________
Springsteen performs Tenth Avenue Freeze Out




___________________________________________________
full setlist:
Summertime Blues
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Radio Nowhere
Prove It All Night
Two Hearts
The Promised Land
Spirit In the Night
Light of Day
Brilliant Disguise
Pretty Flamingo
Blinded By the Light
Cadillac Ranch
Candy's Room
Night
Because the Night
She's the One
Livin' In the Future
Mary's Place
Incident on 57th Street
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

encores:
first:
Jungleland
Born To Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing In the Dark
American Land

second:
Jersey Girl
Rosalita


my second bruce show: 1984

my first bruce show: 1980

5 comments:

Van 1- Hall said...

can I just live a day, heck a week, in your shoes. I love the BOSS! He is my all-time favorite artist to workout to. Sounds like it woulda been a great concert.

Anonymous said...

I was at Giant's Stadium last night. Have gone to many Bruce shows but this one was special for me. Took my 24 yr old son and his girlfriend. They were Bruce virgins and they were totally blown away by the show. It was FABULOUS and let's hear it for boomer stars who set the bar way way high for showmanship, talent and passion:)

Anonymous said...

Frank, sounds like another great show. You got "Rosalita", which I really wanted to hear him play on Monday. On the other hand, we got "Thunder Road" and "Out in the Street", and he went on at a more reasonable time (~8:35).

See you at the race tomorrow -

Anonymous said...

A spectacular new book called For You is one of the best Bruce Springsteen books ever published. What's real special about this is that it's all about Bruce and his fans. The 208-page book is a collection of recollections from fans about Bruce from the early 1970s to present. This marvelous collection of hundreds of fan tales, testimonials and memories also features tons of fan photographs of Bruce and the E Street Band over the years. Many of these photographs have never been published.
It's the photos that really impressed me. So many great shots of Bruce over the years, from his Steel Mill days in 1970 to even the Magic Tour. Only 2,000 copies of the book were made and fans should order a copy now to ensure they will not be shut-out.
The stories by fans really capture how Bruce Springsteen and his music has touched our lives over the past 30-plus years. This is a 'must have' for any Springsteen fan. www.Foryoubruce.com

rundangerously said...

thanks john! hard to believe i've been a bruce fan for 30+ years (only the dead rank up there in that time frame)!

thanks for stopping by adrian! always great when we can bring our kids (however old they may be!) for the ride! took my 13 year old to see the b-52s earlier this summer! not quite a bruce show, but still a trip down memory lane for me - eye opener for her!

rob, great shows! we need to find a couple of concerts to check out in august :D

that looks like a pretty interesting bruce book!