Springsteen @ the X
Posted on May 12th, 2009 – 1:17 AMBy Jon Bream
At our traditional post-Springsteen huddle, my pal, the Amazing Hondo, a professional magician and bona fide Bruce obsessive, said the first half of Monday’s concert at the X was for the Boss, the second half was for the fans. That’s a pretty insightful perspective.
Not only did the Boss look and seem ageless, he seemed to be having a great time. Give some credit to 18-year-old drummer Jay Weinberg. Not only did he kick butt, he even handled the audible that Bruce called in the set list. He inserted “Out in the Street” before “Working on a Dream.”
In the Mighty Max set, Bruce subbed “I’m on Fire” for “The Wrestler,” eliminated “Thunder Road” from the list and added “Bobbie Jean” at the end as well as an unplanned, extra “Rosalita.” So he played 27 songs instead of the planned 25, including the three requests from the crowd. (Wonder why he didn’t bother to grab the sign requesting Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”? He did snare the Wisconsin cheese head with painted-on requests for “Cadillac Ranch” and “For You.”)
Highlights included the joyous “Out in the Street,” Bruce’s tortured blues guitar during “Seeds” followed by the sting of “Johnny 99″ and then Nils Lofgren’s fiery guitar on “Ghost of Tom Joad,” Bruce’s long guitar solo during “Prove It All Night,” and the classics “Born to Run” and the long-missing “Rosalita.”
As for lowlights: the new “Kingdom of Days” (the Boss seemed to be the only one in the arena enjoying this one) followed by the equally slow “Lonesome Day.”
Here is what Springsteen and the E Street Band played:
1. Badlands 2. Radio Nowhere 3. Outlaw Pete 4. No Surrender 5. Out in the Street 6. Working on a Dream 7. Seeds 8. Johnny 99 9. Ghost of Tom Joad 10. Raise Your Hand (Eddie Floyd) 11. Good Lovin’ (Rascals) by request 12. Prove It All Night by request 13. E Street Shuffle by request 15. Waiting on a Sunny Day 16. Promised Land 17. I’m on Fire 18. Kingdom of Days 19. Lonesome Day 20. The Rising 21. Born to Run
Encore 22. Hard Times Come Again No More (Stephen Foster) 23. Tenth Avenue FreezeOut 24. Land of Hope and Dreams 25. American Land 26. Bobbie Jean 27. Rosalita
What did you think of the show?
11 Responses to "Springsteen @ the X"
I just wanted to say that any band that can come to town and rock the house for almost three hours is amazing in my book!!! I had never seem the boss before but he and the E street band toataly lived up to my expectations.
One of my favorite concerts by far! the only thing that would have made it better would have been to sit in the front row!
The boss was amazing!!!I just wanted to say that any band that can come to town and rock the house for almost three hours is unbelieveable!!! I had never seem the boss before but he and the E street band toataly lived up to my expectations.
One of my favorite concerts by far! the only thing that would have made it better would have been to sit in the front row!
Hey Jon:
I agree with your reviews. I think he sounds better han he did 10 years ago -definitely better than the last tour. Once I saw what songs he was playing this tour I listened to Kingdom of Days over and over and over again to try and figure it (I’m almost there). But the thing I cannot get past is the damn whistling on Working on a Dream, which is an otherwise great song.
And if my daughter is any indication, his new drummer may attract a whole new generation of fans: how’s your daddy going to object to you dating Max Weinberg’s son (even if he is a metal-head)?
PS: Not to play copy editor on a guy who was up late writing this: he did 26 songs (your list doesn’t have a #14).
Never, NEVER sounded better!!! “I’m On Fire” was like listening to the CD. “No Surrender” was a live-first for me and just about made the whole show for me. It wasn’t until after I got home that I realized there was no “Wrestler” or “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”, both of which I was dying to hear; I was so exhilirated I forgot he didn’t do them. Sorry to see Big Man has slowed down but he can still play!
Thank you Bruce!!!!!
Jon, you missed THE highlight of the show: “Outlaw Pete” from the new album. The mythology and allegory that emanate from the song on the album shine through even more with the live version. A transcendent moment of the show.
I agree with Steve that this show was about adding new generations to the Springsteen fanbase. I brought my 14 year old, my youngest son. But there were many pre-teens and teens at the show with their (aging?) babyboomer parents.
Actually, I thought “Outlaw Pete” was an over-extended and over-excited dud. I also didn’t like the version of “Johnny 99″ — a dark and edgy song about murder, it was too “E Street-ized,” fist-in-the-air, rah-rah-ish (although, I admit the crowd really enjoyed it).
The best for me were “No Surrender” back-to-back with “Out in the Street,” and the Stephen Foster song in the encore. I also did like the moodier E Street-ization of “Tom Joad.” I would’ve liked “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” but didn’t miss “The Wrestler.”
great show and an interesting take on the first-half for the boss/second half for the fans premise. i’d have to disagree about kingdom of days though- while i couldn’t really tell how well it went over as i was way up in front, i can’t help but feel that that song is in a lot ways the heart of their show right now. bruce and band won’t be around forever, and they’re just playing incredibly right now…it’s their kingdom of days.
i’ll be posting a full review on my blog in days to come
Absolutely incredible! This was my first BOSS show and it was one of THE best concerts that I’ve been to in years!! The band showed that they can still kick it after all these years and when Jay W was on the throne they were even better (sorry Max) THAT BOY HAS SOME CHOPS! I will never miss another Bruce show again, however, next time I’m in the front row! GREAT JOB E STREET and THANK YOU BOSS!!
Well, I’ll be the contrarian. I was unimpressed with the show. A brief summary and then some specifics: the band sounded bad, tired, and many times out of key or off beat. Where was Roy’s piano? Has Promised Land ever been played worse – wrong key harmonica and all? Haven’t we all seen the same shtick for the last 3 tours, same “Is there anybody alive out there”, same “booty shaking, Viagra takin, E-Street Band” lines. I expect to hear the same lines, even word for word, when I see several shows on the same tour, but tour after tour using the same lines is sad. We’ve heard the same Nils solo on the last 3 tours, whether it was on Youngstown or Ghost of Tom Joad. Let’s shuffle the deck. It was great on the last few tours, but let’s try something new….
The song pacing was poor. Badlands is not an opener, that should have been Outlaw Pete which was great. How about Outlaw Pete into Radio Nowhere into Badlands, sort of a crescendo effect? Should Raise Your Hands be in the middle of the set? Bobby Jean after American Land was a downer, especially since he slowed it down. Rosalita on the other hand was A-1, the best I’ve seen him do it, and a great finisher.
I’ll take nothing away from Bruce’s performance. He was great, voice was great, energy was great, he had fun with the crowd, everything I would expect of him. And Jay was unbelievable on drums – way more than I ever expected. He MADE the first half of the show.
But Steven…can we get him on “What Not To Wear”? Literally the same pants, snakeskin boots, shirt and bandana for 10 years. Time for a change of clothes. I’m saying nothing about his playing, just his style. I love Steven, but time for a change.
The sound, at least where we were in section 102 was bad. Maybe that’s why I never heard the piano.
Where was the “Wow, I never expected to hear that” song? Good Lovin was excellent, but that was in the request section of the show. Where were the epic songs? Backstreets? Nope. Jungleland? Nope. Racing in the Street? Nope. To replace Thunder Road with Bobby Jean was a bad move.
Maybe I have seen him too many times. Maybe I had high expectations. Those fans that haven’t seen him for the last few tours I’m sure were impressed, and I will admit that being in the front of the pit last show made it one of the best concerts (probably THE best) I have seen. There is no doubt that those in the pit are guaranteed to have a great experience. But coming at it from a critical point of view, man I was disappointed. But that’s just me, and I will still see him over and over and over again, and maybe out there on that road somewhere the band will once again blow me away.
Dave N: your NOT a Fan of Springsteen! I’ve seen ever Minesota Concert he has performed since 1978 (plus many Shows out of State)! Everyone has been a unique Rock ‘n Roll Experience. I don’t rate every Show…like all the critics. I come away after every Concert, mesmerized and in awe of his Rock ‘n Roll Power and Glory! We don’t need negative Springsteen press…because he doesn’t deserve it. Go back to watching American Idol…for FREE!
Dave N’s comments were a little over the top. I have seen Springsteen about 10 times. It was not his best show, but a very good one. Critiqing Miami Steves clothing selection? Pleasssssssse
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