Concert Review: 8/25/16, Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford

So the summer of 2016, I had really only cared about one concert...and for once it wasn't Bruce!  I had been so obsessed about the Guns N' Roses reunion that I kinda forgot that Bruce was coming back to Metlife Stadium this summer.  Shame on me.  Maybe it was because I had already been to the Prudential Center show, and the Barclays Center with Rory, but I just didn't have the same enthusiasm that I usually did in the weeks leading up to this show.  Which to say my excitement was at like an 8 or a 9 instead of the usual 10.  Like I said, shame on me.  And it's almost as if Bruce knew that he was kind of flying in under the radar and wanted to pull out all the stops to really show his fans why he was, is, and always will be the greatest live musician you can possibly see.

I went to this concert with my wonderful girlfriend, whom I had gotten the tickets for her birthday.  Alright, the tickets were more a gift for me, but she was a Bruce fan prior to us dating and had been to about half a dozen concerts before, but this would be our first concert together.  And my God, was it a memorable show.  Four hours!  We had General Admission tickets on the floor, and I was exhausted at the end from just standing there.  I know we at LoS marvel at Bruce's energy and showmanship all the time, but it's really getting ridiculous.  Bruce is older than my parents, and he's not just "not slowing down", he's raising his game and playing some of the longest shows of his life.  And as much credit as we give to Bruce, The E Street Band needs credit too.  They are all close to Bruce, if not older, in age and keep up with him every step of the way.  I noticed a few times Bruce's interaction with Max, Nils, Garry, and everyone else in the band.  Bruce had a look in his eyes like he was almost challenging them to keep up with him.  And they absolutely did, and made it look easy.

So the night started out a little bit rough, as after our tailgate, we went into the concert and were met by enormous lines to get into the stadium.  It was just as I was about to go through the metal detectors that I heard the worst sound I could possibly hear, "Good Evening, New Jersey".  I had never missed the beginning of a concert, especially a Bruce show.  And as I heard the opening chords to "New York City Serenade", I finally got through security and had my ticket scanned.  It'll be ok, I can still catch the end of the song, and see the whole concert.  Nope, we hit another enormous line for getting on to the floor of the General Admission section.  The good news is I can hear the concert, but I was starting to get cranky at the drunks on the line, and the jerks who tried to cut the line, but were caught by the security staff.  Bruce was finishing up "Prove It All Night", when we finally were allowed into the stadium.  But now we have to stop and get wrist bands to get on to the floor.  Alright, now it's getting ridiculous.  I hear the familiar drum intro to "Night" as I finally am walking on to the floor of Metlife Stadium.  It was really only two songs that I missed, and considering the amount of time Bruce played for, it's just a drop in the bucket, but man I couldn't helped but feel somewhat bummed.  The feeling lasted all of two minutes, and by the time Bruce played "No Surrender" I had totally forgotten about those security lines.  And it's nothing I can be mad at Metlife Stadium at.  They're doing their job and security is a real issue.  But if you're going to any of his other shows this summer, allow yourself plenty of time to get into the venue.  Especially if you have GA tickets.

Even though this is The River tour, there were only a handful of songs played from that album, not including concert staples for every tour like "Hungry Heart" and "Out In The Street".  And since he's not touring for a new album, that leaves the setlist wide open for songs from Bruce's entire career, which for a hardcore fan was really exciting.  Like Rory said about Tuesday's show, the setlist last night was kind of somber at times.  And I think the songs he chose to play definitely were speaking for Bruce, especially this close to the election, without him having to make political statements.  I don't think it's a coincidence that "Ghost of Tom Joad", "Jack of All Trades", "Youngstown", "Death To My Hometown", and "41 Shots" were all played.  And Tom Morello being there for guest spots on certain songs certainly added to the political message.  But it wasn't beaten over your head, and it wasn't in your face.  Bruce was simply doing what he does best and expressing his thoughts through his song catalog.  And trust me, there were plenty of rocking tunes that kept people dancing in East Rutherford til after midnight, when they finally called it a night and said good night to an exhausted but thoroughly satisfied crowd.

Tom Morello - "Marching On Ferguson"

So I promised Rory and Steve I would keep my political rantings to a minimum on this blog.  I saw this video a few weeks back, and decided not to immediately post about it, because I still was so enraged by what I saw happening in Ferguson, that I don't think I could have kept my political thoughts in check.  Now that the situation has died down, I feel I can share this video.

I won't get into my own personal feelings about Ferguson.  Whether or not it was a young, unarmed man gunned down by prejudice and trigger-happy cop, or whether or not this was a criminal, who attacked a cop and was justly killed by a cop doing his job, this blog is neither the time or place to discuss it, and no one here knows for sure, so let's just let the grand jury do their job with the evidence that's presented.

So, Tom Morello and his band the Night Watchmen wrote this song about the situation in Ferguson, and this was the best copy I can find.  The lyrics are pretty hard to understand, and even still the song barely clocks in at 2 minutes with a large part of that being instrumental.  But it's not a shocker at all to see that Morello sides with the rioters in Ferguson and their cause.  He has a history of taking part in political causes that seem to start with good intentions, but then are just taken over by opportunists who don't care about the cause and ruin the message (most notably Occupy Wall St.).  And, of course, his signature guitar, with his "arm the homeless" written on it.  Until you remember that most homeless people are mentally ill, and the exact people we should keep guns out of the hands of.

I'm still torn about how I feel about Tom Morello in the E Street band.  Musically he's been great, and a breath of fresh air.  He's fit in very well, and been very well received by the Bruce's fans.  However, personally I still think he's kind of a jackass, and get annoyed every time I hear him talk.  Unless he's inducting Kiss into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.  Then he's awesome.

Breaking News - "High Hopes" Video Released, New Album Announced

Well, once we were treated to a fantastic studio version of "Dream Baby Dream", the rumors started to swirl.  Today, everything became official: a video was released for "High Hopes", and an album by the same name was announced for January 14th.  Like Wrecking Ball, it's a not-quite-E-Street album, featuring a lot of Tom Morello (he's listed on eight of 12 tracks).  Upon first listen, "High Hopes" has that same "angry mob" sound that characterized Wrecking Ball stand-out tracks such as "Death To My Hometown" and "Shackled and Drawn".  While it isn't as catchy as "We Take Care Of Our Own", this song, as well as the aforementioned "Dream Baby Dream", have me very excited for the new album, and, more importantly, the (potentially) forthcoming tour.

Video Spotlight: "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (Tom Morello, Anne Preven, Boston Pops)

Tom Morello is no stranger to E Street fans.  He even filled in for Stevie Van Zandt during Bruce’s most recent Australian tour.  Anne Preven on the other hand is not terribly well known.  I only know one song by her, “Torn”, and I only came to know that song because it was covered and became a massive hit for Natalie Imbruliga in the late 90’s.  However, while I was never a fan of Imbruliga’s cover, the first time I heard Anne Preven doing the original song,  acoustically on The Howard Stern Show, I became a HUGE fan of the song.  Seriously give it a listen and you will thank me.

It was actually while looking for that performance of “Torn” that I stumbled across this video on YouTube.  While not professionally filmed, the quality is still good and it’s just such an interesting combination.  A rock guitar icon, an angry feminist songwriter, and the Boston Pops covering a Springsteen song.  And it works!  Notice that they stayed close to the original Springsteen arrangement of the song and did not go with Morello’s cover version that he did with Rage Against The Machine.  Smart call there, as I hate the Rage version of this song.

They all sound great here.  Preven's voice is great, Morello's guitar playing is amazing as always, and the Boston Pops adds a certain haunting element to the song that really fits in and seems natural.  It's one of the best performances of this song that I've heard.

Concert Review – Wrigley Field, Chicago September 7

Looking at the back-to-back baseball field precedent of the Fenway performances last month, there was a temptation to think that the first night at Wrigley would be Bruce’s safe night and pale in comparison to the second night’s wild and unpredictable powerhouse. Such concerns were instantly eradicated the second Bruce stepped on stage and opened with “Prove It All Night” (’78 Opening).

From that lengthy, guitar-heavy salvo, he segued into “My Love Will Not Let You Down” from Tracks. It was almost as if Bruce was testing the audience right off the bat to see how many fans were in attendance and who was ready to party. When the audience earned his trust, he quickly returned the favor by turning to audience participation heavy favorites “Out in the Street” and “Hungry Heart”.

From that point it was apparent that all bets were off. The next thing you know, Tom Morello is jumping around stage in a Cubs hat unannounced and shredding his unclipped guitar alongside the band in “Death to My Hometown.” An hour or so later, who’s that walking on stage? None other than Eddie Vedder. He was rumored to join Bruce in Philadelphia after being sighted near backstage but an appearance didn’t materialize. This time? Here he is joining Bruce for a stark duet of “Atlantic City”.

Other notable moments included the tour debut of the quietly powerful “None but the Brave”, the best live version of “Land of Hope and Dreams” I’ve ever heard (every instrument powerful; every lyric precious) and the always appreciated “Trapped” (which had our beer guy shimmying up and down the aisle). There was also the unexpected Born in the U.S.A. one-two punch of “I’m Goin’ Down” and “Darlington County” that sent my wife to Stubhub scouring for seats to Saturday night’s concert (cooler heads prevailed after the show).

Seeing Springsteen at Wrigley Field marked a series of firsts for me:
• The first time I’ve seen him perform outside of New Jersey
• The first time I’ve seen him perform in a baseball stadium
• The first time I’ve seen him joined by surprise guests on stage

This was my eighth Springsteen concert but the first outside of the Garden State. It was startling the first time I heard him yell “Chicago!” instead of "New Jersey!" Seeing it in Wrigley provided great atmosphere but I did find the audio quality lacking. Perhaps it was just the location of our seats toward the back of the lower tier but the sound was often distorted, which made Bruce’s speeches even less intelligible than usual.

When Morello joined for “Death to My Hometown” I can’t say it made much difference to me but it was fun to see him bobbing around. His addition to “Jack of All Trades” was more significant but his presence really came alive during “The Ghost of Tom Joad”. The feverish powerhouse conclusion of which was the heaviest guitar playing I've ever seen in a Bruce concert. As the night progressed, Morello seemed happy camping out on stage and by the end, it felt like he had joined in for so many songs that he might as well just become a permanent member of the E Street Band – something I would wholeheartedly endorse.

On the subject of additions to the band, during “Spirit in the Night” Bruce had Jake Clemons join him on the steps and the two reprised the kind of pantomime that Bruce and Clarence had been doing since the 1970s. Their repartee wasn’t as smooth as it could have been, the sax blurts not timed completely right and for a moment the performance reminded me of Jimmy Stewart trying to recreate his lost Madeleine in Vertigo. But only for a moment.

The band finished with a rollicking encore that featured a sign request for “Jungleland” and capped off the night with “Twist and Shout” with the remarkable jumbo screen image of Springsteen, Vedder and Morello all singing into the same microphone. Who knows what kind of magic is in store for the second night at Wrigley. We can suspect it will be full of sign requests, other guests and jaw-dropping rarities. But however it unfolds, this first night was truly one for the ages.

Quick Take - Jack of all Trades

Bruce’s latest track, “Jack of All Trades,” has a very romantic sound and a reassuring chorus that becomes considerably less comforting by the time we get to the dark, sinister ending.

The song reminds me somewhat of “Livin’ in the Future” – a song whose weight I didn’t fully appreciate until I heard it played live and slowed down.

It should be noted that Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine guests on this track playing electric guitar. After hearing his accompaniment on the live version of “Ghost of Tom Joad,” I was really excited that the two were pairing again. However, while Morello’s solo at the 5:00 minute mark is strong and nicely integrated, what really strikes me in this song is the horn section. I have a feeling this is a song Bruce is going to play frequently and with heartfelt solemnity.