Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band @ Xcel 11/2

"Is there anybody ALIVE out there???!" Bruce questioned the audience upon taking the stage Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center before launching into the first single from his new album, "Magic". The legendary performer immediately dazzled me with his level of energy and intensity. That song, "Radio Nowhere" like the performance and the Man himself, is an indictment of today's radio and the lack of conviction, inspiration, and quality that defines it. Bruce complains of looking for direction, for meaning, for just even some *rhythm* for god's sake, and finding none on today's typical radio station.

Yet even with that sense of dissappointment with popluar music that he conveyed, with all the overt talk of disillusionment with the Bush Regime and their illegal antics and dirty tricks, I cannot imagine anyone out there bringing more hope and joy to audiences than The Boss. Indeed, Jon Stewart, on a recent episode of the Daily Show, could barely contain his excitement after seeing a Bruce show the night before, exclaiming, "Do you like Joy? Are you a fan of Joy? Then you should go see Bruce Springsteen."





From "Radio Nowhere":

"I want a thousand guitars
I want pounding drums
I want a million different voices speaking in tongues"

That's what music should be, and that's what I got at my first Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band show. I got my face rocked. I got my batteries recharged, I got my fucking Joy on.

I had the pleasure of seeing Bruuuuuuuuuce last year with the Seeger Sessions Band, when he was touring with about 17 poeple onstage and an album of Pete Seeger's folk ballads of American Life. That was the best damn hootenanny I have ever been to. That was like a revival of American music folklore and energy, but this - this was, as I was told repeatedly, a different thing altogether.

We were at the venue six hours before the show started to get wristbands that gave us a chance to be among 480 lucky super fans who would occupy the Orchestra Pit right in front of the stage. Over 1100 people lined up for a shot at the best seats in the house. When the announcement was made, and we realized we had lucked out and got the fantastic seats, I felt like an American Idol contestant being told "You're through to the next round!" Maybe that is a sad comparison, but I felt, as I'm sure those brave contestants did, like fate had smiled upon me and decided to place me 20 feet from a real American Idol.

Bruce ripped through the first few songs of the set with no more than a heroic "1, 2, 3, 4!" between songs as he lead the incredible 8 piece E Street Band through a powerhouse of an opening. Clarence Clemons aka The Big Man, the 65 year old saxophonist who just had fucking double hip replacement surgery, was on fire as he nonchalantly strode to center stage to take a sax solo during nearly every song. Little Stevie Van Zandt stood to the left of The Boss and frequently was summoned to the mic to sing and/or yell backup vocals. Max Weinburg, on loan from Conan O'Brien, hammered away on his elevated drum set. Patti Scialfa, Bruce's wife, who normally tours and plays with the band, was at home with the kids in Jersey, so fiddle player Soozie Tyrell, who was one of very few E Streeters on the Seeger Sessions Tour, took over her singing duties.







"Living in the Future" was preceded by a sobering listing of some of the many very unamerican things our current uber-american administration has perpetrated, like torture, wiretapping, indefinite imprisonment without chrages or trial, and general whittling away of civil liberties.

The end of the 18 song set (not including the 5 song encore) made for a kind of American reckoning, with heavy modern political themes abundant. "The Rising" is a powerful call to solidarity post 9/11. The last note of "The Rising" became the first note of "Last to Die", a rousing indictment of the Iraq war ("Who'll be the last to die for a mistake?"). Then "Long Walk Home" summed up the difficulty of soldiers returning home from an unpopular and mentally exhausting war, and finally "Badlands" brought the optimism, proclaiming "It aint no sin to be glad you're alive".

Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Your Own Worst Enemy
Incident on 57th Street
Working on the Highway
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
American Land



"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" went out to 83 year old Bruce ultra fan
Jeanne Heintz, who we met before the show, who had already been to about a dozen shows in various cities on this tour.

I also met a 17 year old whose lifelong dream was coming true as he saw Bruce for the first time, and a middle aged man who hadn't seen Bruce for 15 years. I was somewhat surprised by the age range of fans, with every age group having significant representation.

Thunder Road was played for only the second time this tour, and kicked ass. And of course "Born to Run" (B2R for Bruceheads) was a high energy staple.


"Dancin' in the Dark" had me uncontrollably dancing like Courtney Cox in 1984. I suspect thousands of other concert-goers felt the same way, but didn't care either as they grooved side to side like Jon Stewart in the above video. By the way, the video for that song, which won Bruce his first Grammy, was shot at a St. Paul concert in '84 and attended by Brianna's dad. It was directed by Brian DePalma.

The show ended with a heartfelt "Long live happiness!" shout from Mr. Springsteen, and a hearty response of glee from the sold out crowd of 19,000.

I left the show thinking, "That was among the most amazing things I have ever SEEN!" To clarify, not only was it one of the best shows I have ever seen, it was one of the most spectacular, awe-inspiring, magical displays of Humanity and Hope that I have ever witnessed.









Long Live Happiness indeed.