I was so looking forward to this show.
It was my first chance to see Bruce perform acoustically in a small venue, and my friend Steve and I made the trip from Seattle because we weren’t sure if there would be a Pacific Northwest leg later (there was).
And by all accounts, it was a great show. Listening to it years later, I love how fresh the Devils & Dust material sounds so early in the tour. And since we’d managed to avoid all spoilers (it was much easier in those days), there were some genuinely breathtaking surprises, starting with the pump organ opener of “My Beautiful Reward” and the bullet mic version of “Reason to Believe.” We hadn’t even hit the new material yet, and I’d already heard two personal premieres.
“Two Faces” was a stunner–it was only the second time the song had been performed since 1988, and it was the early highlight of the show for me:
In all, I heard fifteen(!) songs I’d never heard before that night, including the tour premiere of “Nebraska.”
We even lucked out with the tour premiere of “Land of Hope and Dreams,” my personal favorite Bruce song and only the second time it had ever been performed acoustically.
…but even though I was there, I have to rely on the bootleg for to remind me of most of the detail and nuance of Bruce’s performance that night.
Why? Because sitting directly in front of me and one seat to the right was the late, great Robin Williams, and I was fascinated watching his reactions to the songs–so much so that I forgot to notice my own. Robin was clearly a fan, and he was rapt for the entire show, with the same joy and wonder playing across his face as the rest of us. (In my imagination, I pictured him joining Bruce on stage for an encore of “Fire” in full Elmer Fudd mode, but alas, it was not to be.)
So of all the shows I’ve attended, this is the one I remember least vividly–the downside of proximity to your heroes.
Luckily, I was able to attend three more shows that tour, and those shows I remember perfectly–they were full of riches. But that’s a story for another time.
I also made this show. I went by myself. Having only seen the band once before (2003), I knew tonight would be a special experience. I was excited to hear the new record as I felt it was strong. The bullet mic, I thought, didn’t work, as you couldn’t decipher the lyrics (neither live nor on the bootleg) though the effect was cool, with a great blues feel. The memory that stood out (and the one I’ll share) was “Jesus Was An Only Son.” From the introduction of the song to the beautiful performance, people were so caught up in the meaning of the lyric, and whether one is particularly religious or not isn’t the issue, I remember hearing people audibly weeping in the theater.
Also, he played Racing In the Street and at the bridge played a wrong note, yelling “WOOOOOO!” as he did; a great way to keep the song going!