Bruce doesn’t make it up to the Pacific Northwest that often, so when he does, I try to catch the entire Portland-Seattle-Vancouver swing (almost always in that order).
Portland usually gets the Night One honors, which typically means a short, predictable show–and this night on the Magic tour was no exception.
The show was definitely on the short side (hard to believe that the shows grew from 2:20 mid-way through the Magic tour to 4:00+ by the end of 2016), and the crowd was, too (the arena wasn’t even close to sold out)–but Bruce made up for the short duration with high-voltage intensity, kicking things off with “Night” as the opener.
The setlist definitely had a retro feel: sign requests for “For You,” and “Lost in the Flood” combined with half of Darkness on the Edge of Town almost made this a dark, grim show.
Almost.
My most vivid memory from that show is the big group of lesbians in the pit with us, rocking out and having a blast. How do I know they were lesbians? Because they were all wearing t-shirts emblazoned “Lesbians (heart) Bruce!” Every time he noticed them, Bruce cracked up, and by the encore, he was playing directly to them, giving a shout-out in “American Land” to “…the lesbians and the Jews!” If the main set was intense, the encore was a big party.
In short, a fun show, and serviceable if predictable opener for a three-night PacNW stand. Nights Two and Three would bring their share of surprises and then some.
