The train almost wrecked before it left the station.
Bruce chose to open the show with “Trapped” for the first (and I believe only) time ever, probably as a sly wink to the show’s venue (KeyArena). The song was immediately recognizable from the opening bars, but Charlie’s organ–the key instrument–couldn’t be heard in the mix.
After an extended intro and some fumbling, the band pulled it out, only for Nils to miss the opening of the “No Surrender” audible that shortly followed. Three songs in and two almost-catastrophes, Bruce seemed determined to prove the band’s resilience–so we were off to the races with a wild card-filled show.
The highlight for me: the double-shot of “Your Own Worst Enemy” (only performed nine times to this day) and “Point Blank.” Given where America sat politically at the time (and sadly, today), “Your Own Worst Enemy” couldn’t have resonated any stronger.
The encores on this leg of the Magic Tour had become pretty set in stone by this point, but Bruce delivered a jolt of energy right at the top of the encore with sign requests for “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” (which had been MIA for a few months) and “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” finishing strong and setting the stage for the closing night of the PacNW swing in Vancouver.
