Until I started reliving my concert memories, I didn’t realize just how many of my local shows happened in March. That’s largely because Bruce’s tours tend to follow set patterns, but why he’d choose early spring for a west coast tour is beyond me. But while the Seattle show two days earlier fell on a cold, gloomy, and even snowy day, two days later in Vancouver, it was sunny and warm.
Also: deserted.
It was as if no one told the Canadians about the lottery system. My friends and I waited nervously but comfortably in line all day for the pit lottery only to realize shortly before the drawing time that there weren’t going to be enough people to fill the pit! It was one of the only times I can recall where absolutely everyone who showed up got into the pit.
As for the show itself, it bore some strong resemblances to the Seattle show just before it (“Trapped” stayed in the set, as did the new “Tenth Avenue“/”Rosie” encore openers), but the new wild cards were significant.
“Atlantic City” opened the show, and two-thirds of the way through: the E Street Band premiere (and to this day one of only six ESB performances) of a glorious outtake from Born in the U.S.A., “None But the Brave.” One of the best surprises I’ve ever had at a show, and even in this grainy video, you can still feel the power of that performance.
I love both Trapped and None but the Brave. Weird people – the Canadians 😉