Even by Bruce’s standards, it was a late start: Rumor had it that Bruce had taken in a Mariners game earlier that day and was delayed in getting to the arena by Seattle’s infamous traffic, causing a domino effect from soundcheck to show start.
Whatever the reason for the hour-plus delay, when the show finally started with Bruce and Clarence’s benediction, it rocketed out of the gate. From the moment I first heard it, “My Love Will Not Let You Down” would forever be my favorite opener for a Springsteen concert, and although the setlist may not have held any premieres or surprises, I hadn’t yet discovered the on-line community sites with setlist discussions, so everything was fresh and new to me.
This was my first (and only) Reunion show, and the show that re-hooked me on Bruce’s music. The new arrangements of “The River,” “Youngstown,” “Born in the U.S.A.” and “If I Should Fall Behind” reinvented those songs for me, the outtakes (“My Love,” “Murder Incorporated“) were instant classics, and “Land of Hope and Dreams” became my new and forever-after anthem.
I decided pretty late in the game to go see this show. I thought my appreciation of Bruce’s music was pretty much over; I hadn’t seen a show since 1988. Only after reading a magazine article waxing poetic about the power of these Reunion shows did I decide to give it a look. I wish I’d kept that magazine, because it gave me the gift of rediscovery and introduction to a community, and in this era of information overflow and spoilers, that’s a tough experience to recapture.
Another gift this show gave me: introduction to trading circles. Back in the days before torrents and youtube, the only way to acquire shows was to trade for them, and a friend of mine was kind enough to start me out with a video copy of this very show. That video–paired with an IEM recording of the show–means that you can experience this show from 18 years ago with an even better view and acoustics than I had. See what I mean below.
