One month into the Wrecking Ball Tour, the setlists were loosening but still WB-heavy. The new material had fully gelled, and older songs were starting to make their way back into the setlists. And they don’t get much older than “Thundercrack,” which made a rare appearance that led up to one of the funniest moments I’ve seen at a Springsteen show.
Skip ahead if you must to about the 8:30 mark, where Bruce decides–as he often does–to have audience members sing along. Maybe it’s unfamiliarity with the song–it never appeared on a studio album other than the Tracks box set of outtakes–or maybe he just picked a particularly tone-deaf part of the pit to visit, but each time he holds his mic out, the audience response is cringe-worthy. Bruce keeps his head down, trying hard not to react and casting about again and again for a decent singer… and then blurts out an honest statement that only he could get away with.
Setlist-wise, this wasn’t a remarkable show: it was the first show of the tour without any premieres, but there were some Reunion-era gems, including “Murder Incorporated” “My Love Will Not Let You Down,” and “American Skin (41 Shots),” which kept the intensity level high.
I had a nice prime position in the pit for this show, and it proved to be a nice kick-off for my three-show California run. And if this show was lacking in surprises, the next two would certainly make up for it.
Was there. Went by myself. Had a floor ticket. Spent most of the night all the way in the back. Decided on Tenth Avenue to see if I could walk along the side walkway, just to see how close I could get. I got about halfway across the floor when Bruce began walking along the same side walkway, RIGHT at me. A couple of others joined me. It doesn’t seem like it on the video but we ended up maybe six to eight feet apart, looking right at each other. I gave him a fist bump-finger out #1 gesture and he pointed directly at me. Found it on youtube the next day. Played it in my music history class a bunch of times. You can see it from 2:22-2:29 here. I’ve studied this damned thing like the Zapruder Film ever since… 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iV64teMnZY