If I didn’t already have tickets for a pair of Philly shows in September, I probably would have made Rome my last stop on the 2016 River Tour, because I couldn’t imagine any concert experience topping this one.
I already had high expectations going in: I’ve seen enough shows in Italy to know that the crowd would be wildly exuberant and sing along with every note. I knew the venue was an ancient Roman chariot racing arena that holds 100,000 people and was bound to be bursting at the seams regardless.
I knew that Bruce and Italy have a long-time mutual love affair, and that Bruce was bound to reward them with “only in Roma” selections and performances. And on a gorgeous 75-degree evening without even a trace of humidity (in July!), it was a pretty sure bet that this was going to be a marathon of a show (it ended up being one of the longest ever, just 8 minutes shy of 4 hours, and that was after two and a half hours of opening acts that included Counting Crows). But in my wildest dreams, I wouldn’t have expected or predicted the opening number.
“New York City Serenade” is one of my absolute all-time favorite songs–although my top five vary from time to time, NYC Serenade is never absent from it. I’d long ago resigned myself to never hearing it performed live, because Bruce had only performed it a handful of times (you could literally count them on your fingers) in the last 40 years. It’s one of his earliest songs, ambitiously orchestral with evocative, cinematic, stream-of-conscious lyrics, and not at all what most people would think of as a Bruce Springsteen song. It was the song that was destined to be my unicorn. And then:
It took a minute to understand what was happening when activity started on the stage. From my vantage point in the pit, I’d already noticed the additional music stands, so I figured Bruce had invited some special guests, potentially the string section he’d used a few years prior on his last visit to Rome. But i was still a little surprised when musicians started to appear and take their positions, and they weren’t E Street Band members. And they carried violins and violas. It turns out they were indeed the Rome Symphony Orchestra, and when Bruce and the band followed them on-stage, it was clear something unexpected and amazing was about to happen.
Yes, I was well aware that Bruce had played “New York City Serenade” with this string section the last time he was in Rome, but I figured that ship had sailed. I was sure that was a one-time-only occurrence, and I’d missed it. Surely this would be a gorgeous, magical take on another Springsteen classic–perhaps “Incident on 57th Street?”
But then Roy played the first notes of the extended intro from this rare opus, and you could hear the collective gasp of tens of thousands (seriously, listen to the video).
For the next twelve minutes, I was completely rapt. And when the strings kicked in… I’m pretty sure it was the first time I wept openly at a concert, and did so for the rest of the song.
There were other highlights during the evening, to be sure. But this was the biggest of the biggest. (And yes, we were all waving paper hearts for Bruce–fans coordinated and distributed them, and Bruce was noticeably moved by them from the moment he walked out on stage.)
When the band ripped into “Badlands” after bidding goodbye to the strings, I was jolted back to reality–i’d almost forgotten there was an entire show still to come! Three songs in, Bruce took his first request of the evening: a couldn’t-be-more-appropriate “Summertime Blues,” and both the band and the crowd were off to the races:
A healthy River eight-pack followed, interrupted only by a pair of sign requests to jolt the crowd with spontaneity: “Boom Boom” and “Detroit Medley.”
But if there were highlights to rival the opener in power, one would have to be Bruce’s gorgeous solo acoustic performance of “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” dedicated to Italian social workers. It was perhaps the most beautiful performance of the song I’d ever witnessed.
…and the other would be “Independence Day.” Always an emotional ride, tonight it was even more poignant, with the crowd singing the melody in unison from the first notes. Watch the magic:
Even the standards had exceptional power on this night–for instance, check out “Land of Hope and Dreams” below. Bruce pauses after the introduction–reflecting while Nils continues to play quietly, eventually dedicating his performance to the victims of the recent Nice terrorist attack, holding the quiet for just a few moments more, and then launching into the song, played with exceptional passion.
After Bruce closed with a lovely acoustic “Thunder Road,” my friend Steve and I were convinced we’d seen one of the best shows of our lives, one that was well worth the long trip from Seattle from the moment Roy played those first “New York City Serenade” notes.
If you told me I’d hear Bruce and the band play that song five more times in the next two months, I’d never have believed you. But those are stories for other days.
