I didn’t go into this show with sky-high expectations.
Which is weird, because it was Bruce in New Jersey, and somehow, I’d never seen him play there. It was the opening show of a final, ten-show victory lap capping off the 2016 version of the River Tour–and the last show I’d seen just weeks before in Rome was one of my best shows ever.
But it was also a stadium show, which often leaves me feeling a little detached from the band and the crowd. And it was Night One, and I’d learned time and again just how reliable the Night One rule is. Tonight was likely to be safe and standard, with a few surprises on Night Two and a blow-out on Night Three (sadly, I wouldn’t be there for that third night–I was lucky enough just to be in town for work during the first two nights, and I only had tickets for the first!)
And finally: it was the anniversary of the best show I’d ever seen, and I’d been thinking about that show all day–a pretty daunting bar to measure up to.
Still, like I said, it was Bruce in New Jersey, and I was lucky enough to be in town. Of course I was going to go!
I had to work a full day in central Jersey, so I opted for a great lower-level ticket just to the left of the stage, and got there well before showtime. It was my first time at MetLife stadium, and I was surprised by how intimate it felt for a stadium–I’d expected something more cavernous. This was clearly being treated as a homecoming show, with “Welcome Home, Bruce!” banners and signs draped several sections.
I was by myself and daydreaming (or workdreaming to be more accurate) as the stadium filled, so I completely missed noticing the stands for the string section that had been set up on stage.
So color me surprised when the show opened with “New York City Serenade” complete with strings.
I’m pretty sure I laughed out loud when Roy played the opening notes, because I realized that after years of fruitlessly chasing “New York City Serenade,” I was about to get it in back-to-back shows, each as the opener, each with strings. I tried to figure out the odds that anyone else was at the Rome show as their last show and then this one as their next one, and I marveled that I’d been so lucky.
I couldn’t possibly know or suspect that I’d see that song open four of the next five shows I’d see as well, and I’d have bet a large sum against you if you’d suggested it.
I also didn’t know that this was the opening salvo in what would turn out to be the third-longest show Bruce ever played in the US (a very short-lived title, as it turned out). But I’m getting ahead of myself.
“New York City Serenade” was gorgeous–just as beautiful as in Rome, but a subtly different performance. One of the joys of this leg of the tour would prove to be this ever evolving opener–each performance had its own character and style (much like its album-mate, “Kitty’s Back“), and astute listeners from that leg can listen to any one of them and tell you which show it came from.
Now it was time to rock: the E Street Band launched into “Wrecking Ball,” a local favorite with added resonance, played on the site of the now-demolished stadium for which it was written.
“Badlands” followed “Wrecking Ball,” a one-two punch that established a theme of defiance early on. But next up was another rarity, and my favorite track off Darkness on the Edge of Town: “Something in the Night.”
During the extended introduction, Bruce told a new story–the first of several that evening–about the inspiration for the song, filled with metaphor that suggested this was not an ad lib.
But lest we forget that this was still (officially at least) the River Tour, a six-song run of fan favorites from that album followed: “The Ties That Bind,” “Sherry Darling,” “Independence Day,” “Hungry Heart,” “Out in the Street” and “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch).”
The River run wasn’t unbroken, though–it was punctuated by a few even older songs, starting with “Spirit in the Night.”
…and then, for the first sign request of the evening, it was Christmas in August, as Bruce and the band played “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” by request for a lucky fan who got to sing it with him. (I think the band thought Bruce was joking when he held up the sign–they were late jumping on his cue!)
The “Independence Day” video above doesn’t include it, but Bruce introduced that song, as usual, with a story about his father–but this time with much more color commentary than previously on the tour. And when the River run was finished, following a fierce “Death to My Hometown,” Bruce told yet another long story, and I started to suspect that this leg was going to prove to be the “Autobiography Tour.” (Bruce’s Born to Run book had recently been announced.) I had no idea just how right I would prove to be a week later. For now, though, I just took in the story and enjoyed my very first “Mansion on the Hill.”
That beautiful performance was the start of a four-song slow set, which for any other performer in any other venue might have been the kiss of death for a stadium show, but each of these performances was special. “Mansion on the Hill” was a rare highlight, and the tour premiere of “Jack of All Trades” also featured the return of the string section and the debut of a wonderful new arrangement.
“My Hometown” was next, almost a given for a hometown stand kick-off, and a full-throated audience singalong.
“The River“–always a highlight–wrapped up the slow set. Bruce picked up the tempo with a fierce “American Skin (41 Shots)” (Bruce was clearly sending a message via the theme of his song selection tonight) and then launched into a round of crowd-pleasing hits: “The Promised Land.” “Working on the Highway,” “Darlington County,” “Because the Night,” “She’s the One” and “Brilliant Disguise.”
The whole second half of the show, in fact, was pretty standard, but I was fine with that. I’d walked in prepared for it, and I was surprised and delighted by the opener and by my first “Mansion on the Hill,” so I was happy to just enjoy a “greatest hits” set from that point on.
“The Rising” and “Land of Hope and Dreams” wrapped the main set, and a majestic “Jungleland” kicked off the encores.
It was a typical encore party from there: “Born to Run” giving way to “Dancing in the Dark,” “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Shout,” and “Bobby Jean.”
It was a pretty sure bet that we’d get one last song after “Bobby Jean,” and we all knew what it was likely to be (or at least what we hoped it to be). Bruce did not disappoint: he played us out with a hometown special–“Jersey Girl,” complete with fireworks, and my second personal premiere of the night.
So yes, it was a night one show, but I was deeply satisfied: two firsts (for me), a great crowd, and an epic-length show–not bad for a “bonus” show, one I never expected to be able to attend until just days beforehand. And it felt like a change was in the air–the tour was shifting, morphing into something else. The stories were more personal, more polished, and the performances had that “last dance” feel to them.
It took a long time to drive home, and the next day was a long one at work, and I vowed to not drive across the state for a show on a work night again.
That promise lasted until the ticket drop for Night Two the next morning.
