I knew going in that this was my last show of the year, and possibly the tour. (I’d have one more chance to catch the Wrecking Ball Tour in Spain the following June, but I didn’t know that then.)
Coming off a fun show in Vancouver and run of great shows all year long (including that stellar Fenway 2), all I wanted for Christmas was a loose, celebratory epilogue with a few surprises and at least one song I’d never heard live before.
Santa granted everything on my list: Bruce and the band delivered a terrific, audible-filled show, and if this was to be my last E Street Band show for a while, I was more than content.
Two nights earlier, Bruce surprised and delighted me by opening the show with “Shackled and Drawn.” I would never have thought of it as an opener, but it worked perfectly. On this night, he topped it: opening with “Land of Hope and Dreams.” It was complete curve ball, and it brilliantly set a tone of faith and optimism that carried the first half of the main set. (I wish I had a better video, but this show is strangely light on clips.)
The first half of the main set played out like a typical Wrecking Ball show, but as was often the case on that tour, all it took was the right sign to shake things up.
First up, a spinner randomizer that almost landed on “Pay Me My Money Down” (tip: not a great request for an E Street Band show–save that for the next Seeger tour), but thanks to some human intervention instead gave us “Steve’s Choice” (tip: always a great request option–Steve will never steer us wrong). Stevie chose the River outtake “Loose Ends,” a favorite of mine as well and my personal premiere for the show.
The next request kept things loose: a fan requested “Growin’ Up” for his 50th birthday, and Bruce brought him up to the mic to make it a duet:
Over the course of the tour, Bruce had steered away from the “hard times” theme that characterized many of his set lists since 2009, but tonight the recession pack was back: “Jack of All Trades” returned to the set list, followed by an intense “Seeds” and “Johnny 99.”
“Darlington County” featured the return of the “Lesbians ❤️ Bruce” crew–they cracked Bruce up the last time he came through Portland, and it was great to see them get called up on stage this time.
But the night’s highest lights came late in the show: first a rare, sublime “Drive All Night.” (Even thought it rarely showed up in the setlist, I had a lucky habit of managing to pick the shows where he pulled it out. Bruce wouldn’t play it again until Gijon seven months later–and by happenstance that would be my very next show. Such are the coincidences that strangely hallmark my shows.)
…and last, but for me the loveliest moment of the night: a by-request solo electric rendition of “If I Should Fall Behind to open the encores, featuring one of Bruce’s best vocal performances of the entire tour.
As the show came to a close with “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” and a final “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” I recall musing about the show we’d just experienced. Springsteen shows typically lean toward a theme or a vibe: sometimes you get serious Bruce, sometimes silly Bruce. Some set lists are rigid, others loose. Sometimes there’s a message, sometimes he’s only there for fun. But this show seemed like a grab bag–a collection of moments and mini-sets rather than a cohesive whole. That might sound like a less-than-satisfactory experience, but as a capstone for a year of great shows, it was actually a pretty nice way to go out.
