Editor's Note
Editor’s Note: Today’s guest blogger is Bill Kenney, who’s kind enough to share his recollection of a memorable show from the Wrecking Ball Tour. I highly recommend checking out Bill’s blog–he’s got some great show reviews (not just Bruce-related) and insightful commentary.
If you’d like to connect with Bill directly, you can reach him on Twitter at @billk128.
If it wasn’t the same old Meadowlands Parking Lot this time, it might as well have been–just slightly re-located and renamed along with the stadium, now MetLife Stadium. All the same glorious tailgate vibe was in full force for Night One of three that Bruce and the band would be playing to wrap up the summer and their outdoor venue leg of the Wrecking Ball Tour.
Lo and behold, Gene DeRose was in attendance, a face unseen for some time in my world, and some other old faces from the Irvington, New York mafia appeared as well, along with Weedy, my cohort on the very first show (for us) of this epic tour that we saw back in April. Gene was kind enough to bring a few large bottles of a microbrew from (I believe) a St. Lawrence (upstate NY) brewery, and these bottles were called “growlers,” a term I had never heard before. Those growlers certainly provided a nice edge for the proceedings that followed.
Weedy was bit tardy arriving, and I left my sister and other friends (including Bud’s “industry” soiree, itself a banner tailgate in its own right) to wander the lot w/ Gene and his bro-in-law Joe in search of the Irvington crew, playing a new kind of over/under game: as we passed groups of people, they were tagged as either under or over 30. DeRose remained the age skeptic, not believing that these crowds have trended younger on this tour. New Jersey may not be the best place to see this trend, but even the home turf showed the signs.
We ventured in and made no real effort to get up close, which left us plenty of room to groove to yet another high-energy offering from the seemingly indefatigable Bossman and mates. While the setlist echoed to some degree the one played a few nights earlier in DC, there were some interesting twists, largely due to the appearance of Patti, who had not played a show in months. To wit:
“Shackled and Drawn” opened the show. Typically a late set piece that has evolved into something of a show stopper, Bruce just had to play it, so he did it first.
“Easy Money” replaced it later in the set, where Bruce likes to duet a bit with Patti. “Easy Money” hadn’t been played since she poofed from the tour. I prefer “Easy Money” overall, so bonus my way.
“Human Touch” was revived in an affecting version with nice guitar work that gave Patti some vocal spotlights.
“Mansion on the Hill” was played for I believe the first time since the warm up gig at the Apollo Theater back in March… though I always find Patti’s vocals lacking in this one. Bruce set up the tune with a summer childhood memory and brought his usual intensity, but Patti’s yodeling seemed extraneous.
Otherwise, my holy grail of the ‘78 version of “Prove It All Night” has become something of a regular these days – all good there, with bookend guitar raves – and while I have considered “Racing in the Street” more of a rarity in its appearances, it got its 2nd straight showing, having been played in DC as well – and in typical majestic fashion, with that brilliant ending coda.
Mad Dog Vinni Lopez made an appearance to play his shambolic drums on “The E Street Shuffle.”
and Steven Van Zandt had a nice twang to his guitar filling out “Darlington County.”
It was during the encores – where DeRose in particular was pumped for “Rosalita” – that the Growlers provided me the fodder to let the spirit of Bruce even more completely take hold of me.
The incredible energy and sense of inclusiveness that exuded from the stage found its way deep into my being, and I briefly joined a group of teenage girls as they danced altogether in front of us. They themselves were wrapped up enough in the fun to be kind to me (though they likely made much fun of me later), but these shows appeal to so many because they make you feel young, and alive, and part of something. It can be corny and old-fashioned in these tough and cynical times, but it works, if only for those 3.5+ hours.
And so, this was to be my last show of the tour, as I could not attend nights 2 or 3 due to other commitments, and the tour moved on in October to other locales.
I do have one more video clip for you, one that shows a few minutes of the Bruce/Jake interplay and ending of “Spirit in the Night” – along with shots of the awesome video screens that magnify the show for all in attendance:
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9/19/12 – MetLife Stadium, NJ
Setlist:
Shackled and Drawn
Prove It All Night (’78 intro)
The Ties That Bind
Hungry Heart
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
E Street Shuffle (with Vini Lopez)
Jack of All Trades
Human Touch
Johnny 99
Darlington County
Working on the Highway
Easy Money
The Promised Land
Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
Mansion on the Hill
Racing in the Street
The Rising
Badlands
Land of Hope and Dreams
* * *
We Are Alive
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Rosalita
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Twist and Shout
