E Street Band concerts typically start in darkness, with
Bruce counting the band in. “Hello. Sydney! One, two, one two three four” and
we’re off. Coming the day after St Patrick’s Day, Monday night was different.
With a single spotlight, Sooze Tyrell’s Irish jig fiddle kicked off the set,
and the Sydney season, with American Land. What came next was three nights of
incredible showmanship. Bruce is getting on — he’s 63. He doesn’t let up for
the whole 3 hours + of these shows — bellowing, cajoling, dancing, running.
Sweating. Touching; shaking hands with what seems like a large proportion of
the audience. Hauling himself off the stage floor with the microphone stand.
Amongst some set pieces, crowd surfing comes early each night, as he makes his
way along catwalks to the back of the pit, then is conveyed by the upheld hands
of the faithful, back to the stage, singing the while.
The atmosphere is quasi-religious. This IS the First Church
of Bruce; we are his true believers. Miss Annie, my companion at the first two
shows, attending her first ever Bruce concert, commented that she felt she was
in a small minority — not being a Brucehead. By the end of the 2nd
night, she was, I suspect, on her way to conversion. Her conversion was aided
by a miraculous intervention. Passing through the turnstile on Wednesday night,
the mechanism caught and tore her dress. In front of the arena manager. Who
promptly upgraded our tickets to some of the best in the house — certainly the
best tix I have EVER had at a Bruce show. I’m sticking with her in future. Halleluiah!
As the faithful, we know just when to cheer; when to throw our fists in the air, shouting “Tramps Like US”; when to call out “Bruuuuuuuuce”, in a sustained bellow that sounds like booing to the uninitiated. When to tell Bruce about the “shark infested waters” that surround Australia. All the familiar elements are there — the crowd placards requesting favourite songs; the sponging of his fevered brow, which becomes more frequent as the night wears on. On Wednesday, Nils Lofgren took it one step further, anointing a kneeling Bruce, his guitar, wireless connection, the lot, in a spontaneous baptism.
Bruce, and the band, whip up the fervour in non-stop sets that
are finely tuned, with enough light and shade to build, sustain, lower the mood
multiple times before the finale and the seemingly endless encores of
standards. Amongst the sets are many stand-out moments. The chill and goose
bumps that arise during the early verses of The Ghost of Tom Joad. This is a
song that has undergone a metamorphosis over time. I originally heard it as a
solo, acoustic number on the Tom Joad tour in 1996. It was gently haunting.
Now, it starts quietly, but builds to a roaring, angry finale, with Tom
Morello’s guitar frenzy. Just as the standard Born in the USA was turned on its
head, getting a reflective, acoustic treatment of the original electric number,
the reverse process in this case has also bought new meaning and expression to
this song.
Waiting on a Sunny Day had originally struck me as a bit
naff, when I first heard it performed live on, the Magic tour. Bruce concerts
have always had a bunch of feel-good, jaunty roadhouse numbers; familiarity and
a bit of rejigging has made this one of the big sing along songs in the repertoire.
Shackled and drawn is another rollicking sing along.
My City of Ruins has also morphed, into a slow Curtis
Mayfield blues-style, gospel-inspired moment of reflection about who has come
and gone — “from our ghosts to yours”. It was simple and magnificent. Old ghost
re-appear in the set piece show closer, Tenth Avenue Freezeout — when the line
“And the Big Man joined the band” triggers a video featuring frozen moments of
Clarence Clemons and, briefly, Danny Federici. And you could hear a pin drop in
the room.
But all the set list writing skills in the world can go for
nought when audience sign requests shoulder their way into the mix. On
Wednesday, he took four in a row, saying as he scanned the offerings “Man,
you’re tempting me!”. These always amaze, with the band — and the instrument
techs — kept on their toes. Choosing The Promised Land required a blues harp,
in the right key, to be delivered onstage in an instant. It was. The transitions
from song to song are seamless.
These shows were a chance to assess the new band
arrangements. Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici died after the Magic tour;
also missing for this tour were Miss Patti Scialfa, and Steve van Zandt, making
a film in Norway. Clarence has been replaced by his nephew Jake Clemens, who
fill the Big Man’s shoes admirably. Standing four square, astride the stage, he
is commanding in his frequent sax solos. Charles Giordano ably replaces Danny
Federici on keyboards and gets some piano accordion solos in the Seeger
Sessions end of the repertoire. The original E Street Band is now augmented by
a large brass section, additional percussion, and backing vocals. Sooze Tyrrell
was doubling on acoustic rhythm guitar in Patti Scialfa’s absence. The new band
format lies somewhere between the E Street Band of old and the Seeger Sessions
Band, and works well. The additional horns get some exciting moments. Nils
Lofgren continues to supply searing guitar lines. He has always been the guitar
master in a band of very competent guitarists. At times he plays second fiddle
to Steve van Zandt’s replacement guitarist Tom Morello and his flamboyant
solos, but comes back with a vengeance. And whirls like a dervish.
By Friday, the mood was up even more. That day was the 10th anniversary — to the day — of the power failure concert. Bruce was in a party mood. Sydney was out to show him a good time. The set list was shouldered out of the way by a string of audience sign requests, and Bruce was ready to roadhouse. He has a body of songs — Darlington County, Dancing in the Dark, Working on the Highway — that will always sound best, heard in a crowded bar, your best girl sitting on your shoulders, beer held aloft. We got the roadhouse special on Friday. Up-tempo song followed up-tempo song, and we were on our feet. What a blast! About half way through the set, the end seemed inevitable — Rosie herself was going to come out tonight. And so it came to pass. As the set-piece finale of Tenth Avenue Freezeout came to a cataclysmic, banging finish, one look said that Bruce was not yet done. He prowled the catwalk, found the inevitable audience sign: Rosalita. So, 10 years after he broke the self-imposed, decade-long Rosalita drought at the power failure show, Rosie came out last Friday night. And the house erupted. It was a great end to a signal set of shows, that swept the repertoire and played on all our emotions, using his extraordinary powers as a performer, musician, band leader.
When the Sydney concerts were announced, it took me — oh,
about 4 seconds, I guess — to know that I’d be going to as many shows as I
could. When I got tickets to all three shows, I was astounded, excited.
Reactions varied. Friends know my passion; the ex — who is a bigger tragic than
I am — showed no surprise. After all, she had tix for all three as well. Other
people had more varied reactions. Some were doubtful; some thought I was mad.
After going to all three, I am SO grateful I splashed out. These are once-in-a-lifetime
experiences. Never to be repeated. Maybe it’s a bit like train spotting to the
outsider, but the minutiae of the changes from show to show fascinate, provide
endless grounds for speculation. I LOVED being at all three. Tragic — that’s
me. I’ll be feeling good for a few weeks, thanks for asking.
These shows were a Jamboree for the faithful — a communion
of the First Church of Bruce. They were a rock and roll party; a rock and roll
exorcism; a rock and roll bar mitzvah. They were wonderful; may they continue.
The Chosen One looked out over his congregation, and saw that it was Good. Long
may Bruce preside over his flock. Halleluiah. Amen.
Set lists
Monday 18 March 2012
— Tom Joad’s Goosebumps
American Land
Prove It All Night
Adam Raised a Cain (Sign Request)
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
Hungry Heart (Crowd Surf)
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
High Hopes (The Havalinas cover)
Youngstown
Candy's Room
She's the One
Pay Me My Money Down
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Rising
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Badlands
--------------------
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Seven Nights to Rock (Moon Mullican cover)
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Wednesday 20 March
2012 — Wardrobe Malfunction
Devils & Dust (Solo Acoustic)
Last to Die (Tour Premiere)
The Ties That Bind
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
Out in the Street (Crowd Surf)
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
The Promised Land (Sign Request)
Cover Me (Sign Request)
No Surrender (Sign Request)
I'm on Fire (Sign Request)
My City of Ruins
High Hopes (The Havalinas cover)
Because the Night
Open All Night
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Lonesome Day
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Badlands
--------------------
Jungleland
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark
Detroit Medley
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Friday 22 March 2012
— To the Roadhouse
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Night
Death to My Hometown
Hungry Heart (Crowd Surf)
My City of Ruins
Growin' Up (Sign request)
The E Street Shuffle
Prove It All Night (Sign request)
Trapped (Jimmy Cliff cover)(Sign request)
The River (Sign request)
Pay Me My Money Down
Working on the Highway
Darlington County
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Backstreets
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Badlands
Thunder Road
--------------------
Born in the U.S.A. (E Street Band version)
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
