Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, N.J. (July 15, 1999)
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Bruce Springsteen
Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, N.J.
July 15, 1999 |
Of course, he did play a string of 11 electric shows in 1992, when he toured in support of the simultaneously released Human Touch and Lucky Town. Then, with just a band of fresh-faced nobodies, Bruce threw away his own rule book, and tested out his entire catalogue of songs with a whole new set of wheels.
But no matter how stellar the shows -- and those 3+ hour shows were absolutely stellar -- Springsteen couldn't seem to get his hometown audience to leave the stadium without mumbling something about the dissolved E Street Band.
Jump to 1999: The announcement of 15 nights of Boss bliss in the height of this summer's ridiculous heat created an incomparable fervor. TicketMaster sold out the shows in a single day, thus breaking the record the Boss had set back in 1992. And once the tickets were all gone, Springsteen remained at the top of TicketMaster's online requests list for the entire duration of the Jersey run, even though seats had been sold out for a month.
Once the run of shows began, the netherworld that is the Meadowlands Sports Complex was transformed into a circus. Hardcore fans -- hailing from homes as far away as Italy and as close as 500 yards away -- waited outside of each and every show, all day long, in the sweaty heat to scrounge for loose tickets. Continental Airlines Arena even set up a miniature (and rather sad) carnival outside that allowed concert-goers to sing along with Karaoke-style Bruce classics.
There might have been a few skeptics left, wondering about the E Street Band's abilities. I mean, it had been 10 years since these people played together. But the group was already well oiled from a two-month stint in Europe (better known as the Bruce boot camp), and most kinks had been ironed out.
Therefore, the extended stay in New Jersey offered an opportunity for the group to stretch out its wings in comfortable territory, and consequently, Springsteen took the first hour of each show to experiment with the setlist to all local fans' delight.
Though he closed nearly every show with the same three songs, he played a total of 67 different, original songs in the period of four weeks. Let's not forget: A young-un' like Dave Matthews hasn't played 67 different original songs live in his entire career. The performance of the material was incredible. Song choices ranged from rarities like "Freehold" and "For You" to new Tracks such as "Trouble River" and "Frankie." Through all of it, the E Street Band formed as tight a sound as you can make with four guitars, two keyboardists, a rhythm section and one huge saxophone man on the same stage.
Drummer Max Weinberg shines brightest of all the band members, as his aging arms kept pace during even the longest, loudest songs, such as "Backstreets," "Murder Inc." and the fantastic barnburner "Light of Day." Likewise, pianist Roy Bittan performed exceptionally well, especially during some of Springsteen's most epic ballads, including "Racing In The Street" and "Jungleland."
The second-to-last night of the run, Springsteen and his cohorts even managed to pull off "New York City Serenade," the ten-minute piano-driven gem from his second album -- a song he has not played in well over 20 years. And for the final night, the group launched into the lovely "Rosalita," a song the Jersey freaks had been begging to hear from the moment Springsteen stepped back onto US soil. Quite a finish.
Ultimately, the shows took on a whole new and unexpected life. What could have been seen as obvious exploitation of the hometown fans (tickets were an absurd $75 a shot), morphed into something of tribute to the loyal listeners. What could have easily have become a repetitive, lifeless string of shows was transformed into an unpredictable rock carnival of sorts.
In the final 11 performances, the group opened with a different song each night. Bruce began taking cues from the screaming audience, as E Street members were making similar requests backstage. Even the routines of "Tenth Ave. Freeze-out" and other nightly favorites, were thrown out, in favor of a looser feel.
This whole tour could very easily be seen just as an affirmation and celebration of Springsteen's extensive body of work, performed by the band for whom the music was written. But it isn't that at all -- really. No, this tour is definitely more than a re-enactment of performers' "Glory Days." Hell, they didn't even play one of Springsteen's seven #1 singles.
Instead the tour is more easily seen as a showcase of one man. A triumph of one band. A reminder of the power of rock and roll. And an absolutely amazing fucking party -- a party you would be a fool to miss.
BEN FRENCH | Ben founded NATN in the winter of 1998-1999 with fellow IU alums Troy Carpenter and Jonathan Cohen. During the day time, he's working for Nielsen Business Media, publisher of Billboard. Ben's favorite acts include Bruce Springsteen, The Clash, Sonic Youth, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys.