BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : Atlanta, FEBRUARY 12, 2016

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : ATLANTA, FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Disc One (72:56)

Meet Me In The City
The Ties That Bind
Sherry Darling
Jackson Cage
Two Hearts
Independence Day
Hungry Heart
Out In The Street
Crush On You
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
I Wanna Marry You
The River
Point Blank

Disc Two (69:49)

Cadillac Ranch
I'm A Rocker
Fade Away
Stolen Car
Ramrod
The Price You Pay
Drive All Night
Wreck On The Highway
Prove It All Night
badlands
Lonesome Day
Wrecking Ball

Disc Three (55:49)

Because the Night
Brilliant Disguise
The Rising
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Bobby Jean
Shout

Label : BruceSpringsteen.net

Venue : Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Recording Date : February 18, 2016

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : “Good evening Atlanta, we’re so glad to be here in your beautiful city tonight! Are you ready to be entertained?! Are you ready to be entertained?! Are you ready to be entertained!?!“ It was April 26th, 2014 in Aaron’s Amphitheatre in Lakewood where Bruce Springsteen told his audience “I think I’m in a River kind of mood tonight“, and he has The River on his mind once again this time out in Phillips Arena. The seven selections played from the album a little under two years ago made for an exciting night on the High Hopes Tour, and while the addition of the other thirteen on this night isn’t uniquely special in the grand scope of this U.S. leg, it’s certainly nice that this Atlanta audience got the full package after the tease in 2014. When I reviewed that 2014 gig in Atlanta this past May, I said that as a Live Download release it could get lost in the whirlpool of full River album shows available on the Live site, so let’s see if that’s the case for this show from the same city. It’s another straightforward night following Sunrise (which was conveniently the next stop after Atlanta two years ago) and it was a fine night in Florida highlighted by terrific renditions of “Independence Day”, “I Wanna Marry You” and “Cadillac Ranch”. For me, the Philly gig on February 12th felt like the conclusion to the opening portion of the tour, and Sunrise set us on our way for the next. Can tonight build on that one in superior fashion? Having mentioned the 2014 Atlanta gig, to make for a little structure shift, I thought I’d alter the template of this review by first comparing the quality of, and possible changes made, to those seven album tracks played on that night in April. So, rather than getting stuck into “Meet Me in the City” right now, we’re going to jump ahead to the song that follows it, “The Ties That Bind”. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the highlights on that High Hopes Tour night in the Amphitheatre are highlights here too: Max is consistent with a steady, pulsating beat; Charlie’s riffs are delightful, and the same can be said about Roy’s fills, which provide a nice contrast to Bruce’s intense fiery, vocal, and the one major contrast to the 2014 rendition, Little Stevie’s harmonies from 1:47! No Miami onstage tonight, however there’s certainly an equal amount of passion in this Steven and the one Sunrise got two nights ago. With Jake also standing out on account of his strong solo (2:04) in much the same way he did in 2014, after he does similar in “Sherry” we get the second of the seven, “Jackson Cage”. Of course, this isn’t one of Jake’s songs, but it’s one of Charlie’s, and as he did in 2014 he plays magnificently throughout this one (1:13), dominating the instrumentation and making both Max and Roy seem less prominent as a result (mind you, if we listen intently we can hear just how involved they are). Vocal-wise, it’s less fiery on Bruce’s part, but he’s impassioned for sure alongside Stevie who once again lets us know what we were missing in 2014 – particularly at 2:54, which is just superb – before doing similar in an instrumental sense with his guitar licks at 2:02 besides Bruce while Jake evokes our character’s cries for help with alarm-like, erratic harmonica. The biggest contrast in the performances of the seven album tracks tonight can be found in “Independence Day”. The song was a stunning solo piano effort in 2014, and while tonight is just as stunning, the Phillips Arena get the additions of the preceding monologue and the participation of the E Street Band on this night – Charlie’s riffs and Max’s cymbal tapping are particularly nice during the intro. Similarly to the 2014 performance, when we get into the song itself, Bruce’s vocal is strong, and most notable is the emphasis he places upon several words (“change anything now!“; “the best of us“; “they can’t touch me now“; “what I watched them do to you“) for another version of the song brimming with sentiment. This one mightn’t be driven in the same manner as its solo piano counterpart, however the emotion and subsequent gut-punch we feel when listening is just as powerful. No songs on Side Two featured in 2014, so for the time being we’re jumping into the second half and its opening duo: “Point Blank” and “Cadillac Ranch”. The former, while not different to the degree of “Independence Day” does have its differences to April 26th, 2014, with Roy’s extended intermezzo, Max’s clashing cymbals and Garry’s daunting bass to start us off being the stand out examples. There’s also Bruce’s vocal approach, which greatly contrasts his heavy strain two years prior. This time we hear a softer series of questions being asked by him, and his slower, drawn out “everything will be alright” at 2:31 implies bitterness on his part as much as it does sympathy for the person he’s singing to. It’s a bitterness that he carries throughout the song as well, because even though he doesn’t raise his voice too much for the first chorus declaration, the anger in his voice as he sings “you didn’t have to live that life” at 4:04 confirms his disappointment towards the cruelty of this world, and the failings of this person – and that most certainly contributes to the forcefulness of his singing of the chorus at 6:45, which is definitely loud. In April 2014, “Point Blank” was a delightful, morbid, treat, and while it’s far less of a treat in February 2016, it’s even more delightful to listen to, with plenty more to come. As for “Caddy”, the opening guitar on this night isn’t raw like it was in 2014, which is to be expected in its twelfth consecutive outing, but we can note how it sounds different, before Max, Charlie and Roy join in for a colourful kick-in and spur on another triumph of a performance. It comes as no shock given what we’ve heard up to now on the tour, but this one thrives even without the E Street Horns, and that’s exemplified by a motivated Bruce who evidently knows how good the Sunrise performance was and wants to better it, trying his hardest with an animated vocal and a thrilling guitar solo (2:22). Of course, he segues the latter into Stevie who gives Atlanta what they were missing on the previous tour, whereas Nils and Soozie bring equal amounts of fire and grace with their own efforts. In addition to their respective solos, Stevie, Nils and Soozie are imperative in an immense finale from 4:32, and given the quality of this sequence on this night and last time out in Florida, it really seems like “Caddy” is now the song to look out for! Moving into Side Four, I like how “Ramrod” sees a nonchalant “blue jeans on!” tonight too, and that sets us on our way for a thoroughly enjoyable version with plenty of noteworthy aspects. Bruce’s fluctuating vocal is one of those aspects, as the laidback delivery above is followed by clarity when reciting “half past dawn!” and “thirty to four!“, and fire when he tells us he’s been “working all week“. It was a storm of emotions from him in 2014, and that’s the case here in Phillips Arena, with additionally joyful playing from Roy (1:33) and grit brought in abundance by Stevie both when harmonising solo (2:01) and when duetting with Bruce in a truly raging manner (3:13; 3:36). Capped off by rollicking guitar (4:13), a solid Jake solo to make up for the Horns’ absence and acquired taste shouts of “shake ya booty!“, “Ramrod” continues to thrive, even if it isn’t one of the album’s true gems. “I was looking for something that would sum up what I was feeling, so I decided I was searching for a love song. I didn’t have that many of ’em, so I went back into the vault and found something from, I think 1977 we cut this, in one take and put it away…“ The seventh and final River album track to feature both on this night in Atlanta and in April 2014 is “Drive All Night”, and where it took five lines to do the trick back then, I have to say I think this one is instantly outstanding. With Bruce maintaining his fluctuating vocal approach with breezy and firm deliveries of lines such as “prisoners all our lives“, “shivers down my spine, girl” and “I’d drive all night again!” and gorgeous accompanying efforts from Stevie (3:47; 9:54) and Jake (4:15 – listen to the playing in the background too!), Heart and Soul continues to be the mantra. And if that wasn’t evident in those aspects, the “dream baby dream, baby dream” interlude emphasises it sublimely. The rendition of this one from Atlanta two years earlier was an essential 2014 performance, both of the song and in general; and while the ‘competition’ is bigger this time around, given how great this song has been all tour, this is simply another essential. So, having gathered what’s new and what remains consistent in those seven River album tracks, let’s get stuck into the rest of them starting with the night’s opener, the honorary album opener on this leg of the tour, “Meet Me in the City”. It’s more of the same in this one, which is absolutely fine given how good what we’ve heard previously is, and the highlights in that regard are Bruce’s gritty vocal – especially when he sings “feeling alright!” – the stirring melodies and licks played by Roy (3:18) and our guitarists (3:28), and both the solo (2:12) and siren (4:34) evoked by Jake’s sax, with the latter’s playing being a nice warmup for the aforementioned “Ties” afterwards. Of course, as mentioned earlier Jake carries his strong playing into “Sherry Darling”, and alongside the solid harmonies from Stevie and Nils and terrific riffs from 1:31, this one isn’t a revelation, but even with the little stumbles from Bruce on account of his laughing, it serves as another solid rendition on the tour. The final song of Side One on this night is on the other side of “Jackson Cage”, and “Two Hearts” sees Charlie continue his striking riffs amidst an equally motivated effort from Bruce and Stevie. Steve is clearly intent on making up for his absence in 2014, as his vocals at 1:47 and 2:41 are mint and true evidence of his dedication on the night. I can recall reading an interview with Stevie after the end of this tour in which he said sometimes he can go on pilot mode during an E Street Band tour, and based on these first twelve versions of “Two Hearts”, we’re a long way away from that being the case. Onto Side Two, and these six songs were sure to be received well regardless of whether they were featured in 2014 or not. Atlanta respond to “Hungry Heart” enthusiastically and play their part with a committed contribution, before Bruce takes over for a consistent performance. His vocal is mostly fine, with a little bit of strain not hindering a stunning delivery at 4:28, and the backing work of the Band is also worthy of mentioning, with the Stevie-led harmonies being solid and the efforts of Max, Charlie, Roy, Garry and song-stealer, Jake, making for a similar rendition to “Sherry”. This isn’t one that we’re going to be talking about when we get to the end of the tour, but its near-six minute runtime isn’t going to leave us unsatisfied. And after Bruce gets back onstage following crowd surf #12 of the tour, he soon counts the Band into an “Out in the Street” to which we can say the same again. There’s an impressive urgency from the Band and a welcoming amount of intensity from Bruce, but aside from the very nice harmonies we get from 4:33, tonight this party anthem remains very static to what we’ve heard so far on the tour. That being said, there’s a nice swift transition out of “Out in the Street” into the guitar goodness of “Crush on You”, and it’s a thrilling, impassioned performance where Bruce is nearly furious in his vocal delivery, putting so much energy in alongside the rest of the Band; check out Max’s drumming at 1:54 and that guitar at 2:29, damn! The quality guitar playing then continues with “You Can Look”, and while Bruce isn’t as angry as in the former, he’s still vigorous in his performance, and the E Street Band may be even more rapid in their playing. A scorching twenty minutes following “Independence Day”. With that said, it’s time to lower the tempo with the combination of “Here She Comes Walkin'” and “I Wanna Marry You”, and despite there being no marriage proposals in the audience tonight, there are still plenty of lovers in the room to make Bruce happy. Making minimal changes to his monologue, with the usual reminder that “it’s not the real thing, but it gets you ready for the real thing!“, he gets stuck into a typically delectable rendition of “Here She Comes”. Yeah, his voice crumbles instantly when singing “I still see her face” (2:26), but just like in “Sherry” he isn’t deterred, laughing this off along with the audience. It’s an outlier of a moment in a superbly sang rendition, both on his and Stevie’s part. It’s superbly played too, with Roy’s transition into “Marry You” at 5:04 being dreamlike, and I also love how his playing at 8:52 is indicative of that dream coming to an end, as Bruce’s calls of “my my my girl!” imply that resistance to step back into reality. Usually it’s in Stevie’s harmonies where we can feel a desire to dream a little longer, and it’s nice that while the monologue isn’t overly unique tonight, this song still brings us interesting interpretations. As Side Two comes to a close, the dream is certainly over with “The River”, and the double shot of broken harmonica and a broken vocal suggests we’re in for a very sombre effort from the off. That’s emphasised when Bruce sings “down to where the fields are green” with a fair amount of resentment, and if we were looking for a reminder that the grass isn’t always greener, we get one on this night in Atlanta. With the bleak aura increased by Soozie’s fantastic playing (1:21) and Atlanta following suit from the previous cities visited with an invested amount of participation, what’s most fascinating to me in this one comes at 2:42, and once again it’s a piece of piano playing from Roy. Similarly to the two songs prior, at this moment he transitions us out of the instrumental following the regretful chorus, and places us into the next chapter of the story. However where his playing ten minutes ago brought us in and out of a daydream, here he firmly plants us into the sad reality of economic struggle. Just under an hour later Bruce tells us that “once you enter the adult life, the clock starts ticking“, and these instances of playing from Roy tell us it can happen jarringly fast. No wonder Bruce wanted to dream a little longer at the end of “Marry You”. Taking the sorrow of “The River” into account, it makes the aura of “Point Blank” and the triumph of “Caddy” at the start of Side Three all the more impactful, and it says a lot about that triumph that “I’m a Rocker” serves as something of a breather, with the tempo dropped from ten to about eight and a half. With more laughing from Bruce at 2:08 to further signify a fun night and Max being absolutely manic at 3:18 – eight and a half is still a high tempo! – even when compared to Bruce’s cries of “everyday!“, “Rocker” nicely brings to Atlanta the fun and dancing referred to in the monologue preceding “Ties”. And with Charlie’s striking start to “Fade Away”, we begin an eleven minute dive into those lonely nights and teardrops of The River, highlighted here by Bruce going from unhinged to repentant in a highly emotional performance. Following on from Sunrise, I love the way he and Stevie combine at 4:26 with “please please please!” – “oh my little baby!“, and I also really like how Charlie maintains his stellar playing throughout, nicely contrasting his robust intro at 4:54 by drifting off in the same way Bruce’s vocal does. If it wasn’t for “Stolen Car” next, I’d have no reservations in saying “Fade Away” is the most exciting listen of every show on this leg. Instead, the most consistently well played song on the album delivers once again, and while “Stolen Car” hasn’t been brimming with noteworthy moments, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the great way Bruce, almost defeatedly, draws out “last night she reeeaaad those letters” (2:55). And even more so than that, I love the sinister sense of pleasure in his voice as he sings “that in this darkness“, before somewhat joyfully singing “I will disappear” (3:44). The notable shift from remorse to relief continues to leave us seeing this song in different ways. Wrapping the album up, “The Price You Pay” and “Wreck on the Highway” do similar to the two songs above in wowing us as gorgeous renditions, even with the odd defect here and there. We can find those defects in the former, as a couple of voice breaks at 1:21 and 4:33 when singing “open skies” and “put up the sign” take away from an otherwise delectable vocal. However, while it’s always nice for Bruce’s voice to be consistently good, the quality with which he sings “price you pay-ay” (4:43) and that final high note of “throw it away!” in particular (4:51) are far too good to leave us disappointed upon the end of this one! With additionally impressive riffs from Charlie throughout and to see us out (2:24, 4:57) alongside a stellar E Street Band effort, there’s certainly no drop-off in quality instrumentally leading into “Drive All Night” and the album’s finale. With that remaining the case, there are also no voice breaks in “Wreck on the Highway”, and instead Bruce sings with a resolute vocal that blends in beautifully with the sentimental playing behind him. It’s a sentimentality that manages to even transcend the music, as the way Bruce recites his outro is so wistful – “the clock starts ticking, and you walk alongside of your own mortality” – with the age in his voice really showing here. It’s somewhat bittersweet, but beguiling nonetheless. I wrote at the end of the Sunrise review that with this show also lacking ‘surprises’, the goal was to build on that night in Florida. For The River they’ve done that and more. A thoroughly good performance. “That’s The River!“ Despite the lack of tour debuts, there are a couple of alterations to Sunrise in the post-album sequence, and we begin with an exceptional version of “Prove It All Night”, highlighted by the chemistry between Bruce and Stevie, Max’s thunderous drumming and quality work from Charlie and Jake. As might be expected, though, the best of this one can be found in the guitar playing, with a tremendous solo taking place at 2:02 and awesome guitar licks in the background at 2:22. And even though the song loses a touch due to the back and forth of “Yeah!” not being immediate at 3:13, when we get it we’re enthralled, and it’s a nice prelude to the outro solo, which is taken by Bruce on account of “Because the Night” coming up for Nils – and Bruce does a damn good job here too! Before we get to the Darkness outtake, a double shot of the album proper with “Badlands” makes for an exhilarating eleven minutes, and Max is just as rapturous in this one – if not more – as he is in “Prove It”. Check out 4:26, he’s just fantastic with his animated drumming serving as the false finish, leading us into the crowd’s superb harmonies, which are also complemented by those mint guitar licks (serious ‘essence’ material at 5:10). “Lonesome Day” is next, and perhaps it’s because of the powerful Darkness duo preceding it, but the intro is really lacking its usual strength tonight. Thankfully it only takes thirty seconds for those guitar licks to thrill us, and we’re soon treated to a solid rendition, comprised of Nils’ fine harmonies (3:13) and a good Bruce vocal – he really surprises us at 3:09 and 3:35 with his high note and falsetto delivery. This one is followed by a “Wrecking Ball” that also falls victim to a less than perfect start, as Bruce seems to get in front of the instrumentation, leading to a version that doesn’t flow greatly from the off. Just like “Lonesome Day”, though, this soon finds its footing and we get a typically emotional performance. That’s exemplified by a voice break at 2:38 as he sings “we know that come tomorrow“, but to be perfectly honest this is the only instance of fragility in a song filled with intensity, as evidenced in the Band’s playing from 3:33, and fire, which we get from Bruce, Nils and Stevie in their defiant calls of “bring on your wreckin’ ball!” at 5:25 – absolute Essence. The quality continues with “Because the Night” and Nils’ trademark solo, but make sure to not overlook Max during it (3:13) because he’s superb once again as a commanding, pulsating presence in helping towards directing the song, and its romance, forward. Aptly, Max is also instrumental in moving us through the fall of that romance in “Brilliant Disguise” next, a delightfully crisp rendition, and just like last time out in Sunrise, this one tremendously argues Bruce’s certainty of the night belonging to lovers on account of the doubt that is always hidden away in our beings. This half hour is comprised of six songs we’ve already heard on this tour, and they’re six performances that really make us want to hear them again. The same can be said for the seven songs that follow, because these staples are certainly played with extra purpose here. “The Rising”, normally just a solid one, is fantastic tonight, highlighted best by a strong Bruce vocal, an inspired effort from Patti (4:09) and an incredibly passionate Stevie (4:35). It’s a rendition that serves to remind us, never presume we’ve heard it all with any specific song. The anthem of hope leads into the invitation for a new day, and “Thunder Road” ends the main set in style. With a lot more laughs from Bruce standing out in a thrilling performance, the enjoyment we’re inferring from him and the E Street Band is infectious on us listening, and as evidenced in their response on the audience inside Phillips Arena too. Before getting stuck into “Born to Run”, Bruce takes a moment to shout out the Atlanta Community Foodbank, and also to pay tribute to Alex Cooley. Cooley was a promoter who helped Bruce and the Band out massively in the early days when they came to Atlanta between 1975 and 1978. An integral part of their live story, it’s no surprise the magnum opus hits differently in comparison to usual as an evoking of emotional release. I love the hushed repetition of “everlasting kiss, kiss!” (2:46), and the delivery of “someday girl I don’t know when” at 4:10 is magical, equally comforting and defiant. The release of this one benefits “Dancing in the Dark” next, which is emphatically enjoyable. The only downside to it is that, while Jake is brilliant for the most part, he falters at the final hurdle of his solo. Of course that only gets another laugh out of Bruce, and this is really the show to beat as far as onstage enjoyment is concerned. And if we didn’t know that before or during this one, “Rosie” coming out is the ultimate confirmation. So joyous that Bruce gets mixed up and gives us a unique “stay up all night, hold on tight, ’cause Rosie I’m coming on strong” at 5:50. Amidst the raucous tempo and wild man moments between him and Stevie, it’s surprising that we don’t get several more of these moments here. “Bobby Jean” gives an emotional moment of respite in-between the manic “Rosie” and “Shout” that takes us home, and I love the tone the riveting riffs create in the intro and build upon throughout the song (1:03, 1:48, 3:02). They nicely complement a gorgeous Bruce vocal and superbly accompany the naturally sublime Jake outro (which is bettered even more by his playing at 3:35), which is surely a significant moment for Bruce, Stevie, Max, Roy and Garry, who will still have Alex Cooley on their minds. Rather than busting straight into “Shout”, Bruce has to make sure Atlanta have something left, and after they prove there’s more than enough left in their tanks, in return they get a scorching finale – it’s particularly heated from 1:39 – one that leaves us incredibly satisfied with what we’ve heard on this night in Atlanta, but still craving a little bit more, and excited as to what we’ll hear next time in Louisville. Springsteen and the E Street Band would only play one gig in the state of Georgia in 2016, but this sole concert is a fantastic showing. Even without the comparisons to their last Atlanta appearance in 2014, and even without the added benefit of tour debuts and surprises, this one thrives as a spirited, ardent performance. From The River, to the strong post-album House Party, to the emotionally driven encore, we’re given reaffirmation that it doesn’t really matter if the songs remain the same, as long as they’re played well – and played with pleasure – we’re going to have a good time listening. Let’s hope that’s the case in Kentucky too.