BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : ATLANTA 2023

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : ATLANTA 2023

Disc One (47:16)

No Surrender
Ghosts
Prove It All Night
Letter To You
The Promised Land
Out In The Street
Candy's Room
Kitty's Back

Disc Two (59:02)

Nightshift
Don’t Play That Song
The E Street Shuffle
Johnny 99
Darlington County
Last Man Standing
House Of A Thousand Guitars
Backstreets
Because The Night
She's The One

Disc Three (59:47)

Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands
Thunder Road
Born To Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Glory Days
Dancing In The Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
I'll See You In My Dreams

Label : live.brucespringsteen.net

Venue : State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Recording Date : February 3, 2023

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Concert Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : After a thrilling first night on their 2023 International Tour in Tampa, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band arrived in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena last Friday night with fans’ expectations high for a show just as rejuvenating as the one in the Amalie Arena. Forty-eight hours earlier fans in Florida were witness to a strikingly good performance combined with twenty-eight nicely varied song selections. Would immediate changes be made, or would Bruce and the E Street Band maintain the bulk of the night one set, continuing to ease themselves into the tour after nearly six years apart? The most visible change as the E Street Band stepped onstage inside the State Farm Arena was the absence of Patti Scialfa, and while this led many to (correctly) believe at least one song played in Tampa wouldn’t be here, setlist-wise Bruce kept it very, very similar to night one, retaining just about every song – and in the same position. On its face, fans could argue that this decision makes the Atlanta Live Download rather redundant, uninteresting and no different to the Tampa show. However, as we gathered from all of those shows played on the opening leg of The River Tour 2016, the setlist isn’t everything and performance quality can make the world of difference. As Bruce and the E Street Band launched into “No Surrender” – a song Little Steven dedicated to Ukraine after Tampa – there was an instant contrast in performance and energy. Rid of any jitters that may have come with their first performance in nearly six years, with this one the men and women onstage showed to be very comfortable in their playing, able to perform all the more freely and that resulted in a blistering guitar driven performance. Yes, there was a slight drawback with Bruce sounding a little raspy, but his commitment couldn’t be deterred. Also, for what the opener lacked vocally, a swift segue into “Ghosts” soon calmed any fears by way of the song being a much improved performance on Bruce’s part. There was some strain there, no doubt, but in comparison to the Tampa reading it was really night and day when it came to him singing in tone – even some contrasting moments were effective, such as the fiery declaration of “BY THE END OF THE SET WE LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!”. A determined effort from Bruce was met by a likewise one from the E Street Band, with fantastic harmonies brought by Little Stevie Van Zandt; delightfully delicate riffs contributed by Charlie Giordano in the background during the final verse; and the class combination of Springsteen-Giordano-Bittan-Clemons that drove the song’s finale in Tampa did the same again here, and it was also more polished as Bruce played his guitar solo prior to Roy’s piano instrumental. The setlist wasn’t immediately different, but changes could be found as this night in Atlanta got started. “Prove It All Night” provided another contrast, because this one was more reserved in tempo on this night, but it certainly wasn’t lacking in intensity – as was evident in its sensational guitar solos and its shared vocals between Bruce and Steven – and the same can be said for “Letter To You,” which subdued the electric atmosphere, but saw emotions high. Here, Bruce opted for the conversational approach he employed in Tampa, although with some soulful singing of the chorus as the song drew out, and it was an effective approach as it amplified the intimacy and passion of the song tenfold. Some might argue that this song put a stop to the energy and excitement early on, but after Bruce and the E Street Band channeled their thirty-year old selves with “Prove It All Night,” this song transported Atlanta into the now, serving the song’s themes excellently. With that said, the significance of “The Promised Land” after “Letter To You” that I talked about in my review of the Tampa show is given extra weight, and this powerful, driven performance (featuring more lovely Little Steven backing vocals) restored the rousing atmosphere in the State Farm Arena, further compelling Atlanta. “Out in the Street” compelled them too, and the participation of the audience in this one really served as the highlight of a solid reading, one that was only hindered by a messy moment during the spotlight sequence for Stevie, Nils, Garry and Soozie; regular readers will recall how Patti’s absence disrupted this part of the song early on into The River Tour 2016, too. Here’s hoping they can turn it around if she’s absent again! The exuberance of “Out in the Street” led into a “Candy’s Room” driven by vicious guitars and pounding drums, and upon a searing guitar solo, the rather unsung Darkness gem segued superbly into “Kitty’s Back,” which was splendidly sleazy and sultry. At twelve and a half minutes long (a minute longer than in Tampa!) this one gave the expanded E Street Band even more time to reacquaint themselves with each other’s playing and further gel as a unit, and given Bruce’s teasing “oh that’s so pathetic now!” it also allowed the audience to get back into the swing of things. Atlanta definitely answered Bruce’s teasing critique on the way to a storming, horns-driven finale, and while it again thrilled me to see these two songs paired together, the quality of these performances made their presence all the more riveting. With Ms. Patti absent, we saw the first setlist alteration of the tour next, as “Brilliant Disguise” was skipped and instead the Choir and Horns – now properly warmed up – stepped to the front of the stage for a double shot of songs from Only The Strong Survive. The combination of “Nightshift” and “Don’t Play That Song” shone again on this night, and where the former held its own against every song played in Tampa, surprisingly it was the latter that found itself as the more enjoyable of the two songs here. “Nightshift” was good, no doubt about it, despite its finale failing to reach the delectable heights it did in Tampa, but “Don’t Play That Song” staggered as a robustly sang, boisterously played experience for the State Farm Arena; even with a few instances of stone and gravel disrupting Bruce’s vocal, the cover further showed how those tracks that mightn’t have grabbed us on Bruce’s twenty-first studio LP can do so when played live. If the setlist opens up, I’d love to hear more. The boisterous atmosphere didn’t let up and a sparkling trio followed. “The E Street Shuffle” further employed the new members of the E Street Band, particularly Anthony Almonte who continued the percussion battle he began with Max Weinberg on February 1st, and Bruce’s ‘magic fingers’ also went to work on the Fender throughout this one, resulting in a reading that equally boomed and blazed. Guitar, horns, drums and cowbell then dominated a storming reading of “Johnny 99,” and it was after the revamped Nebraska favourite that we saw our first tour debut of the show, the perennial crowd pleaser, “Darlington County. Atlanta were more than happy to hear this one, too, and they took great delight as Nils Lofgren sang his usual verse and Soozie Tyrell then serenaded them with lovely violin. It was rather ironic that one of the two Born in the U.S.A. songs that can typify a ‘static’ setlist was the night’s first sign of spontaneity, and after an hour and ten minutes of ‘the same,’ unpredictability was finally in the air. Having said that, Bruce didn’t make any more immediate changes, and the E Street Band stepped offstage as the elation of the last half hour was then contrasted by an emotionally devastating reading of “Last Man Standing,” which Bruce again played solo with his acoustic guitar. Reciting the same monologue from Tampa, here Bruce talked about his greatest journey as a young man, starting his first band, The Castilles with schoolfriend George Theiss, and how George’s passing fifty years later left him as the last living member of that band formed in 1965, named after a bottle of shampoo. Describing the song as one about “the passion we follow as children,” about tomorrows and yesterdays, and living right now, he proceeded to floor Atlanta with a raw reading. As he sang “rock of ages lift me somehow!” the audience could infer his search for motivation in the face of George Theiss’ passing, and his desire to go back to those days, before the resignation in the way he delivered the chorus left a huge feeling of sorrow throughout the State Farm Arena, magnified by Curt Ramm’s mournful trumpet. Yet, though Bruce can’t return to those days, his comments about “living right now” were greatly reflected in “House of a Thousand Guitars” next, a performance that may well and truly have sold me on the song. We can’t change what’s come and gone, but as Roy played the E Street Band in, what could be done now was light up this house, and a marvellous rendition did that and more. Never have Bruce’s calls of “it’s alright, yeah it’s alright” in this one felt as reassuring, or as meaningful as they did in this moment after that performance of “Last Man Standing.” “Backstreets” followed, and this one was also meaningful. On the day that Backstreets Magazine announced the end of their forty-three year vocation, this was a special performance for many – myself included – and as Bruce sang “Until the end” during this immense reading, his words hit harder than usual. What also hit hard was the gorgeous interlude that followed those three words. Bringing the song down, Bruce unlocked that special voice of his and oh-so beautifully sang, “Oh! Come back baby! Ohhhhhhh come back darlin’! Ssshh… Come back baby… the days get so lonely… the nights are so empty…the days are so lonely… the nights are so empty…” to make an emotional trio of songs as poignant as possible, before leading the E Street Band back into the song-proper for a glorious finale. With the context of Backstreets Magazine concluding its coverage, and after the pairing of “Last Man Standing” and “House of a Thousand Guitars,” this epic was going to be powerful from the moment Roy played the E Street Band in, but incredibly, Bruce was able to increase that power. The five-pack that followed “Backstreets” and brought the main set to an end in Tampa were retained on this night, and in Patti’s absence “Because the Night” saw Soozie in a more featured role before Nils took Atlanta’s breath away with his guitar solo and even more spinning than in Tampa; “She’s the One” resounded throughout the State Farm Arena with Max’s drumming and Jake Clemons’ saxophone standing out alongside Bruce’s old school harmonica outro; “Wrecking Ball” found itself feeling different with fresh, sparkling guitar riffs, and the reemployment of Curt Ramm’s trumpet playing was very welcome for additional sentiment within the song; finally, “The Rising” and “Badlands” were played with much vigour, and the energy that was apparent in “No Surrender” as the night began flowed throughout these songs, two hours and three minutes later – not bad for a band in their late sixties and early seventies’ second show in nearly six years! Then, it turned out “Badlands” wasn’t ending the main set on this night, as Bruce had one more tour debut for Atlanta, “Thunder Road.” Unsurprisingly, Atlanta didn’t mind this additional song to conclude the set, and they joyfully sang along with Bruce during a spirited, long awaited full band reading of one of his greatest songs. This one even gave fans an additional treat, as with the E Street Horns onstage that meant this one could end with Danielian, Manion, Melendez and Ramm joining Jake for the finale in the same way the horns section did from 2012 to 2014, bringing the main set to a close all the more effectively with their shining combination. For the delight that “Thunder Road” brought Atlanta, perhaps the biggest disappointment of the night came with the omission of “Burnin’ Train” after just one show. Nonetheless, the six songs that shaped the rest of the encore in Tampa did a fine job of ending this show in stimulating fashion; but if you can believe it, after Bruce made a mess of setlist staple “Dancing in the Dark” on night one, he nearly did the same with “Born to Run” here! Yes, a count-in issue could have made for the two songs played in (just about) every show being the two big stumbles as the tour began, but thankfully Bruce caught himself (“Whoops!”) and a moment to find his footing led to a rallying version of the magnum opus. Exhilarating outings of “Rosalita” and “Glory Days,” anchored by the animated antics of Springsteen and Van Zandt followed, before Bruce really made up for his error in “Dancing in the Dark” last time out by giving an excellent performance – the less said about him accidentally hitting Kevin Buell with his guitar post-song the better! Driven by his strong, soulful vocal, this one, now shortened with no fans brought onstage served as the simple, barnstorming classic that many fans might argue it should have been for many years, with a focus on the music rather than members of the audience. Another mistake did come after “Dancing” as Bruce forget to shout out Charlie during his band introductions (a simple mistake with so many people onstage), but Charlie made sure to make his presence felt with striking organ riffs in a “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” that saw Bruce don a vintage “Wild and Innocent” leather jacket, handed to him by a fan. During a solid performance, this throwback was really the highlight for Atlanta on a night where memories of times past arguably highlighted the show. The E Street Band’s work was done for the night after “Tenth,” but Bruce remained onstage to wrap the night up with a song fuelled by memories, “I’ll See You in My Dreams.” As this performance showed, this is a song where sentiment will very likely override vocal or instrumental beauty on this tour, although Bruce’s harmonica riff was powerful, and in what may be the last Springsteen and the E Street Band show in Atlanta – it was “safe travels, God bless” instead of “We’ll be seein’ ya!” again after the song ended – Bruce made sure to end it by expressing to his audience that their bond will be eternal for him, no matter what recent happenings might suggest. After an impressive first show in nearly six years, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kept it simple for night two, retaining more or less all of the same setlist that was played in Tampa. With the only setlist changes being “Darlington County” and “Thunder Road” for “Brilliant Disguise” and “Burnin’ Train” – no Patti Scialfa surely led to the “Brilliant Disguise” substitution – what ended up being the most important contrast to the Tampa show was the immediate change in performance quality. Rid of any night one nerves, Bruce and the Band were able to play with more freedom here, leading to many improved song performances, “Ghosts” in particular beside the likes of “Don’t Play That Song” and “House of a Thousand Guitars.” Where one drawback is that the song preceding “Don’t Play That Song,” “Nightshift,” was weaker on this night than in Tampa, the latter song found itself as part of the show’s best highlight: an emotional trio with “Last Man Standing” and “Backstreets,” which was cemented by a stunning interlude. As was the case with my Tampa review, I’m going to refrain from giving this show an immediate rating out of ten, but while this may look like an identical setlist to Tampa, this is not the same show. Up next, Springsteen and the E Street Band are back in Florida with a show in Orlando’s Amway Center.