BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : BALTIMORE 2024

 

Disc One (70:57)

  1. Hungry Heart
  2. Sherry Darling
  3. Lonesome Day
  4. No Surrender
  5. Ghosts
  6. The Promised Land
  7. Darlington County
  8. Reason To believe
  9. Atlantic City
  10. Youngstown
  11. Long Walk home
  12. The E Street Shuffle

Disc Two (67:47)

  1. Nightshift
  2. Racing In The Street
  3. Last Man Standing
  4. Backstreets
  5. Because The Night
  6. She's the One
  7. Wrecking Ball
  8. The Rising
  9. Badlands
  10. Thunder Road

Disc Three (43:23)

  1. Born To Run
  2. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
  3. Bobby Jean
  4. Dancing In The Dark
  5. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
  6. Twist And Shout
  7. I'll See You In My Dreams

Label : live.brucespringsteen.net

Venue : Oriole Park At Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Recording Date : September 13, 2024

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : On Broadway, Bruce Springsteen told audiences that the one thing he misses about being young is “the beauty of that blank page.” As we age, the amount of ‘firsts’ we get reduce and for a nigh on seventy-five year old rock icon who has explored and achieved just about all there is, that’s even more so the case. So when the opportunity to simply play a venue for the first time arises, there’s no doubt that Springsteen is going to relish it; and upon listening to this penultimate U.S. show from Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards, there’s no doubting that he really relished it. Although fans’ expectations of surprises towards the end of a leg are more managed in the year 2024 than on tours previous, with Bruce’s excitement arguably equalling his audience’s here there was a little hope for something special in this first ever show in Oriole Park. Those in the house didn’t have to wait long for that either, as this first time event in Baltimore kicked off with another first, Jack! Yes, it seems crazy to think that “Hungry Heart” had never opened an E Street Band show before, but the moment had arrived and it was the perfect romp to start the party on this late summer night. More party noises followed, too, as “Sherry Darling” very nicely combined with its River LP brethren to complement the end of the summer feeling and increase the joy for all. It was a damn good way to raise the heat for Asbury Park two days away too! A straightforward stretch of tour regulars maintained the excitement and heightened the intensity, with “Lonesome Day,” “No Surrender,” “Ghosts” and “The Promised Land” serving as career spanning anthems befitting Bruce’s overarching theme of life and death that has shaped this tour; and upon the end of a frenzied “Darlington County” came another thematic sequence, one that was all the more intense. Fronted by a raging “Reason to Believe” and highlighted by a stunning “Long Walk Home,” once again the passion of the ‘Election Pack’ was even stronger than the night before (that’s incredible given the last one was in Washington) as we get closer and closer to November 5th. And while the trio of “Reason,” “Atlantic City” and “Youngstown” were magnificently ferocious and despondent, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the latter Magic track was the stand out given its position in the set as “a small prayer for the country.” Fronted by those powerful “Land of Hope and Dreams”-esque riffs and supported by Little Steven Van Zandt’s rallying backing vocals – not to forget the rousing horns or Bruce’s ardent shout of “C’mon!” – it’s reaching the point where this song’s place and perfection in the setlist is becoming bittersweet, because it’s taken the current state of the union and ugliness of this presidential race to get it. “Long Walk Home” fittingly served as the summit of political discourse on this night, and those onstage launched into a vigorous performance of “The E Street Shuffle” next to restore the joy inside Oriole Park. I especially liked the way Bruce sang “Little Angel hangs out at Easy Joe’s it’s the joint where all the riot squad goes!” here, delivering it with more oomph than ever on this tour, and for me it typified the joyfulness of this WIESS track. That joy was nicely contrasted by the two sobering songs that followed, and although “Nightshift” no doubt resonated with all in the ballpark, it was “Racing in the Street” that captivated most. Lines such as “little by little, piece by piece” and “off myyyyy back” highlighted a gorgeous reading from Bruce, but also a straighter one in comparison to the more fluid approach on September 7th. I love how the many versions of this song we’ve heard this year have come with a different vocal feeling, and how the increasingly euphoric finales led by Roy Bittan add to them in the most amazing way. Bruce, Roy, and the rest of the E Street Band maintained that level of performance to ensure a deeply ardent second half of the show. There was a touch of strain noticeable in Bruce’s voice during “Backstreets,” but he didn’t relent from giving it all he could, and its catharsis made for an even greater audience excitement in the following trio of “Because the Night,” “She’s the One” and “Wrecking Ball” – Bruce’s punctuated “come on and take your best shot!” in the latter (5:10) was as good a summation of this song’s 2023-24 themes and the tour outright as there’s been since February 2023. “The Rising” through “Thunder Road” continued the ardency as well as the excitement to conclude the main set, and of course it seeped into the encore with a pronounced reading of “Born to Run” to kick off the ninth inning. There were no changes made to last time, so that meant Baltimore were treated to an effective blend of stimulating and sentimental tracks such as “Rosalita,” “Bobby Jean” and a terrific “Twist and Shout” that saw Bruce commanding “Don’t quit on me now!” to his audience during a fantastically communal moment. The latter was the final high of the night for Baltimore and the E Street Band, ending in a lengthy, well deserved ovation for the men and women onstage as they took their final bows and bid farewell. Then after a shout out to the Maryland Food Bank for the work they do and an apology for the year delay in getting here, Bruce ended the night in the usual way. Through a wholehearted “I’ll See You in My Dreams” Bruce was able to strengthen the connections made on September 13th and also leave all with one last moment to remember, until his final declaration of “We’ll be seein’ ya!” comes to fruition sometime in the future.