BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : Dallas 2023

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : DALLAS, TEXAS 2023

Disc One (61:12)

No Surrender
Ghosts
Prove It All Night
Letter To You
The Promised Land
Out In The Street
Candy's Room
Kitty's Back
Nightshift
Don't Play That Song

Disc Two (59:03)

The E Street Shuffle
Johnny 99
Last Man Standing
Backstreets
Because The Night
She's The One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands

Disc Three (48:28)

Thunder Road
Detroit Medley
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 : American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, USA

Recording Date : February 10, 2023

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Concert Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : After a three-day break, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2023 International Tour rolled into Dallas last Friday night. They say everything’s bigger in Texas, but unfortunately the extended E Street Band was reduced in size in the American Airlines Center as Stevie Van Zandt joined Soozie Tyrell on the sick list having also caught Covid – it didn’t help that Patti Scialfa was out of action too; hopefully all is well with this trio and we’ll see them back onstage as soon as they’re ready to return. As a wise man once said, though, “nothing stops the mighty E Street Band!” and as was the case in Hollywood, all Bruce and the E Street Band could do here was carry on and try to give Dallas as good a show as possible. As we might expect with three core members of the E Street Band absent, there were no drastic changes to the setlist barring one tour debut at the top of the encore and the setlist that has shaped each show since opening night was retained. With that said, Stevie’s presence has been prominent in most of the songs featured in this static setlist, and while Soozie’s absence in Hollywood was fortunately only felt in a few songs, no Little Stevie on this night meant just about every song sounded different in some fashion. With Jake Clemons brought to the front of the stage beside Nils Lofgren and Garry Tallent stood to Bruce’s left beside Anthony Almonte and his vast percussion set, the night kicked off with “No Surrender,” and if its defiant chorus was representative of the mood in Hollywood, that was even more so the case here as those onstage got through a rather messy reading with unwavering commitment. With a voice full of the stone and gravel he’d sing about in the next song, it was “C’mon Nils!” that Bruce called here rather than “C’mon Steve!” and the two took charge to make sure that Dallas got the best possible performance of the Born in the U.S.A. fan favourite under difficult circumstances. “Ghosts” was next, and this one also lost something without Stevie’s ardent backing vocals. It also wasn’t strongly sung, but in spite of that Bruce did channel the passion that Stevie usually exudes with his shouts of “BURN THIS HOUSE DOWN!” and “BY THE END OF THE SET WE LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!”, almost as if he was trying to prove a point! And, for what the song was lacking vocally, the music itself was stupendous and Jake shone in particular with his saxophone playing as the song reached its end. The following performance of “Prove It All Night” suffered even more so than “Ghosts” in regards to intensity lost without Little Stevie onstage, but surprisingly it didn’t lose too much as Bruce, Nils and Jake played with much motivation. Yes, the “Yeah!” back and forth between Bruce and Nils was far from perfected, but to their credit they found a relatively nice flow in the end before Bruce saw the song out on a high with his searing guitar solo. “Letter To You” was the first song on the night not massively impacted by Stevie, Soozie and Patti’s absences, but it still unfortunately didn’t touch the fantastic reading from Hollywood. Instead, this was more of a continuation of Bruce’s conversational approach in shows prior to February 7th (this one saw a fantastic delivery of “all my HAPPINESS and all my pain”) to establish a more intimate atmosphere in Dallas on a night where the audience’s role was more important than any other so far on the tour. Dallas responded well to the tour’s unofficial title track, and they did the same in “The Promised Land,” which was without its typically stellar harmonies from Stevie and Patti – and also sung with a more fragile vocal – however the song served as the first truly strong performance of the night, highlighted by the class combination of Lofgren-Clemons-Springsteen. Before starting the sixth song of his liberating opening sequence, Bruce took a moment to announce to Dallas where Stevie, Soozie and Patti were, and where some artists may use this as an opportunity to give themselves an excuse for any missteps in the show, Bruce instead raised the stakes by telling his audience “Goddammit we’re gonna give Dallas the best show they’ve ever seen!” before leading the E Street Band into “Out in the Street.” This River rocker has been something of a drawback even with Stevie, Soozie and Patti onstage this tour, so of course this one was (maybe aside from Tampa) the most flawless version we’ve heard yet on the 2023 tour. Free from any serious blunders, while it wasn’t perfect – Garry couldn’t be clearly heard; Bruce hesitated with “meet me out in the street… Ni-ils!” and he just burst out laughing at the end of this sequence stolen away by Anthony Almonte’s participation – it was really a best case version with three key cogs of the song missing! The success of the two long-time concert staples seemed to light a fire in Springsteen and the E Street Band, and from this point they marched forward as if everything was right in the world. Even without Stevie’s fiery backing vocals, “Candy’s Room” hardly lost its ferocity, driven on as always by the intense efforts of Springsteen – both his vocals and guitar playing – and Max Weinberg whose drumming was immense. The Darkness gem led into a fantastic “Kitty’s Back” just shy of fourteen minutes, and if “oh what can I do?” was running through Bruce’s mind before showtime with three band members out of action, utilising the band members he had at disposal was the answer. The result was an equally rousing and relaxing exhibition of the E Street Band, and if anxieties in the American Airlines Center hadn’t been soothed already, the stand out aspects of this one – including the excellent efforts of the Horns and the fantastic piano playing of Roy Bittan – surely did the trick. Where this one thrilled instrumentally, it also allowed Bruce to showcase what he can do when the times call for more, and what stood out above several fluid vocal deliveries (the way he sang “she’s so soft, she’s so blue” staggered) was the way he involved Dallas here. I can’t recall him doing more to bring the audience into this song in any other show so far on the tour, and when he exclaimed “EVERYBODY NOW!” as the song’s coda reached its most cathartic point, Dallas saw a man as motivated as ever, and a man far from willing to accept ‘passable’ on a night like this. You can bet that “IT’S ALRIGHT!”. After a beautiful, inspired reading of “Nightshift” alongside the Choir and the Horns, very lively renditions of “Don’t Play That Song” and “The E Street Shuffle” saw more examples of Bruce feeling it on the night. Following on from Hollywood, the second soulful selection from Only The Strong Survive brought additional organic nuances such as Bruce’s adamant declaration of “All I’ve got to say is… keep going boys! All I’ve got say is, if you’re back baby, I don’t care if you lied!”; and the WIESS opener saw similar when Bruce added “now Little Angel says – are you ready?!” to complement the free flowing atmosphere, which was exemplified by his sparkling guitar licks and the rumbling percussion of Weinberg and Almonte. “Johnny 99” followed with the slower, bubbling intro from Hollywood once again employed, and it ended this exuberant sequence in likewise fashion. Bruce showed further connection with Dallas, telling them “I know what’s on your mind!” before cowbell reigned supreme, and if that wasn’t enough for Dallas, a double shot of finales surely left them – and the E Street Band! – in need of some respite. As it so happened, breathing space did follow as Bruce again took on “Last Man Standing” alone, however it didn’t serve as the kind of break Dallas were hoping for. Rather than three and a half minutes of rest, it was three and a half minutes of emotional devastation from Bruce, who poured his heart out in tribute to his fallen friend, George Theiss, whose death in 2018 left Bruce as the last living member of their first band, The Castiles. Played solo on the acoustic with Curt Ramm performing a gutting trumpet solo, this reading featured a particularly profound moment where all music subsided and Bruce just shouted out the chorus to the American Airlines Center. It’s an approach he’s long mastered in solo shows in front of many hundreds, but to hear this in an arena filled with thousands made for a moment all the more effective. The solo “Last Man Standing” was once again paired with a towering full band performance of “Backstreets” for enhanced emotion, and the emotion that would typically come with the Born to Run song played the way we can hear on Bruce’s third studio album was again intensified with his powerful spoken interlude, where he recited snippets from “I’ll See You in My Dreams” – “Now I’ve got all your old 45s, and the books you read, and the guitar you kept by your bed… and I carry everything else, right here… right here… right here… right here… right here…” – and with a hand to his heart while repeating those final words, he assured George Theiss that while it’s been five years since they last saw each other in person, George’s spirit has been with him since that summer afternoon in 2018. No major song changes came after “Backstreets” as the main set reached its end, but small changes could be found in the performances and in how “Thunder Road” concluded the set rather than opened the encore. “Because the Night” again followed “Backstreets” with Nils not only at the forefront because of his excellent solo that is getting better night-on-night, but also because of his post-solo shouts of “Because the night!”. Nils’ harmonies don’t have the same intensity as Little Stevie’s, but there’s a passion to his cries that just can’t be denied and it’s great to hear. “She’s the One” brought similar intensity from Nils, Bruce, and the rest of the E Street Band as a powerhouse performance, and “Wrecking Ball” afterwards also stood out with outstanding instrumentation in a version that stood strong despite the absences of Soozie, Stevie, Patti, and also despite the early boos from Dallas when Bruce shouted “where the Giants play their games!”. Bruce just laughed off this NFC East rivalry and proceeded to get the audience back onboard with another fiery shout of “Let me hear your voices call!!” to give us a sudden moment of him risking and cementing the connection he’d build with the audience so far on the night! Equally soulful and rocking versions of “The Rising” and “Badlands” further strengthened the ties that bind before “Thunder Road” brought the main set to an end, and to follow up on my comments last time about Soozie’s violin contribution in the latter not being something I love, the guitar riff Stevie typically plays after Bruce sings “so Mary climb in” is my favourite thing about live versions of the Born to Run opener, so it was just as disappointing to not hear that riff here as it was refreshing to hear the song without the violin. That said, as they’d just about managed to do for the two hours prior, Springsteen and the E Street Band got through this one fine and as Jake and the E Street Horns saw the song out with their gorgeous efforts, Dallas could certainly say the main set ended on a high. Little did Dallas know, though, Springsteen and the E Street Band were about to take them higher. As mentioned earlier, the start of the encore brought the night’s sole tour debut, and with a (hopefully not too sincere) declaration of “Dallas! This is just for you!” it was into a very welcome tour debut of the “Detroit Medley.” Now, “The Medley” is very arguably the greatest of all Springsteen covers, with ten to fifteen minute long performances from 1975 to 1981 revered by many as the prime example of Springsteen and the E Street Band at their zenith, however this one in the modern era can often feel as disappointing as it is euphoric, with shortened versions failing to capture the magic of the most magical era. Dallas only saw a six minute long performance, but perhaps when Bruce said “this is just for you,” maybe he was talking about the quality of execution rather than it being the song’s only outing on this tour, as what could be found in this one was a dedication that strived to channel the spirit of 75-81 rather than simply tell the old fans ‘remember when we played this one!’. Absolutely riveting from start to finish and given that extra oomph by the addition of the Horns and Choir, what set this one apart from others played over the last decade or so was the moment where Bruce really channeled his younger self, bringing the music down and saying “Now when we raise our hands, I want to see every f*ckin’ hand in Dallas in the air!” – that voice in the audience saying “I got you Bruce my hands are up!” may be missed on first listen, because you and everyone else listening to Jon Altschiller’s mix likely said the same thing! In my review of The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts back in November 2021 I said there’d be something bittersweet about the next tour as it wouldn’t be like that, but based on this “Medley”, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be damned if they don’t at least try to match it. After “The Medley” Springsteen and the E Street Band sought to keep the atmosphere joyous, and that they did courtesy of triumphant versions of “Born to Run,” “Rosalita,” “Glory Days,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” which all featured something of note to keep repeat customers happy. “Born to Run” survived some messiness to provide usual catharsis, and while “Rosie” and “Glory Days” had me very interested with no Stevie in the house, thankfully Nils answered Bruce’s calls to ensure both songs had enough wild man madness to keep us satisfied! Though with that said, the most endearing moment of the former was Bruce’s “Hehe!” after singing “hear them in the backroom strumming!”; and the latter’s came with Bruce’s command of “Play that thing… anybody!”. “Dancing in the Dark” maintained a stimulating tempo with Bruce once again employing the soulful vocal that made the song a stand out on Broadway, and if anyone was still concerned about him possibly being in ‘Broadway mode,’ well those punchy band introductions followed, and with them came the return of a word regular readers will know I love to hear – “I WANT YOU TO GET THEM OUT ON THE STREET, IN THEIR PYJAMMIES!” – to assure us that he’s back in the E Street state of mind. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” brought the E Street Band’s night to a fitting end as the story of the band, and more importantly it saw them leave the stage having played one last strong performance on a night that really called for them to play to an even greater level. Bruce acknowledged the difficulties of the show prior to his final song, and he also thanked Dallas for playing their part on the night by saying “We needed your support tonight and Goddammit you gave it to us!” before leaving them with “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” to complement the rocking encore alongside the E Street Band as a touching farewell, until Bruce and Dallas meet again – in person or not. Without Little Steven Van Zandt, Soozie Tyrell or Patti Scialfa for the fifth show of their 2023 tour, Springsteen and the E Street Band could have used their absences as an excuse for a subpar show – especially after a rocky start to the night – but instead they used these drawbacks as an opportunity to showcase what they’re capable of when faced with a difficult situation. Playing the same set that shaped the previous four shows, this night saw E Street Band members such as Nils Lofgren, Jake Clemons, Garry Tallent step up big time alongside Bruce, the E Street Horns and E Street Choir to give Dallas as good a show as possible. The result of their efforts saw very solid readings of “The Promised Land” and “Out in the Street” – a song they’ve been struggling with – beside stellar versions of “Candy’s Room,” “Kitty’s Back” and the night’s sole tour debut, the “Detroit Medley,” where the spirit of ’78 was channeled for a superb performance, one that assured Dallas and all upcoming cities knew one thing was true: Bruce wasn’t letting Covid spoil his House Party. Next up on the 2023 tour, Springsteen and the E Street Band are in Houston for a Valentine’s Day spectacular!