BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : CONTINENTAL AIRLINES ARENA, EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : CONTINENTAL AIRLINES ARENA, EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - JULY 15, 1999

Disc One (41:41)

My Love Will Not Let You Down
The Promised Land
Two Hearts
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Darlington County
Mansion On The Hill
The River

Disc Two (63:28)

Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
Badlands
Out In The Street
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Where The Bands Are
Working On The Highway
The Ghost Of Tom Joad
Streets Of Philadelphia

Disc Three (73:12)

Backstreets
Light Of Day
Freehold
Stand On It
Hungry Heart
Born To Run
Bobby Jean
Thunder Road
If I Should Fall Behind
Land Of Hope And Dreams

Label : Nugs.net

Venue : Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA

Recording Date : July 15, 1999

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : Since the year 2014, late December has always treated Springsteen fans to a Live Archive Series bonus, and while the past year was without the amount of Archive Series releases we’ve been used to since First Friday began in July 2017 on account of the 2023 International Tour and the focus on bringing those shows to us, it did end with the Christmas tradition continuing. Having been surprised by a Second Friday drop of October 14th, 2009, fans were very curious as to what the end of the month would bring. I don’t think anybody anticipated this one though. December 2022 brought the release of July 18th, 1999, the second of fifteen nights in New Jersey, and December 2023 followed in very similar fashion, taking us back seventy-two hours to July 15th: opening night. As anticipated as this show was by all in July 1999, it must be said that that its Archive Series release wasn’t. With stronger nights from the stand still potentially locked away in the vault, on its face this one appeared to be something of an anti-climax at Christmas. Where that initial reaction may suggest a lesser addition to the Archive Series, when we listen we realise it’s nothing of the sort, as it captures a very significant moment in the live legacy of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as an incredibly determined and spirited performance. Stronger shows may have followed in the States, but this was the breeding ground. For the first Springsteen and the E Street Band show in the U.S. since 1988 and the first in New Jersey since 1985, MTV were on hand to give those at home a taste of what everyone had been missing, and for nearly twenty-five years we’ve watched that towering opening two-pack every time it’s popped up on television or our computer screens. Garry Tallent holding his ears to protect himself from the noise mightn’t be the most iconic visual in the history of the band, but it should be up there, no doubt. This release doesn’t let us down as a loud listening experience either, oh no, as the anticipation of the New Jersey audience is very clear. Those onstage don’t let us down either, and that was emphasised from the off with a rousing combination of commitment in the form of “My Love Will Not Let You Down” – the first of three Tracks cuts on the night to let East Rutherford know this wasn’t a Greatest Hits show – and “The Promised Land,” anchored by the triple shot of guitars from Springsteen, Little Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren (onstage together in an official U.S. show for the first time), the storming sax of Clarence Clemons and a range of hearty harmonies. Perhaps most important, though, was the part the Continental Airlines Arena audience played at the start of this show. In his 2016 autobiography, “Born to Run,” Bruce would comment on the struggle he felt he and the E Street Band were experiencing one day in Asbury Park’s Convention Hall as they prepared for this tour; “I went through a stressful rehearsal, running through music we’d long known that was feeling somehow leaden and lifeless to me. I was quietly seething with anxiety but I didn’t want to disturb or draw the confidence out of the band. There had been about fifty or so fans milling around outside of the hall for the past few weeks and around mid-afternoon, with a few songs left to to rehearse, I told one of the crew to let them in. A rush of shining, excited faces rushed stage front as I counted into “Promised Land” and suddenly, there it was… liftoff.” As storming versions of “Two Hearts” (without its twenty-first century “It Takes Two” finale), “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “Darlington County” rounded out the opening half hour, there was indeed liftoff with New Jersey highly vocal for and throughout every song. You can bet those faces were shining with excitement too! Shambamalanga indeed! The respect New Jersey showed for the quieter songs doesn’t go unnoticed on this release either, as those onstage continued covering the eras this audience had been reminiscing about while they waited on the new one to begin. Following the River, Darkness and Born in the U.S.A. trio was a selection from Nebraska, “Mansion on the Hill,” that saw Bruce employ a heartfelt vocal – with a fine amount of twang – beside Patti Scialfa to truly bring it all back home on a special return to his home state. That theme continued afterward, too, with a reinvented version of “The River” for the reunion. Maligned by many as the years have gone on, I’ve always thought there was a haunting beauty to this reading while still being a far cry from the classic arrangement. Fronted by the goosebump-inducing efforts of the Big Man and Dan Federici, what’s very noticeable here is that for as different as it may be, Bruce’s passion for the performance is clear. There’s meaning to every word sang here, when the song could simply have been recited as we’ve always known it. In a way, this song typifies his vision for this tour. Then seemingly just like that, it was into “Youngstown” for the near-forty-five minute, five-song sequence that had already become this tour’s core. Another reinvention, and another era of music covered on the night, though we can say twenty-five years later that Nils’ solo never settled and continued to evolve, it’s fascinating listening to this one alongside the four songs that followed and pinpointing those areas that would be ‘perfected’ by June and July 2000. Bruce’s phrasing here and the not so swift segue into “Murder Incorporated” stand out as nice, intricate details to distinguish this version from others released so far. That scathing “Murder Inc.” would bring more of the same, as would “Badlands” without its double-finale and even “Out in the Street” surprises with Clarence’s booming “meet me out in the stree-ee-eet!”. His superb “meet me out in the street baaaaby!” would come later, but we still can’t help but smile as we hear him on this occasion. It’s “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” though, that would find itself most different by the end of the tour as, just like its July 18th counterpart, this version saw Bruce still working out the kinks of his ultimate story to conclude this sequence and convey what this tour was about. Upon getting out of New Jersey their loudest harmonies during the intro, he immediately stressed this song’s importance through a fiery vocal – no time for gorgeous “to the wall now!” deliveries yet, nor “and he played something soooo sweet!” as he called on Roy Bittan later either! Of course, tender assurances of “it’s alright to have a good time!” would follow as he shifted into preacher mode, and the mid-portion of this performance would bring similarly stupendous “Speak Softly Love” and “Them Changes” riffs from Little Steven and Garry to the next night, but where these aspects on July 18th were overshadowed for me by that aforementioned declaration to call on the Professor, on this night it’s undoubtedly Nils’ stunning guitar that stood out, before the “important part” raised the hairs on everyone’s arms all the more as the defining moment of the song. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” would certainly get all the more delectable as this leg of the tour went on, but this is far from a bad starting point. The end of “Tenth” brought the final third of the show, and unsurprisingly for the start of a stand where Bruce was still shaping his show out, it brings similarities to July 18th with its final nine songs played identical. There are shining aspects to those performances regardless, and the songs in this portion that are different to what was played three nights later are also really good. The first of those stand out performances we don’t have to wait for either, as following the story of Springsteen and the E Street Band was another Tracks selection, “Where the Bands Are.” We’ve been able to listen to this song through the Archive Series via July 28th, 2012 since April 2020, but as we listen to this version it truly feels like the song has arrived. A rousing, rallying reading brimming with commitment from all onstage, it’s another song that speaks for the atmosphere inside the Continental Airlines Arena on this night, and while we can easily imagine the excitement on the faces of all in the audience, we can more or less feel how overjoyed Bruce and the Band are as they play, with Little Steven as invested as I can ever remember hearing him during a song performance. Whether it’s his “ringing out down Union Street!”, his and Bruce’s stunning calls of “meet me on down!” or his ardent declarations of “I wanna be!” during the finale, there are many examples to enjoy where it concerns his dedication, and believe me, you’ll enjoy them! “Where the Band Are” fronted a very nicely varied sequence of songs, as a rocking “Working on the Highway” followed to perhaps regain the attention of those who hadn’t spent hours slavering over Tracks in the build-up to this tour, and if not that it ensured all had danced enough to call for two quieter songs. During “Tenth” Bruce quipped that he was filled with “the ghost of Tom Jones!” to justify his thrusting, but now it was time for “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and the shift in tone was surely palpable inside the arena here. Given a slight uplift in tempo in comparison to its tour to equal parts maintain the audience’s attention and further highlight Bruce’s strive to not rest of his laurels during this tour, the title track of his 1995 LP is the first of a strong two-pack that served to spotlight inequality and injustice alongside “Streets of Philadelphia” afterward. Then, it was time for “Backstreets,” which bookended this sequence as another stand out performance on the night. Equally immense and stunning from the off thanks to the quality of keyboard efforts by Roy and Danny, this one captivates with Bruce’s powerful, emotional vocal. Following the 2023 Tour we can be forgiven for thinking this song had reached a new level of emotion that previous readings could no longer touch, but its classic, interlude-free arrangement still makes us feel. “Light of Day” rounded out the main set, and amidst a thundering performance that undoubtedly left New Jersey out on its feet, this one saw Bruce present his mission statement. In 1988 this song was centred around Bruce finding his way out of the darkness that was his failing marriage; in 1992 and 1993 the song spoke of the light he’d since found with a new wife and a new band; and now the song was more about rebirth than ever before. Following a thrilling interpolation of “I Need a Train” buoyed on by “Sympathy for the Devil”-esque harmonies, Bruce told his people where he’d been, how many miles he’d travelled, and made it clear to them what he was there to do. A “search and rescue mission!” is how he initially described it, and he’d go on to mention more aims – “If your heart’s running on empty we’re gonna fill it up tonight!”; “if your spirit’s bankrupt, I’m gonna lift that debt up off ya!” – he sought to achieve with “the majesty, the mystery and ministry of rock and roll.” The most important, though, is what he called on New Jersey to raise their hands for as the band built into the finale: “Life, right now!“ As mentioned earlier, the home stretch on this release brings no song variation to night two, but that’s no problem as the nine songs played are equally enjoyable to listen to with a couple of them arguably exceeding those performances on July 18th. “Freehold” is the first song we could make an argument for as a lovey first of six performances on this stand. It’s a reading that brings career and Archive Series continuity in how Bruce called back to his November 8th, 1996 show in his old St. Rose of Lima School, and as we know from the July 18th show, this one saw him insert new lyrics to bring us up to date; one a funny response to plans Freehold had about building him a statue, and the other a poignant farewell to his father who had passed away in 1998. It’s a farewell that stays true to what Bruce had told audiences about Douglas Springsteen over the years, though: “he’s there by the highway buried in the dirt, his ghost flippin’ the bird, to everybody in Freehold.” Archive Series purists may already have heard this line last December, but its emotion is no less impactful or beautiful this time around. The high emotion called for excitement afterward, and New Jersey got that in abundance with the following trio of the night’s third Tracks selection, “Stand On It,” “Hungry Heart” and the song they’d been waiting to see Springsteen play with the E Street Band again since August 1985, “Born to Run.” The feeling of exhilaration was surely high during these rousers, and it didn’t seem to let up even with the emotional “Bobby Jean” and slower paced “Thunder Road” following. After all, over a decade had passed since New Jersey had heard these songs played in this setting, so there was really nothing this audience could do but be overjoyed. Their heroes were back! Five of those heroes would then share the mic in the penultimate song of the evening, “If I Should Fall Behind.” Bruce, Stevie, Patti, Nils and Clarence each took verses of a song Bruce penned to convey love and communion on Lucky Town, and its positioning at the end of this show served as promise to each other and their audience that even if that corner to the light of day wasn’t yet in sight, they’d be walking towards it together. Bruce would stress that further with his final comments afterward, describing these shows to New Jersey as “the rebirth and the rededication of our band and our commitment to serve you” (you may remember him echoing these words at the end of the the July 1st, 2000 tour finale) and having played a song that helped shape every era from 1975 onwards throughout the show, this night concluded with a song for the next, another mission statement in “Land of Hope and Dreams.” Not yet the titan it would be in July 2000, there’s such a tender beauty to this performance from the off as evident in the opening efforts of Max, Roy and Danny, before Bruce employed a gorgeous vocal – alongside Stevie and Patti’s backing vocals and Clarence’s likewise sax solo – brimming with sincerity to express his invitation to join the ride, wherever its driver was taking us.