BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND : NEW YORK JANUARY 27, 2016

 

Disc One (73:05)

  1. Meet Me In The City
  2. The Ties That Bind
  3. Sherry Darling
  4. Jackson Cage
  5. Two Hearts
  6. Independence Day
  7. Hungry Heart
  8. Out In The Street
  9. Crush On You
  10. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
  11. I Wanna Marry You
  12. The River
  13. Point Blank

Disc Two (65:11)

  1. Cadillac Ranch
  2. I'm A Rocker
  3. Fade Away
  4. Stolen Car
  5. Ramrod
  6. The Price You Pay
  7. Drive All Night
  8. Wreck On The Highway
  9. She's The One
  10. Candy's Room
  11. Because The Night
  12. Brilliant Disguise

Disc Three (49:04)

  1. Wrecking Ball
  2. The Rising
  3. Thunder Road
  4. Born To Run
  5. Dancing In The Dark
  6. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
  7. Shout

Label : live.brucespringsteen.net

Venue : Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USA

Recording Date : January 27, 2016

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : After their impressive opening shows in Pittsburgh and Chicago, Springsteen and the E Street Band weren’t able to capitalise on them immediately, with Storm Winter Jonas causing the planned January 24th gig in Madison Square Garden to be postponed to a later date, meaning Bruce and the Band had eight days off before making the trip to New York for their now-first night in the world’s most famous arena. Will the extended break affect the tightness of their playing? Will it mean for a less weathered Bruce vocal? Let’s find out! “Hello snowbound New York! Did you survive?! So glad to hear it! We’re so glad to be in your beautiful city tonight! Are you ready to be entertained?! Are you ready to be entertained?! Are you ready to be transformed?!! Let’s go!” The night begins with Max rumbling us into “Meet Me in the City” and what’s immediately noticeable is how Charlie’s organ riffs aren’t massively loud, but lovely to listen to (1:11). As for Bruce’s vocal, it’s very gritty, and his delivery of lyrics such as “feelin’ alright!“, “out there!” and “shouting out loud!” (3:34) emphasise this and his intensity greatly. He isn’t the only intense member of the E Street Band either, and that’s evidenced in the highlight of the song at 3:47: his cries of “If you can holler then say alright!” and the mighty responses he gets from Patti and Stevie. A truly energetic experience to get us started. “Gotta say sorry to your friends that we missed them on Sunday night, but we’re gonna make that up to ’em. This is, uh, kind of a special night, The River was uh, a record where I was trying to figure out where I fit in, in the broader community, I made three or four sort of outsider records, where I was either part of an outsider community or… The River was the first record where I was trying to make my way inside. I’d taken notice of the things that bond people to their lives: work, commitments, families, and I wanted to imagine and write about those things, and I figured if I could write about ’em, maybe I’d get a step closer to realising them in my own life, so that’s what I did, I wanted to make a big record that felt like life! Felt like life, or an E Street Band show, I wanted the record to contain fun, dancing, laughter, jokes, good comradeship, love, sex, faith, lonely nights and teardrops. And I figured if I made a record big enough to contain all those things, then I’d get a little closer to the answers and the home I was, uh, trying to find for myself, so, tonight I want you to come along with us as we go along to The River.“ Advertisement Privacy Settings A worn reading of the monologue ends up having no impact whatsoever on the quality of his vocal in a tremendous version of “The Ties That Bind”. Mind you, there’s a small hint that the break has its drawbacks in the “not walkin’ love, not walkin’ cool” mix up, but Bruce can only chuckle at this most minor of mistakes. That’s the only ‘mistake’, though, as the playing of the E Street Band is stellar, highlighted best by Jake’s solo. Jake keeps it going in “Sherry Darling” with an opening that isn’t as strong as on January 19th, but there are no dud notes and that’s also the case for his playing at 2:15 and solo in the finale, which is much improved. I like how Bruce calls “one more time!” as if to make sure of it. Also featuring a fiery Bruce vocal, fantastic efforts from Stevie (check out his “hot sun beating on the blacktop!” at 0:46, 1:46 and his howling at 2:14), Nils who’s more prominent than on the opening two nights, and Patti who shines when we get to “let there be sunlight, let there be rain” (2:44) it’s safe to say “Sherry” is getting better with every performance. Let’s hope it continues! Charlie’s riffs close out “Sherry” and following a double count he shines in the intro of a “Jackson Cage” that sees a very good Bruce vocal along with typically fantastic Stevie harmonies. The only aspect that hinders this for me is Jake’s harmonica not seeming to flow too well with the rest of the music, but it isn’t a massive problem. You could argue it even adds to the unsettling aura of the song, before the atmosphere inside The Garden is lifted with another spirited count-in and equally spirited “Two Hearts”. There’s a similar amount of clearness here to Bruce’s vocal in Chicago, but it’s certainly a far more intense rendition. Nonetheless it achieves the same goal in making the delivery of every word feel genuine on both Bruce and Steve’s part. Listen to the latter’s “better than one!” at 1:24, he’s a man on a mission. “Independence Day” ends a strong Side One in likewise fashion, and we get a lovely Bruce vocal from the moment he sings “papa go to bed now” to begin. Singing remorsefully, he channels the pain he’s harboured for so many years to make for another genuine performance. Emphasising this in the way he stresses lyrics like “got the best of us” and emphatically recites “nothing we can say can change anything now!“, he’s always complemented amazingly by his Band. Particularly good here is Soozie who stuns at 3:23 and later from 5:19 in the way she combines with Bruce’s vocal, but she’s not the only one with Roy (4:33), Nils (5:04) and Jake (4:08) adding to the sentiment of the song. We might only be three shows in, but this is the strongest Side One of the tour so far, and don’t Madison Square Garden know it! “Here’s another song about leavin’ home!“ Max, Garry, Roy and Jake transition us into “Hungry Heart”, and New York really give Pittsburgh and Chicago a run for their money where it concerns their participation. A strong start, but it isn’t built upon too greatly by Bruce as he sings with less soulful, less superb vocals. In regards to the all round Band performance, though, this is spot on with everyone playing their part well, before this eager audience gets the third crowd surf of the tour at 3:29 – “Are you ready for me!“. It’s more of the same in “Out in the Street” (minus the surfing) as it’s animated and Bruce sings with a lot of fire in the throat. However, there isn’t anything to truly distinguish this from the first two nights, unless we count Nils’ “meet me out in the street New York!“. As noted in the Pittsburgh review, we can expect a few songs to be more than similar during these album play throughs, so at times knowing they’re enjoyable is enough. That applies to “Crush on You” too, as the highlights tonight again include the infectious guitar playing, Bruce’s ferocious vocal and the “she might be…” verse. The latter is equally communal to Chicago, but notable if only for Jake’s riffs in the background at 1:40. “Excellent fans to know those words!“. The tremendous “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” on the other hand, while bringing more ferocity and fun (as evidenced in Steve laughing at 1:37 and his “you better not!” at 1:52) shines on account of its differences to Pittsburgh and Chicago tonight. I love the little quips Bruce and Stevie are adding each night during their back and forth, and even if they’re as simple as “You better listen!” and “Know what I’m saying?“, they perfectly add to the story and rambling tone that makes the song thrive. Then we come to the biggest contrast of Side Two, and “Here She Comes Walkin'” – “I Wanna Marry You” might be the show’s best argument to that break impacting Springsteen and the E Street Band’s flow. Quite simply, it was going to be tough to top Chicago’s stunner at the first attempt, so they go the opposite route with a messy one. Instead of ending the monologue by flowing into “Here She Comes”, tonight Bruce gets mixed up and tries kicking the Band into “Marry You” first! Stating, “sometimes the tightest Band in the world f*cks it up!” and going back to the final lines of the intro, he soon realises he’s actually to blame: “Oh! I f*cked it up! I was ready to blame others, but I f*cked it up! Because I’m supposed to be doing this” before segueing into the opener. No issues once they get into it, as he and Stevie sing lovely, and when Bruce ends it by claiming “Didn’t want to leave that out!“, we can’t help but think “Damn right!” in response. A second side of The River that has bore a few similarities to the opening two nights, this is an emphatic shift to make up for them! It’s followed by an “I Wanna Marry You” that is equally lovely in every area: the vocals and harmonies from Bruce and the Band, the stirring instrumentals from Roy and Max, and the romantic finale led by Jake. Not the one to top as far as this song goes, but the first major indication that this ‘stagnant’ first leg will have its spontaneous moments. Advertisement Privacy Settings “I want to sing this tonight for my sister, she’s here, and I wrote this song for her.“ I mentioned in the Chicago review how “The River” hasn’t stood out like the others on its respective album, so to hear Bruce dedicate it to his sister and her husband – the couple whose story fuelled his songwriting – who are in attendance, immediately suggests it should stand out tonight. We can infer it’s going to be an inspired performance on Bruce’s part before he even begins singing, and when he does we can certainly note the passion with which he performs. It’s noticeable when he sings lines like “to the riveeerrr” (2:14), but what stands out most to me here are two other lyrical deliveries. The first is “when she was just seventeen” (0:56), which doesn’t flow perfectly alongside Stevie’s acoustic, but effectively makes the song darker in in the process, and that’s also the case when he sings “we’d ride” at 1:24. What should be a happy memory of his youth is evoked with nothing but pure misery. The words Bruce sings being ‘genuine’ has been a recurring theme in this show, as well as the previous two nights, and these aspects definitely emphasise him singing “those memories come back to haunt me“, much more than on the 16th and 19th. With seemingly no time to waste it’s right into “Point Blank” and Roy’s bleak intro. Tonight he’s supported by unsettling guitar licks at 0:40 (it’s unsettling from 3:15 too) and after Garry’s thudding riffs transition us into the song, Bruce sings like a man speaking from experience. One who’s lived this life and has come across someone suffering a similar fate. We just need to hear his first “little darlin’” to get that impression, with the “fooled this time” voice break at 2:51 inferring how painful a story this is to relive. What strikes me most, though, and further adds to these interpretations is how he sings “did you forget how to love, darling did you forget how to fight?” at 7:13. It could well and truly be his softest vocal of the night, but the amount of concern in his voice as he sings this line is unnerving. “Point Blank” is sure to deliver every single time. We go down to the “Cadillac Ranch” next and perhaps Bruce noticed some disinterest in the song prior, as he begins this one exclaiming “Are you with me? Then let me hear you scream! Wooo!“. If you’re curious, they’re definitely with him from this point forward. Charlie and Roy, if they weren’t already, play with absolute freedom throughout this one, and while echoey audio (I think this is in-house more so than the mix itself) hinders how fiery Bruce actually sounds, this is a solid rendition where Stevie, Nils and Soozie thrive in the spotlight for their respective solos. It’s just a shame the audio doesn’t do them complete justice. It’s also a shame to hear a few dud notes from Jake during his solo, but we already know he can ace this one, so this might be another aspect to blame on the extended break! Roy and Charlie soar once again in a joyous “I’m a Rocker”, and despite being a touch less boisterous than the previous two shows, that ends up mattering not too much on account of the continued vibrancy from Stevie, Nils and Patti and the cries of “everyday!” from Bruce are somehow even more manic than usual. How?! Unsurprising after that insanity, “Fade Away’ is sang with a hushed vocal for the verses, but just like in Chicago the choruses are sang emphatically by the inspired pairing of Springsteen and Van Zandt. It’s early days, but this one hasn’t let us down up to this point, and the striking Charlie riffs and delicate guitar playing by Nils and Stevie (3:06) that also shine in this ensure that remains the case heading into Washington in forty-eight hours time. With Roy stepping back into the spotlight next, we can say the same for “Stolen Car” as well. With Bruce opting for a strong vocal and being supported by the harrowing harmonies of Nils and Stevie, the lyrical stand out here is the same as the selected line in Chicago, “as time went by and our love grew deep“, with the difference being that the regret he was singing with inside the Union Center is replaced by pure bitterness inside The Garden. Adding to that is Soozie at 5:00, who elevates the song even more in a stunning, albeit grim coda. Advertisement Privacy Settings As he did following the sombre “Point Blank”, Bruce lifts the mood by telling his audience, “get up out ya chair!“, and it’s good advice because you can’t be seated during “Ramrod”. Bruce approaches this one with a really nonchalant vocal and his delivery of several lines – “get your hair down sugar“, “down on Bluebert Street“, “let the ramrod rock!” – makes for a thoroughly enthralling rendition (listen to how he sings “I think of your pretty face when I let her unwind!” so menacingly too). Bruce isn’t the only one who makes this good, although his guitar playing at 4:13 admittedly ends up stealing the show, as I’m sure without the level of quality we also get from Stevie (3:45), Nils and Jake (his solo is spot on at 2:24), this wouldn’t be half the performance it turns out to be. And with a “one more time Maxie!” for a double shot outro, the bar has been raised for Washington! Max rolls us out of “Ramrod” and into “The Price You Pay”, and it’s Bruce’s finest vocal for this yet. Yeah there’s still a touch of roughness in his voice, which is ultimately confirmed by his voice cracking once again with the final high note, but by that point we’ve already heard fantastic recitals of lyrics like “you ri-ide until the day” and “price you pa-ay” (4:44); if Bruce is to fix that finale in the coming weeks it might only end up serving as a bonus. There’s nothing to be fixed in “Drive All Night”, as we get another stunning rendition next and this is also highlighted by a lovely Bruce vocal. Whether it’s in the robust manner he sings “send me something I’m afraid to lose“, the hushed “tonight there’s fallen angels…” and stress he places on “street“, or the passionate “you got you’ve got my love“, there’s plenty to be swept away by vocally over these nine minutes. With the added excellence we can hear from Roy, Max, Stevie and Jake, once again it’s early doors, but I’m not sure what Bruce can do to improve this one. Maintaining his fantastic vocal, Bruce draws out just about every word of “Wreck on the Highway” (savouring every moment?) and even a couple of voice breaks can’t bring this down. In fact, they instead emphasise the highly emotional lyrics and sentimental experience of the album coming to an end. I’m sure if Bruce’s voice hadn’t held up that the outstanding playing of the E Street Band would have conveyed it well enough, but a bit of unexpected help every now and then isn’t a bad thing. “Well the subtext of The River was, was time. Time slippin’ away, and how once you enter that adult world the clock starts ticking, and you realise, you’ve got a limited amount of time. To do your work, to raise your family, to try and do something good.” “That’s The River!“ “Alright, we’re gonna carry on for a while now!“ There’s only one tour debut in tonight’s post album House Party sequence, but for that potential cloud there’s a silver lining in the fact it’s a much more thematic run of songs than in Pittsburgh and Chicago. Of the seven songs to end the main set, four nicely call back to those romantic daydreams (and the consequences of them) Bruce refers to in “Marry You”, while two are fitting (albeit under different circumstances) for the city of New York. We begin with “She’s the One”, which is vibrant through Charlie, pulsating through Stevie (0:33) and equal parts laidback and intense through Bruce. His vocal approach is more the former, but there are several moments where the latter seeps through (listen to that “won’t. break. that. heart. of. stone” for my favourite example). Honestly this has a little bit of everything, as New York are immense when called on; Bruce and Stevie enjoy themselves, losing themselves in laughter at one point, and the coda (4:13) allows for everyone – Max, Charlie, Roy, Garry, Jake in particular – to shine in a rock and roll exhibition. That said, my favourite moment is the combination of Bruce and Nils shouting “Hey!” together, a fresh change from Bruce and Stevie, even if it’s only a short one. It’s back to Bruce and Stevie shining together in “Candy’s Room” next, the sole debut of the night. Continuing the story of desire, our protagonist has his One, but now he has the challenge of keeping her and “Candy” stresses that. Exemplifying the daydream aspect, Bruce sings with a hushed vocal as Max drives us forward, building and building before the song culminates in liberation, evoked through Charlie’s riffs at 1:13 and the aforementioned passion of Bruce and Steve. When there’s only one tour debut in a show, it has to achieve the thrills that multiple others in the set would, and “Candy” hits the spot! Further adding to the lust is “Because the Night”, and Bruce sings similarly to “She’s the One” with a half tender, half intense vocal – I particularly like his combinations with Patti (before their spotlight duet next) and it’s nice to know Bruce isn’t the only one giving the song his all upon listening to them. What’s most interesting about this rendition, though, is that while Nils’ solo is typically excellent, our focus ends up being taken away from it when we hear the rhythm guitar at 4:20. There are hints of stellar playing on the left side of the stage as early as 1:11, but for it to outshine Nils (if just for a few moments) is a massive sign of an E Street Band on top form. Following the romantic trio, “Brilliant Disguise” is a damning reality check, reminding us of what happens when the magic begins to fade and the masks we wear begin to slip off. Alongside Patti, Bruce goes to great lengths to convey each difficulty and heartbreak, from his voice breaking as he sings “underneath your pillow“, to the “is that yoooouuu” at 1:55, which is filled with hope for the right answer, and finally the fiery “now look at me baby!” to evoke all of the rage from a man who, deep down, knows what he’s doing hasn’t been enough. It isn’t the happy ending we’d hope for from this four-song sequence, but after listening to The River, we shouldn’t be surprised. “We’re stage surfing up here tonight! You got the whole room moving!“ Shifting the focus from relationships to New York itself, there are no boos from the audience during “Wrecking Ball” tonight, and where the people of Pittsburgh let their feelings be known about the “where Giants play their games” lyric, MSG respond to it like they’d just seen Eli Manning frustrate the Patriots. A passionate reaction, Bruce and the E Street Band reciprocate with a likewise performance. That passion flows into “The Rising”, which is of course a song even more significant to New York, and it seems like the weight of both these songs hits Bruce during “Thunder Road”. Slowly singing every word, I feel this is a similar situation to “Wreck” where he’s savouring these moments after two tracks that emphasise the fragility of time. With New York loud for their participation and the E Street Band mint, it’s a sublime end to the main set, capped off by a roaring declaration of “we’re pulling out of here to wi-i-ii-in!” and believe me, there are no voice breaks here! No tribute covers needed tonight, thankfully, and there are no changes to what are our current encore staples, so with a shout out for WhyHunger and the good that they do, it’s into “Born to Run” to begin the home stretch. Setting the tone for the finale, this is a spirited rendition with emphatic vocals (“at night“, “suicide machines!“) and lovely instrumentation. Check out that rhythm guitar such as what we can hear from 0:40, and while you’re at it, Roy’s magical work on the keys is worth listening to as well (1:22). No reason to tune out when “Dancing in the Dark” starts, and while nothing massively stands out, I do like how Bruce sings “even if we’re just dancing in the dark” in the same manner as the studio version (1:05; 1:57). As for “Rosie”, New York aren’t immediately loud for it and that leads to a little bit of radio silence, but they soon find their form and they’re fantastic from 2:39. Onstage this one shines courtesy of those swooping organ riffs at 2:02, Bruce’s resentful “I know your momma she don’t like me!” at 4:35 and, of course, his and Steve’s wild ramblings from 6:35. They don’t halt the song by breaking into laugher tonight, but they’re having just as much fun. Bruce might also be having too much fun in “Shout”, as notable in this fun finale is the fact that he forgets to mention Garry in the Band intros! At least there’s no awkwardness like LA 1988. Bruce must have been to focused on saying, “in their py-jamas!” at 3:09. It mightn’t be what we’re waiting for, but we can infer it’s coming, and in a way it’s only right that “pyjammies!” is saved for a night when every member of the E Street Band is credited. With an immense “I’m just a prisoner!” (4:15) and rowdy finale being enough to end this one strongly, it should be exciting to hear if there’s any reaction to Garry’s shout out omission (and possibly a certain colloquialism) next time around. The effects of Storm Winter Jonas are certainly felt on this night, even if the faults are slightly minor, as the extended break Springsteen and the E Street Band found themselves with after Chicago sees the tightness of their River performance and subsequent House Party impacted by a few moments of forgetfulness such as in “Here She Comes Walkin'” – “I Wanna Marry You” and a couple of dud notes here and there. However, for the faults we can hear, an equal amount of superb Bruce vocal efforts and Stevie led Band harmonies result in several stellar renditions across the show. Springsteen and the E Street Band would return to Madison Square Garden for their rescheduled spectacular at the end of March, but next up they head to Washington.