BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN, MAY 17, 2016

 

Disc One (79:38)

  1. Working On The Highway
  2. No Surrender
  3. My Love Will Not Let You Down
  4. The Ties That Bind
  5. Sherry Darling
  6. Two Hearts
  7. Independence Day
  8. Hungry Heart
  9. Out In The Street
  10. Crush On You
  11. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
  12. Fire
  13. I Wanna Marry You
  14. The River

Disc Two (69:07)

  1. Point Blank
  2. Murder Incorporated
  3. Darlington County
  4. Ramrod
  5. I'm Goin' Down
  6. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
  7. Drive All Night
  8. The Promised Land
  9. Because The Night
  10. Brilliant Disguise

Disc Three (71:15)

  1. The Rising
  2. Thunder Road
  3. Badlands
  4. Born In The U.S.A.
  5. Born To Run
  6. Glory Days
  7. Dancing In The Dark
  8. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
  9. Twist And Shout
  10. Bobby Jean
  11. This Hard Land

Label : Nugs.net

Venue : Estadio De Anoeta, San Sebastian, Spain

Recording Date : May 17, 2016

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : Seventy-two hours after starting the European leg of their River Tour 2016 in the Barcelona, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band arrive in Basque Country and more changes follow as the setlist continues its expansion after the conclusion of The River album in-toto on the opening North American stage. Across three hours and forty minutes, thirty-five songs can be found in San Sebastián (one less than on Brooklyn night two in April and Barcelona one show prior) with tour debuts blended alongside River tracks and touring favourites. In an immediate contrast to the “Badlands” that kicked off the European leg inside the Camp Nou, here Bruce steps onstage with an acoustic guitar in hand, and after Max Weinberg matches the energy of the Estadio de Anoeta audience with a prolonged and palpitating build, we begin with “Working on the Highway.” It’s a buoyant start, and one that certainly achieves the same result as “Badlands” seventy-two hours earlier, ardently played by those onstage – Little Stevie’s harmonies are exceptional (2:43) – and received in likewise fashion by those in attendance, who not only sing along to the lyrics, but also heartily chant away to the instrumentals. San Sebastián don’t relent upon the song’s conclusion either, and when Max launches us into “No Surrender” for a performance full of vitality, the audience’s reaction simply underlines how hungry they are for this music. Switching out the acoustic for electric guitars, the Born in the U.S.A. fan favourite fronts a sequence of scintillating songs, which also includes the enthralling U.S.A. album outtake “My Love Will Not Let You Down” and three of eight successive River album tracks: “The Ties That Bind,” which further uplifts an audience ready for an invigorating night of music, “Sherry Darling” and “Two Hearts.” Of these three, “Sherry” stands out on account of sounding more polished after the raw reading in Barça, however we can also notice a few instances of heavy breathing from Bruce, who despite his laidback approach to the song, has evidently expended a lot of energy in the opening half hour. It’s not until after “Two Hearts” where he allows the tempo to be lowered, but even this respite must come with a profound performance of “Independence Day.” Returning to the setlist in exchange for “Jackson Cage,” an album that featured in-toto each night in the U.S. is instantly creating intrigue in Europe as to which songs will pop up each night; and while the “Olè!” chants that serenaded the Camp Nou towards the end of the May 14th show also return as “Two Hearts” ends, though the San Sebastián audience are very rabid, during this one they’re very respectful. Similarly to “Point Blank” and “Drive All Night” seventy-two hours ago, this song about “fathers and sons” can also be viewed as a test performance so early in the leg to gauge how audiences will react and Basque Country are simply captivated as Bruce tells his story, the song’s story and then leads the E Street Band in a lovely performance of the first U.S. leg essential. Utilising the Sprechgesang technique of blending singing and speaking to great effect, as Bruce did across North America he combines with the playing of Roy Bittan, Charlie Giordano, Nils Lofgren and Jake Clemons to deliver a powerful reading, and if this continues past May 17th, we’ll likely be looking at this song as a European leg essential when all is said and done too. Where the Camp Nou heard all of The River’s side one but “Independence Day” alongside a shorter side two, San Sebastián find themselves treated to all of the second portion’s six songs, albeit with one welcome surprise to break it up. Joyful renditions of “Hungry Heart” and “Out in the Street” first allow the audience to fervently revel in their enthusiasm again, and the latter also sees Max stand out with his thunderous efforts to take us into a “Crush on You” that, alongside “You Can Look” after it, further rouses with great intensity. I’ve long thought these two songs in particular to be very lacking on the 2016 European leg outside of the full River performances, but on this occasion they’re played with the same vigour as can be heard in just about every U.S. show – it should be interesting to see if this can persist! With that said, Bruce and the E Street Band are nearly too vigorous for their own good at the top of “You Can Look,” which needs to be restarted after a messy first attempt at the intro, however all is ultimately good and a riveting reading ultimately links very nicely with the first tour debut of the evening, one that hadn’t been played “in a loooong time!”. Retaining the theme of desire, “Fire” delights and despite having not featured in an E Street Band show since November 2012, there are no missteps to be found and we could easily presume this song had been played every night from January to April instead of “You Can Look.” Typically hushed, sensual and pulsating, Garry Tallent’s bass blends superbly with Nils’ and Little Stevie’s guitar riffs while Bruce and Ms. Patti share the mic to bring an added sense of lust to the song. Bruce especially employs several delectable vocal approaches and in doing so this doesn’t only underline the passion of the performance, but also how much he’s enjoying himself singing this rarity. While the songs played nightly on the last leg could be viewed as something of a chore for him, we get a strong impression that he’s going to be a lot looser as this leg goes on. “Fire” is followed by three of the staples from January to April, but thankfully the combination of “Here She Comes Walkin’” – “I Wanna Marry You” and “Point Blank” are songs that were unique on a nightly basis during the opening leg, and that’s also the case here with the shortest monologue of the tour so far for the former – Bruce provides a brief summarisation of what the song is before starting “Here She Comes” – and the latter seeing Bruce once again alternate the masks he wears during a fantastic, chilling performance. These two songs combine very well with “Fire” and “The River” in-between to create a story about the highs and lows of love and longing, and though “Fire” serves a similar purpose to “Atlantic City” after “Point Blank” in Barcelona by allowing more interpretation, the Darkness outtake is outshone funnily enough by the song that follows The River’s second half opener on this night: another tour debut in “Murder Incorporated.” Making for a deadly duo, where the song prior is unsettling in its magnificence, this one is equally storming and ferocious, a different kind of threat expressed by Bruce, whose ambiguous vocal is replaced by one of outright aggression. Equally spurred on by sensational organ and searing guitars, “Murder Inc.” mightn’t have the same impact after “Point Blank” that “Cadillac Ranch” did on the opening stage of the tour, but what impact it does have is no doubt felt by those inside the Estadio de Anoeta, and those of us listening in the year 2023. The despondency and the intensity of the last twenty-five minutes calls for a breezier sequence of songs next, however it isn’t the most polished of stretches as there’s more messiness to be found in a fervent “Darlington County” (3:28) that best spotlights Jake who lets loose on the saxophone during a class coda, and though there thankfully aren’t any missteps in the song that follows, we’re fortunate in how “Ramrod” allows Jake to keep it going. Intensity on an entirely different scale to “Point Blank” and “Murder Inc.” with euphoria at the forefront, this one gives us Bruce at his most manic (4:15) and once again it sees Max on a different level of rapidness (6:18). “I’m Goin’ Down” next shines as a truly breezy performance, and of course it brings us even more staggering efforts from the Mighty One! A version of the song so enjoyable we’re left wishing it was a nightly feature on the tour, what I like most is how this underplayed gem – very arguably the most unsung of all Born in the U.S.A. tracks – is so appreciated by San Sebastián that they echo their participation in “Working on the Highway” (arguably one of the more overplayed from the album) by singing along to the instrumental riffs as well as the lyrics. A brilliant indication of the love this audience has for the songs that Bruce himself might not necessarily think all audiences will respond to. That takes us into our third debut of the evening, “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day.” Bruce knows that all audiences respond to this one – be it by singing along or groaning on their way to the bathroom – and San Sebastián happily do what the song calls on audiences to do. It must be said though that this is another song that begins in messy fashion, as Bruce starts solo, opening it up to San Sebastián before taking it back, deciding on playing the song with the full band. A peculiar moment, but the song goes mostly without fault from this point, with the night’s volunteer doing a fine job and while the end of the coda evidently needs work, I can’t help but feel there’s a true sense of finality to it that makes its ending quite profound. A nice way to conclude this sequence! The remainder of the show sees several comparisons to the Barcelona setlist with several songs retaining their place in the show so as to complement the electric atmosphere, but first is “Drive All Night.” With San Sebastián once again showing respect to a quieter song, Springsteen and the E Street Band proceed to stun by delivering a typically gorgeous performance. Anchored by Stevie’s equal parts determined and delicate guitar riffs (and harmonies) alongside superb efforts from Charlie, Roy, Max and Jake, Bruce ensures that this audience experience what those in the U.S. did by employing a remarkable vocal; one that sounds weathered at times, but one that has the ability to blow us away when we hear him sing lines such as “Baby, baby, baby I!! … Sleep tonight again!” (1:41 – 2:06) and, most importantly, “Don’t cry now!” into “Dry your eyes pretty baaaaaaaaaaby!” (7:06). Tremendous. What follows “Drive All Night” is ninety minutes of unrelenting commitment from Springsteen and the E Street Band, kickstarted by a shining reading of “The Promised Land” (check out those guitar licks at 2:20) that restores the resounding atmosphere inside the Anoeta and further strengthens the sense of community between man, band and audience. That community doesn’t falter as the main set rounds out, as “Thunder Road” and “Badlands” (two more Max showcases) conclude it in triumphant fashion, leading into an encore with even more of that triumph for San Sebastián to devour. The final portion of the show sees a thunderous “Born in the U.S.A.” and an enthralling “Twist and Shout” retain their place besides the sequence’s usual suspects, complete with awesome guitar in the former (2:15) and a soulful “La Bamba” interpolation in the latter ensuring the two songs stand out. Of course, these aren’t the only songs that shine in the encore, because “Glory Days” finds itself featured – in what I believe is its true setlist position – in-between “Born to Run” and “Dancing in the Dark” for a triple shot of euphoria, with the song highlighted here as it was in Barça by those riveting guitar riffs played by Little Stevie. Then, to see the night out, Bruce takes an alternative approach to the exuberance of this trio, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and “Twist and Shout,” focusing on the sentimental side with a “Bobby Jean” driven by lots of heart (listen to the passion Bruce puts into the song at 1:40 and 2:40 in particular) and finally, one more tour debut, “This Hard Land.” With the E Street Band’s shift complete, Bruce remains onstage for the finale, echoing the night’s opening song by taking hold of the acoustic and – after a few moments of lovely strumming and a determined call of “we’re gettin’ there!” – he ends the night beautifully, delivering a gorgeous version of the much loved outtake, with his words, both spoken and sang, resonating across the Estadio de Anoeta. It’s a true contrast to the sound of “Shout,” but here he puts as much into lines such as “now the rain it don’t come round…” and “the only sound’s the wind…” as any of the performances of that showstopper from January to April, and upon the song’s conclusion we’re left with the understanding that the mission statement of this tour may have changed from the themes of the entire River album, but there’s still an undeniable drive to the music being played, and Bruce needs his audience with him on the journey. This show in San Sebastián may see one less song played in comparison to Brooklyn night two in April and Barcelona seventy-two hours earlier, but Springsteen and the E Street Band are certainly not slacking across its three hour, forty minute runtime. Blending thirteen River favourites with four tour debuts: “Fire,” “Murder Incorporated,” “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day” and “This Hard Land,” where those River tracks are just about as well played as we can hear from January to April, the addition of these four songs brings an excitement that at times could be lost on the opening leg of the U.S. tour. In-between are an array of touring staples devoured by an eager audience, and many are played to perfection by the E Street Band – the impeccable Max Weinberg especially – who have quickly gotten rid of any rust they may have had after the two-week break between Brooklyn and Barcelona. It isn’t a show to go down as a tour essential, but its quality and its highlights will only make those essentials stand out all the more. Next up on The River Tour 2016, Springsteen and the E Street Band are in Lisbon for Rock in Rio, and it’s one of the four shows from the tour I reviewed back in 2018. So, if you haven’t read my thoughts on that night and its five tour debuts in a Born in the U.S.A. heavy set before, you can do so with no wait by clicking here. With that being the case, my next Live Downloads review from the 2016 tour will be the last of the Iberian quartet from the Bernabeu!