BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : TURKU, FI 2013

 

Disc One (73:36)

  1. I'll Work For Your Love
  2. Long Walk Home
  3. The Ties That Bind
  4. Out In The Street
  5. Atlantic City
  6. Wrecking Ball
  7. Death To My Hometown
  8. Hungry Heart
  9. Blinded By The Light
  10. Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
  11. Ain't Good Enough For You
  12. Wages Of Sin
  13. The River

Disc Two (56:11)

  1. Youngstown
  2. Murder Incorporated
  3. Johnny 99
  4. Open All Night
  5. Shackled And Drawn
  6. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
  7. Lonesome Day
  8. Badlands

Disc Two (41:11)

  1. Racing In The Street
  2. Born In The U.S.A.
  3. Born To Run
  4. Dancing In The Dark
  5. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
  6. American Land

Label : Nugs.net

Venue : HK Areena, Turku, Finland

Recording Date : May 8, 2013

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : For the second month in a row, Bruce Springsteen’s Archive Series spotlights a tour previously represented this year. Yet, where the March release of Omaha, November 15th, 2012 captured Springsteen and the E Street Band blending their tribute to Clarence Clemons with much spontaneity, for the First Friday of December, night two in Turku, from May 8th, 2013 – the Series’ fourth instalment from the second year of Wrecking Ball – leans greatly on the side of the latter, with a wide array of delights scattered throughout the show. Much like Omaha 2012, this show has been long sought after by fans with it most fondly remembered for the world debut of River outtake, “Wages of Sin,” a performance deemed to be so special, Bruce promptly had it uploaded to his YouTube channel. Remember the Live Downloads and Archive Series releases were many months away at this point, and if something was going to be released by BruceInc, it had to be worth it. As we revisit “Wages of Sin” now, we’re reminded that Bruce’s call was most definitely worth it. While “Wages of Sin” is rightfully remembered as May 8th’s absolute highlight, it wasn’t the only stand out, or shocker, to shape this show. Bruce wasted no time in presenting his Turku audience with a song befitting that description, as he stepped onstage solo with an intimate, tour debuting “I’ll Work For Your Love.” A lot more polished compared to the reading from Wembley 2016 that I recently wrote about on this site with no stops and a firmer sincerity from Bruce – in the final moments especially; I really like the smoothness of his “What others may want for free, I’ll work for your love dear…” – this was a terrific way to get those in HK Areena warmed up for the night ahead, and more importantly, to make sure they knew Bruce was all in for this challenge. With a “Good evening!” he called on the E Street Band, and they proceeded to get started on putting the words of that opener into action. Their first communal statement was the song that would later be described by Bruce as the “prayer for my country,” a titanic “Long Walk Home.” Still a much underplayed gem post-Magic here, this second appearance on a 2013 release after Cardiff last year puts into focus the respect Bruce could place on certain tracks even with the spontaneity so rife – the song actually remained around the set for most of the month following this show, making four further appearances out of the next seven shows. Another communal statement followed in a hard hitting rendition of “The Ties That Bind,” given an extra oomph by way of Jake Clemons’s punctuated saxophone solo, and they continued down The River (briefly) with “Out in the Street” for added community and more delectable horns efforts also – it was the combination of Ed Manion, Barry Danielian, Curt Ramm and Clark Gayton shining on this occasion. An exclamation point well and truly placed on a fervent opening portion. Amidst wild cheers from the female demographic of Turku, the atmosphere shifted, as Max Weinberg’s drums, cutting guitars and a gritty, damning Springsteen vocal fronted an unforgiving “Atlantic City.” This one could also be viewed as somewhat communal, be that in the protagonist’s unyielding optimism or Bruce’s rumbling cries of “Come on and meet me!” late on; Little Steven Van Zandt complementing very nicely with his backing vocal, but this performance strikes us best as a fiery sociopolitical anthem (even more so than “Long Walk Home” moments earlier). It wouldn’t be the last either, and although this isn’t the purest example of a Wrecking Ball show, there’s evidence to prove that its early themes hadn’t entirely made way for waves of sign requests. Appropriately, the tour’s title track followed – with “TURNED INTO PARKING LOTS!” another rumbling declaration – before the intense “Death to My Hometown” to ensure a quick album spotlight. Only one more touring track, “Shackled and Drawn,” would feature across the rest of the show, as part of a sociopolitical sequence, but before that… some light for the wave of signs in front of Bruce. The most eye-catching stretch of the show began with the “first song from my first album,” and with a nod to Clarence Clemons’ presence on Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ – Bruce noted that he was only on two songs “because we couldn’t find him,” in another example of this tour’s primary theme at the fore – “Blinded By the Light” thrilled with nice, punctuated vocals and a strong effort from Jake. Initially, the minor touch of “Early-Pearly in her Curly Wurly” chaos was commendable in a song that often borders disarray, but then, “Wait a minute boys! I forgot a verse!” was more like it as Bruce solidly recovered and rolled it back for the final verse. We can afford Bruce and the band some leeway in a show that saw them play a song live for the first time, we just don’t expect to give them it in a song they’d been playing since 1972! There was less commotion in the next song, its LP brethren “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” – also marking forty years of live performances. It further buoyed with barnstorming efforts from the Horns in particular en route to the percussion duel between Max and Everett Bradley, but it was to be greatly overshadowed by the two songs that followed. Bruce described the first as a “very obscure, strange song,” but one he couldn’t avoid on account of two people having requested it. Satisfaction was promised and satisfaction was delivered with Max rumbling all into another horns anchored delight, “Ain’t Good Enough For You” – the Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake which makes its Archive Series debut as part of this release. In its second outing of the tour, it’s a bit scrappy on this night (which arguably goes towards the protagonist’s plucky underdog character) but it’s oh so sensational on the ear from Bruce’s cool and collected vocal – “just hitting cool like Mr. Jimmy Iovine!” hits the spot as we’d hope – to the boisterous harmonies and the almost forgotten Jake outro solo. Upon its ending, Bruce spotlighted not just another fan’s request, but the fan himself. Regular Live Downloads – Archive Series listeners will recognise the name Nicholas (I’ve raised a smile several times over the last few years on hearing Bruce shout it out in random shows) and it’s him we have to thank for “Wages of Sin,” a sign request he’d long been carrying around. Several years worth of attempts to get Bruce to play it had gone unsuccessful until this night, but his years of devotion hadn’t gone unnoticed, as Bruce made all aware of how often he’d seen him at shows. This was his show of all shows to remember and the performance was worth his wait, a magical offering striking as a stark contrast to “Ain’t Good Enough” and a reading that almost perfectly captured the haunting atmosphere that spellbinds me each time I listen to the cut on Tracks I. Bruce reflected the turbulence and urgency of his younger self; older and all the more exhausted in this setting, meanwhile Curt Ramm stunned with his trumpet riffs and Roy Bittan did very similar with his little fills throughout. The end result was a masterful moment for the second year of Wrecking Ball, and in the year 2025, another jewel in the very large crown of the Archive Series. Another dedication fronted the next song, as Bruce took a moment to pay tribute to a fan who’d left us in late 2012. “For Pere Cairó, a teacher from Barcelona,” Bruce led Turku and the E Street Band into the title track of the album “Wages” missed out on, and a fantastic, pulsating performance of “The River” ensued. It covered two bases: serving as a finale to that tragedy of love theme, and fronting the above mentioned sociopolitical sequence to bring in the second half of the show. With that came several songs much more familiar in comparison to the night’s big surprises, such as a powerful pairing of “Youngstown” and “Murder Incorporated” – the guitars of the latter incredibly eclipsing Nils Lofgren’s stand out moment in the revamped Tom Joad track. Still, the night wasn’t over as far as treats and surprises were concerned. A Seegerised “Open All Night” invigorated from the get-go, Bruce teasing Turku by claiming, “The Fins are shy people! They don’t wanna jump up and start shakin’ ass!” before the music kicked in. When it did, Roy and the Horns shone to ensure that message had made its way from the audience’s minds down to their… and if their efforts didn’t do it, the “Don’t You Just Know It” snippet and Bruce’s many calls of “GOOBA GOOBA GOOBA! WOW WOW WOW!” no doubt did. Another surprise came during “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day” as the show took an otherwise straightforward shape into the home stretch. Simply, the most jarring “Sunny Day Kid” segment I’ve ever heard, and I wouldn’t have predicted it if you gave me infinity guesses as to how it would go! It wasn’t an entirely clear-cut second half of the show, as there was still one more surprise in store for Turku. At the top of the encore was “Racing in the Street,” in an atypical slot for the song, but by its end it was as clear as ever that it could rotate in anywhere and make an impact on us. On May 8th, 2013, Bruce echoed his audience’s satisfaction in the way he sang, each declaration of the title delivered cathartically; Garry Tallent’s palpitating bassline mirrored every heart beating twice as fast in response to the moment, while the delicate touches from Roy on the piano reflected the tears falling down each face, and that heavenly organ from Charlie Giordano alongside the Professor during the coda appropriately placed all in nirvana. Suurenmoinen! A short, relatively standard run-in followed – just five songs: “Born in the U.S.A.,” “Born to Run,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “American Land” – but it was to the point and effectively wrapped up the festivity in Finland. Of them, it was the 1984 mega-hit that joined “Racing” in taking this home stretch by storm. Another song that could really serve its purpose at any point in the show, it felt really massive here – Charlie’s organ riffs striking different – and it was just what Turku was hoping for as the finale powered into action. Bruce’s vocal raged for the duration, but it was best in that final verse – almost a fitting bookend to the “I’ll Work For Your Love” opener! – each word roared as a tirade to leave this audience with no doubt about its sociopolitical context. Night two in Turku would go on to be remembered as a show typifying the ‘anything can happen’ feeling of the evolving Wrecking Ball World Tour, but even when it seemed everything had changed, Springsteen still sought to present the major themes he and the E Street Band stepped onto the road with in March 2012.