July 27 / E. Rutherford, NJ / Giants Stadium

Just one week after wrapping up their two-month European tour, Bruce and the E Street Band are back in the U.S.A. and kicking off a homecoming stand in New Jersey. This first of three shows at Giants Stadium (and first U.S. outdoor show of the tour) found them picking up right where they left off a week ago, with a loosey-goosey setlist, signs collected and requests granted, diminished emphasis on Magic material but a considerably longer set than last time they were on these shores. They played 30 songs on this opening night, shooting well past the three-hour mark.

The show opened appropriately with the retelling of the Legend of the E Street Band, "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out." Lots of dedications, including "Janey, Don't You Lose Heart" for "my friend Jane," and "Growin' Up" for a ten-year-old sign-holder named Rosie. "This song was written a quarter-century before you were born," Bruce told Rosie, "It must be good -- your daddy was a wink in his mama's eye!" And later in the song, he added, "There you were: a little egg inside a little egg inside a little egg...."

"Mary's Place" was "for my friend Wayne Myers, who has taught me so much about how to get there," Bruce said, "Thank you, Dr. Wayne!" Complete with knee-slide and an extended preacher rap (including Clarence in Ed McMahon mode, echoing Springsteen's offered wisdom), "Mary's Place" stretched out to 14 minutes, and that's even without band introductions.

After rejoining the band for the four shows in Spain, Patti Scialfa was with us again tonight, bringing out "Brilliant Disguise" and "Tunnel of Love." Her husband gave her a quick peck after "Brilliant Disguise," explaining, "I didn't want to mess up that makeup." To open the encore, Bruce decided to send one out to "one special Jersey girl," which had some eagerly anticipating a certain Tom Waits cover... but just for a sec, before he went into, of course, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes."

After "American Land," and after making like he was done for the night, Bruce came back to the mic and told the crowd, "You ain't got it." He continued egging the crowd on -- "You ain't got it. I still got it... you ain't got it" -- before finally finding them up to the challenge: "Oh yeah? Let's get it on!" No twisting and shouting tonight, that's been left in Europe for the time being -- instead, "Rosalita" came out to jump. "A true fairy tale to open the show," Bruce declared, "and a true fairy tale to close the show."

(da Backstreets.com)

July 28 / E. Rutherford, NJ / Giants Stadium

Night two at Giants Stadium, and another show to crack the three-hour mark, at 28 songs. Well, 29, if you count "Happy Birthday" -- more on that in a sec. In all, it was a more fun, upbeat show than opening night, with lots of goofing around from Bruce. Everyone was on top of their game, with some choice rarities and some special guests, too.

During "Summertime Blues" Bruce began the nightly sign collection -- "Send 'em down!" he chanted. Flipping through them after "Tunnel," he found one to his liking, for a song previously only played twice ever: "Held Up Without a Gun." "That's a good sign for Steve," he said, cackling, and went on: "I'm gonna dedicate this to what it cost you guys to drive here! We're getting screwed somehow... This song was written in 1980 -- and it was prophetic." After blasting through all two minutes of it, Bruce hollered, "Goodnight everybody! That said it all!"

But there were more goodies to come -- "Saint in the City" was next, and with some confusion about the key, it veered dangerously toward train-wreck territory... before Bruce and Steve shredded on an amazing guitar duel that salvaged it all and then some. As for guitar-work, Nils had a great night too -- most astoundingly, pulling off a forward somersault in the middle of his "Because the Night" solo, playing straight through.

Some intra-family dedications, as "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" went out to Sam and Evelyn -- "That's for my boy," Bruce reiterated at the end. After "Drive All Night" made its U.S. tour debut, an occasion in and of itself, Bruce added another dedication, turning to Patti to say, "Happy birthday, babe." To start the encore he encouraged a serenade, saying, "Tomorrow's my baby's birthday, so go right ahead..." The 50,000-strong New Jersey crowd offered up a weak rendition of "Happy Birthday." "That's terrible!" Bruce said, and so he sang it himself as the band joined in to play along. On the "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" that followed, Bruce came down to sing and dance with daughter Jessica, too.

"Detroit Medley" always rocks the house, but the real highlight of the encore was when Bruce said "We've got the next generation!" and welcomed Max's son, Jay Weinberg, who took over the kit for "Born to Run." Mighty ambitious, you might think... but mighty seems to run in the family. Jay kicked ass -- he's got the power, and Max looked on with pride.

One more after "American Land" ("I don't wanna hurt nobody -- I want everyone to go home happy!"), and tonight it was the stadium-wrecker, "Twist and Shout." Jesse Malin and Marah's Dave Bielanko came on stage for the show-closer, and the birthday girl was joined at the mic by Jessica and some of her friends. Garry's daughter was up there, too -- definitely familiy and friends night at Giants Stadium. Happy birthday, Patti!

(da Backstreets.com)

July 31 / E. Rutherford, NJ / Giants Stadium

Wow -- when's the last time a U.S. show went past midnight, let alone until 12:45? Granted, the final Jersey show didn't start until 9:30, thanks to a highway (specifically, the New Jersey turnpike, exit 16W) jammed up with a broken tanker truck. They delayed showtime to accomodate the horrendous traffic, finally playing to what appeared to be a fuil house (though some fans were still arriving as late as "Livin' in the Future)." In any case, kudos to Bruce and the band for delivering a thrilling, three-and-a-quarter-hour show, back up to 30 songs again, going above and beyond in terms of length and energy despite the late start -- and despite the heat! Giants Stadium was an oven last night, hot and humid, leading to what Bruce called a "Jersey baptism" in "Mary's Place," as he sponged water onto the crowd "in the name of the father, the son, and Elvis!"

Appropriately enough, for both the heat and the traffic, Bruce began the show with "Summertime Blues." That one had been the sign-collection song at the previous two Giants shows; now "Light of Day" filled that slot, with Bruce gathering requests as Max pounded out an extended intro. The signs brought some classic early material to the set, but first Bruce had his own idea: an impromptu "Pretty Flamingo," last played in this very venue on the Rising tour five years ago (and only its third performance sinde 1978). As Springsteen strummed the chords, refreshing himself and the band, he told the crowd that it was "just Patti's birthday a few days ago," and began ruminating on their history together. "I first met her when I was 20 and she was 17," he said. And then again when he was 24 and she was 21... and again when he was 35. "In the meantime," he said, "something happened to me." As he went on to talk about Clarence's upcoming wedding (just a week away!), it was clear that he meant he had gotten hitched, saying that both the Big Man and himself had been married before. "But Clarence more than me!" He added, "Clarence is getting it right this time," before summing it all up: "So I don't really believe in love at first sight." Taking the band through the Manfred Mann song, it was a magical performance all the more impressive for the fact that it was obviously unrehearsed. "Bridge!" Bruce called out, to make sure they all stayed together.

Back to those signs: "Incident" was just about to get a play, thanks to a sign requesting it "for your old, bald fans" -- "seems to be particular!" Bruce laughed -- when another sign caught his eye. "Give that one to me," he said, pointing to a placard for "Blinded By the Light." "We'll do that one now, and we'll do the other one next." (And hey, that makes for two Manfred Mann hits in the same show!) After "Blinded," though, Springsteen opted to keep the tempo quick, going into a powerhouse pack of "Cadillac Ranch," "Candy's Room," Night," and "Because the Night" -- the last of these featuring another somersaulting solo from Nils. While that forward roll may have been less of a surprise this time, Nils having done the trick before, it was no less shocking -- how the hell does he do that and keep on playing? And after the drawn-out "Mary's Place," Bruce finally made good on his earlier promise, as the strains of "Incident" filled the stadium -- "for you old, bald fans."

A high-energy encore opened with "Jungleland," Clarence shining on the solo; Steve hammed it up good on "Dancing in the Dark" as he and Bruce struck a tango pose. Steve, it should be said, has been really into it on this stand, looking like he's having a blast (and ever-considerate, handing out bottles of water to overheated fans, too). For "American Land," the E Streeters were joined by three Sessions Band players: Jeremy Chatzky on stand-up bass, Sam Bardfeld on fiddle, and Curtis King, sharing a vocal mic with Patti.

Of course, if you thought "American Land" would be the last song on this night, you haven't been paying attention. Two more songs, though? Well, that's a closing night special. First up was the long-awaited "Jersey Girl" (you knew it had to come out here, right?) played for a fancy two-part sign and dedicated to Bruce's mom. "She's here tonight," he said, "she's working the concession stand." The full-band rendition of the Tom Waits classic is always a special moment, and here it was like reliving the version from the Live/1975-'85 box set, with cheers from the crowd coming at the same places as on the '81 recording.

And finally, Bruce and the band closed out their homecoming stand with "Rosalita," one more "fairytale" to send fans home happy, well after coaches had turned into pumpkins.

(da Backstreets.com)


August 2 / Foxboro, MA / Gillette Stadium

Another U.S. concert goes into the midnight hour, with the Gillette Stadium show not starting until 9:20, again with "Summertime Blues." Weather, not traffic, was the culprit this time, with a massive thunderstorm drenching the surroundings -- Bruce told the crowd, "We were dodging lightning bolts coming up here for about an hour and a half!" But after delaying the start until one last downpour was through, there was no rain for the entirety of the show (unless you count water running off the stage roof into the pit). And as Bruce said after "Spirit," "I think a little rain agrees with you guys."

It was a shorter show compared to the three nights in Jersey, not quite cracking the three-hour mark, and judging by the cross-offs on the handwritten setlist (including an unplayed "Racing in the Street" after "Mary's Place"), it seemed Bruce had to put some effort into how to trim the show a bit. But they still blew way past Gillette's 11:00 curfew, rocking "Rosalita" until ten past 12. In between, it was another party show -- all release, little tension -- with even more granted requests than usual bringing a pair of tour-debut covers and more rarities to set this night apart.

The biggest mind-blower came after "Tunnel of Love," as Springsteen gathered a heap of signs and complimented their "professionalism." One in particular made him chuckle: "The band will not be ready for this one... oh, they will not be ready!" It was "Little Latin Lupe Lu," a song they've only done a couple of times since the '70s -- and as opposed to some sign requests that probably would get played anyway, there's no way Bruce would have called this one up otherwise.

But it seemed the band was ready after all, the song sounded great -- and the professionalism of the sign sure didn't hurt Bruce's performance. As he pointed out, the sign had the "Lupe Lu" lyrics printed on the back (in a Bruce handwriting font, no less) with "Key of F" written at the top. "That's appreciated!" he laughed, and he wasn't kidding -- he made sure to have the words where he could see.

The requests kept coming, as "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street" (its second tour performance) and "Hungry Heart" followed, and then it was another cover special for the occasion. Not "Dirty Water" -- though there was plenty of that on the ground -- but another one almost as foreseeable: "Who'll Stop the Rain." Bruce played this one for Bill Belichick: "This is for the coach. He's out there tonight. He didn't bring a sign, though!"

Unusually, Bruce gathered more signs as the encore began, and kicked it off with another fan choice: "We have here the rarely played and even more rarely requested..." and he turned the sign around to reveal "I'm Goin' Down." That was another second tour performance, going into "Jungleland," by request for a birthday in the crowd. Thinking of nearby Boston, Bruce asked before "American Land," "Do we have any Irishmen out there?" The tepid response must have reminded him that this wasn't Boston, though, as at the end of the song he hollered, "Boston! Massachussets! Rhode Island! Connecticut! Wherever the fuck we are! You've just seen..." And on this night, it might have been a little late, but you could add rain-stoppin' E Street Band to the list.

(da Backstreets.com)