Saw Bruce in Jersey Last Night!

[Meg O'C]

Through an amazing stroke of luck on Monday, my dad managed to get his hands on two tickets for Bruce's opening show at the Meadowlands last night (Tuesday)! I went with my sister as DH had an exam for his summer class (I missed going with DH but honestly it was more fun going with my sister because she sang and danced with me which DH never would have done!).

It was a great show! Bruce was just up there singing from the heart and having a blast with the band, doing what he clearly loves! His performance was consistently passionate, regardless of whether it was a mellow, pensive tune or an upbeat, everybody on their feet tune. He played a lot of songs from The Rising.

I have to get my hands on tickets for another one of his Jersey or Philly shows! I know many of you are going to see him in the coming weeks/months so I wanted to share my "review."

Below is the set list from last night (I was disappointed he didn't play Hungry Heart, Glory Days or Jersey Girl but otherwise, no complaints!). He started an hour late but played for three hours (8:30 - 11:30).

1) Born In The USA (acoustic, mellow version)
2) The Rising
3) Lonesome Day
4) The Promised Land
5) My Love Will Not Let You Down
6) Darkness on the Edge of Town
7) Empty Sky
8) You're Missing
9) Waiting On A Sunny Day
10) Sherry Darling
11) Worlds Apart
12) Badlands
13) Out In The Street
14) Mary's Place
15) The River
16) Into The Fire
17) No Surrender
18) Thunder Road

1st Encore
19) Bobby Jean
20) Ramrod
21) Born To Run

2nd Encore
22) Seven Nights To Rock
23) My City Of Ruins
24) Land Of Hope and Dreams
25) Rosalita
26) Dancing In The Dark

[krispy spo]

Meg you are so lucky! I would love to see Bruce again, especially in NJ. He ROCKS the Meadowlands!

[HRJ]

OMG! He sang Rosalita? You lucky, lucky girl!!!

Sounds like a great show -- but, that goes without saying, I guess. How wonderful that you were able to get tickets for Bruce's homecoming.

Ellyn and I saw Bruce and the band in Boston and Providence during the earlier legs of this tour -- so excellent, so exciting. It's been a year since "The Rising" came out, and it's still the only disc in my car's CD player.

Some day, this former Jersey Girl will get to see Bruce at the Meadowlands.

Thanks for the review, Meg!

Helene

[lindrusso]

Woohoo! How exciting! Glad to see he's still playing Rosalita - I thought I had heard he had dropped that from his play list. DH got to seem him do Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Detroit Medley - I'd LOVE to see both of those in concert!

I haven't seen him in concert for quite a long time, but he was my first and he ruined me for all others that followed. He plays way longer than most, he does multiple encores and he really jams(meaning his songs don't all sound just like they do on the albums)! When I go to other concerts all I can think is "Is that it????". Of course, there are plenty of other great performers, but I still haven't seen anyone who can put on a show quite like Bruce.

Alysha

[Meg O'C]

Yes, it was great! I'm still excited about the concert . . . two days later.

Forgot to mention that he did make a political statement about the war in Iraq and whether or not we were deceived by our government going into the war isn't a republican issue or a democrat issue - it's an American issue and being an American is all about getting to the truth and we will do that.

Anyway I didn't hear all that verbatim because two rows behind us was a girl who had obviously made the most of the tailgating time (definitely very drunk!) and when Bruce perched on his stool to talk for a few minutes, she started shouting at the top of her lungs, "JUST SING, BRUCE! JUST SING! JERSEY GIRL! ROSALITA!" (he hadn't done that one yet). Everyone around us was glaring at her and saying, "Shhh!" She quieted down for a few seconds and then started up again, "JUST SING, BRUCE! JUST SING!" Her boyfriend was trying desperately to shut her up and he looked like he wanted to melt into his chair.

Oh well, I read about what he said the next day.

[Peggy C.]

Meg sounds like a great show! I haven't seen him in concert in a number of years, but have to agree with everything Alysha said.

[MusicMom]

How exciting for you!! He's a fantastic performer- and you can really tell how much the band respects him and each other.

Hope the feeling stays with you for awhile!

- Vivian

[Jessica]

I finally saw Bruce last fall when he came here on the first part of this tour. I'd always wanted to see a Springsteen concert and I was not disappointed--I was high for weeks on that show and I never even bought one beer!! Glad you had such a good time.

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by Meg O'C
"JUST SING, BRUCE! JUST SING! JERSEY GIRL! ROSALITA!" (he hadn't done that one yet).

Well, I have to say that I kind of agree with her (although I may not have voiced it in quite that way! ). I have a problem with artists using their concerts or shows to make political statements. I have paid money (and usually quite a bit of money) to hear them perform, not to hear their political views. I saw George Carlin once and he took time out of his comedy skit to comment on something about Native Americans - I found it quite annoying, especially since I had come there to LAUGH, not to hear about politics.

That said, it sounds like Bruce was trying to bring divided sides together, and that's a good thing.

Alysha

[Shoregirl66]

Just chiming in to say that I was at the show on Tuesday night also.
DH got me the tickets as a Mother's Day gift !
We went with one of my best friend's from high school and her husband, which was great as we spent so much time together in high school listening to Bruce.
I've been to about 6 Bruce shows and the show on Tuesday was the best one ever !