For longtime veterans of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band concerts, it can sometimes be a little tempting to become jaded, or to judge these shows merely by the unpredictable setlists. Part of this, is simply because Springsteen sets the bar so high, that his most ardent fans tend to become somewhat more naturally demanding themselves. These are of course the same fans who would probably scream the loudest if either "Badlands" or "Born To Run" weren't played at all, even though both have been dusted off at virtually every E Street Band concert since 1978.
Those fans had to leave the arena feeling pretty satisfied in Portland. But even if none of the rarities had been played at all, this would have ranked as one of the great ones. The newly expanded E Street Band played their asses off for over three hours making for one very high energy show. The band was tight, the new horn section sounded great, and Bruce and Steve in particular looked like they were having the time of their lives.
It was definitely an "on" night.
Setlist:
1. Land Of Hope And Dreams
2. No Surrender
3. Hungry Heart
4. We Take Care Of Our Own
5. Wrecking Ball
6. Death To My Hometown
7. My City Of Ruins
8. Spirit In The Night
9. Loose Ends (Sign Request)
10. Growin' Up (Sign Request)
11. Jack Of All Trades
12. Seeds (Sign Request)
13. Johnny 99
14. Darlington County
15. Shackled And Drawn
16. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
17. Drive All Night (Sign Request)
18. The Rising
19. Badlands
20. Thunder Road
Encores:
21. If I Should Fall Behind (Sign Request)
22. Born To Run
23. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (Sign Request)
24. Dancing In The Dark
25. Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town
26. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Article comments
1 - Steilacoom Memories
Loose Ends was a River outtake.
2 - Glen Boyd
Not according to Bruce himself...he announced it to the Portland crowd as a song that was supposed to be on BITUSA.
-Glen
3 - Glen Boyd
Oops, I stand corrected. Just watched the video again and he did say it was from The River. Thanks for pointing it out. Correction made.
-Glen
4 - Steilacoom Memories
Glen, we listened to a tape of the outtake of Loose Ends in 1982!
5 - Glen Boyd
Well, yeah the Steiliacoom reference was kind of a tip off...so care to identify yourself mystery man (or woman)?
-Glen
6 - Glen Boyd
I have this boiled down to either Dan or Erik. Am I warm or cold?
-Glen
7 - Susan
Hi Glen - I was up on stage behind Bruce for part of Darlington County. I was not with the lesbian group but up after they got on stage. Do you have any pics or video of that song. We have no pics of my stage debut. Thanks!
8 - Steilacoom Memories
EF. Nice piece.
9 - Glen Boyd
Thanx E. Nice to hear from you.
Susan, I'm sorry but I don't have any photos. Good luck finding them though.
-Glen
10 - Glen Boyd
[personal contact info deleted by comments editor]
My blogs are The Rockologist and Neil Young FAQ.
-Glen