Although a set of such length gives you more bang for you buck, so to speak (and it would want to, with such a staggeringly high price tag), it's rare to come away from a gig thinking that a shorter length may have been more effective. While Springsteen's solo show was a better performance than the teeth-pulling storytelling that marred Neil Young's last Dublin performance (although Springsteen did request a similar despotic code of rules for the crowd to follow), it's still not quite up there with the mesmeric mystique that the world of Tom Waits' live shows inhabit (and one gets the impression that these two artists were in mind at the birth of Devils & Dust).
Despite the fact that the entire show was crystal clear (the notable exception being the decision to drown the finale, "Dream baby Dream" in a droning reverb), and that it was received with a pin-drop respect, the "magic" would certainly have been far more tangible in a smaller venue such as Vicar St. or the Olympia. As Christy Moore will tell you, intimacy is not always something easily found in front of 7,000 fans, but if Springsteen can't find it in himself to turn down the revenue of the larger stadium-like buildings, then perhaps in future he could do as Bob Dylan did and play both types of venue on consecutive nights. Regardless where he chooses to perform, Springsteen's "maturer" sound is doubtless a long distance travelled for someone who once wrote brilliant songs about cars and girls.
Article comments