Sunday - another beautiful day in New York City - God I love this place!
Went for a long walk today. Had a cup of tea at Tea and Sympathy in Chelsea and walked down Bleeker Street. T-shirt weather.
Popped in to Mustang Harry’s before the gig, on the off chance we could find anybody to foist our company upon, and - hey - Ceinwen, Sinead, Steve and Hywel were there with other friends. Kept them company until we all set off for the gig.
We were really looking forward to this night. When we set off for NYC on 5th November we didn’t know what Bruce was going to do. Going back to my really early blogs you will see that ‘The River’ was one of the first albums I listened to - albeit on a copied cassette. I hadn’t particularly liked it at the time but it has become one of my favourites over the years.
Then Mike chats to the couple on his left and they live a stone’s throw away - 5 miles at the most!! Strangely enough, although we have kept in touch with Tony and Laura via the net, we haven’t seen ‘English Steve’ and his wife since that night.
This night was really special for me. Perhaps because I knew it was the last gig I was going to see for no-one-knows-how-long and the culmination of a whole year of making new friends and going to concerts. When Bruce came on stage and said 'Good evening New York City' I knew life couldn’t get any better. Even thinking about it now sends tingles down my spine.
So what can I say about the set list? Never before performed. Just this one time. Too long to do it again. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Lots of sing-a-long songs, sad songs, some tragic songs and the hidden masterpiece of ’Crush on you’.
When I eventually embraced ‘The River’ I found I preferred the faster tracks - ‘The Ties That Bind’, ’Jackson Cage’, ’Two Hearts’, etc etc. ‘Out in the Street’ is a favourite oh oh oh oh oh and I picked up on the funny little story of ’Sherry Darling’ only a couple of years ago. I’m not so keen on ’You can Look’ (it goes on a bit on Live in NYC) or Ramrod. The buddy boy antics of Bruce and Steve don’t really do it for me. Maybe it worked when they were younger but sadly I wasn’t there to see it.
Mike likes the slower tracks - ‘The River’ itself, ‘Point Blank‘. He’s always loved ’Independence Day’ but actually prefers The Waterboys version - If you want to try it ... you have to go to about 2 minutes in before they start singing
‘Point Blank’ wasn’t a particular favourite of mine but it was great live. I ahhhhhhhhd along with the rest when Bruce danced with Patti during ‘I Wanna Marry You’ and sobbed all the way through ‘Drive all Night’. Oh and of course 'The Price You Pay'. He didn't save it for us but a rarity if ever there was one and did we all wonder if we had missed this after The Spectrum on 20 October?
An added bonus for Mike was ’Atlantic City’. He doesn’t know why but it always brings a tear to his eye. Special to hear this on his last gig for a while.
And what can you say about ’Can’t Help Falling in Love’. So unexpected, a bit shambolic but really, well - sweet - is the only way I can think of putting it. What about this version from 1988?
I didn’t want it to end - me and twenty thousand other people I suspect - but it did and we set off for Mustang Harry’s in a bid to keep the magic going a bit longer by talking about it. We met more fans in there, some who I will remember and others I wont, but regardless, I hope we will all meet again sometime.
We stayed in New York until Tuesday. Did loads more sightseeing, a bit of souvenir shopping and savoured the atmosphere of (probably) the greatest city in the World. I can’t wait to go back. It really was the best few days of my life and, if Bruce is true to his word, those of us there on The River night really did have a once in a lifetime experience, something that money-can’t-buy.
So it might not be Martin Luther King and his ‘ I have a Dream’ speech but when I’m in my dotage sitting in the nursing home I will be able to say ‘I was at Madison Square Garden when Bruce Springsteen played The River in full’.
Set List
Wrecking Ball
The Ties that Bind
Sherry Darling
Jackson Cage
Two Hearts
Independence Day
Hungry Heart
Out in the Street
Crush on You
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
I Wanna Marry You
The River
Point Blank
Cadillac Ranch
I'm a Rocker
Fade Away
Stolen Car
Ramrod
The Price You Pay
Drive All Night
Wreck on the Highway
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Atlantic City
Badlands
Born to Run
Seven Nights to Rock
Sweet Soul Music
No Surrender
American Land
Dancing in the Dark
Can't Help Falling in Love
Higher and Higher
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