Vancouver 26th November 2012 - show 81

Vancouver aka Hollywood North, is second only to Los Angeles in TV production and third in North America for Feature Film production. 

There are good reviews out there, on the web, but none that really go overboard about the show.

The Vancouver Sun has this to say:-

Guessing the set list for a Springsteen gig ahead of time is as torturous a task as trying to take Boardwalk away from The Boss back in the '70s. Only one thing was for certain: It was going to be epic, and was it ever.

and The Seattle Times says :-

... his Vancouver show at Rogers Arena ran until nearly midnight, and showed him to be in incredible physical shape. When the encores finally ended with "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," and Bruce jumped in the air, he appeared to do so with a young man's knees — and spirit.

Perhaps the Seattle folks were a bit miffed.

It's still not clear why Bruce Springsteen skipped Seattle on his current tour, in favor of Vancouver, B.C. on Monday night, and a Portland show coming up Wednesday.


Here's the story of the Santa - Steve Alexander - who was on stage with Bruce. The You Tube clip is below, and with apologies to Steve who was obviously having the time of his life, it gets a bit annoying after a couple of minutes.   In a nutshell:-

he and his buddy Phil Webb hatched a Christmas caper guaranteed to get them a star turn with the star himself. He would dress as Santa. Webb would be one of Santa’s elves. They would make an eye-catching sign. On it they would write: “We want to sing Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town with you. Merry Christmas E-Street Band.” They would attach a Christmas stocking to the sign with the singer’s name on it. They would pray for a Christmas miracle.

That prayer was answered during one of the encores. As Springsteen strode back onto the stage, he pointed directly at Alexander and smiled. “Come on up here, Santa.” (Webb’s elf had to stay in his seat).

Says Alexander: “I thought I was gonna have a heart attack.” A surge of adrenalin propelled him out of his seat and up onto the stage. Once there, he and The Boss belted out Springsteen’s version of the Christmas classic to wild applause. 


And to finish off tonight's post here are Five reasons to see Bruce Springsteen in Vancouver. This also appears in 'The Vancouver Sun'.  My favourite is number 4

4. To replace Clarence Clemons, the E Street Band member who played saxophone with Springsteen for nearly 40 years, the tour is employing no fewer than five horn players, including Clemons’s nephew Jake Clemons. And who knows how many mugging, bandana’d guitarists the Boss would have to hire if something happened (God forbid) to Miami Steve Van Zandt?


And so to the set list

	Denver  19/11/12 Time 8.12 to 11.14	Vancouver  26/11/12 Time 8.16 to 11.23
1	Get Out Of Denver (1)	Shackled And Drawn (65)
2	I’m A Rocker (5)	Out In The Street (40)
3	The Promised Land (39)	Hungry Heart (38)
4	Hungry Heart (37)	We Take Care Of Our Own (81)
5	We Take Care Of Our Own (80)	Wrecking Ball (81)
6	Wrecking Ball (80)	Death To My Hometown (81)
7	Death To My Home Town (80)	My City Of Ruins (81)
8	My City Of Ruins (80)	Spirit In The Night (48)
9	Spirit In The Night (47)	Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street (13)
10	The E Street Shuffle (22)	Red Headed Woman (2)
11	Bishop Danced (2)	Streets Of Fire (4)
12	Human Touch (4)	Because The Night (34)
13	Savin’ Up (2)	She’s The One (29)
14	Working On The Highway (38)	Cover Me (7)
15	Shackled And Drawn (64)	Darlington County (26)
16	Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (80)	Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (81)
17	Raise Your Hand (10)	Raise Your Hand (11)
18	Lonesome Day (25)	The Rising (65)
19	Badlands (72)	Badlands (73)
20	Land Of Hope And Dreams (55)	Land Of Hope And Dreams (56)
21	Across The Borderline (1)	Racing In The Street (12)
22	Born To Run (80)	Radio Nowhere (11)
23	Bobby Jean (16)	Born To Run (81)
24	Dancing In The Dark (80)	Dancing In The Dark (81)
25	Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (3)	Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (4)
26	Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (79)	Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (80)
27
28
29
30
31
32
33