Los Angeles 27th April 2012 - show 18

Staying put today.

The show started really late tonight but as most of us will have already heard and Newjersey.com confirms...

...  Bruce gave the early arrivals a treat when at 7:35 p.m. (Pacific Time), he  came out to the stage with many of his relatives (some who he introduced) and  did a solo acoustic "For You."

This from the OC Weekly gives us a bit more of a clue about the late start and another positive perspective on Bruce's popularity.

Bruce Springsteen is the most believable rock 'n' roll megastar alive. He makes you feel like a working-class hero even if you parked your BWM for $40.  He exudes that kind of authenticity. It's so magnetic that suddenly you're him, singing about shuttered factory towns, probably in Ohio, which is the gist of his most recent (17th) album, Wrecking Ball, songs from which he played early on in the set...

...And that's the best part about seeing Springsteen. You can tell The Boss isn't an asshole boss. He loves the people on stage, loves the people in the seats. The people in the seats love fist-pumping and they love Bruce, and he loves that. Sure, the house sound wasn't that good, that the show started late because people couldn't get through the gates fast enough, and that the cheap seats cost $100.

All that didn't matter because Bruce was on.

	Atlanta 18/03/12 Time 8.10 to 10.44	Los Angeles 26/04/12 Time 8.22 to 11.08	Los Angeles 27/04/12 Time 8.43 to 11.43
1	We Take Care Of Our Own	Badlands (12)	No Surrender (1)
2	Wrecking Ball	We Take Care Of Our Own (17)	We Take Care Of Our Own (18)
3	Badlands	Wrecking Ball (17)	Wrecking Ball (18)
4	Death To My Hometown	The Ties That Bind (4)	Badlands (13)
5	My City Of Ruins	Death To my Home Town (17)	Death To my Home Town (18)
6	The E Street Shuffle	My City Of Ruins (17)	My City Of Ruins (18)
7	Jack Of All Trades	The E Street Shuffle (5)	Does This Bus Stop (4)
8	Seeds	Jack Of All Trades (17)	Jack Of All Trades (18)
9	Easy Money	Something In The Night (1)	Youngstown (3)
10	Waitin' On A Sunny Day	Candy’s Room (3)	Prove It All Night (5)
11	The Promised Land	She’s The One (6)	Darkness On The Edge Of Town (3)
12	The Way You Do The Things You Do	Easy Money (12)	Easy Money (13)
13	634 -5789	Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (17)	Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (18)
14	Shackled And Drawn	The Promised Land (16)	The Way You Do The Things You Do (18)
15	Lonesome Day	The Way You Do The Things You Do (17)	634 - 5789 (18)
16	The Rising	634 -5789 (17)	Racing In The Streets (3)
17	We Are Alive	The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1)	The Rising (18)
18	Thunder Road	The Rising (17)	Lonesome Day (8)
19	Rocky Ground	Lonesome Day (7)	We Are Alive (18)
20	Land Of Hope And Dreams	We Are Alive (17)	The Ghost Of Tom Joad (2)
21	Born To Run	Land Of Hope And Dreams (12)	Land Of Hope And Dreams (13)
22	Dancing In The Dark	Rocky Ground (17)	Rocky Ground (18)
23	American Land	California Sun (1)	Bobby Jean (1)
24	Tenth Avenue Freeze Out	Born To Run (17)	Born To Run (18)
25		Dancing In The Dark (17)	Dancing In The Dark (18)
26		Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (17)	Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (18)
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Los Angeles 26th April 2012 - show 17

The distance from San Jose to Los Angeles is 340 miles. So we are up to 7340 miles now.

"Heaven" - @IJasonAlexander

There are a couple of good reviews today and as usual I'll pull out my favourite bits.  The first from Variety has this great bit about Clarence and Jake :-

If there was a noticeable void on the side of the stage where legendary saxman Clarence Clemons once stood for thousands of you-had-to-be-there concerts Springsteen filled the space with a solid five-piece horn section...
But it was the addition of enthusiastic saxophonist Jake Clemons, who just so happens to be Clarence's nephew, which cemented the realization that the E Street Band remains an ever-changing musical organism. The young Clemons' showmanship and, clearly, his excitement of just being part of a legendary band, as well as his ability to hit all the right notes his uncle never missed, clearly felt good for the audience's soul.


I've condensed the final two paragraphs here but it says it all and confirms what everyone of us already knows. 

The E Street Band come into your town, give it their all while having the audacity to make each city feel special and unique, and ship out.
It's what they do. And as long as Springsteen can find the strength to strap on the Fender, there's little reason to expect the carnival to slow down anytime soon.

Then there are these couple of paragraphs from The Los Angeles Times

One of the things that makes Springsteen the greatest musical performer of our time is the deep love with which he ministers to his flock. The arena was filled with a rare vibe, a feeling of brotherly and sisterly (Springsteen danced with his younger sibling on “Dancing in the Dark”) love. When’s the last time the big Canadian strangers next to you bought you and your husband a beer during an arena show?

This was perhaps the most inspirational show I’ve witnessed in 30 years of attending thousands of concerts, including at least a dozen by Springsteen. There was maybe one better: When he played Jazz Fest in New Orleans after Katrina and turned the city of ruins into a city reborn. 


The set was shorter than has been the norm lately.  Tom Morello featured on Death To My Hometown, Jack Of All Trades and The Ghost Of Tom Joad.  Now I know he is a great guitarist but long guitar solos aren't for me. You've got to feel a bit sorry for Nils too. He is also considered to be pretty good on the guitar and rarely gets chance to shine. Presumably he doesn't mind though, otherwise he wouldn't be there !


As is often the case with Bruce's covers California Sun was a mystery to me. I had to go to YouTube to find the original version. And an extra clip tonight - Bruce's version. 


California Dreaming for night 2 maybe? California Girls?





So here's the list - not the best for me but you may disagree.  

	Atlanta 18/03/12 Time 8.10 to 10.44	Los Angeles 26/04/12 Time 8.22 to 11.08
1	We Take Care Of Our Own	Badlands (12)
2	Wrecking Ball	We Take Care Of Our Own (17)
3	Badlands	Wrecking Ball (17)
4	Death To My Hometown	The Ties That Bind (4)
5	My City Of Ruins	Death To My Hometown (17)
6	The E Street Shuffle	My City Of Ruins (17)
7	Jack Of All Trades	The E Street Shuffle (5)
8	Seeds	Jack Of All Trades (17)
9	Easy Money	Something In The Night (1)
10	Waitin' On A Sunny Day	Candy’s Room (3)
11	The Promised Land	She’s The One (6)
12	The Way You Do The Things You Do	Easy Money (12)
13	634 -5789	Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (17)
14	Shackled And Drawn	The Promised Land (16)
15	Lonesome Day	The Way You Do The Things You Do (17)
16	The Rising	634 - 5789 (17)
17	We Are Alive	The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1)
18	Thunder Road	The Rising (17)
19	Rocky Ground	Lonesome Day (7)
20	Land Of Hope And Dreams	We Are Alive (17)
21	Born To Run	Land Of Hope And Dreams (12)
22	Dancing In The Dark	Rocky Ground (17)
23	American Land	California Sun (1)
24	Tenth Avenue Freeze Out	Born To Run (17)
25		Dancing In The Dark (17)
26		Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (17)
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