New York Friday 6th April 2012 - show 10

Just a hop and a skip from East Rutherford to New York City - about 12 miles. 2862 miles so far.

I can't find a review of the show to share with you today but I enjoyed this article about a Jewish fan who didn't want to miss Bruce even at Passover. Mr Rosen booked a room in Madison Square Garden and invited friends of all faiths to join him.

'At 7:12 p.m., Mr. Rosen issued an announcement from the head of the table. “In 33 minutes,” he said, “we’ll begin our exodus to the Promised Land.” He appeared to mean the concert.

My two-penneth?

Well, would have liked to see the look of surprise on the seasoned, multiple concert going, set list watching fan when Bruce came on stage and sang ... Badlands!  I would have been pretty gobsmacked myself. It doesn't pay to get too complacent.

Whilst Murder Inc isn't one of my faves it always comes across well live, so don't mind having this in the set. Lion's Den though? - don't really like it at all. A big cheer for Shackled And Drawn. I hope he keeps this one in from now on.  I would like Land Of Hope And Dreams to be there every night too.  I'm looking forward to hearing this one again after nearly 10 years.

It wouldn't have been my favourite night but, hey, given the opportunity I would have been there - no question.  We still have everything crossed hoping for a show or two in the autumn. In the mean time let's see what MSG night 2 brings.

Atlanta 18/03/12 Time 8.10 to 10.44	New York Friday 06/04/12 Time 8.27 to 11.20
We Take Care Of Our Own	Badlands (6)
Wrecking Ball	We Take Care Of Our Own (10)
Badlands	Wrecking Ball (10)
Death To My Hometown	Out In The Street (3)
My City Of Ruins	Death To My Hometown (10)
The E Street Shuffle	My City Of Ruins (10)
Jack Of All Trades	Murder Incorporated (1)
Seeds	Johnny 99 (2)
Easy Money	Jack Of All Trades (10)
Waitin' On A Sunny Day	Shackled And Drawn (3)
The Promised Land	Lion’s Den (1)
The Way You Do The Things You Do	Easy Money (10)
634 -5789	Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (10)
Shackled And Drawn	Promised Land (9)
Lonesome Day	The Way You Do The Things You Do (10)
The Rising	634 - 5789 (10)
We Are Alive	American Skin (41 Shots) (6)
Thunder Road	The Rising (10)
Rocky Ground	We Are Alive (10)
Land Of Hope And Dreams	Thunder Road (10)
Born To Run	Rocky Ground (10)
Dancing In The Dark	Kitty’s Back (2)
American Land	Born To Run (10)
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out	Dancing In The Dark (10)
	Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (10)

  

Don't Cry Because It's Over...

I was still in bed when Mike told me that Clarence had died.  I was patting myself on the back for holding it all together.  Being British I'm not sure about outpourings of grief for people you don't really know.  Then Mike played Back in Your Arms and I shed more than a tear or two.  We are all going to miss this man so much.

We first saw Bruce live in 1993 on the Human Touch/Lucky Town tour.  Both of us were absolutely clueless about The E Street Band.  We wouldn't have recognised a band member if we had fallen over them in the street BUT we did know that there was a big black man who played the sax.  He wasn't on that tour of course but it only goes to prove that, apart from Bruce, with no disrespect to the other band members, Clarence is the only person most non Bruce fans would know about.

I bought Mike a saxophone for his 50th birthday. He was keen to learn some Clarence solos. Although he mastered a few songs, his tutor was a jazz musician and the rock tunes were never accomplished. Perhaps now he'll try again.

Today as we all mourn together many words have been written about how much we will miss the Big Man.  You Tube clips showing off his skills have come thick and fast. BBC and Sky news reported his death. Johnnie Walker finished his Radio 2 programme with Jungleland which surely includes the ultimate Clemons sax solo. 

The last time I saw Clarence live was at Madison Square Garden 8th November 2009.  I can't mention this weekend without reminding you that it was the best few days of my life so I pick my special Clarence moment from that weekend.






I last saw him on TV only a few weeks ago on stage with Lady Gaga at the American Idol finale.  He may not have been playing with Bruce but given Gaga's popularity he couldn't have been much more 'on trend'.  We know from what Clarence himself had said that he was thrilled to have been asked to play with her and, because of the Lady Gaga connection, at the time of his death it's possible Clarence was more famous than Bruce himself!  He would have wanted to leave us at the top of his game, and my word, he did just that.

Since the last tour there has been much speculation about whether The E Street band would ever tour again.  Maybe they won't but there's one thing for sure Born To Run will never be the same without a sax solo.  If Clarence is not there to play it will Bruce employ someone else?  If he does will the stage set up remain the same?  I don't know but ...

Whatever happens and whoever stands there Clarence's side of the stage will always be Clarence's side of the stage and his spirit will be there  - always.

To round off here is the statement from Brucesprinsteen.net

It is with overwhelming sadness that we inform our friends and fans that at 7:00 tonight, Saturday, June 18, our beloved friend and bandmate, Clarence Clemons passed away. The cause was complications from his stroke of last Sunday, June 12th.

Bruce Springsteen said of Clarence: Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage. His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years. He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band.

And finally I'm stealing a quote from Dr Seuss :-

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

My Bruce Journey - Part 36

'You make up your mind. You choose the chance you take'



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.

Tonight we are sat, perhaps, just short of halfway along on Clarence’s side.  If you have the boot that’s floating around it’s filmed from a similar sort of position.  I turned to the couple on my right hand side - Laura and Tony - blimey they are from Manchester - only about 40 miles away from where we live!  

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