Springsteen Misses The Mark In Milwaukee at Harley Celebration (Review of 8/30/08 Concert)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band:

August 30, 2008-Milwaukee, WI

Harley-Davidson's 105th Anniversary

The Roadhouse at the Lakefront

By Anthony Kuzminski

Tour finales for Bruce Springsteen are usually epic affairs that usually go down as arguably some of the best shows on a given tour. By judging the 3-hour 35-minute, 31-song performance at Harley Davidson’s 105th Birthday Bash for 70,000 this past Saturday, one would assume this was one for the ages. Sadly one can’t judge a show by what’s on paper. This was the longest show I had ever seen Springsteen perform and also one of the most misguided and poorly executed as well. In all, the Magic tour was a mixed affair for me (I saw eight total shows). Two shows (Milwaukee on St Patrick’s Day and St. Louis on 8/23) were possibly among the best I’ve ever seen by any act. However, Omaha, St. Paul and this finale in Milwaukee were among the least engaging I’ve ever seen. While Springsteen is a master storyteller and weaves his catalog of songs beautifully at times, his pacing and song choices for a large part of the tour were questionable, with the Milwaukee show being a prime example. This was never intended to be a tour finale. The original intention is that this was supposed to be one of many stadium gigs, but with the economy struggling and stadium dates in his backyard selling slowly, they opted to forgo this plan. Then there was a two-month arena stretch planned for the fall, but that was scrapped as well. So, almost by default and for the first time since 1981, the Midwest was home to Springsteen’s tour finale, a corporate gig for Harley Davidson with an attendance north of 70,000. Now, there have been months of speculation as to what Springsteen would play at a show like this, as the majority of attendee’s would be vaguely familiar with Springsteen’s work. In the end, the evening was full of extreme highs and deafening silent lows and ultimately when Springsteen and the E Street Band found their groove, it was too late for many. Kicking off with “Gypsy Biker” from his latest album, Magic the band hit the stage roaring, except that they forgot to bring the 70,000 in attendance along with them. While “Biker” is a tour highlight and one of the newer songs that really comes to life live, it failed to elicit any kind of a reaction in Milwaukee. This was when I knew it was going to be a long evening. For the remainder of the main set, the crowd stood there mostly motionless. Now, I am aware that the pit of the lucky 3,000 people (fans and Harley dealers mixed) appeared to be alive and well, but the other 67,000 in attendance were completely disconnected from the event. Why was this? Well, I have to point the finger at Harley Davidson event planners first. They erected an enormous sound booth in the middle of the field that blocked the view for everyone behind them. Since the show was all general admission in a park, this alienated many. Secondly, the screens that Harley had were not big enough and were not high enough. I was about half way back and could barely see them, I can only imagine what it was like all the way back. Thirdly, Springsteen performed a set list that wouldn’t appease a die-hard, a casual fan and definitely not one who barely knows his catalog. While it was performed well, it took far too long to gain any momentum and by the time he did, over half of the 70,000 in attendance had left.



Following “Gypsy Biker” was “Out In The Street”, “Radio Nowhere”, “The Promised Land” and “Spirit In The Night”. When the sing-a-longs from “Street” and “Promised Land” were mute, I had a bad feeling the show wouldn’t go over well. Springsteen then gathered signs from the audience for the request portion of the show and when he pulled out “Wooly Bully” I thought this would be the turning point. Sadly it was not. Even though the cover brought some genuine movement from the crowd, following it with “Darlington County”, “You Can Look (But You Can’t Touch)” and “Darkness On The Edge of Town” proved to be head scratching as the crowd became more and more restless. Most of the audience was unfamiliar with these songs and they appeared more suited for an opening night show and not a tour finale in completing its eleventh month. “Youngstown”, “Murder Incorporated”, “She’s The One”, “Livin’ In The Future” and “Mary’s Place” continued the downward spiral which found the majority of the crowd growing restless. I began overhearing things like “When’s he going to play something we know” or even better “I wonder if Willy G (current CEO of Harley) decided to not pay Bruce and this is Bruce’s way of saying ‘F-You’.” Even “Working On The Highway” from Born In The USA fell on deaf ears. The performances of each of these numbers were good and spot on, but that special “magic” was missing. The camaraderie between band and fan on the reunion tour during these performances was lacking and void in Milwaukee.



The one incandescent moment of the main set was a magnificent performance of “Racing In The Street”. Roy Bittan shined on the piano as his fingers breezed above the keys in a way I had never seen before as organist Charlie Giordano overlapped with a subtle organ that gave the main set it’s one and only luminous performance. By this time, most of the Harley crowd had decided that they had seen enough and what many do not realize is that the field began emptying out as disappointment loomed over them. I tried to encourage many to stay, but their comments to me were “if this is what all of his shows are like, I’ll never ever pay to see him”. Even a friend of mine who is a 20-show veteran left midway through the encore and told me “He didn’t gain one new fan through this show”. The end of the main set, even with “Badlands” was largely underwhelming…until they band tore through “Seven Nights To Rock” which finally injected a long overdue jolt to the crowd. The encore is where things got interesting and fun. The band brought up Jason Federici to play accordion on “4th of July (Sandy)” in remembrance of his late father, Danny Federici (E Street band organist until his passion in April). I witnessed Danny’s final performance earlier this year and this performance was fully charged of emotion as well. No song in the main set was as emotive as this one. You could feel summer slipping away and the breeze coming off of Lake Michigan was a reminder of the simple joys life can bring and as I sat on the eclipsing summer night, I felt a connection, something missing from every song in the main set (“Racing” aside).



For the rest of the encore, Springsteen took the set into overdrive, something he should have done two-hour earlier. Everything he did wrong in the main set, he executed beautifully in the encore. One major problem with this; well over 60% of the audience had already left. So instead of having memories of an artist overpowering the audience until they couldn’t take any more, they’ll remember a self-indulgent main set that connected with no one. The main set would have been greatly improved from the inclusion of any of the following; "Backstreets", "Jungleland", "Reason to Believe", "Because The Night", "Detroit Medley", "Cadillac Ranch", "Blinded", "Fire", "Hungry Heart" or any of the 7-top ten singles from USA (5 of which went unaired).



“Tenth Avenue Freezeout”, “Born To Run”, “Glory Days” and “Rosalita” showered down on the crowd as the band gleefully tore through them with a vengeance and awakening those who were still there. Even the unknown “American Land” managed to evoke a strong reaction. The encore raised a ruckus in an unrelenting drive of stamina by the band featuring some of their best and most rollicking numbers. The band continued to keep the momentum going with “Thunder Road”, “Dancing In The Dark” and the finale, “Born To Be Wild” which found those who left after “American Land” returning as they wanted to see more. Springsteen and the E Street Band flexed their stadium rock muscle in the encore to show those who stayed, that indeed they are capable of delivering a devastating punch of rock n’ roll to the masses.



Ultimately, it was too little too late even though it was the longest show Springsteen has performed since 1985 and featured a staggering ten-song encore that will leave an indelible impression. After the final bows with Springsteen promising “We’re just getting started”, I headed back to my car where I was shocked to find it be one of the last cars in the once filled to capacity garage. As I pulled out of the garage, I managed to get on I-94 within 90-seconds. As I drove home to Chicago, I couldn’t help but have a sinking feeling in my stomach that the vast majority who attended the show walked away dissatisfied and missed the strident encore. It was a show where Springsteen could have connected in such a way that the 70,000 in attendance (the largest concert ever held in Milwaukee) would have been talking about this show for decades. Instead, many may be clamoring for Elton John to perform at the 110th Celebration instead (John was a surprise at the 100th Celebration and his performance did not go over well). Springsteen is an immense artist and he has every right to choose his own set list, but with the majority of the crowd seeing him for the first time, he should have constructed a more digestible set. He was paid a hefty upfront fee to entertain and he should have done just that instead of forcing largely unrecognizable material to the 70,000 in attendance. If he had, his impact would have been more greatly felt…and remembered.

{Photo Credit}

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.