St Louis, MO
August 23, 2008
Scottrade Center
By Anthony Kuzminski
Concerts are distinctive experiences unlike any other artistic performance; it is where art literally comes to life. It’s the only art form where the reactions of a crowd can make or break the experience and actually change it. Movies are set in stone, paintings have been painted and even though theater has a live audience, if someone boo’s they aren’t going to switch the acts midstream. But a concert can be made or broken by an audience. I’ve seen acts change entire shows around depending on the crowd by switching, cutting and in some cases adding songs to the set. The maharishi of live concerts is Bruce Springsteen. I’ve seen Springsteen forty-one times and the question I often get asked is “Isn’t every show the same”; if they only knew. In recent years, I’ve seen so many shows that it is polarizing at times. My fortieth show was on a weekend in St. Louis last August and little did I know that I would see a show for the ages. A three-hour and fifteen minute marathon that featured twenty-eight songs, including a boisterous nine-song encore that proved to be the entire tour’s best show. The band played within an inch of their lives and no one, especially Springsteen and the E Street Band, wanted to leave.There are nights where art can pull you out of your skin and make you feel alive in a way you haven’t felt in eons; this was one of those nights. Opening with “Then She Kissed Me”, the cover by the Crystals set the tone for the evening that would prove to be not just entertaining, but inspirational as well. “Radio Nowhere” was performed with vigor, “Out in the Street” was pure Friday night fun and “Adam Raised a Cain” literally raised the roof. These opening four songs featured a band that were completely different from the one that opened the tour nearly eleven months earlier. Instead of allowing new material to drag down the show, they embraced their inner love of rock n’ roll and provided an evening that was downright entertaining. As they left the set lists in the garbage bin, the band amazingly found their groove amidst spontaneity. One thing that has slightly hindered Springsteen shows post-2002 is poor pacing and the overall importance of a larger story arc. I have found that when the band relaxes and lets loose they give their most defining performances and St. Louis was clearly one of them
The swampy throwback “Spirit in the Night” was a truly inspired performance with Springsteen doing a mini dive into the crowd. A gem from his debut record Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. this song found the crowd exercising their vocal chords to full effect on the “all night” chorus. But what made the performance unrivaled was when Springsteen pulled a young boy from the crowd, had him sit next to him and when the chorus came, he let the little boy sing, it was an endearing performance I’ll never forget {Video Link}. The entire show had a structure but it largely went out the window. Beginning in the spring, fans began to bring signs into shows requesting given rarities and Springsteen would grab one, show it to the band and they would immediately segue into it. Name me another band on the planet who would bring this much fearlessness into arenas and stadiums? The signs Springsteen grabbed from the audience (well over thirty) were laid out beneath drummer Max Weinberg’s drum riser and Springsteen went through them and would flash the sign to the band. On this particular night, the choices weren’t just daring, but downright enthralling. The forgotten outtake “Rendezvous” was animated, “For You” was spot on and nostalgic but the biggest surprise came from a performance of the cover “Mountain of Love” {Video Link}, last performed in 1975, the song wasn’t just great to hear, but delivered with pitch perfect execution.
Fiery youthfulness reigned supreme on the classics “Jungleland” and “Backstreets”; two songs welcomed to any Springsteen show, but having them both in the same show was something truly special. “Gypsy Biker” was full of volcanic emotions and performances; especially Steve Van Zandt’s searing solo. One of the evening’s greater surprises was the audibled performance of “Cover Me”, played irregularly since 1993. It’s my least favorite song from Born in the U.S.A., but even on this night, the band was out for blood and if the scorching guitar solos were any indication, they didn’t just break the skin, but ruptured an artery. Even “Livin’ in the Future” and “Mary’s Place”, two songs I could go the rest of my life without ever listening to again, managed to sound magnanimous amidst these other high-spirited and lively performancesThe evening was a jukebox full of rarities and classics where Springsteen beautifully weaved his past and present into collective whole where no one song felt out of place. I can’t say the same about every concert I’ve ever seen, but the band hit all the right notes this night. “Drive All Night” was the sixteenth song of the evening and the first slow one, a testament to the resolve of this band. The longing eight-minute epic was full of emotional cravings that left the audience at a loss for words. Springsteen gave what may have been one of the most emotionally wrenching vocal performances I had ever seen. Rarely performed over the last twenty-eight years, Springsteen put himself into the song and not only did he sing it perfectly, but you could feel the pining in his delivery. Clarence Clemmons saxophone solo was like watching a skyrocket in flight and Steve Van Zandt’s backing vocals added to the impulsive ambiance. If the entire show had been scattershot (which it wasn’t), it still would have been worth the price of admission just for this song. The encores showcased the dexterity of the band through the romantic (“Thunder Road” and “Born To Run”), the thrilling (“The Detroit Medley” and “Dancing in the Dark”) and the downright rousing (“American Land”). But the night was not yet over.
Springsteen pulled out the Chuck Berry classic, “Little Queenie” in a scintillating flying-fists performance that paid homage to Berry but still allowed us to dance our worries away. As Springsteen and the E Street Band stood at the tip of the stage taking their bows, the crowd did not want to let go. As Springsteen waved to his right, a sign caught his eye, “Sophie love Bruce”. Back in 1980, Springsteen went to a movie theater in St. Louis on an off night during The River tour to see Stardust Memories. Two fans bumped into him and took them back to their house to introduce him to their parents. The mother, Sophie, scolded her children for allowing a stranger into their car, but soon realized they had a celebrity on their hands when she saw his license and an album cover her daughter provided {Youtube Link}. Rumor has it that Springsteen has left Sophie a pair of tickets to all of his shows ever since. The sign at the St. Louis show was from her family and whether Springsteen remembered her or just didn’t want to leave the stage on this particular night, we’ll never know. But what I do know is that the evenings finale “Twist & Shout” was a call-to-arms conclusion, where the crowd took the title to heart and did just that; twist the night away and shout their demons out of their souls. I’m not sure if it was the ecstatic crowd, the mood of the band or the fleeting feeling of summer that everyone wanted to grasp, but the entire show was a celebration of all of life’s rewards.
I missed out on every Springsteen tour the first few decades of his career and even though I’ve since witnessed every type of Springsteen show imaginable since then in every possible venue, I’ve often wondered if I was missing something by not witnessing many of the magical shows that occurred between 1978 and 1981. These years found the E Street Band not just ambitious but delivering downright devastating performances that no one could touch. Virtually every show during these years exceeded the three-hour mark. No one put as much time, energy and passion into their shows the way Springsteen and the E Streeters did, and amazingly few have followed the cue since then. It’s important to note that a long show or one full of rarities is not a guarantee for a invigorating experience (as was proven a week later at the Harleyfest gig), but in St. Louis on a hot and sticky night, everything gelled and for the first time in my life, I saw a glimpse of what it was like to witness this band during the 1978-1981 period.The spontaneity and chance taking during the latter part of the tour made the shows more inspired and enlivening. The St. Louis show wasn’t just the unanimous best show of the Magic tour but is deemed by many as one of the best shows of the last few decades. I witnessed a band who took to the stage like twenty-year-old kids hungry for their shot at the title. They jumped in the ring and gave it their all. I’ve rarely witnessed such ambition, fortitude and pure unbridled elation on display. One of the reasons we all find ourselves in awe of artists if their ability to express themselves. The hardest thing for any human to do is to make themselves vulnerable. Sharing your fears and dreams with another human is as important as any job you will ever have and while one may find an immense release from an experience like this, the best thing they can do is take note and put it into effect in their own life where expression runs rampant and free without consequence. It’s important to not let the artist express your emotions for you, but for them to remind you that with great risks come great rewards. We only live life once and it’s imperative you live it to the fullest and don’t hold emotions in. Artists expunge their demons on stage and in the studio, but it’s equally important from us to learn from their art and put it into effect in our own lives. Hopefully if you do this, you won’t just find happiness but peace in your life as well.
Life is a delicate balance of lightness and darkness. Bruce Springsteen is at his best when wrangles with the space in-between. Springsteen falters when he leans to heavily towards one or the other, but on a hot August night everything fell into place for a show that wasn’t just ferocious, but proved to be redemptive and resounding as well. In all, twenty-eight songs were performed over the three-hour fifteen-minute show. They ripped through five covers, elevated hearts and minds during a nine-song encore, made everyone reflect on a searing performance of the rarely played “Drive All Night”, hit all the right notes and fired on all cylinders with a confidence that no one could shake. The band effortlessly segued from the melodic (“Cover Me”) to the emotive (“Backstreets”). It was a perfect set list where a series of emotions were expunged and excavated. This wasn’t just the best damn show of 2008; it may have been one of the best damn shows of Springsteen and the E Street Band’s career. Nights like these don’t just serve as entertainment, but reach elevated spiritual heights. Life doesn’t always go as planned and there are times when that physical and vocal release is needed. However, the flipside of that coin is when music reminds you of not just the heartaches of life, but the joys as well. After a decade where Springsteen leaned a little too heavy on darkness, in St. Louis he embraced the light and reminded us all that it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer 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.
Pictures courtesy of Joseph Quever and Backstreets.
Springsteen - The Satanovskys & St. Louis Movie - 1/27/81
"Then She Kissed Me"
