Springsteen tour kicks off with a little 'Magic'

by Jay Lustig, Newark Star-Ledger Staff
Wednesday October 03, 2007, 5:31 PM



TIM FARRELL/THE STAR-LEDGER
Saxophonist Clarence Clemons jams with Bruce Springsteen last night at the Hartford Civic Center.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. Where and when: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 and 18 at Madison Square Garden, New York. How much: All shows are sold out. Call (201) 507-8900 or visit ticketmaster.com for information.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Bruce Springsteen's concert last night at the Hartford Civic Center began with a rallying cry: "Radio Nowhere," the lead single from his new "Magic" album. "Is there anybody alive out there?" he asked, expressing his desire to hear "a thousand guitars" and "pounding drums." When he got to the line, "I want a million different voices speaking in tongues," he motioned for audience members to scream their lungs out, and they did.

"And so it begins," he said, after the song was over.

But what exactly is beginning? That's a little harder to say.

"Magic," which supplied eight of the 23 songs played in Hartford, is a complex, hard-to-define album, with some of the most exuberant pop and the some of the most harrowing rock of Springsteen's career. Loud guitars offer redemption and love is a healing force, but more sinister magic, in the form of war, corruption and political deception, is always lurking, too.

The tour, which officially began in Hartford (though there were three rehearsal shows last week), is equally complex. And Springsteen and his E Street Band, who are joining him on the road for the first time since 2004, are still working on getting the flow right.



TIM FARRELL/THE STAR-LEDGER
Bruce Springsteen rocks Hartford.

One of last night's oddest moments came when one of Springsteen's most upbeat, lyrically slight songs, "Darlington County," was sandwiched between the explosive, "lives-on-the-line" drama of "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and the epic "Magic" soldier's tale, "Devil's Arcade." Even Springsteen isn't enough of a magician to make those segues work.

There were some other segments that worked so well, though, that one expects them to become fixtures in the tour, which comes to the Continental Airlines Arena, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Madison Square Garden, Oct. 17 and 18.

The "Magic" title track, featuring some mournful wailing by Springsteen and his wife, E Street singer-guitarist Patti Scialfa, was the evening's bleakest number. "Reason To Believe," which came next, seemed like a hopeful answer song, with a propulsive new roadhouse-blues arrangement and solos by Nils Lofgren (on slide guitar) and Springsteen (on harmonica).

"Night," followed by "She's the One," was an irresistible one-two blast from Springsteen's past: two revered but not overplayed songs, both drenched in the kind of late-night romanticism that marked much of Springsteen's best '70s work.

"Long Walk Home," from "Magic," closed the pre-encore portion of the first rehearsal show at Asbury Park's Convention Hall. But at the other rehearsal shows, and yesterday it moved up to the penultimate slot, followed by the more dependably rousing "Badlands."

A Scialfa-written song, "Town Called Heartbreak" (from her recent "Play It As It Lays" album), fit into the show surprisingly well, with duet vocals by Scialfa and Springsteen, stripped-down swamp-rock instrumentation, and more stellar slide work from Lofgren.

"Livin' in the Future" is one of the catchiest songs from "Magic," so it's possible to miss the fact that it's also a protest song. As he did at the rehearsals, Springsteen made his intent clear in a spoken introduction, railing against "illegal wiretapping" and "attacks on the Constitution."

"We plan to do something about it right now," he said. "We plan to sing about it."

While "Radio Nowhere" has become the standard show-opener, the show offered an additional welcoming flourish. A carousel organ, with drums and cymbals attached to it, rose at the back of the stage and bright, cheerful music played as Springsteen and the band took the stage. Then it was lowered, and the show started.

In addition to fine-tuning the show's pacing, there are some nuts-and-bolts matters to take care of. Springsteen flubbed some words during "The Promised Land" and "Darlington County." And at one point during "Long Walk Home," he looked over to Clarence Clemons, apparently expecting him to take a solo; Clemons' saxophone was still on its stand.

Springsteen's a notorious perfectionist, but he didn't seem upset. They exchanged surprised glances, then grins, and Clemons casually picked up his instrument and started playing.

The more important thing, of course, was that Clemons sounded good all night, routinely creating the sumptuously rich sax tone that plays such a big part in defining the E Street sound. Drummer Max Weinberg also deserves special mention -- there were lots of fast-paced songs during the set, and little opportunity for him to catch his breath, but he never missed a beat.

Ultimately, maybe, the show wasn't about "Magic," or whatever is on Springsteen's mind. It was about Steven Van Zandt's raw, almost primitive guitar solos, and Roy Bittan's elegant piano riffs, and Garry Tallent's rock-solid bass playing, and everything else that goes into making the E Street Band a rare and, yes, magical thing.

Jay Lustig may be reached at jlustig@starledger.com or (973) 392-5850.


Here are the songs Springsteen and the E Street Band played last night:

"Radio Nowhere"
"The Ties That Bind"
"Lonesome Day"
"Gypsy Biker"
"Magic"
"Reason to Believe"
"Night"
"She's the One"
"Livin' in the Future"
"The Promised Land"
"Town Called Heartbreak"
"Darkness on the Edge of Town"
"Darlington County"
"Devil's Arcade"
"The Rising"
"Last to Die"
"Long Walk Home"
"Badlands"

Encores:

"Girls in Their Summer Clothes"
"Thundercrack"
"Born to Run"
"Waitin' on a Sunny Day"
"American Land"