The Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator
(Mar 4, 2008)
The Big Guy on sax may be getting a tad frail and it's hard to look at Little Steven without seeing his Sopranos' mobster TV persona, but the The Boss is still The Boss.
Bruce Springsteen is a lot easier on the furniture. He doesn't climb up the speaker columns anymore (because there aren't any) and he keeps his feet off those high-price keyboards. As a matter of fact, at 58, he does a lot more walking than running these days.
But it doesn't matter.
Last night he put on one of the better rock 'n' roll shows this town, or any other for that matter, will see in a long long time.
I haven't had the good fortune of being in the audience for a Springsteen/E Street Band performance in more than 20 years. Back in those days the shows easily ran more than three hours, sometimes four, with a setlist of about 25 songs. The audience left almost as exhausted as the Boss himself.
Last night's show attended by some 17,500 fans at Copps Coliseum ran about two-and-a-half hours, but he still managed to cram almost 25 songs into it. The difference is less banter, some trimmed solos and no intermission. Tighter. More compact. Brilliant. Garage rock at its finest.
Springsteen managed to run through the entire show without a break ... right into the incredible multi-song encore that featured the relatively rare and killer classic Kitty's Back (from The Wild, The Innocent And the E Street Shuffle), plus the nostalgic Thunder Road.
But I digress. As old as The Boss (and his fans) may be, this wasn't some nostalgia show. Springsteen performed some seven tracks from the new CD, Magic, that easily stands up to the classics. Living In The Future, Long Walk Home, Last To Die and Devil's Arcade were all loaded into the back end of the show, sitting strongly next to well-established show stoppers like The Rising and Badlands.
We got also got plenty of fan favourites like She's The One, Born To Run, Dancing In The Dark, Promised Land, Thunder Road and Because The Night.
This is street poetry as good as anything pop culture offers. But what makes it truly special is a work ethic that surpasses anything else in the world of rock.
The fans paid more than $100 for a ticket and Springsteen made sure they got their money's worth, and more.
Nonetheless, there are some creaky spots.
Sax player Clarence Clemons -- lovingly known as The Big Guy -- is probably the best known of the E Street gang next to The Boss himself. He can still blow the pipes as he proved several times last night. At 66, however, you've got to wonder how much longer he can keep up with Springsteen's pace -- even with that big comfy take-a-break chair behind him.
Little Steven Van Zandt's guitar has long played second fiddle to those of Nils Lofgren and Springsteen. And fans of The Sopranos know that Van Zandt isn't that "little" anymore. Still it's nice to have the rocker-turned-mob-actor along for the ride. It wouldn't be the same without his kerchiefed head.
The E Street Band was missing two regulars last night. Springsteen's wife Patti Scialfa was absent for her third straight show. And that's understandable, it's hard to run a family with both parents on the road. Besides, I'm not sure if I really wanted to see her perform one of her solo songs. We came for Bruce, right?
Otherwise, organist Danny Federici is still off receiving treatment for melanoma although Springsteen said he expects him to return later in the tour.
Federici has been replaced by Charles Giordano, who worked with Springsteen on the Seeger Sessions record and tour. Springsteen has still got a lot of rock 'n' roll in him and this E-Street tour looks like it'll be stretching through the summer.
That's great news because, let's face it, it's hard to imagine this band getting together for another record and tour.
Can Clemons keep this up into his seventies?
grockingham@thespec.com
or 905-526-3331
Setlist:
No Surrender
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Because the Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Darkness on the Edge of Town
The River
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Thunder Road
Kitty's Back
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
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