2021-07-13 St. James Theatre, New York City, NY
Jake Romanow Night 12 featured a very loose Bruce, in fine voice and playful mood, racing (arguably even rushing) through many of the early stories, which were punctuated by an especially high number of F-bombs ('FUCK green beans!). This loose tone and surprising velocity (also notable on a speedy 'My Hometown') only made the moments where the show really slowed down feel more momentous, as when Bruce spoke (rather than sang) key lines in 'My Father's House' and 'The Wish.' Nor did the show stint on emotion: Bruce wiped away tears at several points during the night, and the performances of 'The Promised Land' and 'American Skin (41 Shots)' were exceptionally powerful. His humor was in full force as well, with an extended version of the bit about being arrested for 'moving after dark,' accusing the audience of being full of would-be 'night-movers' and calling back to his earlier comments on his 2021 arrest, joking: 'I'm working on a theme!'
A few arrangement notes (not necessarily unique to this night): 'Tenth Avenue Freeze-out' was performed with slightly slowed down and simplified piano accompaniment, bringing out Bruce's soulful vocals and the song's elegiac role in the show. Similarly, the arrangement for 'Dancing In The Dark' has been adjusted away from the hard-strumming acoustic rock version of recent years to a tenser, somewhat quieter guitar accompaniment. Perhaps as a result, a full break occurred between that song and the still-hard-charging 'Land of Hope and Dreams,' in a shift from the first run's combined arrangement. A night of emotional twists and turns, often powerful, at times slightly jarring — but an absolute joy to see Bruce back chasing that one plus one equals three.
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