1981-04-26 Forest National, Brussels, Belgium

Scheduled: 20:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

Bruce's first ever appearance in Belgium. Roy plays the piano intro before "The River" and "Once Upon A Time In The West" as a bridge between that song and "Badlands". "Detroit Medley" includes "I Hear A Train". "Stolen Car" makes it's European debut.

26.04.81 Brussels, Belgium, intro to ´´Independence Day´´
´´This is a song, this is ´Independence Day´….thanks, I need a little, I need a little quiet for this, thank you….(music starts)….I grew up in this little town that…..I guess….the main…. there was a rugmill that….in the 50´s and the 60´s most everybody worked there….and I went to high school….and when I was 15 or 16….I looked around…..and I saw all my friends, all the people that I´d grown up with….and it didn´t seem like they were, they were going anywhere or they had anything, anything that they could do to make them feel, uh, strong inside….and I looked back at my father and he was working in a plastics´ factory and his father before him worked in the rugmill and….and I tried to think what it was that we had, we had in common and how it was that a generation after a generation, we´d end up doing the same kind of work, living in the same houses….and I….and I thought and I found out that the one thing that we, we had in common is that we didn´t know enough, we didn´t know enough to understand the forces that were….that were working on our lives…..enough to be able to change them or to get out of that same old pattern every day….and later I was reading this book, it was called The History of the United States and in it you find out, I found out how I ended up where I was and how the chances of….of me breaking out of that kind of life ….or anybody, anybody breaking out of that kind of life get slimmer and slimmer every day ….but if you don´t find out about yourself, if you don´t find out about where, where you come from and how you got to be who you are today….you don´t find out how, how you end up a victim and you don´t even know it….´cause there´s a lot of people that, that I grew up with back home, people with good hearts and strong inside that, that are gonna die because ….because they never found out and they were, they were never able to pull up….the, the strength that they had inside of them…..and be able to live just like, just like decent people should be able to live everywhere in the world…..´´

26.04.81 Brussels, Belgium, intro to ´´This Land Is Your Land´´
´´This….(people are yelling requests) we´re gonna, we´re gonna get to those later, alright? ….this, this is a song that was, uh, written by Woody Guthrie and….in the, uh, in the States, I guess, all, all around the world when, when times, when times get tough, like they are now, uh….(?) there´s a lot of unemployment, I guess it´s the same everywhere, people can´t find jobs, there´s always, there´s always a resurrection, there´s always a, a renewal of the kinds of groups, like in the States they call themselves the Ku Klux Klan or the National Socialists (people boo) and there´s always, there´s always a resurgence of the kind of groups that try to, that try to spread, spread their prejudice and hatred saying that the land that you live in belongs to one small group of people, either a certain race or a certain….certain religion and this is a song that was just, this was a song, it was a fighting song, this song was written as an answer, an angry answer to ´God Bless America,´ it said that the land that you live in belongs to each, it should belong to each and every one of you…..I guess, I guess, it´s….it´s a dream, it´s a dream that gets, that gets pushed down a whole and, but, (?) could never die but you gotta fight to make it true…..´´

26.04.81 Brussels, Belgium, intro to ´´Stolen Car´´
´´Thanks….(someone yells a request) we´re gonna get to that one later….this is, uh, this song, I went to a….friend of mine´s wedding while we were making The River¬-album….and….the rabbi got up and said that….matter of fact he quoted a Marvin Gaye and Tammy Tarell song (chuckles) and he said, he said, it´s a song called ´It Takes Two´ and the line goes, uh, ´One can dream but it takes two to make a dream come true´….and some people don´t, don´t ever make that connection and it´s just a connection like, like you make with me, like I make with you tonight and you make with your friends….but I´ve, I´ve known a lot of people that, that have missed it and, and when you miss that, you´re missing out, I guess, you´re just missing out on living and, uh, end up like a ghost so this is a ghost story and I need a little quiet, a little quiet for this, thank you….´´

26.04.81 Brussels, Belgium, middle of ´´Rosalita´´
´´We have with us tonight….on our stage…..to the far left, on the piano, Professor Roy Bittan….on the guitar, Miami Steve Van Zandt….on the bass, Mr.Garry W.Tallent….on the drums, the Mighty Max Weinberg….on the organ, Phantom Dan Federici….and last but not least….how can I say it?….words fail me….how about….king of the world?….master of the universe….emperor of all things….faster than a speeding bullet….more powerful than a roaring locomotive….able to leap tall women, I mean tall buildings, no, I mean tall women in a single bound….is it a bird? (crowd: ´No´) is it a plane? (crowd: ´No´) is it, is it the Big Man Clarence Clemons….
(….) This is his last chance to tell his daughter to come up with some muscles….´cause we´re gonna rock all night tonight in Brussels….´´

26.04.81 Brussels, Belgium, middle of ´´Detroit Medley´´
´´Wait a minute….wait a minute….wait a minute….wait a minute…..wait a minute….wait a minute….wait a minute….wait a minute….wait a minute….wait a minute….wait a minute….
Big Man….I got a gas crisis….ran out of gas now (?)….oh yeah, I got a gas crisis happening right now….I´m done for….this is the end for me….(?) I can´t, I got a gas crisis, ain´t got no more gas (?) no, no….don´t need no gas?….don´t need no gas? I don´t need, I don´t need no gas? (crowd: ´No´) I don´t need no gas? (crowd: ´No´) just gonna leave the car by the side of the road? we don´t need the car? (crowd: ´No´) we don´t need the car? (crowd: ´No´)(?) we don´t need the car because….be- (chuckles) cause…..because (crowd: ´Why?´) I´m glad you asked because I see a train….´´

26.04.81 Brussels, Belgium, intro to ´´Rockin´ All Over the World´´
´´(?)….I wanna thank, I wanna thank you all for coming down to the show tonight, thank you all very much….I´d like to thank, it´s our first time in, in Brussels here, thank you for giving us such a, such a warm response, thank you….thanks for being so quiet on the slow songs too, I appreciate it….´´

Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi

Doug Barrett

I finally got a ticket. It was hard to believe I'd finally see him. I'd heard the records and watched the videos; read the books and articles and listened to the concerts: was he really that good, the spirit of Rock and Roll? Momentarily a nagging doubt would come, would my hero fall flat on his face? Or, more poignantly, is a dream a lie that don't come true or is it something worse? Tonight the Forest's packed to the rafters. It's the city's main venue, 8,000 seats. The fastest sell-out in Belgian rock history; the promoters said they could have sold it out six times, and the first time tickets had been put on sale mail order only. Outside kids scramble for tickets, the going rate anything from 2,000 BF to 8,000 BF (£25 to £100). It's raining relentlessly. Inside the atmosphere builds. The Boss walks on holding an acoustic and sings an old Presley ballad 'Dreams'. Before the applause has died, the stage is bathed in colour and the band launch into 'Prove It All Night', 'The Ties That Bind' and 'Out In The Street'. It's hard to take it all in, but this time you know it's for real. Bruce looks as if he just walked off a construction site; the archetypal American worker. Clarence dominates his side of the stage; he's huge, his presence is immense. We then get a venomous version of 'Darkness', the lights highlighting the drama high on the hill to great effect. 'Darkness' was followed by a rap, 'Independence Day', and a haunting version of 'Who'll Stop The Rain'; the boss answers to no nukes. And who will stop the rain when some cracked actor has his finger on the button? The man's energy is incredible, he never seems to stop moving. Miami Steve takes over lead duties while the boss plays harmonica on 'The River'. Steve, sharp, cool and clean, and as always, be-hatted; he reminds you of one of the characters in 'Born To Run'. But there are no punks in 'The River', only real people who live wasted lives with only their memories to keep them going. Just as you thought the band were bringing you up, they bring you back down to earth with a bang. The ability to change mood is amazing. Before the next song he asks for quiet, gets it and launches into a rap. These used to be joyous occasions; stories that made you smile, laugh, fee good, but no more. Recessions and depressions hit everybody bringing out prejudice, fear and hatred. The warning was 'don't betray yourself, don't let it happen to you', and he played Woody Guthrie's 'This Land Is Your Land'. Then with a flick of a switch, the lights flare and the band hit overdrive with a truly epic version of 'Badlands', the highlight of the show so far. 'Thunder Road' ends with the boss sliding half the length of the stage on his knees. Halfway through, he held the mike out for the crowd to sing, but not many knew the words. (It wouldn't happen the next time the offer was made.) And he gently teased 'You gotta practice'. Part one ended with 'You Can Look' and 'Two Hearts' and the promise of another set in 20 minutes. To be honest, we needed the rest as much as him! Part one was tough, hard, gritty, the exorcising of the American nightmare. The second set was totally different; sheer joy, a party. It opened with no less than five screaming rockers, and every time you thought the band had taken the music to the limit, they found another gear. 'Cadillac Ranch' was followed by 'Sherry'. During 'Sherry' he pulled a girl from the crowd. They danced and then he gave her one of those kisses from 'She's The One', only this time every female heart in the house melted. Bruce Springsteen a sex symbol? You bet your ass! Then 'Hungry Heart' where the crowd sang the first verse, and a superbly rousing version of 'Ramrod', Danny's organ well to the fore, sounding more like a cheap Farfisa all the time. The energy level got higher all the time, the man's power and charisma so strong, like Robert De Niro in 'Mean Streets', but with a telecaster for a gun! Before you could catch your breath from that lot, Steve and Roy had begun 'Because The Night' and it was played the way it was always intended, hard and strong with no compromises. 'Fire' was flung away, almost cabaret. Two-thirds of the way through, Bruce and the big man stopped dead and argued playfully. The big man now all in black (from white) with a huge Stetson, like some weird walk-on in a spaghetti western. Things went into a slower vein with 'Racing In The Street', 'The Price You Pay' and a beautifully atmospheric version of 'Stolen Car' (first time in Europe), the perfect story of lost love and stolen cars to escape the guilt. 'Rosalita' followed 'Backstreets' and we got 'Tell your daddy I've got muscles, because tonight we're gonna rock in Brussels! Brussels!! Brussels!!!' America's show opener was our encore and the New Jersey anthem 'Born To Run'. Again none of the wild street characters, but a mean, almost desperate attempt to escape. When you reach the dream, it may not be all you thought, but it's better than where you came from. The 'Detroit Medley' was an extended version which featured a mock collapse with roadies dressed as medics, but he still managed to play as he was stretchered off. The second encore was another John Fogerty song, 'Rocking All Over The World', which summed it all up. And that was that; 3.5 hours of the best music around. The band were beautifully tight throughout, Max's drums the best; powerful, hard; how he gets such a full sound from such a small kit, I'll never know, and Garry's bass held it all together. The lights worked to amazingly tight cues; the drama could have been presented by Scorsese. I'd seriously doubted some of the songs on the new album as weak, but not any more; 'Stolen Car' the best example. Any complaints? I wanted more, but it didn't really matter. When I left after 2.00 am it was still raining, and I faced a 2-mile walk in a t-shirt but I was beyond caring. And if you really think 'I'm just a prisoner…of rock and roll', you're right. LET IT ROCK!!

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