1988-03-28 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI

Scheduled: 19:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

"Part Man, Part Monkey" includes "Love Is Strange" in the outro. "Born To Run" is solo acoustic. "Detroit Medley" includes "I Hear A Train" and "Sweet Soul Music".

Intro to "Tunnel Of Love"
´´Got a date, Detroit, if you wanna go out (crowd cheers)….´´

Intro to "Two Faces"
´´This is a song about a stranger in the house….´´

Intro to "All That Heaven Will Allow"
´´Is spring getting to Detroit yet or what? (crowd cheers) when the weather gets nice, I like to take a walk in the park, you know….hey, hey, man, yo! hey, how you doing?….it´s good to see you, I ain´t seen you in a little while….everybody´s been home taking care of business (chuckles) what´ve you been up to?…yeah, yeah, what….oh-oh, here come the baby pictures ….oh, there´s a little Big Man running around out there….he´s three years old, he´s almost as big as me (chuckles)….there´s lots of little babies running around now….in about another fifteen years there´s gonna be E Street Band Volume Two….it´s gonna be all women….he looks great, he´s got the little saxophone (chuckles) man, I remember we used to sit on this bench back in 1975….we were single….we were single and there was this big office building down on the corner, we used to get here right when the girls would get out of work….we´d bring a little lunch, we´d bring a couple of beers in a paper bag….they used to get out about this time….here they come now….check, check the one, the one in….the one in the red skirt ….(yells)….they look younger, a lot younger….I don´t look no older, do I?….you don´t look older at all….you look real old, you´re getting old (chuckles)….I was with you, I remember I was with you the night that you met your wife, Clarence meets this girl, he comes back to the room, bangs on the door….´cause I was his love advisor….I´m his Dr. Ruth (chuckles) he used to come back and say ´Bruce, Bruce, man, I just met, I met this girl I´m in love with, I´m gonna marry´ but he used to say that about every girl that he met, you know….but he used to mean it too, he wasn´t being insincere….remember the first time she came walking into the room? what it feels like when you first see somebody that you, you know….back in, back in New Jersey it feels kind of, kind of like this, come on, Ritchie (the horn section starts to harmonize) oh yeah….(?) what time you got? oh man, I gotta get going, I gotta be home like right at dinnertime, right when the food gets on the table, then I gotta be in bed by 11.30, that´s when she goes to bed, you wouldn´t believe it, I´ll see you later….´´

Intro to "Seeds"
´´This is about folks who came down to Texas from the Northeast….out of Cleveland, out of Pittsburgh, some out of Detroit (?)….to work in the oil fields….when they got down there, there were no jobs, the price of oil dropped, they were sleeping in tents outside of the highway….sleeping in their cars at night….with no place to go….this is called ´Seeds´….´´

Intro to "Roulette"
´´This is a song I wrote about, uh….eight years ago, nine years ago….it seems like the time´s kind of caught up with it….this is called ´Roulette´….´´

Intro to "Spare Parts"
´´So how you doing out there tonight? (crowd cheers) how are you guys? (crowd cheers) that´s good, that´s good….this is, uh, this is a song I guess about putting the past away….I think that the past is something that….is always so seductive, it kind of binds us together in our memory….but it´s something also that can keep you down and hold you back….if you just start trying to….if all you got is old dreams….that aren´t coming true, the world just uses them to break your heart over and over again….till you set ´em aside, looking for something new out there….well, this is a woman trying to break free of the part of her past….that´s holding her down….that´s what this next song is about….she´s trying to understand the value of her own individual existence….the value of the life of her child….and she´s fighting to find something new….out there….for herself….´´

After "Born In The U.S.A"
´´Thanks….thanks….we´re gonna take a short break and then we´re gonna be back to burn down Detroit….´´

Intro to "You Can Look"
´´(?)….this is a song about, uh….that great American pastime….no, not that one, the other one ….shopping….window-shopping, that is….I like to go out when I get into town and….buy some souvenirs….little keepsakes to keep by my bedside at night when I´m feeling lonely….´´

Intro to "I´m A Coward"
´´Is there anybody alive out there tonight? (crowd cheers) is there anybody that feels a spirit out there tonight? (crowd cheers)….that´s good….because I´ve got a question that I wanna ask you…..do we have any brave Detroit men in the audience tonight? (crowd cheers) do we have any Motor City macho men out there? (crowd cheers) because I´ve known men that would swim rivers….that would climb mountains….that would wrestle with a grizzly bear…. but there was one thing they was afraid of….and that one thing, I´m gonna tell you what it was….it was L-U-V, love, that´s what I´m talking about….do you hear me?….they were afraid of love, love scared ´em….made ´em run home to their mommies….now, are there any brave girls out there? (crowd cheers) are there any Detroit women out there tonight? (crowd cheers) because I´m talking to you too….I´ve known women that would get into a canoe, go down the Amazon wrestling with alligators and big crawling king snakes….but they was afraid of one thing, they was afraid of love….love scared ´em, they couldn´t get to it….now I´m down here tonight because I´ve got a confession to make….and what I wanna say is….I have sinned!….and I don´t need no Jimmy Swaggert, no Jim Baker, no Pat Robertson to forgive me….them boys can kiss my ass….I don´t care who you bring down here, bring Hulk Hogan down, I´ll take him on, bring Andre the Giant down, bring down the Road Warriors,0 bring down George the Animal Steele….´cause them kind of men don´t scare me….there´s only one thing that I´m afraid of….and what I gotta say is…..I´m a coward when it comes to love….´´

Intro to "Part Man Part Monkey"
´´They had this tv-movie on last week….with Kirk Douglas and uh….the one where they put the guy on trial for….well, it went like this….´´

End of "Dancing In The Dark"
´´Now what I wanna know is have you ever been lonely? (crowd cheers) been so lonely that you lock yourself up in your room and start living inside your head….that´s when you gotta reach out to somebody that´ll remind you that you´re a real human being….that´s when I need a little help….I want some help now….man, I gotta say….I´m so lonely sometimes….so lonely sometimes….I just wanna cry, cry, cry, cry, cry, cry….and I need to say….that´s when I wanna say….I wanna say hey now baby….´´

Middle of "Light Of Day"
´´Move over, Rover, let Brucie take over, baby….on the piano, Professor Roy Bittan….on the drums, the Mighty Max Weinberg….on the vocals and guitar, Miss Patti Scialfa….on the guitar, the great Nils Lofgren…..on the bass, Mr. Garry W.Tallent….on the organ, Phantom Dan Federici….and in the back, we got Eddie ´Kingfish´ on the baritone, Richie La Bamba on the trombone, Mark the Love Man, Mike, Mario Cruz, the Tunnel of Love horns….and last but not least….I don´t wanna beat around the bush tonight….the greatest man in the history of western civilization….the only man who deserves to be the next President of the United States….I´m casting my vote for Clarence ´Big Man´ Clemons on the saxophone….´´

Intro to "Born To Run"
´´(?)…I was sitting home trying to decide whether we were gonna come out on tour this year or not….and uh….I guess one of the things I´ve spent a long time thinking about was what I wanted to sing about and what I wanted to sing to you about and talk to you about….gotta sing a new song - that´s my job (chuckles)….and, uh, I guess one of the songs that I keep playing when I´m sitting in my room is this next song….and it was a song that I wrote I guess 15 years ago now….I was 24 years old, sitting on the end of my bed in Long Branch, New Jersey….and uh, I guess it surprises me how much I knew about my life then….when I wrote this song, I guess I thought I was writing a song about a guy and a girl that wanted to run and keep on running….but as I sang it, as I sang it through the years, it seemed like its meaning, its meaning changed as I began to be able to hear the meaning that I´d put into it….and I began to understand that it was about two people searching for something better, looking out into the world, embracing life….trying to learn how to live with the fact that there´s so much beauty and so much sadness side by side…..and I realised that they were out there looking, looking for a home, someplace they could stand….and try and make a decent home….as I got older, I understood that home wasn´t out there but that it was buried deep inside of here someplace….and uh….I guess we all spend a lot of our time looking and searching for it…. anyway, this is a song that´s kept me good company on my search and I hope it´s kept you good company on yours….so I´m gonna sing it for you and dedicate it to you tonight….. wishing you all best of luck….´´

After "Born To Run"
´´That´s your song….´´

Intro to "Glory Days"
´´Are there any old-timers out there tonight? (crowd cheers) old as me? (crowd cheers) this is for all you old suckers….´´

Intro to "Love Me Tender"
´´Thanks….I just wanna take a second and thank everybody for coming down to the show tonight….it´s always nice to be in Detroit….this is a song for you and your baby, wishing you a safe passage through that tunnel of love….´´

Intro to "Rosalita"
´´This is for everybody from Harrow, Ontario out there…..wherever you are and wherever that is, we gotta clear up the mysteries of the evening, now what we wanna know is does the hero get the girl? (crowd cheers) does her mama come down and put a stop to it? (crowd: ´No´) does her daddy come down and wring his neck? (crowd: ´No´) does he end up broke, busted and disgusted? (crowd: ´No´) the answer to this question and others will now be revealed….´´

Intro to "Detroit Medley"
´´That aint´t the end of the story….they drove out of New Jersey, they drove northwest, they drove all night, they kept on driving, they got into Detroit, they hit a little bar by the side of the road and they said ´Is this Monday night?´ (crowd cheers) ´Is this Detroit?´ (crowd cheers) and the bandleader said ´One, two, three, four´….´´

Intro to "Sweet Soul Music"
´´I know what you´re thinking, you´re thinking I must be tired by now….you´re thinking I´m gonna quit right now….you´re thinking that I can´t go on….well, can you take it? (crowd cheers) can you take it? (crowd cheers) can you take it? (crowd cheers) then I got a question I wanna ask you….´´

Intro to "Raise Your Hand"
´´Are you ready for some spiritual liberation? (crowd cheers) for some religious confirmation? (crowd cheers) for some sexual consummation? (crowd cheers) then raise your hand….
(….) There´s one last thing I´ve got to know before I go….is there something you need? (crowd cheers) is there something you want? (crowd cheers) is there something you´ve got to have? (crowd cheers) then just raise your hand….´´

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

^{© All credits to the original photographer. We do not monetize a photo in any way, but if you want your photo to be removed, let us know, and we will remove it.}

Gotta Sing A New Song, That’s My Job

The 1988 Tunnel of Love Express Tour was marked by material changes to the Springsteen concert baseline in place from 1978-1985. The band changed on-stage positions, setlist warhorses like “Badlands” and “Thunder Road” took a breather, and Bruce drafted in a horn section for the first time since 1977. But the true differentiator separating the ’88 tour from every other is its original narrative arc. A Tunnel performance was a blend of song selections, sequencing, and even on-stage elements that took the audience on a journey through the complex and nuanced world of adulthood and relationships: romantic, fraternal, and familial.

Bruce started Tunnel shows with an invitation along the lines of, “Are you ready to ride?” The visual metaphor on stage was that of an amusement park, implying a night of thrills, chills, and spills. Marketing for the tour intoned “This is not a dark ride,” but as Bruce wrote in “Tunnel of Love,” “the house is haunted and the ride gets rough.” Does it ever.

The Tunnel set, in story and song, explored adult life’s emotional ups and downs and the hard questions that arise when you recognize being in a deep committed relationship requires acknowledging your doubts and vulnerabilities.

At the time, the tour’s setlist rigidity raised eyebrows from longtime fans, though it did loosen up as the tour wore on. But in hindsight, the initial core setlist in the tour’s first several weeks can be seen one of Bruce’s most fully realized artistic visions. Detroit 3/28/88 captures the Tunnel of Love Express Tour in its purest form.

The first set in Detroit borders on perfection, opening with a stellar version of “Tunnel of Love” into “Be True,” the latter released as a live b-side from this performance. The River-era selection serves as a showcase for the Big Man, Clarence Clemons, who was at the top of his game on the tour and blows “Be True” beautifully. Patti Scialfa’s vocals are also on point.

The resurrection of “Adam Raised a Cain” for the first time since the Darkness tour is a long-awaited return, especially with the Tunnel of Love Horns adding heft to the performance and Bruce’s guitar pushed to the fore. In terms of familial relationships, “Adam” is one end of a father-son thread that will come back later in the show with “Walk Like a Man.” But before that there is other provocative ground to cover: introspection (“Two Faces”), companionship (“All That Heaven Will Allow”), oppressive outside forces (“Seeds,” “Roulette”), shelter from those storms (“Cover Me”), self-doubt (“Brilliant Disguise”), a mother’s doubt (“Spare Parts”), and lastly the lingering impact of the Vietnam War (“War,” “Born In the U.S.A.”).

The sequencing of the set is so strong that the transitions between tracks are as memorable as the songs themselves. “Tunnel” gives way to the soaring “Be True.” “Roulette” ends but “Cover Me” rises from the mist in the same key. The haunting keyboards that end “Cover Me” flow straight into “Brilliant Disguise.” Every song change has been thought through and rehearsed, or in some cases newly written. The stirring piano and synthesizer suite that serves as the music bed to the introduction of “Spare Parts” is one of my favorite musical elements of the entire tour, cinematic in scope and poignant in expression. Kudos Mr. Bittan and Mr. Federici.

The set ends with a brilliant “Born in the U.S.A.,” again showing that 1988 versions of the song are the most potent, driven by Bruce’s additional lyrics and storming guitar solo.

“Tougher Than the Rest” opens the second set on a majestic note and reminds us of its place among the very best songs Bruce has ever written. After a foray into longing via “Ain’t Got You” and “She’s the One,” the mood lightens with the playful and self-effacing “You Can’t Look (But You Better Not Touch)” and Gino Washington cover-turned-original (and ’88 tour exclusive) “I’m a Coward.” The pairing of “I’m on Fire” with “One Step Up” is a trip into a particular male psyche, perhaps even the same character at two different stages of life.

“Part Man, Part Monkey” offers a humorous take on animal instincts before the overall narrative arc reaches its dénouement with “Walk Like a Man,” revisiting the father and son from “Adam Raised a Cain.” The resplendently detailed yet understated arrangement is augmented by horns and shows off the band’s vocal chops, too. Bruce’s singing stays true to the original, and there’s a real power in the sincerity of his performance.

The set ends with “Light of Day,” in a less refined, more exploratory form than later versions in ‘88. In fact, rather than bring closure, this “Light of Day” seems more a celebration of uncharted waters — the line that really stands out now, “Don’t ask me what I’m doing buddy, I don’t know,” lands like an overall commentary on the narrative that preceded it.

Standouts in the encore include “Love Me Tender,” which teeters on wedding band territory until you realize that Bruce is singing the hell out of it, and a free-flowing “Detroit Medley,” with Bruce calling out key changes and the band showing off their turn-on-a-dime prowess. The medley features “Sweet Soul Music,” which gives La Bamba & Co. one of the all-time great horn parts to chew on.

For dessert, we’re treated to the second soundcheck bonus track in the live archive series, “Reason to Believe.” While Tunnel of Love setlists had fewer variants than a typical Springsteen tour, 1988 soundchecks were often wide-ranging affairs, loaded with cover songs (some of which eventually found their way into the set) and other material. As cool as those covers could be, “Reason To Believe” is even more compelling.

The song regularly featured on the Born in the U.S.A. tour but was dropped when the show moved to stadiums. Here, Bruce and the band test drive a moody, horn-accented arrangement that is reminiscent of what they would do with Woody Guthrie’s “Vigilante Man” two months later at Madison Square Garden. Springsteen’s vocals and harp are resolute, the music swampy, and the end product a beguiling alternative take on one of Springsteen’s best and, as later versions attest most mutable songs.

Highs, lows, pathos, comedy, sin, redemption—the Tunnel of Love Express tour had it all, and on stage in Detroit, Bruce shared as much of himself in these rich, satisfying performances as he would do three decades later on Broadway.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

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Gotta Sing A New Song, That’s My Job