1988-07-02 Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden

Scheduled: 17:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

"Cadillac Ranch" is played for first time on the tour. "Adam Raised A Cain" includes "Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I'm A Man" in the outro. "Cover Me" includes "Gimme Shelter" in the outro. "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)" includes the sung "Don't You Touch That Thing" introduction. "Dancing In The Dark" includes "Lookin' For A Love" in the outro. "Light Of Day" includes "Born To Be Wild". "Born To Run" is solo acoustic. "Twist And Shout" includes a snippet of "I Don't Want To Go Home". First ever performances in Sweden of "Tunnel Of Love", "Boom Boom", "Adam Raised A Cain", "All That Heaven Will Allow", "Seeds", "Brilliant Disguise", "Tougher Than The Rest", "Spare Parts", "War", "Chimes Of Freedom", "Paradise By The "C"", "Who Do You Love?", "I'm A Coward", "Light Of Day", "Sweet Soul Music", and "Raise Your Hand".

Intro to “The River”
“It’s nice to see you (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “All That Heaven Will Allow”
“Sing it, boys…here she comes walking…here she comes walking… here she comes walking…(horns: “Here she comes walking”)… everybody now…here she comes walking…she’s looking so good now…try it again (crowd: “Here she comes walking”) I’m gonna lose my heart, yeah (crowd: “Here she comes walking”) don’t you know that she’s so fine (crowd: “Here she comes walking”) she’s (?) down on the line (crowd: “Here she comes walking”) I’m gonna work hard and save my money (crowd: “Here she comes walking”) I’m gonna do it, do it right (crowd: “Here she comes walking”) oh, I just gotta listen to my heart (crowd: “Here she comes walking”) here she comes now…”

Intro to “Spare Parts”
“Det är en sång om en kvinna (crowd cheers)(?) hitta något nytt i sitt liv (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Paradise by the C”
“An honorary Swedish person, Clarence “Big Man” Clemons (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “You Can Look”
“Seems everyplace you go, there’s always somebody telling you you can look at something but you can’t touch it…hey, son, don’t you touch that thing…oh, son, don’t you touch that thing…yeah, you can look but you can’t touch that thing…like when you’re a little baby crawling towards that television set…your mama looks down at you and she says, uh…son, don’t you touch that thing…yeah, son, don’t you touch that thing…yeah, you can look but you can’t touch that thing…when I was in high school, went out with my girlfriend…took her out on a date…took her to the movies…took her to dinner…then I took her to this nice, little, dark place on the outside of town (crowd cheers) and I started whispering sweet things in her ear…whispering “Baby, you know you’re the only one for me…you know you’re the only girl I could ever look at…you know that my heart and my soul and my…personality is completely yours”…and I got a little closer and I kissed her on the cheek a little bit…and I got my hand on her knee…and I started heading up north a little bit (crowd cheers) she said “Son, don’t you touch that thing …oh, yeah, son, don’t you touch that thing…yeah, you can look but you can’t touch that thing”…”

Intro to “I’m a Coward”
“Is there anybody alive out there tonight? (crowd cheers) is there anybody that can feel the living, the breathing spirit in their souls tonight? (crowd cheers) that’s good…because I want to know do we have any rough, tough Stockholm men in the audience tonight? (crowd cheers) ‘cause I’ve known men that can swim rivers, climb mountains, wrestle with the beasts of the jungle but there was one thing they was afraid of…and I’m gonna tell you what that one thing was…there was one thing that they got next to it, they ran home like little babies to their mommies…you wanna know what I’m talking about? (crowd cheers) I’m talking about L-U-V, I’m talking about love…do we have any courageous, heroic, sweet, sexy Swedish women in the audience tonight? (crowd cheers) come on, let me hear you, girls (women cheer) I wanna hear the girls now (women cheer) because I’m talking to you too…I’ve known women that when they got next to love, they ran home to their mommies and hide in their loneliness…now I’m down here tonight because I’ve got a confession that I’ve got to make, I want to say that I have sinned and I want to tell you that I’m a brave man, if I don’t say so myself, but what I want to let you know that…I’m a coward when it comes to love…”

Middle of “Dancing in the Dark”
“Sometimes I feel…oh, I just feel a little lonely sometimes…when I’m searching, searching, searching for my baby…yeah, I’m looking, I’m looking, I’m looking for my baby…I get so lonely I know I gotta reach out for a little help from someplace…oh…I’m looking, I’m looking, I’m looking for my baby…yeah, I’m searching, I’m searching, I’m searching for my baby…is that you way back there, sugar?…is that you, darling?…oh, maybe…come on now, darling… I’m lonely sometimes…”

Middle of “Light of Day”
“On the piano, Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) on the drums, the Mighty Max (crowd cheers) on the guitar, the great Nils Lofgren (crowd cheers) on the guitar and vocals, Miss Patti Scialfa (crowd cheers) on the bass, Mr. Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers) on the organ, Phantom Dan Federici (crowd cheers) in the back, the Horns of Love (crowd cheers) and last but not least (?) you ain’t ever seen nothing like him, you ain’t ever gonna (?) Clarence “Big Man” Clemons on the saxophone (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Cadillac Ranch”
“Alright, we’re gonna try it now…give me a little guitar here, Jim… oh, this is it, buddy…”

Towards the end of “Cadillac Ranch”
“By special request…”

Intro to “Sweet Soul Music”
“You’re starting to look a little tired to me out there (crowd: “No”) oh yeah (crowd: “No”) I think you’re getting a little tired now (crowd: “No”) you’ve been out in the sun all day long, you’re all hot and sweaty down there – you sure you ain’t tired yet? (crowd cheers) are you sure? (crowd cheers) are you sure? (crowd cheers) are you sure? (crowd cheers) then I got a question that I wanna ask you…”

Intro to “Raise Your Hand”
“You’re starting to get me excited now (crowd cheers) get me in a whole lot of trouble (crowd cheers) are you ready for a little religious liberation? (crowd cheers) are you ready for a little spiritual affirmation? (crowd cheers) are you ready for a little sexual consummation? (crowd cheers)…”

Middle of “Raise Your Hand”
“Before I go, there is one last thing I’ve got to know – is there something that you need? (crowd cheers) is there something that you want? (crowd cheers) is there something deep down in your heart that you’ve got to have? (crowd cheers) then show a little guts and just raise your hand…”

Intro to “Twist and Shout”
“I guess the night time is the right time (crowd cheers) yeah, huh? (crowd cheers) oh, let’s see what you got left here…”

^{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.}

Contains Adult Themes, Viewer Discretion Advised

The Tunnel of Love Express tour is marked by changes: the addition of a horn section for the first time on E Street since 1976 (save for a few dates in 1984 including August 19 and 20, both released in the Live Archive series); the billing of Bruce Springsteen featuring the E Street Band; and where those seven musicians were positioned on stage. In retrospect, none seem material in terms of lasting impact.

Perhaps the most significant change in 1988 was Springsteen’s public embrace of adulthood and its inherent and often private complexities, explored so movingly on the tour’s namesake album, Tunnel of Love. Much of the yearning and pining romanticism found on Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, and The River gave way to starker realizations (“When you’re alone…you ain’t nothing but alone”) and threshold questions that are difficult to answer (“Is that me… or just a brilliant disguise?”).

“The River” is arguably his first song to delve into heavier relationship realities, but in 1979 Springsteen wasn’t writing his own story, but one inspired by his sister Virginia. With Tunnel, songs reflected and refracted personal experience: the doubts (“Tunnel of Love,” “Brilliant Disguise,” “One Step Up”), the aspirations (“All That Heaven Will Allow,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Tougher Than the Rest”), the admissions (“Ain’t Got You,” “Two Faces,” “When You’re Alone”), and the dreams (“Valentine’s Day”), joined by a pair of kindred, finely crafted, third-person narrative tales, “Cautious Man” and “Spare Parts.”

Emblematic of this narrative shift was the on-stage move of Patti Scialfa from background vocalist on the rear risers to front and center spotlight for the set’s key moments. On the 1984-85 Born in the U.S.A. tour, Patti grew to become “one of the guys.” Singing “Brilliant Disguise” into a shared microphone, millimeters away from Springsteen in 1988, Scialfa was 100% XX–in terms of chromosomes. Fun fact: While the “Brilliant Disguise” duet was happening upstage in Europe, Clarence Clemons was downstage left playing a keytar.

Their personal narrative is of course widely known, ends happily and carries on 38 years later. We should all be so lucky. But well before any canoodling, Scialfa was already a catalyst who allowed Springsteen to bring adult themes to his stage. Her contributions to the Tunnel of Love Express tour cannot be understated, as Stockholm 7/2/88 makes crystal clear.

We’re familiar with her signature contributions: playing Emmylou to Gram on the show-opening “Tunnel of Love” and the stately “Tougher Than the Rest,” the aforementioned close-quarters vocals on “Brilliant Disguise,” her defiance-drenched background vocals that send “Spare Parts” soaring and three come-hither lines teasing “Do you love me, baby?” in “I’m a Coward.”

Scialfa is also central to 1988 readings of “The River” (which suits this grown-up setlist) and “She’s the One,” a song that’s never sounded better than it did on the Tunnel tour, punched up by the “Who Do You Love?” prelude. Her interplay with Springsteen is vital throughout the Stockholm show and heightens moments of subtext like the transition from “Seeds” to “Cover Me.”

“Seeds” describes the kind of economic collapse and layoffs that were all too common in the 1980s, putting breadwinners and their families on the street when once-stable jobs vanished. Springsteen sings “Seeds” with conviction, but after the last line, “It’s gone gone, it’s all gone,” he appends, “I’m alone and lost, and I can’t find my way home,” before ripping a visceral guitar solo. Is he still referring to the same circumstances or a different kind of collapse?

Scialfa’s memorable opening refrain to “Cover Me” provides a response: “Got nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide.” The brilliant disguise has come off, and our choices have left us adrift and exposed.

This alternate interpretation of the song pairing adds vulnerability to the aforementioned list of themes drawn from the album. And the setlist further makes the case for lust (“Boom Boom”), manhood (“Adam Raised a Cain”) and standing up for what’s right (“War,” “Chimes of Freedom”), too.

“War” was a fitting opener for this year’s Land of Home and Dreams Tour, but one misses Clarence Clemons’ forceful baritone background vocals on the song, heard so clearly in Stockholm. Jon Altschiller’s 7/2/88 mix provides fresh audio perspective on the tour, showcasing Scialfa’s vocal turns as well as Danny Federici to a degree previous tour recordings had not.

Phantom Dan fans, this is the Tunnel show you’ve been waiting for as he is all over songs like “Adam Raised a Cain,” “The River,” “Seeds” and “She’s the One.”

Following a poignant, acoustic “Born to Run,” the encore leaves the adulting behind in favor of good clean fun. “Light of Day” includes a romp through Steppenwolf’s “Born to Wild,” “Cadillac Ranch” makes its tour premiere and no one can complain about a 1967 southern soul two-fer of “Sweet Soul Music” and “Raise Your Hand.”

The significance of Stockholm dates back to being one of only three overseas markets on the Born to Run tour, and the capital city has been an important European port of call ever since. On July 3, the day after this show, Springsteen would broadcast the opening set of his second Stockholm set across international radio airwaves, a performance later released in full in the Live Archive series. To use a classic Swedish bootleg analogy, consider the second of July the Follow That Dream to the third of July’s Teardrops on the City.

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

Brucebase Wiki

Site Navigation

Contains Adult Themes, Viewer Discretion Advised