Scheduled: 19:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??
Excellent show includes a searing "Adam Raised A Cain" in its final tour appearance and a fine "Backstreets". Fifth and final tour appearance of "Back In Your Arms", and the only 2000 performance of "Blinded By The Light". "Trapped", "Factory", "Loose Ends", "Mary Queen Of Arkansas", and "Hungry Heart" also makes their final appearances of the tour. "Two Hearts" includes "It Takes Two". "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" includes "It's All Right", "Take Me To The River", "Red Headed Woman", and "Rumble Doll". "Light Of Day" again includes "C.C. Rider" and "Jenny Jenny" along with "I've Been Everywhere", as well as an instrumental snippet of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction". Unusually, this show's setlist features no songs from the Born In The U.S.A. album.
- On Stage
- Setlist
- Performances
- Appearances
- Cancelled
- Gallery
- Media
- Recording
- Storyteller
- Eyewitness
- News/Memorabilia
incl. Rehearsals.
- 2023-04-01 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2022-10-01 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2019-11-04 Hulu Theater At Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2018-11-05 Hulu Theater At Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2018-07-18 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2017-09-15 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2016-11-01 Theater At Madison Square Garden (The), New York City, NY
- 2016-03-28 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2016-01-27 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2015-11-10 Theater At Madison Square Garden (The), New York City, NY
- 2015-07-31 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2014-11-05 Theater At Madison Square Garden (The), New York City, NY
- 2013-11-06 Theater At Madison Square Garden (The), New York City, NY
- 2012-12-12 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2012-04-09 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2012-04-06 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2011-12-01 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2009-11-08 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2009-11-07 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2009-10-30 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2009-10-29 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2009-05-03 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2007-10-18 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2007-10-17 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2006-06-22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2003-02-23 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2002-08-12 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-07-01 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-29 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-27 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-26 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-23 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-20 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-17 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-15 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 2000-06-12 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1997-02-26 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1993-06-26 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1988-08-24 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1988-05-23 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1988-05-22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1988-05-19 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1988-05-18 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1988-05-16 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1987-12-13 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1983-08-02 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1980-12-19 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1980-12-18 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1980-11-28 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1980-11-27 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1979-09-22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1979-09-21 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1978-08-23 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1978-08-22 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1978-08-21 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1973-06-15 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
- 1973-06-14 Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY
incl. Interviews and Recording-sessions.
© 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.
Professionally filmed, and parts of both "Thunder Road" and "If I Should Fall Behind" were used in the Live In New York City album and DVD.
Official concert recording available for purchase in multiple formats, including CD and high definition audio, from Springsteen's official live download site at nugs.net/bruce (previously live.brucespringsteen.net).
- Running Time: 2:49:44
Excellent IEM/audience mix (Flynn) as well as an unbooted audience tape, and two camera mix DVD. Two recording sources circulate.
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Middle of ´Tenth Avenue Freeze Out´
´´(sings ‘Take Me to the River’)(crowd´s rushed the stage during ´Out in the Street´) There´s a lot of folks anxious to get to the river tonight….well, that’s where I wanna go tonight….I wanna go to that riverside…..I wanna find that river of life …. and I wanna find that river of hope….and I wanna find that river of faith….and that river of transformation where you can go and you can be changed, if you want to …. and that river of resurrection where everybody gets a second chance…..and that river of sanctification….where the good things and the blessings and the grace of life can fall upon you…..I wanna find that river of sexual healing….and companionship (chuckles)….I wanna find that river of joy and of happiness…. but you just don´t stumble across those things…you don´t walk into them by accident, you´ve got to seek them out and then build on ´em something that means something….well, that´s where I wanna go tonight and I want you to go with me….because I need to go with you…. that´s why we´re here night after night after night after night…..because I need to go with you because you can´t get there by yourself….and so tonight I wanna throw a rock and roll baptism…..a rock and roll exorcism…..and a rock and roll bar mitzvah….we´re gonna do it all tonight…..and I wanna be washed in those waters and set free again, that´s right….but once, once I stood, as a young man, one evening, before a dark grove of trees and I was frightened to pass through those trees just like when I was a little child…..even though I knew that on that other side the river of life was waiting…..cold beer at a reasonable price….pizza for everybody !….but I stood paralyzed until a gypsy woman called me onward and I told her that I was, I was paralyzed by my fears and she said ´Well, what you need is you need some help to get through those woods….you need some help, what´s, what´s your line ?´ and I told her and she said ´Well, then what you need is you need a band…..a rock and roll band !´…. and that´s why tonight I wanna introduce, on the piano, the Secretary of intelligence, Professor Roy Bittan….I wanna introduce the Minister of faith and friendship, keeper of all things righteous on E Street and star of the ´Sopranos´-television-show….Little Steven Van Zandt on the guitar….stay cool, Brother, stay cool…..the foundation of the E Street nation, the Tennesee Terror, Mr.Garry W.Tallent on the bass…..and on the drums, the Minister of the mighty beat, the man that brings the power night after night after night after night, star of Late Night Television, the Mighty, Mighty, Mighty Max Weinberg…..the Mighty One….and on the guitar, the Secretary of heart and spirit, the Godfather of the guitar, the great Nils Lofgren……and on the organ and accordion, the man with a record of a 153 unpaid New York City parking tickets, the Minister of mystery, Brother Dan Federici….and now, and now, brunettes are fine and blondes are fun but when it comes to getting a dirty job done, it takes a (crowd :‘Red Headed Woman’) I´m looking, I´m searching for a (crowd : ‘Red Headed Woman’) I´ve got to, I´ve got to find a (crowd :‘Red Headed Woman’) I want to find my baby (crowd :‘Red Headed Woman’)(Patti sings a bit of ´Rumble Doll´) the First Lady of love, on the guitar and vocals, and my personal savior, Miss Patti Scialfa….and now last but not least….last but not least…..the Minister of soul, Secretary of the brotherhood and if we lived in a righteous nation, the next president of the United States….do I have to say his name ?….do I have to say his name ?…say who ?….say who ?….say who ?….say who ?….say who ?….say who ?….say who ?….say who ?….say who ? ….say who ?…..”
Middle of ´Light of Day´
´´New York City !….these little town shoes…..but everywhere I´ve gone, I´ve seen people lost in confusion….I´ve seen people lost in the wilderness of the concrete jungle….I´ve seen people lost in subways in loneliness…. I´ve seen people lost in envy over the Jersey Devils winning the Stanley Cup….lost at the Statue of Liberty which is actually in New Jersey….lost….in the Sopranos´ reruns…. which is actually filmed in New Jersey…..where the real mafia is, not the New York City mama´s boys….lost singing the theme song ´New York, New York´ which, come to think of it, was actually sung by a man from New Jersey …lost in bitterness but that´s alright because I´m here tonight on an ambassadorial mission, I´ve come across the river and if you´re downhearted, disspirited, disgusted, dispossessed, downsized, stigmatized, analyzed, retro-psychedelized, I´m here tonight….I´m here tonight….I´m here tonight …. I´m here tonight….I´m here tonight….I´m here tonight….I´m here tonight….I´m here tonight….. to re-educate you, to resuscitate you, to regenerate you, to reconfiscate you, to reindoctrinate you, to recombobulate you, to resexualate you….to reliberate you, to rededicate you….with the power and the glory….with the promise….with the majesty…. with the mystery….with the ministry of rock and roll….that´s right….that´s right….with the ministry of rock and roll !….now, unlike my competitors, I shall not….I will not….I will not promise to (?) your shirts, invite you to tea, (?) make love to anyone in the world in just 15 minutes if you read this book…..I shall not promise you life everlasting ….but I can promise you life…..right now!….and all you gotta do is raise your hand…..raise your hand and say ´I´….”‘
Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi. |
Sorry, no Eyewitness-report available.
© 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.
FROM BROOKLINE TO BROOKLYNMemories of Summer 2000 |
Greetings Facebonkers. Today is a very special anniversary for me and the many friends I was with 20 years ago tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was the final night of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 10-show run at the Garden, the last date of their 15-month Reunion Tour, and for me and Dave, the culmination of the mother of all trips of a lifetime in Boston and Manhattan. July 1, 2000 was a very emotional night, for the band and for us. The next day, we went home to resume normal life until we could afford to do it all again. Those two weeks in New York City were a dizzying blur of meetings and get-togethers with friends old and new in a variety of restaurants, bars, hotels, diners and fast food joints, which all led up to that final evening at the Garden.
Dave and I flew into Boston on June 17, checked into the Beacon Plaza in Brookline and spent two days on a walking tour of the city with our friend David, a local resident. While there, we saw JFK's birthplace and museum, drank in Cheers, saw the Holocaust Memorial, ate seafood on the waterfront and went across the Charles river to Cambridge, where we found the old Harvard Square Theatre, site of the 1974 Bruce Springsteen gig that inspired Jon Landau's famous "rock and roll future" quote. We also saw the old Boston Music Hall, where Bruce had a legendary four-night stand in 1977. It was a great introduction to a new city for us. We wished we could have stayed longer but the sights and sounds of the Big Apple were calling.
On June 20, we caught the train down the coast to New York's Penn Station, a five hour journey past idyllic bays and tranquil towns into the heart of Manhattan. Having checked into the Pennsylvania Hotel opposite the Garden, we came straight out and took the subway to Fulton Street and the South Street Seaport, to see Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes playing on the early and late sailings of the Blues Cruise. It was cramped on board and we had to lean on Jeff Kazee's piano as we circled around Manhattan harbour, first in daylight, then in darkness. The boat made regular twists and turns, and band members often had to grab hold of the wooden slats above them to maintain their balance. Joey Stann took us backstage to save us going ashore between sets. I took a lot of pictures with the new camera I'd just bought for the trip and the results were great.
Before and after the Jukes gigs, we had a pint or two of Boddingtons in the nearby North Star pub, where we met wild and wacky barman Stuffy Shmitt. The three of us hit it off immediately. We returned to the bar several times during our trip, bringing friends along and often having ice cubes thrown at us. Stuffy said that, like every other barman in the city, he was really a musician. He'd even made a CD called "Nothing Is Real". We ended up taking copies home. We really didn't expect much, but discovered that it was a gem. He's made a few others since and we've got them all. When we came back to New York in 2005, we finally saw him play at Southpaw in Brooklyn.
After a few days in town, we met up with our friend Keith and shared a room at the Hotel Walcott on West 31st (where we had a choice of very noisy air conditioning or an open window with traffic noise from the street below) and then the more upmarket Marriott World Trade Center. Fulton Street, Pier 17 at the Seaport (with its spectacular view of the Brooklyn Bridge) and the plaza between the twin towers were our special places on that trip and evoke powerful memories as I write this. We often came back after a few drinks, laid on our backs on benches and stared at the towers disappearing up into the night sky. 15 months later, both towers and the Marriott hotel were destroyed on 9/11.
Our primary reason for being in the city was to see Bruce's last six shows at the Garden, so we settled into a routine of sightseeing by day, seeing Bruce on alternate nights and enjoying some unforgettable evenings with friends on his days off, in pubs like the Old Town Bar on East 18th, the Tavern On Jane on 8th and Jane and McSorleys on East 7th, where we took Phil Jump and the Badlands group one night, in exchange for free beer all evening, as you do. As the days passed, more friends from the UK arrived. Dan and Ruth, Linda and Helen, John and Rob, Harry and Gill and many others.
When not eating and drinking, which wasn't often, we could be found checking out, in no particular order of preference, Central Park, the Strawberry Fields John Lennon memorial, the Dakota Building, most of Greenwich Village, the Bottom Line, Washington Square Park, Little Italy and Chinatown, the Empire Diner, Chelsea Hotel and Minetta Street, where the front cover shot of the second Asbury Jukes album, "This Time It's For Real" was taken. In Little Italy, we found that Umberto's Clam House had moved. That was the place where mobster Joe Gallo was shot in 1972, an incident that Bob Dylan wrote about in his song "Joey" and that Martin Scorsese recently re-enacted in "The Irishman". Umberto's is also where the Jukes are pictured sitting outside on the back cover of their "Hearts Of Stone" album. We also found the time to take the round-Manhattan boat cruise (which Keith slept through), visit the Statue of Liberty, take the fast elevator to the rooftop observation deck of the south tower, ride the Staten Island Ferry to our new friend Ray's restaurant and, in my case at least, walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and back in 95-degree heat (it had to be done) while the others went to a baseball game at Shea Stadium. I'd just got back, had a shower and was anticipating a siesta when Dave called to say they were waiting for me at McSorley's and it would be rude not to go.
As if seeing six Bruce gigs and two Southside Johnny shows wasn't enough, we also saw La Bamba's Big Band at The Cutting Room (straightj after one of Bruce's gigs) went to a taping of the Conan O'Brien show at NBC Studios so we could see the Max Weinberg Seven in action, caught a free set by Shawn Colvin in Battery Park and went along to Little Steven's personal appearance at Tower Records. I really don't know how we did all that and managed to sleep as well. We probably took "the city that never sleeps" literally. We were younger then, we're 20 years older than that now.
And if all that wasn't too much fun, we also got to see Bruce Springsteen play six concerts, with a wide range of material from various positions (which ranged from upstairs at the back to behind and beside the stage) in arguably the most famous arena in the world. We all have our favourites, but for me, the highlights and notable set list choices of the first five shows that we saw (gigs 5 to 9 in the sequence) were as follows:
June 22
A rare "Secret Garden"; one of my fave outtakes, "Don't Look Back"; "Youngstown" and "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" with Soozie Tyrell on violin and an unexpected encore of "Incident On 57th Street".
June 23
"Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?"; Human Touch" (a rare example of the E Street Band playing 1992 material); "Dead Man Walking"; "Sandy" and the combination of "Meeting Across The River" and "Jungleland", never more effective than when played in New York City.
June 26
"For You" and "Racing In The Street".
June 27
"Trapped", "Loose Ends", "Mary Queen Of Arkansas" and "Blinded By The Light".
June 29
"The Promise" (yes, THE PROMISE) and "Growin' Up".
Which brings me nicely back to that legendary final show on July 1, which started at 8.45, ended 20 minutes after midnight and included "The E Street Shuffle", "The Promise" (AGAIN), "Lost In The Flood" and "Blood Brothers" with its emotional new final verse. Tickets for this gig had been impossible or very expensive on the black market, but Dan managed to source ours from Clarence Clemons' office. Highlights from this concert were released on the "Live In New York City" album and DVD in 2001 and the entire show is now available from Nugs.net as part of Bruce's ongoing live archive series.
Afterwards, as we had two or three times before, we went down to Walkers bar on North Moore and Varick, to toast the end of the run into the small hours. Each time we'd gone there, there had been more of us and they'd opened another room to accommodate us all. This final night saw Walkers invaded by Springsteen fans from all corners of the globe. Speeches were made, drinks were drunk, friendships were forged or reinforced, contact details were taken and photos were snapped. It's very hard to describe the atmosphere that night. It was a wonderful few hours spent in the company of like-minded fans. We stayed until the bar closed and then lingered for another hour. Nobody wanted to go home.
We finally spilled out onto the sidewalk around 5am and took yet more group photos before heading off to our hotels and local residencies, wondering what we were going to do with our lives until the next tour. An off-duty limousine driver gave us a lift. Only in New York. It had been a long tour. Many of us had been there at the start in Barcelona in April 1999 and now we'd made it to the end. Dave and I started our trip as a duo, but ended up as part of a huge international community. It was a struggle to head for Newark airport on July 2 and take a plane back to reality, but you have to come home so you can go away again.
I'm dedicating this post to our American Blood Brothers, who helped enormously with spare tickets and showed us great warmth and hospitality over those wonderful two weeks. Any attempt to produce a comprehensive list of names from memory 20 years after the fact would be doomed to failure. Suffice to say that you know who you are and we love you all. Special mentions are due to Christy, Holly, Richard, Lori, Jon Pont, Chris Phillips and last but certainly not least Bernie, who Josh hilariously dubbed "the next president of Ticketmaster" at Walkers on our final night in Manhattan.
Saunders over and out.
By Mike Saunders via Facebook.com. |
These Promises We Make At Night |
Any Springsteen show is special, and every Springsteen show is a candidate to be extra special when surprises enter the setlist or the performance peaks beyond expectation. For those of us who count the number of Bruce concerts we’ve attended by dozens and decades, there’s something immensely satisfying about attending a show you know will be extraordinary.
Such was the case when Springsteen announced the final stand of the Reunion tour: ten nights at Madison Square Garden. Fans across the country and around the world busted open their piggy banks to book flights for what was an E Street sure thing—inevitably special shows wrapping 14 triumphant months on the road.
The legendary final night, July 1, 2000, is already an integral installment in the Live Archive series. Now we’re treated to MSG show No. 8, June 27, 2000, which coincidentally features eight different songs than the finale set. The range of his song selections speaks to the excitement the Reunion tour spurred through deeper exploration of Springsteen’s catalog.
Night eight opens with “Code of Silence,” for my money one of the best true rock songs Bruce has delivered in the 2000s. It kicks off the show with the urgency and energy “Badlands” did so often on the Darkness tour. “The Ties That Bind” follows, the first of those eight changes from the finale, reinforcing the band-fan bond at the outset. “Adam Raised a Cain” has made it onto several Reunion tour Archive releases, and each performance is distinct. Here it starts measured and moody until the guttural guitar solo, after which Springsteen’s voice markedly shifts intensity as he carries the song to a soaring conclusion.
“Two Hearts” into “Trapped,” the dynamics of which remain stirring, especially in the lead-up to the Big Man’s liberating solo. While nowhere near as striking as its stark 1980 readings, the wistful countrified arrangement of “Factory” seems to shift the song to a distant memory with which the narrator has made his peace.
“American Skin (41 Shots)” continues to flourish in these early outings, introduced plainly as just “a new song” for which Springsteen requests quiet. He sings the lyrics vividly, and as each E Street voice breaks through the effect is haunting, as if to show how the tragedy spreads and touches bystanders — and, by proxy, all of us.
The band makes an unusual musical transition from the despair of “American Skin” to the hope of “The Promised Land,” starting angular and edged before softening abruptly for a warm, comforting version of the Darkness staple.
The Reunion tour five-pack ensues, carrying us through the center of the show from “Youngstown” (this night as much of a showcase for Roy Bittan’s piano as Nils Lofgren’s guitar) through “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out.” The latter offers tasty detours into Curtis Mayfield’s “It’s Alright,” Al Green’s “Take Me to the River,” “Red Headed Woman,” and Patti Scialfa’s mini showcase of her own “Rumble Doll.”
An extraordinary trio of songs follows, cementing this show as a special night indeed. River outtake “Loose Ends” is one of the most deserving songs to be liberated by Tracks. For those of us who cherished our bootleg copies of the song all those years, it is indeed the great in-concert track we always knew it could be.
On a night of highlights, it would be difficult to deny “Back in Your Arms” is the peak. The song was recorded during the Greatest Hits sessions in early 1995 and released on Tracks three years later. Though performed only 15 times with the E Street Band to date, the song enjoys a kind of instant-classic status, so relatable in its subject matter, so appealing in its Stax/Volt arrangement and tone.
I rarely think of a Springsteen song being sung by anyone else, but “Back in Your Arms” so thoroughly invokes Otis Redding, I can imagine how he would interpret it. Beyond Springsteen’s own soulful vocals, Danny Federici’s organ solo shines, as does Clarence Clemons’ saxophone. This particular performance of “Back in Your Arms” is one I will keep coming back to.
If that rarity wasn’t enough, Springsteen fully blows minds with “Mary Queen of Arkansas.” The Greetings track had been resurrected earlier in 2000, at a stop in Little Rock, for its first live reading in 26 years. Curious that when Springsteen toured solo in 1995-97 and again in 2005, he never once performed “Mary.” This is very much a Tom Joad-style arrangement, narratively connecting with that album more than I had previously appreciated. Still a peculiar song, but a great rendition in new light.
“Backstreets” brings the band back in what is an excellent, passionately sung, contemporary version. The E Streeters continue to show their restored prowess with an extremely entertaining “Light of Day.” It starts with a guitar line for the first minute or so that feels like it is lifted from Link Wray or Dick Dale, though I can’t quite place it. (Can you?) Other references are easier to identify: a few riffs from “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” slip in, while later “C.C. Rider” and “Jenny Jenny” form an embedded mini-“Detroit Medley” just before Bruce’s familiar “I’ve Been Everywhere” list of cities conquered.
A robust “Hungry Heart” starts the encore, which hits “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” “If I Should Fall Behind” and “Land of Hope and Dreams” as it should, plus one extra treat. Bruce changed his set lists frequently on the River and Born in the U.S.A. tours, and both had their share of setlist surprises. But there was a sense circa 1980-88 that some of Springsteen’s older material wasn’t under consideration. Reunion changed all that. Every song was again a possibility, and “Blinded By the Light” represents that spirit.
I was fortunate enough to attend this show, which started with a brand new song and encored with Bruce’s very first single, the recognition of which was not lost on me then or now. MSG 6/27/00 was extra special, just like we knew it would be.
By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net. |
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