2005-05-19 Theater At The Continental Airlines Arena (The), East Rutherford, NJ

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

The show was marred by failure of one of the speaker stacks which left some of the audience hearing very little and Bruce hearing their displeasure - it all got sorted out - eventually. Bruce gives an interview with Esquire Magazine after the show. Tour premiere of "The Wish" in the first of only two Devils & Dust Tour performances. Bruce sings a line of The Cadillacs' "Gloria" during the introduction to "The River". Piano songs are "The River", "Real World", "The Wish", and "Jesus Was An Only Son". "Reason To Believe" is with the bullet mic. "My Beautiful Reward" and "Dream Baby Dream" are on pump organ. "Paradise" is on electric piano and piano. "I'm On Fire" is on banjo.

Bruce Springsteen

Kevin	It was a big mistake to sell those additional seats! Still, that doesn't excuse the rowdy and obnoxious behavior of the upper sections - stage left! Of the three shows I have seen on this tour - this was by far the noisiest. Having said that, the song selection was above average. The sound quality, at least in the lower level, was good. "The Wish" was beautiful! Everyone seemed happy at the end of the show, including Bruce.
Joe	Great show! Unfortunately the sound to the uppers died for a few of the early songs. Many people were chanting "Fix the Sound" - Bruce must have thought they were razzing him and said - F-U (not his best moment toward fans). The acoustics are not the best with the concrete of Continental Arena - he should have done it in the NJ Performing Arts center for a better sound.
Duke Street King	A real asshole tried to ruin it for everyone else. Bruce kept is cool despite yelling during first 5 songs. Bruce offered the asshole his money back and anyone else who wasn't happy.
Dave	I have attended about 40 Bruce shows over the last 30 years. Last night at the Meadowlands was BY FAR the WORST I have ever seen. (The show in Virginia at the Patriot Center was one of the BEST!!) I was in section 236 and experienced the TOTAL loss of sound that occured for 2 entire songs and part of a third. Someone should have noticed and informed Bruce. There was NO heckling, just frustrated requests to "Fix the sound." Someone in the Crew should be fired, at the very least. Bruce's reaction was misplaced, ignorant, and hurtful to all of us who simply wanted to hear his voice.
Tom Cantillon	Minus the few tech problems and the misunderstanding between fans shouting and Bruce's response, the show, for the most part was a success. I was impressed with Bruce's ability to manage to sustain an appreciative silence throughout the crowd as he worked his way through Reno, Nebraska, The Hitter, Matamoras and Promised Land. Especially during Promised Land, you literally could have heard a pin drop. Highlights: Real World is just amazing on the piano, romantic as Fall Behind. Love the distorted, bluesy Reason to Believe. That one alone sets the tone for most of Bruce's songs anyway, dealing with that spiritual ambiguity, that no matter how good or bad the situation, or the intent of the main character, whether the goals are physical, spiritual or emotional, nothing comes to any of us in a simple, straightforward way, there's always going to be a slight grey area. That's life and Bruce certainly makes that evident throughout his music. Black Cowboys, Leah, Long Time, Part Man, Jesus and The Hitter all sound great live. Love the reworking of Ramrod, turning it into a little country-polka swing. Great show. Hope to see Bruce come around in the fall and do a few more solo shows. Hope he switches up the set a bit and it would be nice to hear Incident more often. Also, Mr. Springsteen, how about a piano version of Price you Pay or Drive all Night? "There's magic in the night.
Section312	First off, the show was very good, the spin on his old tunes that were morphed to fit the acoustic format was very interesting and added new life and a whole new perspective on the songs we have heard 100's of times. Unfortunately his "artist" mentality came through in an ugly way. About a 1/4 of the way through the show a segment of the sound system went dead. You could hardly hear the song being played, never mind understand the lyrics. As this continued, he continue to play and several people in the effected area of the arena started yelling that they could not hear. At that point Bruce became extremely agitated and berated the section to "shut the F**K up" (direct quote) or leave. Actually any noise or interaction from the crowd was frowned upon with a few exceptions. People paid for their tickets, they should be able to hear what they paid for.
Jersey Teacher	A decent and solid show throughout. Bookending the show with My Beautiful Reward and Dream helps to resonnate that overall optimistic attitude Bruce's music, and shows, have always left his fans with. Devils and Dust material, live, really brings to the forefront the poetic imagery that is throughout his music. Black Cowboys, Long Time, Leah, Jesus and The Hitter are all powerful in their own way. I especially love Black Cowboys and Jesus. The poetic imagery paints a picture that resonnates long after the song has been sung. And like his inspiration, Mr. Guthrie and Mr. Dylan, Bruce is quite successful. Part Man/Monkey works well with that Venture's guitar-sound-eerie. Nice job with The River and The Wish. The acoustic Promised Land is unbelievable. In it's own way, it is just as powerful as the full band version because it's a one man's promise to himself, a quiet, yet purpose-driven determination to keep on believing. Hey, what else can we do? What made this show more special than others, for me, was the fact that my own poetic muse was with me, Angela. She has inspired me, as has Bruce. As we sat next to each other, listening to Real World and singing snippets to one another, the moment affirmed the belief that personal journies of the heart, no matter how difficult, do have their reward. Just have to believe. Real World, the moment,the song, the words, listening to Bruce belt out a heartfelt rendition on the piano, being with Angela, made all those romantic notions and hope for what the future will bring, seem as tangible as holding Ang's hand and kissing her sweet, sweet lips. Thanks Bruce and Ang, for a moment that will never be forgotten. After nearly 115 shows, that one moment ranks amongst one of the absolute best. How could it not? A night of Bruce, his words and music and sharing it all with the girl I love. "Darling, I'll wait for you, should I fall behind, wait for me". She moves through poetry with a rhythm and romance all her own.

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