2005-07-16 Pepsi Arena, Albany, NY

Scheduled: 20:00 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

Tour premiere for "Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?", which is played by request, as are "The Promise" and "Paradise". "Long Time Comin'" dedicated to Evan, who is in attendance. Bruce plays a snippet of "Pony Boy" in the intro, joking that Evan would "kill [him] if [he] played that one." "Leah" returns to the encores. Piano songs are "The Promise", "Tougher Than The Rest", "Real World", and "Jesus Was An Only Son". "Reason To Believe" is with the bullet mic. "Into The Fire" and "Dream Baby Dream" are on pump organ. "Paradise" is on electric piano and piano.

Bruce Springsteen

Intro to “Into the Fire”
“Thank you, Albanyans….we´ll have a lot of fun tonight, uh, the only thing I can use is as much quiet as I can get, outside of that, enjoy yourselves….”

Intro to “Long Time Comin´”
“Thank you, thank you very much, good evening again….alright….a special dedication tonight for this one, I got my, my oldest son Evan´s with me (chuckles) gonna do this for him….he can tell you if this is, uh, true or bullshit (chuckles) and uh ….(?) he´s, he´s, he´s gonna put up with the boredom of Dad´s chosen profession for a night (chuckles) this is for you, Ev´….Pony boy, Pony boy, won´t you be my….he´ll kill me if I play that there, this is for you….”

Intro to “Silver Palomino”
“Yeah, he will tell you that the, uh, correct words to that last verse would be ´I ain´t gonna fuck it up too bad this time´….I, I should´ve put that qualifier in there….you know, I should´ve been completely honest with that, ´I ain´t gonna fuck it up too bad´ ….right? (chuckles)….I´ll do this for Tyler, I´ll do this one for you, this guy´s here with his best pal and, uh….here´s to Tyler Chappel and, uh, the memory of Fiona….”

Intro to “The Promise”
“Thank you very much….somebody asked for this one out back, I haven´t played this one in a while but I´ll see if I can give it a shot, alright….”

Intro to “Tougher Than the Rest”
“Thanks….(?)….give me the….give me the G-harp….the, uh, G-harp….anybody got one?….I need a G-harp, alright, there it is, alright, a love song….this is, uh, I tell, I say this line every night because I don´t know what else to say (chuckles) because it´s true, I guess, uh, that, uh, you know, my father told me that all love songs were government propaganda, you know, and that their sole purpose was to get you married and to get your nose to the grindstone and, and have kids and pay taxes and, uh, uh, suffer….so….uh (?) you got the music for that? (?) so, uh, uh, uh so my mother was the opposite, she was sort of very romantic and she loved love songs just so you could get married and have kids and, uh, suffer and transcend somehow, you know (chuckles) but, uh, anyway, I didn´t write any for, any, I didn´t write any sort of out-of-the-closet ones for about 20 years or so, you know (chuckles) so, anyway, in, in, uh, here we go, this was one of them….”

Intro to “Part Man Part Monkey”
“I was just in Europe….and when I tried to explain that in, that in the States….there´s a big debate over whether….the Man come first or the monkey come first….they think I´m kidding them…generally…they know…that the monkey come first and not only that, they know where the monkey is….so….all the while this was going on I was feeling a little smugly superior to my evangelical brothers and sisters, being raised Catholic and the whole thing, you could see like that there was gonna be a debate there….and then a few weeks ago, I guess, you know, they changed popes and….a guy has an idea and he says: ´Who the hell came first – the Man or the monkey?´….so I´m stuck in the (?)….anyway (?)….
(….) Yeah, we´ve come a long way….and we´re going back….”

Intro to “Cautious Man”
“This was always one of my, one of my favorite songs….”

Intro to “Paradise”
“Thank you, my friends, thank you….yes….(?)….(someone yells “Thunder Road!”) aw, shut up….here´s a request for someone….”

Intro to “Jesus Was an Only Son”
“Thank you, I was, uh….I was raised Catholic so….Jesus is my defacto homeboy…. and, uh, uh….all that brainwashing really sticks, it really, it works, it´s incredible, you know (chuckles) I´m, I´m, I´m stuck, I´m stuck in it (chuckles) but, uh, I was writing a lot about parents and kids so I said ´Well….let me try to imagine what it was like just Jesus as someone´s son´….and uh….this is ´Jesus Was an Only Son´….
(….) at his mother´s feet….now, the first thing that strikes you when you have your kids is, uh….how there´s this thing in your gut all of a sudden that says that there´s nothing you wouldn´t do to keep them safe and….and well….and that that it´s a life sentence….Mother prays….
(….) shall pierce your dreams this night….now if you figure that the measure of….of your choices are the things that you sacrifice for ´em, what gives them their weight and their meaning….I always figured that Jesus had to be thinking….that there was this sweet, little bar down in Galilee….that he could probably manage….and Mary Magdalene could tend bar….I love bartenders….and uh….they could have some kids and get to see the sun on their face and feel the air in your lungs….and see the next day….and see the next day….and see the next day….and see the next day….in the garden at Gethesemane….´´

Intro to “Leah”
“Thanks a lot….you´re swell (chuckles)….alright, a song of, uh….salvation, yeah…. and, uh, I guess this is the story, uh, we carry the seeds of our destruction, we carry the seeds of the things that we build with….and there´s a motherfucker of a battle going on all the time (chuckles)….yeah, that´s God´s joke, that´s the way I look at it ….you know, He´s laughing and, uh….so this is about a guy that just figures how to come down, uh, just on the right side of that equation, this is, uh, called ´Leah´….”

Intro to “The Hitter”
“Thank you, thank you very much, yes….alright, my friends….alright….(someone yells “You´re the Boss!”) oh (chuckles) thank you for informing me (chuckles) I´ve been wondering what all that shit is about (chuckles) alright, now that that´s settled, let´s carry on (chuckles)….”

Intro to “Matamoros Banks”
“Thank you….thanks a lot, wrote this, uh….this song was a sequel to ´Across the Border,´ the song I ended the Tom Joad-tour with….every year hundreds of people die trying to get across the United States´ southern border and, uh, they die in the rivers and in the mountains and in the deserts and what we need instead of vigilantes along the border is a humane immigration policy….so all the folks that are putting the food on your table, if you´re eating strawberries, if you´re eating peaches, if you´re eating grapes….this is called ´Matamoros Banks,´ this song is written backwards…. from the body at the bottom of the river to a walk across the desert to the man standing on the banks of Rio Bravo across from Brownsville, Texas….”

Intro to “Ramrod”
“Alright….Terry!….this is for Mr.Terry Magovern….and the memory of Joanie….(?) for you, Terry….(plays a bit of polka on the harmonica) only kidding (chuckles) it´s polka time (chuckles)….”

Intro to “The Promised Land”
“Thanks, I wanna thank everybody for coming out to the show tonight, thank you…. (?) thank you very much, uh, give a nod to some friends of ours here in the hall tonight (?) Albany, New York, the Supplemental Food Providers, they implement projects and activities (?) the needs of low income families and struggling citizens here in the area, please on your way out, if you run into Supplemental Food Providers, give them your support and, uh, this is for them, this is for you, thank you ….”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

Noel	Good solid show, a lot noisier with a 2/3 arena, different than the more intimate settings of the small venues. But Bruce seemed to enjoy himself, not hearing or ignoring most of those that ignored his plea for as much quiet as possible. How some yahoo scream a gleeful rebel yell during Paradise is beyond me. Bus Stop an obvious highlight, but I felt it was promised land that drew the crowd to complete silence, hanging on his every word/sound. A very powerful moment.
Tom	A very good show. I think the rules regarding concessions keep more people in their seats. Bruce's son, Evan, was on hand and Bruce dedicated Long Time Coming to him. He sang "Pony boy, pony boy" as a joke at the beginning of the song. Afterward he laughingly said that it would have been more accurate, from his son's point of view, to have sung that he wasn't going to "fuck it up too bad this time," rather than the actual lyric. I'm sure the version of Reason to Believe was lost on a large portion of the crowd. My wife didn't know what it was unitl I told her, and she knows the Nebraska version well. I liked the way Bruce backed off a bit from the microphone for part of This Hard Land. It really made the crowd hush and listen to the low-volume vocal. At one point someone yelled out that "You're the Boss!" or "Who's the Boss?" and Bruce laughed and said, "Thanks for informing me. Now that that's settled, let's keep on." Before Matamoras Banks, Bruce said we needed a human immigration policy rather than vigilantes on the U.S.-Mexican border. I was sitting in "bracelet" seats, so I don't know how the show plays farther from the stage. The arena, with the seats behind the stage and part of the top deck curtained, was sold out.
Scotti	6th Bruce show for me & a totally different experience. Musically experimental and showed his true genius. At times, difficcult to discern what was being played b/c versions were so unique. Another religious experience with Bruce.
Ed	Good, solid show although noisy restless crowd. The arena wasn't enforcing the "no coming back to the seating area until between songs" rule and it showed. Also, very noisy crowd compared to others on the tour. Highlites included "THe Promise" "Tougher" the great "Cautious Man" "Real World" and "82nd St." Am I the only one thinking that the message of "Matamoros Banks" is getting lost on these crowds? Overall, very solid show in a very mediocre setting.

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