2008-04-22 St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Show rescheduled from April 21. Incredibly emotional show after the passing of Danny Federici. This show and all others on the rest of this leg of the tour open with a tribute film montage set to "Blood Brothers." Several songs are played clearly with Danny in mind - "Backstreets" opens, plus "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)", "Growin' Up" (for the first time in 2008), and a tour one-off performance of "I'll Fly Away". "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" features the Harley lyrics.

Intro to “Radio Nowhere”
“Is there anybody alive out there? (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Sandy”
“Good evening (crowd cheers) good evening and thank you for coming out tonight…we appreciate that…we, uh, we wanna thank you for all the prayers and condolences received for, for Danny (crowd cheers) thank you very much…he was able to come out and play with us, I guess it was about three weeks back and we had a lovely night…so, uh…alright…Roy, you better get this one right, man (chuckles) somebody´s watching (chuckles)…
(…) You know, the cops finally busted Madame Marie for telling fortunes better than they do…I think she´s in Florida (chuckles) she is…”

Intro to “Growin´ Up”
“Yes…oh yeah!…I think she is Florida…I still see her granddaughter once in a while…and, uh, she kind of lets me know what happens, and they just re-painted the little fortune-telling booth on the boardwalk so maybe they´re planning on going back into business …not too late, worked out for me…alright, one more fairytale…
(…) There we were…way up on the highest hill in Flemington, New Jersey (crowd cheers) it was a beautiful, breezy, sunny spring morning…and we had the whole town of Flemington stretched out beyond us…and the preacher actually said…I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere…”

Middle of “Darkness on the Edge of Town”
“(sings:) I lost my faith when I lost you….´´

Intro to “Livin´ in the Future”
“Alright…are we having fun yet? (crowd cheers) hello, Tampa…is there anybody here from New Jersey? (crowd cheers) who´s from Florida (some cheers) got it, got it…oh my God, alright…alright, this is a song called ´Livin´ in the Future´…but it´s about what´s happening now…over the past…eight years, along with all the things we love about, about where we come from and our country and our home, we´ve had to add to the American picture things like rendition and illegal wiretapping and rolling-back of civil liberties and…that damn (?) ballot! (chuckles) but, uh, because of the color of your skin or your circumstance or your religion, you might think that these things don´t affect you very much but they´re really all attacks on our Constitution, which means they´re an attack on ourselves and who we are as Americans and things we stand for…so this is a song about sleeping through changes that, when I was a little kid, people told you ´That only happens someplace else´…but the mighty E Street Band is here tonight to do something about it (crowd cheers) that´s right!…we´re gonna sing about it…oh, they´re scared, yes, they´re scared, that´s right…Mighty One, help me tell the story…”

Intro to “The Promised Land”
“We need a new wind blowing through here…”

Intro to “Brilliant Disguise”
“Oh, man, we got Patti tonight…I don´t know what´s happening at home, though…the beer kegs are popping…the hash brownies are being snapped up…good Lord…my clothes have gone on eBay…oh my God, it´s all coming apart back there (?)…”

After “Brilliant Disguise”
“The beautiful Miss Patti Scialfa….´´

Intro to “I´ll Fly Away”
“Thank you, thank you…thank you, Tampa, thank you, Florida… thank you so much, we´ve got some friends in the hall tonight, folks from America´s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay…America´s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay, they collect and they distribute millions of pounds of donated food each other to struggling citizens here in West Central Florida, (?) they make a difference in the lives of thousands of working poor folks and homeless folks struggling out there, they´re good folks out on the frontlines doing God´s work, America´s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay (crowd cheers) thank you so much for coming out tonight and helping us through… we appreciate that…this one´s for Dan (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Rosalita”
“Turn me up! (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “American Land”
“Thank you for coming to the show tonight (crowd cheers) thank you for your support (crowd cheers) remember America´s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay on your way out…
(…) Garry W.Tallent (crowd cheers) the fabulous Miss Patti Scialfa (crowd cheers) Little Steven Van Zandt (crowd cheers) Sister Soozie Tyrell (crowd cheers) the Mighty Max Weinberg (crowd cheers) Professor Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) in for Dan Federici, Charlie Giordano (crowd cheers) the great Nils Lofgren (crowd cheers) and you wish you could be like him but you can´t…the one, the only, Clarence ´Big Man´ Clemons (crowd cheers) Tampa! (crowd cheers) Tampa! (crowd cheers) Tampa! (crowd cheers) Tampa! (crowd cheers) Tampa! (crowd cheers) you´ve just seen the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, hard-rocking, earth-shocking, booty-shaking, love-making, Viagra-taking, history-making, legendary (crowd: ´E Street Band´)…”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

Kevin McDevitt

I don't know that there's been a show with so many questions leading up to it. Would the show actually go on? Could it go on? What will the first song be? How in the hell are they going to be able to perform at their accustomed kick-ass level? Is "Sandy" off the setlist forever? Will Bruce be able to ask ?Is there anybody alive out there?? All the questions were answered?and then some. First came the tribute. A surprise, and very touching. The band members came out to a dark stage. The huge video screen behind the stage flashed a recent picture of Danny's smiling face. The crowd went crazy. Everyone in the E-Street family was there to support each other as Patti was back on stage, and Jon Landau was watching from the side sound board. BLOOD BROTHERS started playing — but it took a few moments to realize it was a recording, as everyone in the band had his/her back turned, and was looking up at the video tribute to Danny — a montage of many pictures and video clips, many showing a very young and happy Danny with long long hair. It was a moist eye moment. Then — Roy on the piano, leading into BACKSTREETS. This was raw emotion before us. There was a spotlight shining down on the unmanned B3 organ (with an accordion leaning against it) in one tribute. Max was pounding on the drums like he was trying to break them and imagine Bruce singing "we SWORE we'd LIVE FOR-EV-ER" as hard as he can — and couple that with a song-closing cry like you've never heard before. That was the first song. Then — Is there anybody alive out there?!?!? Asked, and answered as he went into RADIO NOWHERE. In a way, this was really two shows. The first seven songs were almost like a continuation of the video tribute. The five non-Magic songs were about friendship and/or loss. RADIO NOWHERE was sandwiched into its usual spot, as was GYPSY BIKER (this was either an audible or a pull-ahead, as they were bringing Roy's accordion?). These first seven songs were not, understandably, played with total enthusiasm or cohesion (but with a lot of emotion. The drummer was Mad Max tonight, he was pounding the skins so hard on every song. And Bruce — he kept wiping his face, and I thought it might be sweat — but then I realized that I had never seen him wipe his face like that before. The Pro that he is — I never heard his voice crack. The eighth song — Atlantic City — kind of bridged from the tribute stage to the celebration stage. From that point it was on! Nils did the single best, most energetic solo I've ever seen from him on BECAUSE THE NIGHT, lifting himself (literally), the band, and everyone else anywhere near the arena. The rest of the set had a highly energized Reunion-Tour feel to it that grew from song-to-song (although Bruce called us "Pathetic!" during the SUNNY DAY sing-a-long — I thought that might cost us the OUT IN THE STREET AUDIBLE, but it didn't). The first encore — I'LL FLY AWAY — was a Seeger Sessions-style tribute, with everyone up front and playing an "un-plugged" instrument, including a mandolin and a big-ol — stand up bass. The rest of the encore was fun and energetic — and as the band stood on the stage together to say good-bye, you could see the 'whew, we got through it — thanks for helping — look of relief.

^{© 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.}

Remembering Danny

Equal parts concert and Irish wake, Tampa 2008 celebrates the life of founding E Street Band member Dan Federici, who passed away five days earlier. With heavy hearts, Bruce and the band perform a charged, emotional set that blends key tracks from Magic and songs selected with Phantom Dan in mind, including the tour premiere of "Growin' Up", a rare, show-opening "Backstreets", "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" and a cathartic, one-off performance of the gospel standard, "I'll Fly Away".

^{Bruce Springsteen - February 1, 2019.}

One More Fairytale

He was the first to fall.

Just 58 years old, Danny Federici died on April 17, 2008 from melanoma, the skin cancer for which he had been undergoing treatment since 2005. The disease eventually forced him to take leave of the E Street Band in November 2007, vacating a seat he had occupied since 1972.

Despite his nickname “Phantom” and onstage introductions like, “now you see him, now you don’t,” Daniel Paul Federici was a stalwart, symbiotic soldier perched at Springsteen’s side for nearly 40 years, going back to Bruce’s early groups Child and Steel Mill. His swirling organ and glockenspiel parts are as core to the E Street sound as Clarence Clemons’ saxophone. Max Weinberg summed it up perfectly when he described Danny’s role to Rolling Stone: “He was the glue that held the band together.”

Tampa 4/22/08 was the first show after Federici’s funeral, and the performance is as soulful as one would expect. But there’s something more subtle going on that becomes gradually apparent as one listens to Jon Altschiller’s inviting and wide stereo mix: while the audience is an essential catalyst, Bruce and the band are playing for themselves in Tampa.

After a preamble video tribute to Danny (set to the studio version of “Blood Brothers,” included here), the show proper begins on a deeply emotional note with “Backstreets,” played with purpose and conviction in a version that stands among its best contemporary performances. Maybe his throat was just dry, but when Springsteen’s voice catches a couple of times, one suspects the gravitas of the moment was getting to everyone.

A solid “Radio Nowhere” yields to “Lonesome Day,” and “It’s alright, it’s alright, yeah!” never felt more cathartic. Next, “No Surrender” is one of many songs that feel expressly chosen for the occasion and provide a foundation of nostalgia and reflection throughout the set. That being said, this is still the Tampa stop on the Magic tour, and the prevailing mood complements that agenda (even if it reduces the number of songs played from the album).

As it was most nights of the tour, “Gypsy Biker” is a high point. Roy Bittan’s piano playing channels his Power Station finest, while the Bruce and Stevie guitar solo shred-off provides a highly entertaining Listen to This, Eddie moment. Note to trainspotters who quibble about how much audience audio is heard on archive releases: you will be pleased to hear a woman clearly shouting Danny’s name in the left channel at the end of “Gypsy Biker.” You’re welcome.

Later, “Last to Die” soars with pulsating urgency (and more 1979 channeling by Bittan), and the spotlight shines sweetly on Van Zandt for a solo vocal turn towards the end of “Long Walk Home,” which has grown more majestic since Boston ‘07, the last released version from the tour.

In total, Tampa offers 12 setlist changes from Boston, only one of which could be called a rarity, but the allure of this show is a heartfelt performance, not an unusual setlist. Maybe it’s hindsight filtered by the circumstances, but the arrangements of “Atlantic City” and “Brilliant Disguise” sound distinctively restrained, and the band plays warhorses like “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Badlands,” “Out in the Street,” “The Promised Land,” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out” with marked vigor. As a wise man once said, “It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.”

Moments of direct Danny recognition are just as gratifying, with back-to-back versions of “Sandy” and “Growin’ Up” that begin with Bruce warning an accordion-adorned Bittan, “Roy, you better get this one right now, somebody’s watching.” It’s an especially delicate reading, enriched by the Big Man’s baritone saxophone and Stevie’s joyous mandolin licks.

Introducing “Growin’ Up,” Springsteen says, “Alright, one more fairytale,” acknowledging, as he did on Broadway, his own myth-making and Federici’s invaluable role in the tale, set this particular night in Danny’s hometown of Flemington, NJ.

When it comes time to truly say goodbye to Phantom Dan, instead of reaching for an original, Bruce opts for the gospel standard, “I’ll Fly Away,” in its only Springsteen performance ever. The arrangement is a Seeger Sessions-style hootenanny, with Max out from behind the drum kit on tambourine, Garry W. Tallent on upright bass, and Charlie Giordano filling Danny’s big shoes (as he does capably and respectfully all night) on accordion. The sentiment of death as a pathway to freedom from suffering couldn’t be more fitting, as summed up by the song’s second verse:

When the shadows of this life have gone, now I’ll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I’ll fly away, I’ll fly away

“I’ll Fly Away” provides an emotional epilogue, but the denouement of the evening comes six songs before with “Racing in the Street,” presented in a widescreen print not always screened on recent tours. It is patiently paced, sung with sober richness, and played magnificently on piano by Bittan. Like “Backstreets,” this is as good as “Racing” has been performed in the 2000s.

As vital as Danny was to 40 years of Springsteen history, life goes on. The Tampa show is a rumination on both of those undeniable truths, because the stage is “a place where miracles occur,” as Springsteen said at Federici’s funeral the night before the show. “And those you are with, in the presence of miracles, you never forget. Life does not separate you. Death does not separate you. Those you are with who create miracles for you, like Danny did for me every night, you are honored to be amongst.”

^{By Erik Flannigan via Nugs.net.}

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