2009-05-15 Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, PA

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

No Max Weinberg again - Jay Weinberg plays drums for the entire show, including his first performances on "Spirit In The Night", "Twist And Shout", "Give The Girl A Kiss", "Trapped", and "Bobby Jean". 27 songs, including tour premieres for "Twist And Shout" and the tour's only "Give The Girl A Kiss", last played July 29, 1999 in New Jersey. "Outlaw Pete" includes a snippet of "Apache" in the introduction. "American Land" includes a snippet of "Theme From Shaft" in the midsection. "Twist And Shout", "Give The Girl A Kiss", "Trapped", "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", and "Bobby Jean" are played by sign request. Brucebase reader Chris was present at the soundcheck, and reports that "Bruce had not yet arrived, so Steven did the vocals for these three songs. They stopped a few times during "Lost In The Flood" because none of the band members could remember some of the parts. They also stopped for a few seconds so Steven could tell Jay Weinberg exactly how the drums were supposed to be during the line "everything stops, you hear five quick shots." They practiced that line a few times. Along with Max, Patti Scialfa is also not present.

Intro to “Badlands”
“Hello, Hershey, PA! (crowd cheers)…are you ready to be delivered? (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Spirit in the Night”
“Can you feel the spirit? (crowd cheers) can you feel the spirit now? (crowd cheers) can you feel the spirit? (crowd cheers) can you feel the spirit now? (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Radio Nowhere”
“Oh, God blessed us with another beautiful night (crowd cheers) let’s use it, come on…
(…) 18-year-old Jay Weinberg! (crowd cheers)…”

End of “Twist and Shout”
“We burn Hannah Montana, baby (chuckles)…”

Middle of “Working on a Dream”
“Good evening, Hershey, Pennsylvania! (crowd cheers) we’re so glad to be here tonight…in the wonderful home of…candy (crowd cheers) that’s right…that’s right…but we’ve come here tonight with a purpose…the E Street Band of course is here tonight to fulfil its solemn vow to rock the house! (crowd cheers) but we ain’t here tonight just to rock the house…we’re here tonight to build a house… right here in this amusement park…we’re gonna take fear and we’re gonna build a house of love…we’re gonna take despair and we’re gonna build a house of hope…we’re gonna take doubt and build a house of faith…we’re gonna take sadness and build a house of joy and happiness tonight (crowd cheers) and we’re gonna take that cooling off and we’re gonna build a house of sexual healing (crowd cheers) that’s right…and we’re gonna use the bad wood… we’re gonna use the good wood…and we’re gonna use the bad news that’s out there and we’re gonna use the good news that’s there… and we got all the tools we need right here on this stage and in these seats and on this field tonight (crowd cheers) but there’s just one thing…we can’t do it ourselves…that’s why the E Street Band is here night after night after night after night because we can’t do it by ourselves…if we’re gonna build a house out of music and spirit and noise…well, the band is here tonight and we’re gonna bring down all the power of the music…but Hershey, we need you to bring the noise (crowd cheers) now sing it like you mean it…”

Intro to “Give the Girl a Kiss”
“I’m not sure if we know this one…alright, what do we got here?…what does that say?…this is very obscure…yes, this is quite obscure, it can be found out there but the name of this song is “Give the Girl a Great Big Kiss” and so an ingenious fan out there – being that we’re here in Hershey, Pennsylvania, of course – “Give the (?) we’re gonna try it…uh, how does it start? (chuckles)…(?) what, what, what, what’s the first guitar part?…oh yeah…alright… come right and sing it…I grew tired – alright (chuckles) maybe I’ll wait a little bit and groove, alright, here we go, alright, give me the (?)…”G,” right?…I knew that…”

After “Give the Girl a Kiss”
“Alright…a mighty good one, band…”

Intro to “Trapped”
“I’ve seen a lot of signs for this out there so we’re gonna give it a shot…”

Intro to “Kingdom of Days”
“Thank you…I’m gonna send this one out to Patti tonight, she sends her love…she’s home, she’s, uh, still nursing her ribs after a slip off her horse and also it’s prom night! (chuckles)…my daughter is seventeen…security! (chuckles)(laughs from the crowd) this is for Miss Patti, here we go…”

Intro to “Hard Times”
“Thank you for coming out to the show tonight, Hershey, PA (crowd cheers) woo!…oh yeah, it’s been great being able to spend these two beautiful nights with you in the past year and I love all the signs but actually it’s getting ridiculous now, I have to say (chuckles) we appreciate that…oh, alright, this is, uh…oh, I gotta say…18-year-old Jay Weinberg (chuckles)(crowd cheers) taking over from his dad (crowd cheers) the first guy to sit in that seat for 35 years besides his Pop (crowd cheers) that’s saying something… you wanna sit there at eighteen? that’s doing something (chuckles) woo!…these are for some friends of ours from the Central Pennsylvania Foodbank…Central Pennsylvania Foodbank distributes more than fifteen pounds, fifteen million pounds of food and grocery products each year to 27 Central Pennsylvania counties, if you pick up your newspapers, I’m sure you all know friends or relatives, see the millions of jobs that have been lost and the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost just over the past several months, there are so many people that are struggling out there in some very, very difficult times, it’s groups like the Central Pennsylvania Foodbank that help struggling citizens and make the difference between kids going to bed hungry or going to bed with some nutritious food, right now in these hard times, please support your neighbors and support the Central Pennsylvania Foodbank (crowd cheers) this was a song written in 1855 by Stephen Foster… more things change, the more they stay the same, this is “Hard Times Come Again No More”…”

Intro to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
“Is there anybody alive out there? (crowd cheers) come on then let me hear you (crowd chants the intro) let’s hear it, come on now (crowd keeps singing) I don’t hear thirty thousand people, man, no (crowd keeps singing) that’s about twenty thousand, we got ten to go (crowd keeps singing) that’s twenty-five, we got five more (crowd keeps singing)…”

Intro to “American Land”
“Thank you for coming out to the show tonight (crowd cheers)…
(…) The undeniable Little Steven (crowd cheers) from the Sessions Band, Curtis King (crowd cheers) the man that brings the thunder down under, Mr. Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers) Sister Soozie Tyrell on the violin (crowd cheers) the unbelievable, the, the, the, the, the prodigy, Jay Weinberg (crowd cheers) the brilliant Professor Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) the unescapable Charlie Giordano (crowd cheers) the beautiful and talented Cindy Mizelle (crowd cheers) one of the greatest guitarists in the world, Nils Lofgren (crowd cheers) and the biggest man you’ve ever seen: Clarence “Big Man” Clemons (crowd cheers) Hershey! (crowd cheers) Hershey! (crowd cheers) Pennsylvania! (crowd cheers) Pennsylvania! (crowd cheers) Pennsylvania! (crowd cheers) Pennsylvania! (crowd cheers) Pennsylvania! (crowd cheers)
you’ve just seen the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, hard-rocking, earth-shocking, booty-shaking, love-making, Viagra-taking, fucking history-making, legendary (crowd: “E Street Band”)(crowd cheers) …”

End of “American Land”
“You can’t take no more (crowd cheers) I can tell you’re done, you’re finished, you’re finished (?)(crowd cheers)(?)…”

Intro to “Bobby Jean”
“Goodnight, everybody…thank you, Hershey (crowd cheers) thank you, Pennsylvania, we love you (crowd cheers) one more (crowd cheers) get on those instruments, boys, get on those instruments …(chuckles)(?)…are you ready, band?…(?)…a fabulous sign, just, just the kind of sign we’re talking about, alright (chuckles)…”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

AJM	Was there and saw it all. Better than Aug 2008 (IMHO). Bruce and the band kicked it up a notch since the Spectrum.
BJ	As always, another great show from Bruce and the band. Although, last August's Hershey show clocked in at 10 minutes longer (Friday night's was exactly 3 hours). Terrific set list, but I would like to hear a little more from the new WOAD CD. I adore this man and everything he does, but I do fear that his last two tours have turned turned into an oldies act. It's great fun to sing along with the old songs that everyone knows, but with so little live time for the songs from "Magic" and "WOAD," those songs will never have an opportunity to ever become old favorites. I'm Bruce's age and a 25+ year fan, so I can understand if he's kind of going through a nostalgia thing, but I don't want to see him become just another oldies act. His music has remained too relevant and he's just simply too good a performer to steer down that path. I just would like to hear more of his recent work mixed in with the classics. Anyone else feel the same way?
Bobby Joe	Another vintage bruce show. Twist and shout six songs in got the house jumping and it never stopped.
FJF	Agree with all the great sentiments about this show. It seems the real, die-hard fans from the Philly and NJ area made it out to Hershey, making the crowd absolutely unbelievable. And the venue was great. I was with a group that included 4 kids from age 3-8, and we were able to spend most of the concert on the floor. Adults and kids dancing all night. The man is pure genius!!!!
Jaybo	Heck of a set. Twist and Shout was seamless, while Give the Girl a Great big (Hershey) Kiss was a fabulous audible, even if they struggled a bit with it. Jay played all night - I have a new found appreciation for how efficiently his Dad plays, as Jay really uses his whole body to play. I can die now…no, wait, I have tickets for Monday night…
Jeff C	A great show and a beautiful night. In addition to Jay W. playing, Patti was not there either because it was their daughter's prom night !
Nicki	Awesome - still star struck. On the floor the whole night working our way up. I never get tired of seeing Bruce - I ususally see him in Philly - loved being outside in Hershey for this one - under the stars on a summer night - life is good!
Tom Cantillon	The amazing thing about seeing Springsteen and the E Street Band do their thing better than just about anyone else is that, no matter what kind of day you're having, even if just an ordinary one, seeing Bruce and band simply makes it extraordinary. This one was a bit tricky being that I did not arrive in the parking lot until 7:50, without a ticket. But luckily, after a short search I ended up with a GA for $10 and entered as Badlands was starting. Bruce and band were definitely on. They made that transition from arena to stadium effortlessly. A great Spirit, Out in the Streets and early surprise of Twist & Shout really kicked the show into high gear. Trapped was especially strong. Backstreets! What needs to be said? A classic! Last year's show was amazing, with an encore set that was a mini concert in its own right, but the only thing missing from last year's show was Backstreets. Thanks for playing it this time around. It gives Kingdom of Days a more powerful punch as both songs present the spectrum of life inside a relationship. I just don't understand why Backstreets is not played more often, or in fact, why it's not a staple in the show. It's strange that it appears every so often as a "special" song, when on other tours, Bruce played it on a regular basis. Hands down, one of his best songs ever and the crowd, no matter where, loves it. My opinion, keep it right there next to Kingdom of Days for a powerful 1-2 punch of something classic, paired with something new. The crowd was great! People were up all night, which definitely fueled Bruce's desire to give us his all. Energetic encore set with a great Thunder Road and 10th Avenue. He just needed a better song to end with than Bobby Jean. Ramrod or 7 Nights would have done the trick. Still, all in all, there's no other place I'd rather be than at a Springsteen concert, especially outdoors, beneath the stars on a summer-like night, hearing some of the best music ever.

Brucebase Wiki

Site Navigation