2009-05-23 Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Tour firsts for "Something In The Night", "Cover Me" and "Incident On 57th Street". "The E Street Shuffle", "Cover Me", and "Thunder Road" are played by sign request. "Outlaw Pete" includes a snippet of "Apache" in the introduction. "American Land" includes a snippet of "Theme From Shaft" in the midsection. "Glory Days" includes the "Louie Louie" coda. Patti Scialfa is not present. Final show of the first U.S. leg of the tour.

Intro to “Badlands”
“Alright, New Jersey! (crowd cheers)…”

Middle of “Working on a Dream”
“Good evening, neighbours! (crowd cheers) I’m so glad to be here in the swamps of Jersey tonight (crowd cheers) I’m so glad to be home (crowd cheers) now the E Street Band has come here tonight to fulfil our solemn vow…to rock the house! (crowd cheers) we didn’t come here tonight just, just to rock the house, we came here tonight ‘cause we wanna build a house (crowd cheers) right here in this room we wanna build a house tonight, we wanna take the fear that’s out there and build a house of love (crowd cheers) we wanna take the despair and we wanna build us a house of hope (crowd cheers) we wanna take doubt and build a house of faith (crowd cheers) we wanna take the sadness and the blues that’s out there and build a house of joy and happiness (crowd cheers) and we wanna take that cooling off and we wanna build a house of sexual healing! (crowd cheers) that’s right, that’s why we’re here…and we’re gonna use the bad wood and 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 here tonight…and we got all the tools we need right here on this stage and in these seats tonight (crowd cheers) that’s right, that’s right…but there’s just one thing…we can’t build that house by ourselves…that’s why we’re here night after night after night after night because we can’t build that house by ourselves…if we wanna build a house out of music and out of spirit and out of noise…well, the E Street Band is here tonight and we’re gonna do all we can to bring down the power of the music on you (crowd cheers) but, New Jersey, we need you to bring the noise (crowd cheers) now sing it like you mean it …”

Intro to “Kingdom of Days”
“Thank you (crowd cheers) woo! (crowd cheers) Professor Roy Bittan on the piano (crowd cheers) gonna send this one out to Patti, Patti sends her love, I have a young daughter that is on tour also and so, uh, she’s with her tonight and she sends her best and we’ll send this one out to her…”

Intro to “Hard Times”
“Thank you, New Jersey (crowd cheers) I wanna thank everyone for coming out to the shows we did here, first and tonight, thank you very much (crowd cheers) I wanna thank all our friends and neighbours for the long-time support of the E Street Band here in New Jersey, thank you (crowd cheers) we have some friends in the hall tonight, folks from the Community Foodbank of New Jersey, for more than 25 years the Community Foodbank has helped the struggling citizens right here in the Garden State, last year alone they helped more than half a million local people through hard times, if you pick up the newspapers these days, you see the millions of jobs that have been lost over the past several years, you see the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost just in the recent months and there are many, many folks going through very, very difficult times, organizations like the Community Foodbank of New Jersey are very often their only safety net, makes the difference between going to bed hungry or some nutritious food in their stomachs, it’s a time when we gotta stand up, assist our neighbours and please support the Community Foodbank of New Jersey (crowd cheers) oh…this was a song written by Stephen Foster in 1855, it’s called “Hard times come again no more”…”

Intro to “American Land”
“Thanks for coming out to the show tonight (crowd cheers)…
(…) The incredible Little Steven (crowd cheers) Curtis King from the Sessions Band (crowd cheers) Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers) Sister Soozie Tyrell (crowd cheers) Max is back - the Mighty Max Weinberg (crowd cheers) he’s happy (chuckles)…Professor Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) Charlie Giordano (crowd cheers) Cindy Mizelle (crowd cheers) Nils Lofgren (crowd cheers) and the biggest man you’ve ever seen: Clarence “Big Man” Clemons (crowd cheers) Jersey! (crowd cheers) Jersey! (crowd cheers) Jersey! (crowd cheers) Jersey! (crowd cheers) Jersey! (crowd cheers) Jersey! (crowd cheers) Jersey! (crowd cheers) Jersey! (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”)(crowd cheers) that’s fucking right!…”

Intro to “Glory Days”
“You got nothing left, man, you can’t take any more (crowd cheers) you can’t take any more (crowd cheers) no, you don’t have it, you got nothing left, no (crowd cheers) are you trying to test me? (crowd cheers) do you want to test me? (crowd cheers) do you want to test me? (crowd cheers) the turnpike is closed, nobody goes home…
(…) Hey, Steve! (Steve: “Yeah?”) I think it’s quitting time, baby (Steve: “Oh no”) we’re going home now (Steve: “Say it ain’t so”) I’m gonna go home, put on my pyjamas (Steve: “Yeah? Sounds pretty good”) get me a cheeseburger (Steve: “That sounds really good”) yes…all I wanna know, Steve…Steve, if it ain’t quitting time, what time is it? (Steve chuckles before going “It’s Boss-time”)…”

Intro to “Mony Mony”
“Give me a D-chord…”

After “Mony Mony”
“Thank you, Jersey! (crowd cheers) we’ll see you in the fall at Giants Stadium (crowd cheers) we’re gonna wreck the ball, we’re gonna take it down…goodnight, everybody (crowd cheers)…”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

Jack of Hearts	There should be an announcement made before the show: "Ladies & Gentlemen and children of all ages, welcome to the Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Show on Earth!" Kickass, killer show from start to finish. Something in the Night! Seeds, Johnny 99 — rocked! Good Lovin — hell yeah! Cover Me! Cover Me! Incident on 57th Street!!! Damn! Flat out amazing! So lucky to have been there for that one. Didn't think it was coming this leg of the tour, but he pulled it out for Jersey and played the hell out of it. Kitty's Back tore the roof off the joint and Glory Days and Mony Mony just added fuel to the blazing inferno Bruce and band ignited that night! Best damn show! Best damn band — period! Giants Stadium, you bet!
Katie	Bruce was amazing last night! Outlaw Pete sounded great live, and the E street shuffle and Johnny 99 made my night. He killed it!!! I can't wait to see him again in October!!
McMurphy	As the first few notes of Roy's piano drifted through the arena for the classic, Incident on 57th Street, I was suddenly transported to the streets of New York, joining Spanish Johnny and Puerto Rican Jane on the eve of where everything they have and have dreamt of, hangs in the balance of Johnny's decision of whether or not to surrender to the seductive calls of the wild street life, or remain in bed with the innocent and lovely Jane. Where did those barefoot street boys, lost souls and romantic young boys all go? What do they know? What have they seen? They through away their switchblade knives, so they have come to realize something that hopefully, Johnny will also. So many young men thinking they are Marlon Brando or James Dean, wearing their black, leather jacket like a second skin, identified by the hard look in their eyes that only masks their vulnerability and loneliness. You know you're hoping Johnny makes it, survives the concrete jungle to reunite with Jane down on Lover's Lane. Damn, he has to. She's counting on him. She moved over to share her pillow. Her heart hangs in the balance. Her hope is on that cross that probably hangs around her neck. Is her love for Johnny strong enough to rescue him from the underworld? What a damn fine song. A MASTERPIECE! Thankfully, I got to hear it. To experience it! "Good night, it's all tight, Jane."
Tom Cantillon	What makes a Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band concert so special? What keeps many of us coming back, time and time again? For those who have yet to experience one of their concerts, they just don't know. After 151 shows, I know I can only answer for myself. Why do I keep going back after all these years? First, his music has a way of ranscending everything else in one's life, even if for just those 3 hours you're at the concert. And that in itself is what makes the shows so uplifting and spiritually satisfying. For those few hours one is immersed in the music and the sheer energy, power and passion of the performance, it's enough to remove us from our ordinary lives and place us within all those wild and romantic beliefs that ""faith will be rewarded"". And sometimes that alone is enough. Sometimes that alone is enough to help us get through and continue forward and still believe. And there are very few other performers who can achieve such a feeling. It's a testament to Springsteen's undying commitment to give every audience, regardless of where they play, a concert that is not only filled with great music, but also provides a true spiritual salvation through something as simple as good, old fashioned rock 'n' roll. I've seen and enjoyed many other concerts, but have NEVER walked away from one feeling the way I do after an E Street Band performance. I can honestly say that I probably wouldn't be doing some of the things I do in my life had it not been for Springsteen and his music. His music is both universal and personal at the same time. In a crowd of 20,000, you can feel on any given night that he's playing just for you. It's weird, but true. His music gives hope. Hope for the simple things in life, like finding a job that doesn't drain the life out of you; having the tenacity not to give up on your dreams, regardless of what they might be; to finding that life-long partner you can ride down the highway with together as you both head for a brighter horizon. Springsteen's music, his performances, are that light at the end of the tunnel leading us all, we just have to be strong enough and optimistic enough to travel that distance despite "the highway's jammed with broken heroes", because seriously, what else is there to do? It's life! It comes around once. No Surrender! His music is there to remind us not to give up, to keep picking ourselves up and move forward. Move forward, even if it's just one step at a time. And his music is also about being celebratory once you've made that journey. Life is meant to be lived, to experience, not to simply be an observer. One must participate. It is the only way to get something back. That very passion he puts into each and every song and performance is there to remind us that we are to put that same passion into our lives. Blaze like a meteor. Streak across that night sky, because you never know who might be looking up. All I can say is that over the twenty-nine years of having Springsteen's music in my life and having seen his shows, I know that my life has been changed on many levels for the better. And for that, I have to thank Mr. Springsteen and E Street Band. You keep me believing, and that has made all the difference. As far as the show: Hands down, one of the best! Easily in my top 20. Got to meet Jay Weinberg outside before the show. A really nice guy and impressive drummer. Whereas on Thursday night, Bruce seemed to focus on Born to Run and Darkness, this was more of a Wild & Innocent night. A real treat to get amazing versions of E Street Shuffle, the magnificent Incident on 57th Street and rockin' Kitty's Back! Powerful versions of Something in the Night, Seeds, Ghost, Cover Me and The Rising! Cover Me — fit it in with The Rising and Born to Run! Good Lovin'!! Amazing! Fun! Something he should definitely keep in the set because it's a blast. Glory Days and Mony Mony were great songs to rock out to and end one of the most amazing shows I've seen over the years. During several moments throughout the night, I really felt I was watching a band 20 years younger, giving their all. I don't know how he does it night after night. Springsteen is seemingly without a stop button, a rock 'n roll messiah bent on saving each and every last concert member. At least with me, he's succeeded. See you in the fall.

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