2014-05-18 Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT

Scheduled: 19:30 Local Start Time: 20:03 / End Time: 22:54

Info & Setlist | Venue

Final show of the High Hopes Tour. 27-song set opens with six tour premieres in the first seven tracks, and the other has been played just once. "Roll Of The Dice" opens, followed by "Leap Of Faith" and "Jump". The soundchecked "Frankie" is next, before Christmas in May, "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town", by request. Human Touch outtake "Seven Angels" receives its live premiere, before "Don't Look Back", another sign request. Set also includes another airing for "Frankie Fell In Love", "Youngstown" and the last tour premiere of the night, "I'm A Rocker". Bruce dances with Maureen Van Zandt during "Dancing In The Dark". The encores also include "Ramrod", before the emotional closing trio of "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out", "Jungleland" and "Dream Baby Dream" bring the tour to a close. "Badlands", "High Hopes", "Born To Run", "Dancing In The Dark", and "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" are all performed, making them the five songs played at every show on the tour. Steven Van Zandt is present, but Patti Scialfa is absent.

Intro to “Roll of the Dice”
“Mohegan! (crowd cheers)(intro music starts)…did you lose your money? (crowd cheers) you must’ve lost your money…if you didn’t lose your money, we wouldn’t be here (crowd cheers) somebody’s got to lose their money to get us here…did anybody win any money? (crowd cheers)(chuckles) well, either we’re gonna make you feel lucky tonight (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Leap of Faith”
“Are you feeling lucky tonight? (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”
“Alright (crowd cheers) let me see what you got out there tonight (crowd cheers)…”

Middle of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town”
“It’s a little early but, uh, Santie came (crowd cheers) shake that thing (chuckles)…”

Intro to “Seven Angels”
“I’ve seen this sign at about the past ten shows…it’s a very obscure song off of “Tracks”…I think we can play it (crowd cheers) might have been played once before, I’m not sure…yes, no? it’s never been played?…never been played, tonight we have a tour and E Street Band premiere! (crowd cheers) this song out of all the hundreds of songs that have been played, this song has never been played, alright (crowd cheers) here we go…Max! (Max starts drumming)…featuring Garry Tallent on this number (crowd cheers) step to the middle, Mr. Tallent, step to the middle (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Don’t Look Back”
“Yeah, that’s pretty good that one (crowd cheers) that should be played, that one should be played (crowd cheers)…breaking out all the oddities tonight, all the oddities (crowd cheers)…remember the chord progression? (strums his guitar) bridge (strums his guitar and sings off mic) we’re missing just one chord and we’ll be right with you (chuckles)…Tom says he’s got it…(strums his guitar)… yeah, alright, let’s go…”

at the end of “You Can Look”
“We need a Stevie double-header!…a Stevie double-header!…”

Intro to “Frankie Fell in Love”
“Alright, we got a math lesson…it’s the kind of math you can only learn right here…now, in school you get taught that one and one is (some in the crowd: “Two”) how boring can it get?…but here at the …rock and roll show…if you wanna have a good night…one and one’s gotta equal (crowd: “Three”) that’s right…us…you…me…”

Middle of “Ramrod”
“Look over yonder see the casino lights…
(…) Stevie! (Steve: “Yeah, Boss”) Stevie! (Steve: “Yeah, Boss”) Stevie, what time is it? (crowd cheers) (Steve: “It’s Boss-time!”)…”

Middle of “Dancing in the Dark”
“Let’s hear it for Mrs. Van Zandt! (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Jungleland”
“The last dance…”

After “Jungleland”
“You’ve just seen the legendary (crowd: “E Street Band”)(crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Dream Baby Dream”
“One more before we move on down the road (crowd cheers) got some friends in the house tonight from the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, the Bridgeport Rescue Mission provides meals, shelter and clothing to those suffering and homeless in the Coastal Fairfield County, if you see the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, they’re on the frontline doing good work for your neighbors in need, please give them a hand (crowd cheers) I wanna take a moment to thank yourselves tonight for coming out and seeing us, we appreciate the support (crowd cheers) after all these years, and I wanna thank all the four million plus people that have seen us on the “Wrecking Ball-High Hopes”-tour (crowd cheers) they, uh, they made this simply one of the greatest musical stretches of our lives, we were coming out of hard times and, uh…I can’t thank all of you and all of them enough so…here we go…”

Towards the end of “Dream Baby Dream”
“The E Street Band loves you (crowd cheers) we’ll be seeing you (crowd cheers)…”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

Tom Cantillon

An electrifying performance! Bruce was on fire from the moment he stepped on stage and remained so through out the entire show. The main set alone blazed with simply some great rock 'n' roll.
The show started with a rousing "Roll of the Dice" and "Leap of Faith" combo. "Jump" was also very good. An unusual request for "Santa Claus" actually had the entire place singing along. "Seven Angels" definitely needs to be played more. "Frankie" was also a great choice that night. Although "Darkness on the Edge of Town" is not an epic song, Bruce played it as if it were and it was intense! "You Can Look" was fun to hear, as Bruce and Stevie shared the mike with this one, as well as on, "Frankie Fell in Love."
Then came an extended set of hard-hitting rock. One of the best "Adam Raised the Cain" versions I've seen. Bruce burned the solos and the band kicked some real muscle into it. Following "Adam" came "High Hopes", "Youngstown", "Murder Incorporated", an extended, powerful, "Johnny 99", "Cadillac Ranch" and "I'm a Rocker!" The Springsteen/Morello version of "Ghost of Tom Joad" is simply a highlight of any of the shows. Wondering where Bruce was going to take the show after opening the encores with "Born to Run" and "Ramrod", an extremely emotional and spiritual version of "Jungleland" and "Dream Baby Dream" closed out one of the best shows I've seen Bruce and band play. He managed to balance a night of hard-rocking songs with a very emotional end to the show, the night and the tour. What makes Bruce unique as a performer is that, he goes on instinct, and after delivering an intense, nonstop rock show, he gave us what many rock shows fail to deliver, a moment of personal intimacy that truly connects and resonates with his audience. It's exactly what great music should be and there's no greater performer or band to deliver such a promise. And they do so, night after night, tour after tour. Amen to that!
Thanks once again for some amazing shows, even if this leg of the tour was a short one.

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Springsteen comes up aces in tour closer at Mohegan Sun

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — When Bruce Springsteen walked onstage at Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday night to close out his tour with the E Street Band, he asked the sold-out crowd if they had won or lost money at the casino.

The answer was of no consequence, however, as Springsteen declared, “Either way, we’re going to make you feel lucky tonight” as he and the band — 17 members strong — launched into the setting appropriate “Roll of the Dice.”

From that point forward it seemed as if Springsteen was hellbent on exhausting himself, the band, and the crowd, wringing out every last drop of energy, sweat, and fire for the final show on a tour that started over two years ago. The group roared through nearly 30 songs in almost three hours, often counting off the start of one tune before the last had ended.

While the set list was dotted with popular concert singalongs — “Badlands,” “Born to Run,” “Dancing in the Dark” — Springsteen was also clearly in an expansive mood, taking offbeat sign requests and calling so many audibles that the musicians were constantly scampering and huddling, telling each other what song was next.

It was remarkable to watch as the group worked out arrangements nearly immediately to some songs that hadn’t been played all tour — or in the case of “Seven Angels,” ever — and then played them with remarkable precision. (And kudos to the teleprompter operator who uses that time to find the lyrics and load them.)

In addition to “Dice” and “Angels,” a welcome down and dirty rocker, other left-field choices near the beginning of the night included a jubilant “Leap of Faith” and the slow-burning whisper of “Frankie.”

Christmas also came early in the form of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” played at the behest of a little girl who brought her request sign onstage. And they also took another go at Van Halen’s “Jump,” which they had played earlier this year at an NCAA basketball event.

That last tune was among several that featured the newest addition to the touring band, Rage Against the Machine guitar alchemist Tom Morello, who contributed to the album “High Hopes.”

In addition to proving a capable fill-in for Eddie Van Halen on “Jump,” Morello added welcome intensity to the song “High Hopes” — a maelstrom of acoustic and electric guitars, percussion, and Springsteen’s impassioned wail — and tore it up on an incendiary “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” during which he and Springsteen shared the microphone and traded solos.

Springsteen’s steady microphone partner, guitarist Steven Van Zandt, was also in fine form after having missed part of the tour to film the second season of his Netflix series “Lilyhammer.”

He and Springsteen had walked out together, arms slung around each other’s shoulders, and were locked into a groove all night, at times harmonizing with intensity as on “Ramrod” and at others cracking each other up, as on a revved-up “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch).”

While the night’s tilt was toward the upbeat, there were several more contemplative though no less energetic passages, including a brooding “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” the biblical fire of “Adam Raised a Cain” — featuring a maniacally warped guitar solo from Springsteen — and the always uplifting “The Rising.”

Even with a whopping 17 members, Springsteen gave each musician a chance to shine in some way. (It could’ve been 18 but Springsteen’s wife, guitarist-singer Patti Scialfa, chose to sit the show out.)

The horn section in particular were a hit with the punch they added to everything from “Jump” to “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” and their showmanship added a level of gaiety to the proceedings, particularly on an epic horn breakdown section of “Johnny 99.”

Saxophonist Jake Clemons was in particularly fine form, playing the epic solo from “Jungleland” with a skillful dynamism. Clemons appeared to choke up as he finished playing the solo created by original E Street sax man, his uncle Clarence Clemons, and Springsteen came over and laid his head on his shoulder after having given a hushed-to-howling vocal performance that seemed to have officially spent his energy.

Both Clarence Clemons and the late keyboardist Danny Federici were warmly recalled with video tributes during “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out.”

Curiously, Springsteen did not introduce the band or engage in one of his customary bursts of testifying, instead sticking with letting the music do the talking.

Springsteen returned to the stage solo and sat at a small pump organ and thanked both the fans in the arena and the 4 million who had come out to see the tour for “one of the greatest musical stretches of our lives.”

With the help of his trio of backing vocalists he performed a meditative cover of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream,” that was part elegy, part lullaby, part prayer, sending the audience off with a message of hope.

^{By Sarah Rodman via The Boston Globe.}

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