2002-07-26 Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ

Scheduled: 14:00 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

Another warm up gig, this time for contest winners and guests. "Countin' On A Miracle" gets its live premiere. "Empty Sky" is acoustic, as it will be performed throughout the tour. "Into The Fire" features Clarence Clemons on bagpipes. First public E Street Band performance of "Glory Days" since 1988. "Born In The U.S.A." is full-band. "Land Of Hope And Dreams" is performed with the "People Get Ready" interlude for the first time. Full camera crew recorded the event, hence two versions of "The Rising". However, none of this footage has ever been used.

On Stage
Setlist
Performances
Appearances
Cancelled
Performances (w/o Bruce)
Gallery
Media
Recording
Storyteller
Eyewitness
News/Memorabilia

Rehearsal Show

Bruce Springsteen
The E Street Band
Soozie Tyrell

Chris Walton	Long time Bruce vet. Bruce had crowd singing chorus for waiting on a sunny day when nobody had even heard it before…. amazing…………..
Lisa	I actually kept a setlist and scribbled some stuff during the show, so since I bothered you all have to be bored by it now. The pen flew out of my hand a couple of times due to excitement and my shorthand in the dark made for some funny reading on the train but I can read some of it, and I'm not SO old (ahem Bushy) that my memory is completely shot. It will be no surprise to anyone that no matter how much you love the CD, it's SO much better live. Some of it was so appreciably better that I was amazed, in fact. Anyway here's the setlist: The Rising: It was a good opener. It rocks, it's loud, it works. There were no extra guitar solos as many of us were hoping. Stevie joins him at the mic after the first li li lis and also at the end. If anyone here is as enthralled with Bruce's left shoulder as I am, wait'll you see it go nuts here. Lonesome Day: Great great great. For future concert attendees, your hand is to go up at the "yeah!" in the "it's all right, it's all right, yeah!" part. (We must know our choreography, of course.) Clarence makes an appearance here and by the way, looks wonderful. He isn't slim by any stretch of the imagination but he really looks good. Bruce is proud of this song. Four songs in, he went back and mentioned the titles and he said of Lonesome Day, "DAMN, that's a good one…damn!" then he sort of giggled. And he's right. With these two songs he had the crowd; people were dancing already and then…and then… Prove It: Man it was good to see that again. The Fuse: This caused a mad scramble for the bathrooms, actually. I'm not crazy about it on the CD; I find it a bit too monotonous to be sexy but well, it sure helps if he's standing right there singing it looking really cute. Nils gets to show off briefly here too. Darkness! Beautifully done. There's so much guitar that I wish Soozie's violin could be cranked up a little for this one. It's a nice subtle addition. Empty Sky: He said, "We figured this out at the kitchen table this morning and we're not sure how it'll work…"and then Patti joined him at the mic, and the population of Convention Hall collectively cringed and drew back. No no no, I'm making that part up. Anyway there was a lot of banter about "You start, no YOU start, no you do those oooohs…shit!" And then they started, and they ooooh ooooohed together, and he did some falsetto stuff, and it was gorgeous. First verse acoustic, then Patti kicks in, then by the second verse Soozie and Stevie were playing, and Nils was seated playing some weird instrument. And it was pretty darned good. I'll take it over Mansion as Patti's moment. An aside: Patti sounded good today; she was not squeaky at all. But Bruce has added an odd hiccup to this song that he must have caught from her. You're Missing: Some beautiful piano and violin. Bruce just stands at the mic and sings, no guitar in hand, tapping on his thigh. I remember thinking how little he looked up there without it. Patti had what looked like a brand new one, however, bright cherry red. The song is really lovely. Waitin' on a Sunny Day: Soozie moved down to the front and they all just wail on this one. It's GREAT live. It's the new Hungry Heart in that he expected a sing along. And it went very well, considering some people there had probably never heard it before. More Stevie stuff, cute little dances, etc. VERY well received. The Promised Land: Thank you, thank you. Worlds Apart: I wrote "!!!!" Period. Stunning. It's fabulous. It's going to bring down the house. The guitars are overwhelming. That's Bruce carrying on at the end. Also, I assumed it wasn't Patti on the CD (it sure doesn't sound like her) but she did that part today and it sounded like the CD, so I guess it isn't some Pakistani woman on there after all? I love this song and can't wait for Miami to see it live. He will not be able to resist. Two Hearts: I always skip this on boots but their chemistry makes it irresistible live. Mary's Place: the new LOD. He got audience involvement immediately, the house lights went up, he screwed up the words badly and then carried on about how he was glad this wasn't the Meadowlands because he could never take the public humiliation. They had to start over. A rant in progress about nights when you can't stand yourself, can't take your own bullshit, what you need is a house party…but what's a house party without a house BAND…and the intros. He's very cute at the end bending over doing the doo doo doos. The crowd loved it. It went over like gangbusters. It's okay. Tenth Ave: My friend said this was an audible. There did seem to be a lot of scrambling around but I wouldn't have noticed. My Hometown: ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Countin' On A Miracle: Again, great live. Lotsa fun, the lights go up some more, Stevie duets again. I love this one. 41 Shots: It was received well. No booing or anything. People were quiet, no big deal. The violin's nice on this one too. Into the Fire: Suddenly Clarence is on bagpipes!? It was a very confusing moment! Nils was on a slide guitar? (I guess that's what that is) All these weird minor chords were being played and I couldn't figure out what was coming. Suddenly Into the Fire just blasted off and you can't help but love it, very loud and insistent…and he wasn't twangy. SO much better than the CD. At the end he looked like he was delivering a benediction with both hands up. [Exit and Return] BTR GLORY DAYS: this is gonna stay in, folks, because he and Stevie duet again and it's where he names the cities. People went berserk. It sounded great and they looked like they love doing it. MCOR: this song just keeps getting better every time I hear it live. He started on piano (and he's better; I think he's been practicing.) Absolutely gorgeous. BITUSA: full band. I thought the crowd would go nuts but they didn't really. I don't care for this song in any of its versions so it was certainly no thrill for me. People were surprised and pleased but it wasn't mass hysteria like when Glory Days started. LOHAD: with People Get Ready at the end. (but he really shouldn't be singing "Don't need no ticket, just come on board" what with the ticket situation on the East coast and all….) The Rising again. Whew. It was THE most exciting Bruce-related thing I've done. So far. Oh and I looked into the black Durango that was parked downstairs and the only things in there were about six sharpies… LOL.
Stan	Folks grab all the tickets you can because if today was any indication, this tour is going to be phenomenal. To steal a line from Kid Leo in 1978, "Round for round, pound for pound, there ain't no finer band around: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band!" I was fortunate to get into today's show and to be near the front of the stage where Marsha somehow found her way up and joined me later. She'll post her own story later. The show was set to start at 2 p.m. and after a couple delays, they let us in around 1 p.m. At 2:15 p.m. Bruce came out by himself and said hello to everyone. Asked where everyone was from and people started saying Jersey towns. He then said: "Is there anyone here who's not from New Jersey or New York?" and a bunch of people then cheered. He then said the band would be on in awhile and he wanted to welcome all the contest winners. At 2:40 p.m. Bruce and the band came out to start the show. He said it was great to have a chance to play more than the three songs that they had been playing and he also welcomed The Alliance families who were in attendance. Soozie Tyrell is part of the band for this tour. She is in the area behind Steven and between Max and Roy. Here's the setlist and comments (if any): 1. The Rising. Very strong. Band members all have black pants and a black shirt (except Steven). 4. The Fuse. Backup vocals from Soozie and Patti. 5. Darkness on The Edge of Town with Soozie on violin. 6. Empty Sky. Patti joins Bruce at the center microphone for this. Bruce said: "We rehearsed this at the kitchen table this morning." And they then after a few takes, did the beginning harmony together. 7. You're Missing. Strong violin and Danny's organ is beautiful on this. 8. Waiting on A Sunny Day. Before he started this song Bruce said: "It's great to have folks in town. He said Asbury Park is enjoying a resurgence and gave the type of speech about the town he gave at the Christmas concerts. This is going to be a fun song in concert, Bruce walks all over the front of the stage and has the crowd singalong. 10. Worlds Apart. Some piped in background vocals from the singers who are on the CD. Danny plays the accordion here. 11. Two Hearts. Played the same way as on the Reunion Tour. 12. Mary's Place. This is going to be the party song. Bruce says: "are you ready for a house party?" He said: "At night I need to get out. I'm tired of my own bull that I need other people's bull." Bruce introduces the band during this song. Bruce and Clarence clown around toward the end of song. This song takes the show to another level. It is great and I'm sure will be one of the highlights of the show every night. 13. 10th Ave. Freezeout. The normal version 17. Into The Fire. Clarence starts off playing bagpipes on this song. End of regular set. Finished at 4:30 p.m., Start of encores. 18. Born To Run. Before playing this Bruce says: "this is for our friends outside" and he pointed toward the boardwalk. 19. Glory Days. He kidded around with Steve toward the end and he mentioned some of the cities the tour would be headed to. 20. My City of Ruins. Bruce starts off playing the piano on this one. Before starting Bruce gave another speech about Asbury Park and how he's very excited about the new music and record he has coming out. He mentioned The Saint, a bar on Main Street in Asbury Park. Danny has an organ solo here (where the trumpet part was at the Christmas shows) and Soozie also has a violin solo. 21. Electric Born In The USA 22. Land of Hope and Dreams with a few verses of "People Get Ready" at the end. 23. The Rising again. Bruce said they were filming and he wanted to do this song one more time. Show ended at 5:15 p.m. Two hours and 35 minutes total. After the show some members of the band came out to talk to the crowd on the beach on the southside of Convention Hall. Clarence was talking to the crowd and kept leading them into cheers saying "You can expect the best from the E Street Band." He even brought Bruce out alongside him and the crowd of about 150 said the chant for Bruce. It was so cool to see, Clarence was the cheerleader. I saw Danny, Max, and Steven come out also. I understand there were some major problems with the drop line. Most of the people got in but without some major hassles and some very scary moments. Hopefully someone who was there can post the details. The show was filmed. They had several cameras set up around Convention Hall. Not sure who filmed it, it may have been VH1 and since Bruce filmed The Rising twice, he may have been filming that for a video. I saw tons of Live Daily people including contest winner Sherry Darling (Cindy) and her pal Toots, plus Hazey Davey, Jersey Nights, Eugene, Marsha and many more. Grab your suitcase and your tickets, this is going to be a great tour. Bruce and the band are as good and as tight as ever. Thank you for reading.

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