2007-09-28 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

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

Info & Setlist | Venue

Scheduled benefit rehearsal show. New arrangement for "Reason To Believe", featuring a ZZ-Top riff and the bullet mic seen on the Devils & Dust Tour. "Town Called Heartbreak" is the acoustic version. Final "Born In The U.S.A." of 2007. Sessions Band members Lisa Lowell and Larry Eagle guest on maracas for "American Land".

Rehearsal Show

Larry Eagle (Guest)
Lisa Lowell (Guest)

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

Intro to “Gypsy Biker”
“Good evening (crowd cheers) welcome to the last night of E Street Band boot camp…that´s right…they´ve sweated (chuckles) they´ve had to get up in the middle of the night to perform their duties… everybody up and (?)(chuckles)…and in return they have a little bit of air-conditioning tonight (chuckles)(?)…(starts strumming the intro) this is “Gypsy Biker”…”

Intro to “Magic”
“Thank you (crowd cheers) Little Steven on the guitar…alright, this is the title song from the record…this is, uh…a song, I guess…we kind of live in Orwellian times when what´s true can be made to seem a lie and what´s a lie can be made to seem true…and uh… look out for that magic…”

Intro to “Livin´ in the Future”
“Alright…was anybody up early with us? (crowd cheers) I still got my pajamas on under my clothes…too early!…that´s part of the boot camp, the E Street boot camp…that´s right, if you can play that early, you can play anytime…oh…alright, this is a song about things that can´t happen here happening here…like we were saying this morning, along with cheeseburgers, French fries, Disneyland, the Super Bowl…oh, Jersey Shore hot dogs (crowd cheers) the Sopranos (crowd cheers)…all the things that we love about our home, we´ve had to add to the American picture over the past six years: illegal wiretapping, voter-suppression…restriction of civil liberties…a tragic war in Iraq and the deaths of our young, best young men and women…we´ve seen one of the most important cultural cities in the United States washed away…and its people neglected…those are the things that shouldn´t happen here but are happening here, this is a song called “Livin´ in the Future” but it´s about what´s happening right now…and we plan to do something about it right now…we plan to sing about it…right now…Max!…”

Intro to “Reason to Believe”
“Miss Patti Scialfa (crowd cheers) she has, she´s got a new record out so I´m gonna plug it (chuckles) it´s real good (chuckles)… alright, gentlemen…oh yeah…got a lot of songs on it, none of them are about me (chuckles)…”

Intro to “Waitin´ on a Sunny Day”
“(crowd continues the “Badlands”-chant)…Thank you! (crowd cheers)…(the crowd goes back to doing the “Badlands”-chant) ah… it´s nice to be back (crowd cheers)…(plays the “Badlands”-melody on acoustic while the crowd sings on)…(chuckles) it´s not quite the same like that…alright (?)…(the beginning of the song goes on much longer than usual)…calling audibles here…(chuckles) are we ready?…”

Intro to “Thundercrack”
“Oh yeah…oh yeah…ah, from out of the ancient vaults…till a few nights ago, Roy and Max, in all their years in the E Street Band, never played this song…so we´ll see how they do…”

Intro to “American Land”
“Lowell and Larry from the Sessions Band are gonna sit in with us on those maracas (chuckles)…alright, come on, Danny…alright, this is your country, don´t let ´em take it away from you, come on…”

After “American Land”
“Thanks, goodnight! (crowd cheers) boot camp is complete…thanks a lot, we love you…and we´ll be back (crowd cheers) in a couple of weeks, a couple weeks or so…”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

Tom Cantillon

Well, Bruce and band certainly dispelled any concerns I had that perhaps they needed a little more time rehearsing. Friday's show was amazing! Now, for those used to seeing a Springsteen concert, this one is a bit more streamlined and it works. The show is faster paced, more powerful and lively as the band bursts into old favorites, while adding in new material. Radio Nowhere was more impressive tonight than at Monday night's rehearsal. Ties that Bind was great to hear. I still think Cover Me or perhaps even Saint in the City would work in the number 2 slot as well. Lonesome Day was very good, but I'm not digging Gypsy Biker. The lyrics are buried beneath the wall of sound and screaming guitars. Might work better acoustic. Magic, I liked. I think it needs another slow song paired up with it, perhaps Brilliant Disguise or Two Faces would work. The double shot of Candy's Room and the blistering She's the One had the crowd on its feet, singing and cheering as the band tore through both songs. They should remain a concert staple without a doubt. Now, this is just my opinion, but I think the pairing of both might benefit from a third song added only because the intensity from both, although much appreciated by the crowd, seems short-lived as Bruce moved into one of the new songs. I would like to see any of the following added to that pairing: The Fever, Fire or even Because the Night would all do justice to that set. Livin' in the Future would definitely work much better as a sing along song if Bruce hadn't prefaced it by saying this is about illegal wiretapping and torture, because you just can't sing the song after having those images in your head. A Town called Heartbreak was well done. It's nice to see Bruce shake up the set lists and add even one of Patti's songs because it replaces Mansion on the Hill and it's actually a very good song, sung with a lot of passion. Now, Reason to Believe, done up with a bluesy, Dylanish Highway 61 feel was wild! Loved it! Keep it in the set. People around me thought it was a new song, but everyone seemed to really like it. Darlington County, I enjoy hearing, it's just a fun song. Born in the USA, powerfully done, but needs to be connected with some equally powerful tunes. How can a Poor Man or Lost in the Flood would add a lot to that moment Bruce and band are aiming for. The Rising, Last to Die, Long Walk Home and Badlands are just amazing together. They are all terrific songs on their own, but played together, the 4 are an intense, powerful moment and obvious highlight of the show as they deal with loss, frustration, anger, being disillusioned, yet finding the strength to "spit in the face of these badlands" and keep on going. An amazing moment from Bruce and band. And can Max drum any harder? Outstanding job Friday night. Encores were fine as Bruce lightened things up with Sunny Day and Thundercrack. American Land is just great live with the E Street band and a great way to end the show! I hope Bruce might consider adding into the encores, Drift Away because the line, "give me a beat boys to free my soul/I want to get lost in your rock 'n' roll and drift away" would bring the show full circle from Radio Nowhere. Outstanding show that I am sure will change as Bruce moves the tour along. But as it stands, it was a solid 9. I do believe now I've gotten my wife somewhat hooked on the shows, and that's a good thing for me. Thanks for a great night of rock 'n' roll, the way it was meant to be played, loud and with a whole lot of passion!

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A Small Arena Audience Helps Drill the E Street Band Into Tour-Ready Shape

“Welcome to the last night of E Street boot camp,” Bruce Springsteen said. “Bruuuce!” the audience said. “Bruuuce!”

The Friday concert was billed as the last of three public rehearsals for his tour with the E Street Band, a tour that is scheduled to start on Tuesday in Hartford. The location was the Continental Airlines Arena here, but only a few thousand tickets were offered, at $100 each; they disappeared immediately. If anything, the fact that this wasn’t a proper concert only increased the anticipation. Fans could feel as if they were eavesdropping on their hero, watching him hard at work, like one of the characters in his songs.

Maybe people were disappointed, then, that there were no false starts, no second takes, no exasperating lectures from a frustrated drill sergeant to his weary troops. The most exotic thing about the concert was the sea of empty seats at the back of the arena and the expanse of empty space on the floor. It felt more spooky than intimate, especially if you got there early enough to enjoy the apocalyptic weather: a half-cloudy sky, a sudden rainstorm, a strong wind blowing dust around the parking lot. (The tickets said 7:30 p.m., but doors didn’t even open until 7, and the music didn’t begin until 9.)

The show started with “Radio Nowhere,” the heraldic first song from Mr. Springsteen’s new album, “Magic” (Columbia). It has a chord progression that worked just as well when Tommy Tutone used it for “867-5309/Jenny.” And the lyrics are a reminder that no rock star has ever been better at blurring the line between rumination and exhortation. He keeps asking, “Is there anybody alive out there?” When he sings it on the album, it’s a wistful question with no correct answer. But when he sang it on Friday night, there was exactly one correct answer: “Bruuuce!”

It seems that this is going to be Mr. Springsteen’s most joyful-sounding tour in years. The most rousing new songs, like “Livin’ in the Future,” a deceptively jubilant chronicle of political despair, fit right in; others, like “Devil’s Arcade,” inspired sitting ovations. Notably absent was “Your Own Worst Enemy,” a new song that bears a pleasing and wholly unexpected resemblance to the work of the indie-pop band the Magnetic Fields.

Over all, the set felt strong but slightly shapeless, perhaps because Mr. Springsteen and his troops are still toying with it. He resurrected “Thundercrack,” which was recorded nearly a quarter-century ago and released in his 1998 box set, “Tracks”; it sounded great. So did “The Rising,” which has survived its role as a 9/11 theme song. By contrast, “Born in the U.S.A.” hasn’t quite recovered from decades of use and abuse. And he modified the wild bluesy version of “Reason to Believe” that he sang on the “Devils & Dust” tour, giving the song a thrilling strut.

Despite the occasional sour note or funny look, the members of the E Street Band seemed to please their sergeant. At the end of the night, as a familiar sound — “Bruuuce!” — once again filled the arena for the last time, he announced, “Boot camp is complete.”

^{By Kelefa Sanneh via The New York Times.}

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