Last Shakedown (Continental Airlines Arena, 8/5/02)

Last night Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed their last rehearsal show for the upcoming 'barnstorming' tour, at the Continental Airlines Arena. To the list of improbable Bruce events I've seen, this ranks well up there.

When we got in, we noticed that from time to time the security folks were letting people with General Admission tickets up into a couple of sections of seats. We made our way over, and in the third big wave we were allowed to ascend. We settled halfway up section 109 to take in the show.

The band hit the stage a little after 7:30. Bruce announced, "I haven't seen a crowd this size since Little Rock, Arkansas, on the last tour... and I think it's the same people!" He then launched into renditions of "The Rising" and "Lonesome Day" that were both infinitely better than what most of us witnessed on TV last week. Bruce seemed relaxed, his voice was in fine form, and, for the most part, he and the band showed that they are ready for this tour.

Almost from the beginning, the little details emerged. In "The Rising," Nils helped Bruce out by singing the "dream of life" lines in the final verse; I believe Bruce did at least one as well. "Lonesome Day" featured a part I hadn't noticed before -- Clarence on baritone sax near the end.

The sound system is much improved over the reunion tour; crisp and clean virtually throughout ("Worlds Apart" being a notable exception). We also noticed a wrist-band system for the fron area of the floor; this appeared similar to the "jailbait" system in the reunion tour. It appeared to us that anyone not in that front floor section was hearing the show more than they were seeing it.

"Prove It All Night" brought the first loud ovation of the evening; it seems to me that ovations for only the oldies may become a problem on this tour. For me, the choice of oldies were somewhat disappointing -- all were staples of the reunion tour, and for the most part were presented with very similar arrangements.

The show is loosely structured around the more explicit 9/11 songs. Bookended by "The Rising" and "Into the Fire"; the slow section featured powerful renditions of "Empty Sky" and "You're Missing," back to back. "Empty Sky" is particularly gorgeous and heartbreaking; starting with Bruce in falsetto with Patti, and eventually adding in Stevie on mandolin, and then Nils and Max; the overall effect was ethereal. "You're Missing," featuring Soozie Tyrell is viola, was closer to the album version.

The new band introduction song is "Mary's Place." This song now is also perhaps a bit more explicit about its sense of loss; before the final verse a repeated chorus of "I been missing you" has been added. Bruce introduced the band as the house band for the house party. The line "familiar faces surround me" got the first -- perhaps only -- loud cheer for any of the new songs on the night.

The weakest spot of the show had to be "Waiting on a Sunny Day." Starting off with 4 acoustic guitars, then moving to full rock, then into sing-along mode, the song never really got going and the band didn't seem tight on it.

Song transitions -- especially between new and old songs -- were rough. "Badlands" into "Mary's Place" was particularly jarring to me, but then I never much cared for "Badlands" going into "Out in the Street," either.

The biggest surprise for me was the overall quality of the singing. 5-part and even 6-part harmonies in several songs, with good detail -- and good singing. I loved watching Soozie play and sing; I'd like to see more of her during the older songs. I also enjoyed seeing the wide range of instruments, including what may be the first use of banjo by the E Street Band (Nils, during "Worlds Apart").

This is a brave show. Of 21 songs played last night, 11 are new, and they're not all packed together. "American Skin" remains in the setlist - -- right before "Into the Fire." And, at least for now, it's coming in at less than 2 and a half hours.

Last night's concert benefitted the New Jersey Interfaith Partnership for Disaster Recovery.