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Oct. 22nd, 2005 08:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lauraanne_gilmanSo, did something Bad last night -- skipped out on the piles of work waiting for my hand, and went to Providence instead in order to see The Boss do his thing.
I wasn't, I'll admit, expecting all that much -- this wasn't the revivial tent tour of E Street days, but a quieter, acoustic solo tour, supporting the quieter, acoustic solo album "Devils and Dust." So I figured I'd enjoy it (well, obviously!), but not be revitalized and rocked out of my seat.
Well...
Starting from the moment we realized that our seats were actually not only on the floor, but good seats on the floor, to the mukti-song finale with the entire place on their feet, it was exactly the kind of revival tent meeting you expect from Springsteen. Quieter, yes. Sans E-Street, yes. But there were moments of joy, of sadness, of frenzy, of emotional realization, and absolute flat-out humor. Plus some of the most amazing music I've heard in a long time.
This wasn't just an "unplugged" concert -- it was a total remix, remastering and reinvention of many of his very best songs. Covers of Springsteen songs by Springsteen himself, if you will, complete with his patented storytelling, conversational interjections, and totally impressive musical chops on more instruments than I can even imagine. I have Thoughts on that, about author remixes and reinventing, and the idea of Springsteen as a literary and a commercial writer using his options to play both sides of the field, but my brain's not up to organizing it just yet.
Until then, the set-list and some commentary:
*=piano
+= electric guitar
** = organ
++ = ukelele
" = autoharp (arpa cítara)
Idiot's Delight
Across The Border **
Devils & Dust
Lonesome Day
(slowed down and heart-breaking)
Long Time Coming
For You *
duuuude. He referred to this as the 'his first love song' and did it in a slow, almost talking-blues version that so totally reinterpreted and revitalized this song into something new, after thirty years.
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) *
the first hint that this is going to be much more of a party than previously advertised
The River *
Reason to Believe
too much reverb on this one; probably the only song ever of his that I felt didn't work in concert
Nebraska
Part Man, Part Monkey +
All The Way Home
I LOVED this song in concert-version so mucuh more than the recorded one, words cannot express...
Reno
Valentine's Day *
Real World *
The Rising
Oh. God. As always, the song broke me. Absolutely shattered. I'm okay until "pictures of our children" and then I'm gone.)
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Jesus Was An Only Son *
GREAT lead-in, and some additional talking bits in the song that really totally made this into a new piece)
Leah
The New Timer "
Matamoros Banks
-
And then the encores, which had everyone on their feet and standing the entire time...
Growin' Up ++
thank you, Mr. Springsteen. My god I adore this song. Even on a ukelele. His comment, on walking out with it -- "size doesn't matter."
Atlantic City *
the only song he not only allowed but encouraged us to sing along with. Totally kickass.
Bobby Jean
The Promised Land
day-um. That's all. Just...day-um.
Dream Baby Dream **
ETA: the only thing that made this concert les than perfect were the number of people who, in direct flouting of the printed requests handed to everyone as they came in, who decided that they HAD to be elsewhere DURING SONGS and so stood up and left, ruining the moment for the rest of us. (the entire concert was done in a very intimate, 'stage' setting, with total darkness and rapt attention, not the usual noisy crowd concert behavior -- the card was quite clear about that. As was the fact that all the food counters were closed down when the show started, so you had no reason to be getting up. I can only assume that these extremely disruptive people were Ignorant, Illiterate, Asswipes.) To those who waited until songs were over before going to the bathroom, thank you. I wish you'd been in my row. I bet you woulnd't have stepped on my foot so many times, either.
And then the drive home, which was another adventure entirely.
And now I have to go Pay for the time off... bad writer, no cookie...
ETA a few quotes from the show:
about growing up Catholic: "It's a religion of beauty, poetry, and hideous terror."
after playing a particularly challenging bit on the piano: "Professor, where are you?"
afer bringing out the autoharp: "I'm playing a lot of gizmos tonight."
and, not from our show but the Madison one, after someone asked him when he'd come back with E Street. "When? If I knew, I wouldn't be me."
I wasn't, I'll admit, expecting all that much -- this wasn't the revivial tent tour of E Street days, but a quieter, acoustic solo tour, supporting the quieter, acoustic solo album "Devils and Dust." So I figured I'd enjoy it (well, obviously!), but not be revitalized and rocked out of my seat.
Well...
Starting from the moment we realized that our seats were actually not only on the floor, but good seats on the floor, to the mukti-song finale with the entire place on their feet, it was exactly the kind of revival tent meeting you expect from Springsteen. Quieter, yes. Sans E-Street, yes. But there were moments of joy, of sadness, of frenzy, of emotional realization, and absolute flat-out humor. Plus some of the most amazing music I've heard in a long time.
This wasn't just an "unplugged" concert -- it was a total remix, remastering and reinvention of many of his very best songs. Covers of Springsteen songs by Springsteen himself, if you will, complete with his patented storytelling, conversational interjections, and totally impressive musical chops on more instruments than I can even imagine. I have Thoughts on that, about author remixes and reinventing, and the idea of Springsteen as a literary and a commercial writer using his options to play both sides of the field, but my brain's not up to organizing it just yet.
Until then, the set-list and some commentary:
*=piano
+= electric guitar
** = organ
++ = ukelele
" = autoharp (arpa cítara)
Idiot's Delight
Across The Border **
Devils & Dust
Lonesome Day
(slowed down and heart-breaking)
Long Time Coming
For You *
duuuude. He referred to this as the 'his first love song' and did it in a slow, almost talking-blues version that so totally reinterpreted and revitalized this song into something new, after thirty years.
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) *
the first hint that this is going to be much more of a party than previously advertised
The River *
Reason to Believe
too much reverb on this one; probably the only song ever of his that I felt didn't work in concert
Nebraska
Part Man, Part Monkey +
All The Way Home
I LOVED this song in concert-version so mucuh more than the recorded one, words cannot express...
Reno
Valentine's Day *
Real World *
The Rising
Oh. God. As always, the song broke me. Absolutely shattered. I'm okay until "pictures of our children" and then I'm gone.)
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Jesus Was An Only Son *
GREAT lead-in, and some additional talking bits in the song that really totally made this into a new piece)
Leah
The New Timer "
Matamoros Banks
-
And then the encores, which had everyone on their feet and standing the entire time...
Growin' Up ++
thank you, Mr. Springsteen. My god I adore this song. Even on a ukelele. His comment, on walking out with it -- "size doesn't matter."
Atlantic City *
the only song he not only allowed but encouraged us to sing along with. Totally kickass.
Bobby Jean
The Promised Land
day-um. That's all. Just...day-um.
Dream Baby Dream **
ETA: the only thing that made this concert les than perfect were the number of people who, in direct flouting of the printed requests handed to everyone as they came in, who decided that they HAD to be elsewhere DURING SONGS and so stood up and left, ruining the moment for the rest of us. (the entire concert was done in a very intimate, 'stage' setting, with total darkness and rapt attention, not the usual noisy crowd concert behavior -- the card was quite clear about that. As was the fact that all the food counters were closed down when the show started, so you had no reason to be getting up. I can only assume that these extremely disruptive people were Ignorant, Illiterate, Asswipes.) To those who waited until songs were over before going to the bathroom, thank you. I wish you'd been in my row. I bet you woulnd't have stepped on my foot so many times, either.
And then the drive home, which was another adventure entirely.
And now I have to go Pay for the time off... bad writer, no cookie...
ETA a few quotes from the show:
about growing up Catholic: "It's a religion of beauty, poetry, and hideous terror."
after playing a particularly challenging bit on the piano: "Professor, where are you?"
afer bringing out the autoharp: "I'm playing a lot of gizmos tonight."
and, not from our show but the Madison one, after someone asked him when he'd come back with E Street. "When? If I knew, I wouldn't be me."
