Rule number one of our trip to the Meadowlands to watch Bruce Springsteen - don't get lost. Subset A of that, of course, was to, at no point and for no reason, go into New York City. It's not that we don't like New York City - it's just that we don't have maps of the City or GPS and to end up there would have been one of those horribly lost moments.
Rule number two of the trip - give ourselves plenty of time to enjoy the concert. Check. We arrived at the Meadowlands an hour before the gates opened, and what turned out to be 2.5 hours before the show started - but that was fine. We talked with other fans, and just checked things out - we've never been to Giants Stadium before, and they're tearing it down soon, so we'll probably not get back to this exact venue again. The time went fast.
The weather sucked as we drove into New Jersey, however, rain and wind and we were afraid it was going to return for the concert. We packed 99 cent ponchos in our pockets, just in case, but we never needed them - it sprinkled a smidge near the end, but for the most part, it was a perfect weather evening.
Which was appropriate for the love-in we got to see. I never saw the Grateful Dead, but I've never seen a crowd so in love with a musical artist - and the artist feeling the same for the fans - as I did last night in New Jersey for Bruce Springsteen. For me, rarely do crowds really enhance a concert, but last night was different. Half the songs were practically anthems with the crowd singing along with Springsteen, a sea of waving arms whenever Springsteen waved his guitar back and forth - it was a love fest, and it was great.
Springsteen played for 3 hours and 12 minutes, straight. If there was ten minutes total of non-music time I'd be surprised. 30 songs, and according to this, "the longest show time-wise of any show on this tour". Like I said - a lovefest. Here's the set list:
"Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"
"Radio Nowhere"
"Lonesome Day"
"No Surrender"
"Adam Raised a Cain"
"Spirit In the Night"
"Summertime Blues"
"Brilliant Disguise"
"Atlantic City"
"Growin' Up"
"Janey Don't You Lose Heart"
"I'll Work For Your Love"
"Youngstown"
"Murder Incorporated"
"The Promised Land"
"Livin' In the Future"
"Mary's Place"
"Working On the Highway"
"Tunnel Of Love"
"The Rising"
"Last To Die"
"Long Walk Home"
"Badlands"
Encores
"Girls In Their Summer Clothes"
"Jungleland"
"Born To Run"
"Bobby Jean"
"Dancing In the Dark"
"American Land"
"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
I have no real complaints about that list, although I would have liked to see him do "The River", but that's just nitpicking. I'm really surprised what ended up being my favorite performances of the night:
Rosalita (well, not really surprised about that)
Murder Incorporated
Mary's Place - I don't know what to say about this song. The band, Springsteen, and the crowd just kicked ass through this song - the crowd's singing was a big part of it.
But the biggest surprise for me is my top choice for song performance last night:
"Spirit In the Night"
I mean, it's a good little song, but somehow they elevated it yesterday in a way that I can't keep from humming it. I hope somebody YouTubed it with a good recording.
There was something else interesting in the crowd last night, the dynamic of when Springsteen spoke his 45-second or so piece about the last horrible eight years of the Bush Presidency (there was a guy nearby who was yelling at Springsteen to shut up, like that was of any use) and especially when he performed "Last to Die". There was a big shaved-head guy a couple of sections away that stood and gave the finger to Springsteen during the whole song, and there were male fans of Springsteen that were outraged by this and were pointing and angrily motioning at the guy to stop (of course they were at a distance and even though there could have been a fight, it never came close to that - the finger giver shrugged at those who were yelling at him as if to say it was something he had to do). Love hate relationship, the shaved-head paid his $100 plus to get in to see Springsteen, seemed to enjoy most of the show, but had to express his anger about the subject of this song. But afterwards, back to the love.
I saw Springsteen in Mountain View, California, in 1988, and it was a great show, but the audience, while into it, was pretty mellow. Last night the audience felt like a home sports crowd in a playoff game, and Springsteen and the E Street Band was their team and winning handily, and they were completely celebrating it. Completely different experiences.