Wild Billy's Circus Story

Drove down to Anaheim yesterday afternoon, trailing Lisa, Diana and the kids by about an hour and a half. Picked up Lisa and headed to the arena. Got there about 4:30 and picked up our wristbands for the front-of-the-pit general admission lottery. Didn't get it (we were 640 and 641, and the picked number was 111... and only 300 got into the pit). But we were still on the floor. And despite a drunk (really obnoxious), the crowd was cool... we met a woman from the Valley, some teachers form Hemet and a nice girl and her boyfriend of OC... many of whom had been the previous night's show.

And what a show it was, with Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine coming out and joining the Bruce for a full-band premiere of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" a song Bruce had only done acoustically. And according to those we talked to and Backstreets (who called it a cross between Rage's version and the full E-Street band version of "Youngstown"), it might have very well been the highlight of the entire Magic tour:


A pretty kick-ass piece of guitar work by Morello there at the end.

Kyle would have been bummed (he's finally into music BIG TIME and loves Rage), and many were hoping for a return engagement by Mr. Morello. But since setlists and special guests especially aren't usually repeated, we didn't hold out much hope.

But being on the floor was a different experience, the excitement even standing in line was palpable... and inside the arena, it was incredible. These were FANS--not bandwagoners who sit up in the high seats to say they've seen "the Boss"--the true "tramps" who see multiple shows and can recount stories from tours and DECADES past. It just felt special.

So when Bruce hit the stage and opened with "Thunder (FREAKING) Road"... well, it was special indeed. But it also felt different. While October's show was loose and joyous. Bruce looked determined, almost distracted and pissed-off. And it made "Thunder Road" very interesting. "It's a town full of losers, // And we're pulling out of here to win" is usually a romantic notion of a hopeful future, but tonight it was a bellow of false bravado after gut-wrenching desperation. And it felt different, but really RIGHT.

And on the show went... after a few songs, "Murder Incorporated" rocked HARD, a few songs later the tour premiere of "Atlantic City" rocked HARDER and even more desperate than "Thunder Road" (if that's possible)... and later "Reason to Believe" took its "struck my sorta funny" line seriously with Bruce almost bitterly spitting out "people find some reason to believe."

Now according to the written setlist, "Because the Night" was supposed to follow. That song can seem as desperate as the show had been up until this point. But maybe sensing this, Bruce called for an audible: "Prove it All Night." And desperation and anger turned into all-out joyous release. And you could feel it in him, and the crowd. Incredible. And so when he followed with "Because the Night"... well, now that song's "Because the night belongs to lovers // Because the night belongs to US" became an affirmation of why we go to Springsteen shows: a hard-fought (and while maybe not YET hard-won) respite in the war of our daily lives.

And the joy continued through the next few songs, culminating in an almost triumphant "The Promised Land." And here the show took it's only wrong note (at least for me): "Brilliant Disguise." OK, full disclosure: not the biggest fan of the song. Was it well done? Absolutely. Did it fit? Maybe (tonally given what came next). But it just seemed to kill the momentum. At the end of the song, a roadie came out with a HUGE guitar effects box foot-pedal set. I turned and looked at the woman next to me who had been to Monday's show. "Did they bring out effects pedals last night before 'Ghost'--" But the look in her eyes cut me short. She was practically jumping up and down with excitement, even clapping her hands like a kid while nodding her head.

And it happened. Tom Morello came out and BLEW US AWAY. It was a great version of the song, not as pissed off as Rage's, but powerful nonetheless. And that solo? OMYFREAKINGGOD. By this point in the show, I tried not to look at the video monitors because they were causing a major crick in my neck... but I had to. His fingertips were flying all over the fretboard, and the sounds he produced were wild guitar one second, turntable scratching the next, prehistoric animal noises the next. Unbelievable. I even took a picture with my cell (really crappy)and sent it to Kyle. I've always thought the Rage version was better than Bruce's. But now, with a full band... I think it's close, real close.
[mygod, I've become an old, sentimental fuck: just reading this over, and listening to the YouTube clip above, and I'm crying...]

Then Bruce deviated from the set list again, skipping "The Rising." Maybe it was for pacing, or maybe he wanted to keep that righteous ANGER going with "Last to Die." While I missed "The Rising" looking at the setlist, the show didn't miss it. "Long Walk Home" tempered the anger with some hope (and if not hope, then at least resolve). And then he hit with the usual set closer, "Badlands" (no link necessary... just look at the bottom of the page).

A couple of tours back, I was ready to retire the old warhorse. But in this last tour, it really STOPPED being a set piece, and once again became the heartfelt "keep pushing till it's understood" anthem that it is. Again, almost triumphant. So I was ready for the band to go backstage and wait for the encore. But no: "OUT IN THE STREETS." One of my favorites off The River. And pure joy, with Steve awesome on the harmony vocal. THAT'S a great set ender!

Encore was great: "Meeting Across the River" (a real highlight of the show, which is saying something, given what Morello had done) led into "Jungleland." Pure nostalgia. And maybe that's why I'm less than enthusiastic about it. It was still great, but not as powerful (and maybe because for the first time I saw Clarence as mortal, and getting old, not able to sustain that beautiful solo near the end). But any lack of enthusiasm was offset by the remaining high-energy trifecta: "Born to Run," "Dancing in the Dark" (so much better now as a fast-paced guitar song, and not the over-synthed Born in the USA version), and the concert closer "American Land"... with Morello again on stage helping out with acoustic guitar and background vocals. He seemed to be in heaven, laughing, grinning from ear to ear, sharing a mic stand with Steve. He looked like I can only imagine I would look if given that opportunity.

A simply incredible show.

Of course, this morning, looking at the setlist, I see that "Dancing" was a last minute audible over "Kitty's Back." Damn, that would have been cool. And it would have given us a song from The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle (hey, man, Monday had "Rosalita").

More to follow (an interesting observation just before the show... which made me think that the dark opening was PERFECT for me last night), but that 'bout sums it up, kids.

[the only downer was the drive home: the 5 was shut down, so I needed to take the 91 across town, and it make the drive all that much longer... thank goodness, I might get a chance to nap today]