An absolutely incredible set. It was amazing to see Bruce so up close and to have such a great sound system so that you could hear every individual part, which made the wall of sound of the augmented E Street Band all the more powerful.
Bruce opened with the whole E Street band, plus a horn section, additional singers and a percussionist singing a near-acapella 'I Ain't Go No Home', then he launched into a searing 'We Take Care of our Own', followed by 'Wrecking Ball' and 'Badlands'.
Tom Morello joined him for 'Death to my Hometown', followed in a great double-bill by 'My City of Ruins', which had the band introductions in it, during an extending opening section. Bruce asked at the end 'Are we missing anybody?' The crowded screamed 'Clarence!' back. Bruce replied that if he was here and we, the audience, were here, then he (Clarence) was there.
We had a rocking 'Seeds' and a fun 'E Street Shuffle', with Bruce falling into the crowd at the two ends of the stage Then he pulled back and, before playing it, talked about 'Jack of All Trades' being one of the first songs he wrote for the new album. Tom Morello again joined him for his solo, as on the album.
We had a hoe-down for 'Shackled and Drawn' and then the classic pop of 'Waiting on a Sunny Day', which was kept short and sweet, compared to the extended take on recent tours, though Bruce still had time to fall into the crowd, and a howling 'Promised Land', in which the quality of the sound really helped the individual parts stand out on the middle piano-guitar-saxophone-harmonica break down.
We then had the full-band arrangement of 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' with Tom Morello's jaw-dropping solo at the end – incredible in the videos I've seen, even more amazing seeing it in front of you as his hands dance around the fretboard. 'We Are Alive' then started quietly, as on the record, and built really effectively into a joyous celebration, and then a fantastic 'Thunder Road' closed the main set, with Clarence's nephew taking on the closing sax part to huge cheers.
The encore opened with a great 'Rocky Ground', Bruce being joined by Michelle Moore, as on the album, and her rap was greeted by cheers. Played live, with live drums, it had a different feel to on the album, and rocked out more at the end, but worked well. The newly re-arranged 'Land of Hope and Dreams' then followed and was stunning.
The guests then came: Jimmy Cliff joined the band on stage and sang 'The Harder They Come', 'Time Will Tell' and 'Many Rivers to Cross' (Jimmy sang on his own, not with Bruce). Bruce mentioned his speech in the morning and said that, following his fervent praise for Eric Burdon and the Animals, people on the 'twittersphere' had said he was in town, and so Eric Burdon joined them and he and Bruce tore through 'We Gotta Get Out of This Place'. Then we had a storming 'Tenth Avenue Freeze Out'. When the 'Big Man' line came up, Bruce, in a really special moment, just froze and help his microphone in the air for what must have been a couple of minutes, as the crowd cheered louder and louder. Then on walked Arcade Fire and they all joined him, the band, Tom Morello, Alejandro Escovedo and others for a great closing 'This Land is Your Land'.
An absolutely Incredible set. Lots of fairweather fans in the audience became evangelistic converts, other people were speechless. The flow of incredible guests joining him was amazing, but to see the full new show with such clear sound, and so up close was a truly special moment and a real privilege. I am now very very excited about the summer shows...
Set list: I ain't got no home - We take care of our own - Wrecking Ball - Badlands - Death to my Hometown - My City of Ruins – Seeds - E Street Shuffle - Jack of All Trades – Shackled and Drawn – Waiting on A Sunny Day - Promised Land – The Ghost of Tom Joad – The Rising – We Are Alive - Thunder Road - Rocky Ground - Land of Hope and Dreams -
The Harder They Come - Time Will Tell - Many Rivers to Cross - Got to Get Our of This Place - Tenth Avenue Freeze Out - This Land is Your Land
Other SXSW 2012 reviews:
Maps and Atlases, Paste party, Stage at Sixth, Austin, 15 March 2012, SXSW 2012Will Sheff (from Okkervil River), Belmont
Alejandro Escovedo, ACL Moody Theatre, Austin, 15 March 2012, SXSW 2012
Jesse Malin, Cedar Street Courtyard, 16 March 2012, SXSW 2012
Alberta Cross, Bar 96, Austin, 15 March 2012, SXSW 2012
Are you sure Jerry lee Lewis was on stage as well? Can't see him on any of the pics, also can't find him in the youtube clip of the song.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Niek
Hi Niek! Everyone in the audience around me seemed to think he introduced him as 'Jerry Lee', and I wrote this straight after coming back. But having done some Googling, I think it may have been Joe Ely. I've added some pictures in case that helps and will amend the post. Tom
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