Springsteen proves it all night in Buffalo

By Paul Casey Gotham

BUFFALO, NY — Prove it all night. Like Bruce Springsteen has anything left to prove when it comes to Rock ‘n’ Roll. The 62-year old keeps “burning down the road” in what is now his fifth decade (sixth if one counts his work with The Castiles, Earth, Child and Steel Mill) of recording and performing. Yet the “only man in rock ‘n’ roll who insists on introducing himself” approaches every show with the urgency of one whose reputation hangs in the balance.

Friday night in Buffalo was no different, and no song better represented this declaration than Prove It All Night. Positioned near the middle of the set, the show found its fulcrum in the ninth track of Springsteen’s fourth studio release. His searing guitar was reminiscent of  the classic 1978 Winterland show. But on this night, rather than lead into the song with wailing guitar, he closed it in this manner leading the E Street Band to a raucous finish.

With final note struck, the band followed the album’s order going into the title track, Darkness on the Edge of Town. More than thirty years later, and Springsteen still captures the angst of a young man whose recording career was put on halt for a legal entanglement.

The show rolled soul review, indictment, angst and celebration all into one. With Buffalo Gals playing in the background Springsteen and the E Streeters to the stage and sang along before kicking into the usual openers: We Take Care of Our Own and the chip-on-a-shoulder, Wrecking Ball: “C’mon and take your best shot. Let me see what you got…”

Following the openers, Bruce reached into the catalog and pulled out The Ties That Bind, the second time in a row he has played the opening track from The River in the Queen City. This led into Death To My Hometown, a stirring call to action driven by a Gaelic beat.

From there Springsteen and band broke into the soulful My City of Ruins where Bruce went through the roll call of the band’s 16 members present (Patty was not in attendance, something about needing to take care of the kids.) The break gave Bruce the opportunity to acknowledge the losses of Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici. As throughout the tour, he assured fans: “If you’re here, and we’re here, they’re here.”

The show continued with Rendezvous from the Tracks box set before Springsteen settling into one of his first surprises of the night (he did mention something about pulling out some rarities): Mountain of Love, a Harold Dorman song made popular by, among others, Johnny Rivers. A perusal of old set lists show that Mountain was a regular during the 70s but hasn’t been played much since that time. Like Higher and Higher become a regular on the most recent tour, one can only hope that this gem gets worked into the circulation for upcoming shows.

Springsteen slowed it down for Jack of All Trades, an ode to the toils of a common man. Nils Lofgren’s guitar provides a fitting end to this song.

After the “Darkness” interlude, they played “Shackled and Drawn,” “Waiting on a Sunny Day,” (yes, a cherub joined Bruce on stage to take part in the singing) and “Promised Land” before breaking into what is now referred to as the Apollo Medley. If nothing else, this combination proves Bruce did not replace Clarence and Danny, but took their losses and evolved.  The band was at its best kicking into the Temptations The Way You Do The Things You Do and Wilson Pickett’s 634-5789.

A segue into a dark tone and Bruce played Point Blank, a rarely heard song from The River. This made for a seamless transition into American Skin.

The set closed with We Are Alive and Thunder Road. Buffalo did itself proud serenading Bruce when called upon.

The encores opened with Rocky Ground,  a song off his latest release that is growing in popularity with each live playing.  Michelle Moore of Long Branch, NJ took the stage. Prior to starting the song Bruce and Moore talked quickly about their first meeting: “Yes, you were in the church choir.” There is sure to be an increase of church choir participation in the future.

They celebrated Max Weinberg’s 61st birthday with a stomping version of Ramrod, a song that should be played more often – especially considering the amount of fun Bruce and Little Steve had during its playing.

Born To Run and Dancing in the Dark kept the encores rocking. Born to Run’s value never seems to diminish even though it is played every night. Funny to think of “Boom” Carter’s comments when asked about the song and his decision to leave the band: (laughing)”Every time I hear that song I want to run out and into traffic and kill myself.”

Only Bruce and the E Street Band could take a song like Dancing in the Dark and transform from a pop hit to a driving rocker.

The show closed with Tenth Avenue Freeze Out including a fitting video tribute to Clarence. As always, the song opened with a buildup as Bruce implore the fans. He mentioned something about “needing more chicken wings!”

Here’s hoping he comes back for more of Western New York’s delicacy.

For a complete set list click here.