By Paul Gotham
It was one of those “happy accidents” which The Boss likes to refer. That is the only way to explain standing in the “pit” and staring up at a column of speakers.
Ending up in front of the stage seemed out of the question when the “better two-thirds” (better-half doesn’t measure up) and I headed out shortly after two o’clock to “drive that dusty road from Monroe (County) to” …Vernon, New York. More than two hours of driving put us in our parking space at quarter past four bells. Not bad for getting close to the “pit.” But actually inside?
We took our spot in line at half past four intent on getting as close to the rail as possible. We didn’t think much of it when we were each handed a green wristband upon entering. Handed. The bands were not placed on our wrists. Nobody pointed us in a particular direction.
We beat a path across the race track to the infield and made our way to the edge of the “pit.” Content with the accomplishment, it wasn’t until the better two-thirds asked about the significance of the green paper bracelet and pointed out that everyone inside the sectioned-off area had one on their wrist (more evidence why she is the better two-thirds).
And that is how we gained entrance to our maiden voyage in the “pit.”
Two weeks have passed and given some time to think about what happened after the E Street Band sent us “off to the races.”
“Now don’t you call James Bond or Secret Agent Man ’cause they can’t do it like I can.”
No more training wheels. A five-month breaking-in period was enough for the new band members. The first five songs (Out in the Street, It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City, Hungry Heart, Stand on It and I’m a Rocker) of this set were ENTIRELY different from the April 13th show at First Niagara Center in Buffalo. Four of the openers came from sign requests.
One of those placards brought forth the tour premier of Stand On It. Tour premier? I’m not sure how many different songs Bruce and the E Street Band have played in the last five-plus months. To bust out this one on the fly was a test. Sure, these are professionals. Playing music is their livelihood. But to have Bruce run down into the audience, grab a sign and trust that they can pull it off says a lot. Yes, all he needs is “Mighty” Max Weinberg, “Professor” Roy Bittan and Gary W. Tallent to get things started. But the entire band played the heck out of this song, and at the least Jake Clemons and Everett Bradley were playing it for the first time in front of a live audience. Not to mention the song’s upbeat tempo. Consider the song’s first line: “Well Jimmy Lee was hookin’ ’round the far turn of a funky southern Florida dirt track.” This is a song that depends upon timing and could easily come unglued with the slightest of mistakes.
On another note, it was nice to be reminded of Queen Isabella’s role in the discovery of America. After all, it was her shouting to Columbus: Stand on it. Go ahead, man Stand on it!
“Hey ho rock’n roll deliver me from nowhere.”
Another sign request about a third of the way through the show fetched Open All Night. I’m not ashamed to admit that had it not been for the sign, it would have taken me a verse to recognize this classic. So much for the stripped-down electric guitar sound of Nebraska. I recognized the lyrics, but my brain could not connect the music. This was a full band romp straight from a night at the improv on Bourbon Street: “To the Riff!”
This is the fourth song from the 1982 release I have heard performed with a full band. Each one gets a little better than the previous. It wasn’t hard to imagine the straight ahead rocker version of Atlantic City done on the Born In The U.S.A. tour. Reason To Believe (Rochester 2008) brought the harmonica out and down came the house. Johnny 99 (Saratoga Performing Arts Center (2009) leaned on rhythm and blues and the backing vocals made me look around for train tracks. There had to be an engine somewhere with Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle singing: Whoo! Whoo! But Open All Night? It is almost impossible to imagine this version from the stark album recording. I have sketchy visual details from this song. Tends to happen when one is shimmyin’ and shakin’.
It gets one wondering if there are any more full band gems from Nebraska. State Trooper has a clearly defined rhythm. Not difficult to hear the 17 pieces working that one. Used Cars could be interesting. The band would have fun with its chip-on-the-shoulder tone: “Mister the day my number comes in…“
“I’ve got this guitar and I’ve learned how to make it talk.”
Vernon Downs was my eighth show over a 28-year span of time. In some circles that makes me a neophyte. In others it makes me crazy. Funny how that goes. I’m not sure I have seen the Boss so intent on working the fret board like he did on that late-summer night. The manner in which he chose It’s Hard To Be A Saint in the City for the second song of the night showed urgency. The “New Jersey Devil” kept grinding the axe on cuts of Human Touch, Frankie, Badlands and Prove It All Night. The intro of the latter – Is it the ’78 intro? Is it the ’12 intro? Is it the ’12 interpretation of the ’78? It does not matter. All you need to know is that it is tasty.
“Wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face.”
Set list from the show gave me six songs (Stand On It, Frankie, Open All Night, E Street Shuffle, Human Touch and Quarter to Three) I have never heard performed live. The percussion work on the coda of E Street Shuffle was other-worldly. If nothing else, the enthusiasm Everett Bradley brings to the stage makes him a necessity in the E Street Band. The look on his face as he and Mighty Max dueled the end of Shuffle screamed: “No one on f God’s green earth is having more fun than me.”
Another five songs (Out in the Street, I’m A Rocker, Darlington County, Workin’ on the Highway and Backstreets) I hadn’t heard since the mid-80s. He switched his opening five by two songs in Philadelphia four nights later. The next evening they wiped the slate clean and played five different tunes (Factory, Adam Raised a Cain, Streets of Fire, Prove It All Night and Something in the Night).
The energy these changes create is evident in the response of the band members. Mighty Max has been referred to as the “human metronome.” The description more than fits, and everybody feeds off his cue. Max keeps the beat between songs and hinges on Bruce’s count. The mighty E Street Horns frequently stride to the front of the stage ready to churn the show into a wall of sound. Curtis King, Cindy Mizelle and Michelle Moore bring a soul never realized last century. Beyond that is the ability and willingness to keep the show fresh for the band and fans. Who knows what each night will bring.
“If she wants to see me, you can tell her that I’m easily found.”
Maybe not quite easily. Tickets can be had for shows. Single seats remain for the Rochester show on October 30th. Funny how news about the Blue Cross Arena gig came out. After leaving Vernon, we made a stop at the first rest area on the thruway. The parking lot was full of fans coming from the show. Everybody laughing and smiling. Most referring to the rarities on the set list.
One thing led to another and folks mentioned home towns. When I mentioned Rochester, another fan talked about a planned date for the Flower City. He explained that the announcement was delayed so as to not affect ticket sales for the show at Vernon. I put my head to the pillow later that night hoping for truth to come of that rumor. Sure enough. As one esteemed fan noted: “ROC- CHESTER!! We have to let him in- we gave him the key to the city!”
One show past and another on the horizon, and I’m not going to leave out the possibility of heading to New Jersey. Thankfully, “this train carries saints AND sinners.”
About that column of speakers. It was odd to look up as opposed to out at them. If it matters, I counted the speakers. The top four cases look like they hold two 24″ speakers each. Then there are ten smaller boxes. Each probably holds two 12″ inch speakers. At the bottom there were four more. These split the difference between the previous two sizes. The cases looked big enough for two twelves. There were four similar columns evenly spread and hanging from the top of the scaffolding over the stage. I had to laugh. It was a long way from the single-speaker Panasonic radio on my night stand at Flower City Park in which I heard Bruce for the first time. Maybe it wasn’t just the dusty road from Monroe that we traveled that night.
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