Bruce Springsteen review: Just how good are the USB wristband downloads?

Since it was announced Bruce Springsteen would be issuing live recordings of his tour – after decades of pleading from fans and those in the music industry for such releases – the reaction has been fairly mixed.

The live shows for this writer have become the ultimate goal in enjoying Springsteen & The E Street Band’s music. If you were to offer me the chance of a 60-second meet-and-greet, signed memorabilia and a photo in a hotel lobby with the man, OR tickets to just one concert, I would take the concert every time.

So when the option to take home a live recording of the latest shows on the tour appeared, I went overboard. I ordered a dozen wristbands online – one for each of the Australian shows, including two I would miss, and one for a friend.

Then of course they announced you wouldn’t need a USB wristband, and could download straight from the net for a fraction of the cost. And I’d just spent more than $500. Bastards.

When the wristbands finally arrived I immediately returned half of them to Live Nation for a refund. I figured I’d keep a few and use them, and get some cash back for the rest. Not to mention the packaging was so bad that one of the tidy little black boxes they come in had in fact been destroyed in transit.

Now, after going to nine of the 11 Australian shows and making a last minute trip to New Zealand where I stood on a broken foot for twobrilliant shows (no, I won’t shut up about it. It still fucking hurts…) I’ve got round to using one of the USB wristbands to download a show.

The Wristband

I will admit to really liking the look and practicality of it. I don’t wear any jewellery other than a watch and this has become the male accessory I’ve been looking for to wear on the other wrist. It looks good, and it’s practical for carrying around important files, transferring stuff between computers at work, and everything else. It was a good buy regardless of the music.

Downloads

The first show I chose was Brisbane. The full album of Wild and Innocent… and plenty of Greetings… magic left me dying to hear it again.

But after plugging the USB in my laptop, opening the relevant files, launching the software and clicking the relevant show, nothing happened. There was just no response.

I tried it again a few times, but nothing was downloading, the screen didn’t even change.

Then after a few attempts a message popped up to warn me that despite not downloading a single beat of opening track Stayin’ Alive, I had used up the download limit for this USB.

Luckily the website where you can purchase downloads had an email address and within 48 hours of asking them for help I was given a code to enter on a specific link, and this I was told, would let me download my album.

So, following the link and instructions I successfully downloaded the Brisbane show in the higher quality FLAC file.

Of course I wanted to put this show in my iTunes or at least on some music player on my iPhone. Checking out various sites, conversion software and a few apps on playing FLAC files, I found myself with an album I couldn’t use, unless I wanted to lose the quality I had wanted or just play tracks from the laptop.

But before plugging in another of my remaining wristbands, I noticed I had left the web page I downloaded the tracks from open, so figured I’d try and download the Brisbane show in MP3 format too, without having to use up the wristband’s limit, which purchasers had been told would allow just one show to be downloaded.

It worked. I had the Brisbane show on a format I could use.

Of course then I remembered how great the Born To Run album had sounded in Auckland.

So yeah, I clicked download on that one too.

Again, it worked. No new code, no new wristband. It seems maybe some glitch in the system had just allowed me to get three recordings of two shows. Brilliant.

Of course I couldn’t have a Born To Run­ album show, without also having Sydney’s Darkness On The Edge ofTown. That would just be ridiculous.

And again, without leaving the webpage which I had entered a specific code to enter, the MP3 files downloaded.

Within 24 hours I had downloaded all available shows from the Australia and New Zealand tour in MP3 format to my computer – that’s 12 because Melbourne 2 was never released – all from one wristband without having to pay any more fees.

I’ve even gone so far as to raid my iPhone for photos and create album covers with an image of every show now in the iTunes artwork.

So this all means I really didn’t need to spend a load of cash on buying the wristbands for every show. I could have bought one – and used it to get all of them. Those brilliant bastards.

Sound quality

Despite expecting a low quality sound with the MP3 files, so far I have been nothing but impressed. And I say so far because I’ve only got through Brisbane and night two in Auckland.

The vocals are clear, the strings in Brisbane are still sensational, and both Curt Ramm’s trumpet solo on Meeting Across The River and Jake Clemons’ Jungleland solo sound incredible from the Auckland recordings.

Obviously it’s a lot to ask for the recordings to sound as good as ­Live 1975-1985 or Live In New York City¸ but for a three-hour live album, the MP3 download is incredible value for money.

USB Wristband refunds

I returned the six – five unwanted, one damaged – wristbands to retailers Live Nation on February 14. That was a month ago. I still have not heard anything about them, or had anything refunded. I will be contacting them shortly about the $250+ I expect to be refunded.

Bruce Springsteen back to Australia in 2014. And this time he's coming to Perth...

Fans of Bruce Springsteen who missed out on the rocker’s Australian tour could be in luck with reports The Boss is returning down under in February next year with another tour starting at Perth Arena.

Rumours have been circulating fan forums since the end of the Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball tour in Australia in March that he would return within a year after a series of 10-sell out shows.

On Wednesday night fan sites waiting for an announcement went into meltdown after a release from Triple M radio station said Springsteen would play Perth Arena on February 7 next year before heading around the country for another tour.

The webpage was quickly taken down moments later, but a search on Google still showed results that the radio station and Frontier Touring had details of the 2014 concerts.

Facebook group Bruce Springsteen Perth, previously a campaign group to bring The Boss to WA, even managed to collect screen grabs of the website listing dates for Perth, Adelaide – which also missed out on this year’s tour, Melbourne, Sydney, The Hunter Valley and Brisbane.

Frontier pre-sale tickets are reported to go on sale Wednesday, August 21.

The Triple M web leak also suggests that the reformed Hunter & Collectors will support Springsteen for the Melbourne show, listed for AAMI Park.

 Stay tuned for updates, and follow Bruce Springsteen Perth for more.

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Roll Of The Dice

Five shows, two cities, one five-hour flight, and two 12-hour train rides down.
Another five shows, one city and a Hanging Rock to go.

At the halfway point into my trip across Australia to see all ten Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shows asking "has it been worth it so far?" is a fair question.

And the answer, probably unsurprisingly, is a resounding "yes".

From the five shows, two in Brisbane, three for Sydney, the expectations of the performances and entertainment values has not only been met but monumentally surpassed.

Throwing out some numbers, 63 different songs have been performed out of the total of 113 performed tracks in almost 16 hours of music from the five nights.

I can't name any other artist or act that would come close to that in the world today.

Even Monday night in Sydney when Springsteen was reportedly not at his best and delivered a set ten minutes short of his trademark three hour mark, the band still delivered everything, like it was the last chance they would ever play anywhere again.

The range of songs, the requests from fans even the unpredictable nature of interacting with the crowds for songs like Waitin' On A Sunny Day and Dancing In The Dark, show that every night is different.

So when people ask those who go to multiple shows, "won't you just be seeing the same show again?..." the answer is a clear no.

(Usually followed by a shaking of the head and a reluctance to explain further to someone who hasn't see Springsteen live just why people need to camp out over night to get to the front, or go to show after show, after show.)

Everyone has their favourite songs.
For many it's the hits that may - or may not - get played.

For others it's the rare tracks, that again, depending on how lucky you are, may - or may not - get played.

The final show in Sydney with the huge amount of signs for rare tracks and rare versions of popular tracks - I mean Prove It All Night with the 1978 extended intro must have been a WTF moment for the uninitiated - demonstrated perfectly how Springsteen fans' minds work over their favourite tracks.

Not only do they want to hear them live, but when it comes to deciding which concert to go to they also fear missing out on the one where it gets played.

Since day one of this trip I've had people from across the world message me on Twitter to request I tweet the setlist throughout the concert, as I learned that people from all over the globe take breaks from work, stay up all night or get up early to follow every track that gets played, note how many times it's been performed on a tour and how long each night runs for.

There is essentially an incredible community of 'setlist watchers' out there taking notes and making predictions one what song will be played where and then evaluating just how big of a shock it is when a song once thought to be abandoned from the live show gets brought out.

There have been so many surprises already on this tour that comparing night by night performances is becoming incredibly addictive.

Meanwhile theories are abound about the shows being filmed for a live Wrecking Ball tour DVD compilation or even that the second night at Hanging Rock will get it's own concert DVD release as, so I'm told, it's the 100th date of the world tour.

Reaching the halfway point the only thing clear is that there really are no guarantees on what to expect - other than that to never underestimate the band's ambition in belting out a tune you might not expect, and also never underestimate a fan's commitment to get to the front of the stage.
(More on the nature of Springsteen fans later)

Also, a few lessons learned along the way are simply avoid alcohol in the hours before a concert if you want to keep your place near the front without being met with angry looks from people who aren't aware of the hours you've logged in the line outside the venue to get your spot, and another is to get plenty of sleep on the nights you're not rocking out.

There have been plenty of times on this trip where I have been exhausted as a result of late nights and early mornings. None of these matter when the band start up but keeping up with Springsteen and Springsteen fans is both incredibly exciting, and overwhelmingly exhausting.

Bring on Melbourne!

Surfing the Springsteen crowd...

With a front and centre place in the pit again for Sydney 1 I was again right in the path of Springsteen's crowd surfing mayhem.
(This time I used two hands to help take him back to the stage.)
In Brisbane 2 however I had a spot slightly to the left and was able to get a different view of the journey Springsteen takes back to the stage.
This is how it all happens...

The Price You Pay - GA or Bust

A few people I've spoken to at the first two shows have told me that when they tried booking tickets that for them seeing Springsteen they basically had one rule - GA or bust.

It seems that for many, once you've been in the front row for an E Street Band show, there's no going back. (to the back)

And with General Admission comes great pressure to reach the stage.

With Brisbane 1 I was lucky to arrive and be placed 121 in a group of 200 GA holders.
After arriving three hours before the gates opened I was given the number and a green wristband.

Then as the gates opened instructions were shouted out that once inside we had an hour before meeting outside a specific door, where we would line up in order and then be marched into the venue before anyone else.

After we were in, the rest were allowed in to fill up the remaining space.

For the second show with another GA ticket I left nothing to chance.

After hearing at midday that by 10am they were already at 53, I jumped into a taxi and told him to floor it to the Entertainment Centre.

The driver seemed to love this as he belted through a couple of amber lights and at one point started trailing a passing police car with its sirens on to beat traffic.

I was there by 1pm and this time had 107.

As I was earlier the GA set up was a little different. First you put your name down and was again given a number. Then at 3pm, a roll call was made to see who was still here.

At this point we had to get in line and have our tickets marked, and new purple wristbands handed out. Then again informed of which door to meet at and how we would be let in.

In total Brisbane 1 required about 5 hours of waiting in line and in front of the stage. Brisbane 2 I waited around 7 hours.

There was no word if this system would be the same in Sydney or Melbourne, but venues have advised early GA admission is on a 'first come, first served' basis and not a 'pit lottery' which is big in Springsteen's US shows.

And if you are going to do this then the general rule of thumb is you already have your GA ticket in hand ready to go. And I would advise using a buddy to help keep the line during toilet and drink breaks. It's a lot easier in a group than it is to go solo.

The only question for me is after being front row for the first two concerts, can I convince my girlfriend who is joining me for Sydney 1 with a GA ticket, to wait in line that long?...

Notes on Australia - Brisbane

Only being here for three nights, two of which were taken up by the shows, I've essentially failed to really explore Brisbane as I had hoped.

Probably because the entertainment centre is on the edge of some swamp and a 40 minute train ride away from the city centre.
Unless of course the trains aren't running the entire way and you have another hour for buses.

I did have to kill a few hours before checking into the Base backpackers though, and found myself walking the streets and ended up in the Botanical Gardens along the river.
I'm not all that fussed about gardens or parks, and definitely not an expert on flora and fauna, but the park is a great place to walk, run or cycle and is set up really well to do both if you have a few hours of freedom or want a quick break from the CBD.
Also, it has some amazing trees that remind me of Game of Thrones. And that's awesome.

One thing I will say about Brisbane Entertainment Centre is that although it has put on the show amazingly, it's certainly nothing to look at.
It's just one big concrete mess on the edge of marshland, with nothing but small houses nearby.

In someways it's a terrible venue, but it other ways it's quite fitting - or perhaps it would have been if Springsteen rocked out Darkness on the Edge of Town in tribute to it.

Brisbane Entertainment Centre - 2

Ticket: GA (Pit/Wristband)

The second stop on the Australia tour was the perfect example of how no two Springsteen shows are ever the same.
Five out of the first nine songs were different from the previous Brisbane show two nights earlier that kicked off the tour.
The start was a pumping version of High Hopes, replacing the previous show's opening song We Take Care Of Our Own that wasn't even played.

What fans received on night two was a continuation of the renewal of E Street Band folklore that Springsteen plugged to media during a soundcheck ahead of night one.
An incredible Incident on 57th Street was a lengthy, enjoyable surprise. As was the acoustic version of Blinded By The Light to satisfy the girl in the blue dress that Springsteen said he'd spotted earlier and thought was cute.
Other exciting changes were brought on with the collection of fan-made request signs - something he hadn't done on night one - and which led to a brilliant rendition of Open All Night.
Spirit In The Night made it's second welcome appearance and along with Tom Morello's fiercely influenced Ghost of Tom Joad are the recurring highlights from two nights on the tour.
If there was one disappointment it was at times the sound seemed to be a little distorted from the guitars of the band.
Death To My Hometown started great, but the final few minutes was a distracting mess of feedback between Nils Lofgren, Springsteen and Morello.
A fault which I feel Lofgren felt was there. Standing in front of him and Soozie for the night I could see him frequently swap guitars, fiddle with pedals and signal the mix desk more times than I've ever seen him before.
More notably however, there was no major Lofgren solo, (so no Because The Night.)
Aside from that however were of course some incredible highlights.
Atlantic City sounded incredible and The River too was an excellent surprise as the first few bars on the harmonica were met with a roar of the crowd.

Brisbane part two also had the pleasure of Land Of Hopes And Dreams - performed superbly before the encore that included Bobby Jean amongst it's final efforts.
A night that spanned the decades of E Street Band including Springsteen's first single is not one to be dismissed - even if it may have lacked the punch and power of the previous show with no Thunder Road or Glory Days.
Heading to Sydney for Monday night - I have no idea what to expect but cannot wait for the next blast from the past.
A 12 hour train journey along the east coast - I'm revising my history to some of E Street's earlier works... I've got a feeling Kitty could be back with Rosalita any day now.



1. HIGH HOPES
2. The Promised Land
3. Wrecking Ball
4. Death To My Hometown
5. Out In The Street
6. My City of Ruins
7. Spirit In The Night
8. Incident on 57th Street
9 The River
10. Atlantic City
11. Open All Night
12. Darlington County
13. Shackled & Drawn
14. Waitin’ On A Sunny Day
15. Racing In The Street
16. Badlands
17. The Ghost of Tom Joad
18. Land of Hope & Dreams
19. Blinded By The Light (solo acoustic)
20. Born To Run
21. Bobby Jean
22. Dancing In The Dark
23. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Colours of the band...

After show 1's green wristband comes show 2's purple... An hour before gates open and there is still a few left for GA ticket holders...

Four hours until night 2

So after Thursday night's front row fluke, today I'm leaving nothing to chance.
Outside the venue 4 hours early I'm now 107 in line... 14 spots higher than last time.
We have to stick around for a roll call at 3pm and sometime after that we get the wristband that gets us in first.
Will write more details on this tomorrow - trying to save iPhone battery as much as I can over next few hours.
(Remember, no cameras of any kind allowed inside).

Brisbane Entertainment Centre - 1

Ticket - GA (With front row/pit wristband)

It's somewhat difficult for me to give an objective view of the first of ten Springsteen shows coming my way.
Because no matter who you are or what you think of the quality of each song performed, when your front row, in the centre under the microphone, it will always be the greatest show ever.
Even after lining up for hours no one expected just how close they would get to Springsteen in the first show of 2013, and the first in Australia for a decade.
Having only seen the E Street Band in stadiums and festivals the indoor arena stage seemed smaller to start with but without any divide or space for security to stand between the audience and the band, everyone stood there for two hours before the show began, knew they were in for something special.

Entering in darkness, and exploding into We Take Care Of Our Own, the magic was set for the next 3 hours 10 minutes.
Springsteen shared his regret for not being back for a decade after a previous world tour didn't travel down under and gave the crowd a mix of the old, new, classic and
Tom Morello proved his worth as Steve Van Zandt's replacement - a joke of the night from Springsteen that he was filming Lilyhammer in Norway and basically playing himself was met with a roar of riotous approval.
Whilst Van Zandt's comic appeal is missing doesn't mean the band doesn't have fun.
Watch out for Jake Clemons' interaction with everyone in the band - especially when he jokes around at the back pretending to throw a football 'right by yer' to the E Street choir during Glory Days.
Morello no stranger to E Street gave a blistering solo on Ghost of Tom Joad which will not only - hopefully - be a staple of every show on this tour, but also threaten to remain a highlight every night.
That's unless of course you're one of guys or girls that Springsteen pulls up on stage, dances with, sings with, hand shakes, high-fives, points at, waves to, or crowd surfs over.
If there's one thing clear from the start of this tour is that everyone in the arena is involved in the show.
You in the back? He'll head over to you.
Behind the stage with cheaper seats? Don't worry, the view is clear sound is good and they play to you guys too.
Springsteen came here to do what he has done hundreds of times, yet to watch him so closely you can see that the professional musician and band leader doesn't stop.
He keeps, going, even if he looks like he's about to collapse from exhaustion he asks if you want one more song - and then of course gives you two.
I headed into the arena after flying in from Perth and with less than 10 hours sleep in three days. Every time I felt that I couldn't take standing up anymore he kicked into another song and the pain and exhaustion went away.

Highlights of the night included Nils Lofgren on Because The Night, the E Street Shuffle, the amazing Spirit In The Night, and the tributes to Clarence 'Big Man' Clemons and Danny Federici. At one point bringing the 12,000 crowd into pure silence, while later screenshots of the two were so moving there was unlikely to be a throat without a lump or an eye without tears on their way.

Another highlight for many was Springsteen's cover of Australian band The Saints' Just Like Fire Would - although I will confess to not recognising the song myself.

There are nine more shows. Nine more times to hopefully see Prove It All Night, Backstreets, Darkness On The Edge of Town, Cover Me and maybe even Lost In The Flood.

Until then, here's what Brisbane had:

We Take Care of Our Own
Just Like Fire Would
Wrecking Ball
Badlands
Death to My Hometown
Hungry Heart
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
The E Street Shuffle
Jack of All Trades
Murder Incorporated
Johnny 99
Because the Night
She's the One
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Apollo Medley
The Rising
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Thunder Road

We Are Alive
Born to Run
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Two hearts...

".. are better than one" according to the classic song from The River album.
You know what else is good? Two hands.
When Bruce Springsteen is crowd surfing towards you, and you're one of just a few people between him and the stage, use BOTH hands to support him.
Because holding his back up with your left arm while you try and take a picture with your right arm ends with guitarist Nils Lofgren having to rush and help Springsteen when he's about to land awkwardly.
And you end up with a picture like this:

Easy Money

So the first 200 people with GA tickets at Brisbane Entertainment Centre get let in first... Introducing number 121!

Well I got this guitar...

If these don't get you excited, you've never been to an E Street show.
And if you're going to your first show - this means you should get excited: