Will Springsteen tour Australia in 2015?... and the hell of the steel rumour mill

Without wanting to fuel rumours or raise false (high) hopes, this is essentially the one question that everyone I spend a certain amount of time with on February’s tour of Australia was left pondering before the final shows across the ditch in New Zealand.

One 10-date tour last year wasn’t enough. Especially when the results of that Tom Morello-fused trip down under included a new album.

So was a second tour, including stops in Perth and Adelaide and four full-album shows – less than a year later enough?

Not if you believe the rumours that circulated the many groups of fans I had the pleasure of sharing shows, drinks and hours upon hours in line with.

In fact by the time the E Street Band reached Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, Springsteen’s end of show sign off to the crowd that ‘the E Street Band loves ya!’ and ‘we’ll be seein’ ya!’ did in fact mean that once again we could all be forced to book time off work, cancel holiday plans and raid our credit cards for the third tour in as many years.

Normally I would be the first to put this down to just wishful thinking.

Two prolific tours within 12 months isn’t unheard of in the band’s recent history, but three in two years would be extremely unlikely for a tour operation that size.

Also, both visits to Australia came on the back of two different album releases so it would be fair to assume that another trip would coincide with another timely release.

But there are several reasons why it might not be that inconceivable.

They were right last time 

Before the final Hanging Rock show in 2013, rumours in the GA pit were wildly circulating that plans were already underway to bring the band back the next year. 

The Wrecking Ball tour had been such a success with people travelling across the country to get to the shows, there was every reason to believe they would want to return as soon as possible. 

This time as well as rumours of a full The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle night in Brisbane, fans who had gotten close to the band were already predicting that Springsteen, the band and the crew were planning on coming back as soon as next year.

These rumour spreaders, amongst several different groups of fans, were right about the full E Street Shuffle show and just as confident about the 2015 return.

The band seem to love Australia

You only have to check out Springsteen’s website, or any number of the Facebook fan groups, to see how much he and the band enjoy their time here. It’s not just the chance of a summer holiday in winter but also the ease of being able to travel across the continent without too much hassle. 

In Europe hundreds of fans are known to wait outside hotels for a glimpse of the band, in Australia they can mostly sit in the band’s hotel bar and wait for them. Not to mention trips to the beach, the zoo or the dry cleaners.

E Street is more accessible than ever

Whether it’s the multitude of books, the Springsteen & I documentary, or the pulling up of dozens on stage every night, Springsteen himself is more open with his fans than ever. He obviously won’t come right out and say it, there probably isn’t even any firm plans in place. But if he says it’s something he genuinely wants to do, it would be a safe bet that it’s somebody’s job somewhere to make sure he gets what he wants.

Meanwhile, in many interviews in the past few years Springsteen has said that he’s no intention of slowing down while the band are at their best and the light at the end of the tunnel is ‘getting closer’.

Everyone’s making a killing

It’s not cheap to go to a Springsteen show, but people will still pay through the nose to get tickets to every concert and the promoters know it. This alone is all the incentive promoters like Michael Gudinski and Frontier Touring need to do whatever they can to bring them back again and again. I don’t think anyone’s in any doubt that these guys had to do a lot to bring Springsteen and the band here for the first time in 10 years, and it has clearly worked. 

The 2013 Wrecking Ball tour was already a dream come true for many fans in Australia. And this year’s shows, complete with headline-making cover songs and full-album performances took that to a whole new level.

There’s always rumours of another new album 

Not everyone was happy with the format of High Hopes – the release Springsteen himself called his ‘anomaly’ album. Instead many fans are waiting for a full album of original material with some underlying theme driving the style and tone of his work that has been demonstrated in recent decades. So even with the release of High Hopes, fan discussion following intense analysis of published interviews with Springsteen and the band easily lead to the assumption there was more to come. And that it would come sooner than we think. (And if you are to consider the four-track American Beauty release for Record Store Day, these assumptions weren’t too far wrong.)

TOO SOON?

But aside from all the excitement, expectation and Springsteen’s apparent love of surprising his fans at any given moment, speculation of a 2015 return does come with the question many debt-ridden tour followers ask: Do we want Springsteen to return so quickly?

At the end of February whenever discussion about 2015 rumours came up they were always met with the regrettable realisation that a longer break between tours would be welcome, and the hope that if he is back then, it’s at the end of the year, not the same time as the previous summer time shows.

This response was no doubt partly in response to tour/roll call-fatigue - which after 10 shows in three weeks can easily set while you’re waiting for that final wristband.

In fact, after a few weeks of hotels, flights and racing for the low numbers, you would be surprised how quickly real life comes calling. 

Especially near the end of the road.

A road which goes from being wide open and full of hope to being dominated by big, bright signs warning about out how much mileage is left in the financial tank, and how long you’ll be working before you can get back out on the tour highway again. 

FROM POST-BRUCE BLUES TO TOUR DATE LIMBO

But as The E Street Band revisit cities across America and dates in Europe crumble through the rumour mill, fans in Australia who take notice of the rumours remain in a strange limbo between wild speculation and verified confirmation of any future tour.

The result is any holiday, home renovation or expensive car upgrade plans have to answer to the voice in the back of their mind telling them that maybe they shouldn’t spend their money or sacrifice their annual leave just yet in case Bruce does come back.

And when he does it following him across the country for weeks at a time really will be the final time they indulge in the once-in-a-lifetime, may-never-happen-again event.

Until of course the penultimate show of that tour… when rumours of another return creep from backstage.

 ...........................................................

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Top 5 Unforgettable Moments from the Bruce Springsteen High Hopes tour….

It’s taken two weeks since arriving home from Auckland for the dust to settle enough to allow me to compile a list of what were the greatest moments from the High Hopes tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2014.

Although not able to attend the two Melbourne shows, which were both highly rated by even the most demanding fans I’ve had the pleasure to meet, I think the following easily hold up as some of the moments that made it such an epic tour.

1. Kitty’s Back, Perth Arena – Show 1

A city he’s never played in before with an overwhelming demand to experience his live show, the safe option would have been to blast out plenty of radio-friendly Born In The USA-era hits or well-rehearsed tracks from the previous tour.

But like he said before the show, fans were in for a ‘few surprises’, and out came a 16-minute rendition of The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle tune, complete with Springsteen tightly orchestrating the band through the arrangements before taking on a blistering solo while he shared the stage with three other world-famous guitarists.

The confidence to keep a partially new audience hooked on a song from a less-successful album more than 30 years old with an 18-piece band was something new for old fans and new fans alike.

The song was a stand-out snapshot of night one and raised the bar for the remaining 12 shows of the tour.

2. Jake’s back, Hunter Valley – Show 1

A Springsteen tour is a hotbed for rumours and speculation between fans outside every venue or fans thousands of miles away following online about anything to do with the band. When the rumours Jake Clemons’ father had died forcing the now-iconic young saxophone player to rush home midway through the tour turned out to be true, there was an undeniable, if somewhat selfish, sense of loss in the crowd in Sydney.

The nephew of the Big Man forced to leave the tour due to a personal tragedy, made the absence of Clarence Clemons more noticeable as the hearts of dedicated fans went out to the family and the band.

But when rumours Jake had returned turned out to be true, and he walked onto that stage at Hope Estate after flying to and from the US in less than seven days to say goodbye to his father, not only were hope and optimism restored. But a serious level of pride and awe returned. The roar the younger Clemons received after his fierce solo as Badlands was the second song of the night proved how much he is valued and respected by fans.

And how much that had surged with his swift return.

3. Meeting Across The River, Auckland – Show 2

The whole tour was full of the promised surprises and changes, with plenty of rare renditions thrown in. This performance however, completely changed the way I look at the song that until now has merely been the track before Jungleland on my all-time favourite album Born To Run.

Springsteen’s vocals were painfully good as through the lyrics he tells the story of a hood preparing his friend Eddie for a dangerous deal.

Meanwhile Curt Ramm’s exceptional trumpet solo took the song to a whole other level. By the end, you knew that it didn’t matter if Eddie made it ‘look like he was carrying a friend’… tragedy and violence were coming. As a friend pointed out to me after, it really does set up the scene perfectly for the album’s epic street battle finale.

4. Cover Me, Adelaide – Show 2

Wondering how this song in the middle of the tour became one the best moments, right?

The answer’s quite simply, because it was one of the coolest. Literally.

Coming off the back of an Adelaide heat wave that threatened the hydrated consciousness and sanity of fans making the roll call, the axe battle between Springsteen and Nils Lofgren front and centre of the stage was mind-blowing.

As mind-blowing as the air conditioning that smacked you in the face on the walk down to the pit floor. And just as welcome.

It followed a curious and heavily-sought after performance of Backstreets near the beginning of the show, which although always an incredible song, seemed to be suffocating – or wasted – in the heat of Springsteen’s own guitar, which frequently over powered Roy Bittan’s piano to the point that once or twice, it became distracting.

Not letting a less-than perfect rendition of the song slow them down however, Springsteen leapt into Cover Me with a fierce intensity.

If he really was fed up with how fucking hot it was, maybe this was where he let out his frustration.

And likewise for Lofgren who, after being accidentally left off a band roll call in Perth until Springsteen hilariously corrected himself, may have been itching to burst out a dramatic solo.

The result was a brilliant few minutes of guitar play between the two, culminating in Springsteen even attempting a spin with his axe after Lofgren dealt a killer cyclone front and centre, before giving in to his intimidatingly great band member.

Not to forget the awesome power added by the horn section blaring, and urging each of them on until the end.

It really was one of the coolest moments of the tour.

5. “It’s E Street Shuffle time!”, Brisbane

Again rumours and speculation had followed the band to the final night of the Australian leg of the tour.

Hopes that a weekend at Hunter Valley would see both sides of The River album flood the set list had long dried up and replaced instead with the excitable prospect of a final album show. One which dedicated fans from the beginning of The E Street band’s career would see their faith be rewarded.

But after already bringing on the reported string section for Stayin’ Alive and delivering some E Street excellence via four tracks from Greetings From Asbury Park expectations of The Wild, The Innocent… ´complete with string-powered New York City Serenade began to dwindle.

In part because the band were clearly having too much fun just grabbing requests and playing whatever the hell they liked.

It resulted in Springsteen giving the crowd the choice, to carry on taking requests, or to despite being pushed for time, go for the full album from 1973.

The crowd answered, and Springsteen answered the call. “It’s E Street Shuffle time!”

The night was already on a high, and the band were not just on fire, but clearly ecstatic about how well they had been performing.

And the complete seven-track album was no exception. It not only reminded fans who had seen multiple shows that Australia had now seen four full album performances, but also gave every other night a benchmark.

I’ve never been able to decide which concert out of all the ones I’ve seen was the absolute best, but when anyone asks I now find myself starting with the fact that this particular night in Brisbane was something really special.

 

And if this were a list of High Hopes highlights, here’s what would probably make out the top 10…

Cover Versions

Whether it was the local tributes to great bands of yesterday, the wine-themed openers of Hunter Valley the string-powered urban take down of a Bee Gees’ classic, or a solo acoustic rendition of the world’s hottest musical teen. Springsteen’s headline-making cover versions on this tour could make an entertaining B-sides album worthy of release alongside High Hopes. First they kept you guessing and now they’re still keeping people talking. (Highway To Hell an awesome spectacle on more than one occasion, it narrowly missed out on the top five.)

 

Full-album shows

Not everyone’s a fan of the full running of an album, especially if they’ve seen it before, but the power and dedication thrown into each performance often left the rest of the set list in the shadows, and Australia was lucky enough to score four of them.

The Promise, Perth Arena – Show 3

A rare outing given the solo piano treatment. Springsteen’s vocals were at their best for this song on the night. For days afterwards I had the sound … “Thunderrrr Rooooaddd…. oh baby you were so right, Thunderrrr Rooooaddd…. there's something dyin' on the highway tonight”… driving through my head. (A similar case could also be made for Adelaide – Show 1’s Back In Your Arms.)

If I Should Fall Behind, Adelaide – Show 1

An arena in stunned silence, people wiping tears from their eyes. This song was an unforgettable, moving experience for anyone who stayed until the very end to see it.

(I’m sure many felt the same raw acoustic power through Terry’s Song and I Wish I Was Blind too.)

10. Loose Ends, Auckland – Show 1

A request from one of my many partners in line throughout the Bruce tour it not only gave Auckland a taste of Tracks, but provided a great moment of banter between fans of a beloved song and Springsteen’s comic foil, Stevie Van Zandt. Urging us to raise the sign Van Zandt clearly wanted it played, but Springsteen wasn’t convinced telling us it was too obscure. A bit of pleading from two guys named Corey and Cory, along with Van Zandt’s enthusiasm changed his mind and he stormed down to collect the sign and honoured the request. (Not the first time Stevie’s twisted his arm as Ramrod and Fade Away were given a similar push)

Obscure it may have been, but unrehearsed? No way. The band were incredible in every element of the surprisingly complex song that tests everyone from horns and guitars to piano and backing vocals.   

All right, so you disagree… what did I miss? – and don’t be too obvious…

The Price You Gotta Pay for Your Ultimate Bruce Springsteen Show

I thought the most painful experience following The E Street Band on another tour of Australia would be missing the two great shows in Melbourne.

Turns out I was wrong.
 

Actually attending two stadium shows in the front row with a broken foot is in fact a lot more painful.

 

This I discovered over the last weekend in Auckland after a mad dash to keep my place in line at an early morning roll call ended in me rolling my ankle outside the gate of Mt Smart Stadium.

After a taxi balls-up and a late bus I decided to jog several kilometeres to make the 8am roll call and keep number 47 in line.

It was on the very last step right by the line of people waiting to be checked off the list that I landed badly, letting out a yelp of pain in front of everybody.

If it wasn't the lightning bolt of pain that shot through my leg, than it was the horrified look on people's faces who saw the way my foot landed that I realised I was in trouble.

But fuck it. I had made it to Auckland, made it to roll call and had even made it back to the line the night before after a restaurant blunder saw some idiot "fondle" my burger resulting in a delay for my order.

There was no way I was not going to make it to the end of the tour. Especially after missing Melbourne.

So instead of going to hospital I hobbled back to my hotel room, put an ice pack on my foot and hoped it was just a mild sprain that would heal quickly.

Later that day at the stadium, the St John Ambulance paramedic wasn't so hopeful. Strapping up the ankle, and giving me an ice pack I was told to keep as much weight as possible off the foot. And if it didn't get better by morning, go to hospital.

It would have been a good plan, the only problem was that Springsteen and the band blasted out another great show complete with Born In The USA from top to bottom.

The same as two weeks earlier, it was looking even more likely that the band were going to pull out Born To Run - my all-time favourite album - again for the Sunday night crowd.

I had already missed it once, there was no way I could miss it again.

So after a night with the ice pack, followed by a morning lying in bed, I was back at the stadium, sat on the front row trying to keep a place on the barrier to once again use it to hold up what had now become a severe limp.

It was a gamble, and I'm happy to say it paid off.

Despite the difficulty in trying to stay balanced, hydrated and keep track on how many pain killers I'd taken that day, the show was incredible, and I'd seen the album show.

Of course reality kicked in 24 hours and two flights later.

The bruising was already turning my foot into a dark coloured, puffed up limp machine and it took my girlfriend one look before ordering me into the car where she would take me back to the emergency department where she had just finished an eight hour nursing shift.

The x-ray confirmed it, I'd broken the fifth metatarsal, had to be strapped into something called a moon boot - or CAM boot walker and told to use crutches for six weeks.

All because I wanted to see a full album show of Born To Run.

And most painful of all - as well as the irony that I won't be running for a long time - is that given the opportunity, I'd probably do it all again.

Springsteen at Auckland - Show 2

"Last night they got Born In The USA. Tonight you get Born to Run!"

And with that Springsteen began the ending of the tour of Australia and New Zealand with the power and finesse that everyone has come to appreciate the E Street Band for in the 39 years since his breakthrough album was released.

Once again starting the show with his harmonica-led, acoustic-driven cover of Lorde's Royals, there would be few surprises and no sign requests granted on the second New Zealand show.

Instead the night was all about the band, and how they can deliver to 40,000 people  the kind of show experience every night, other acts strive to achieve just once in a lifetime.

Before the full album came, Springsteen led the band through a wealth of hits from across four decades.

We Take Care Of Our Own and Death To My Hometown brought a taste of Wrecking Ball to the Auckland audience after Springsteen previously apoligised for missing out on the region over the past 10 years.

Meanwhile No Surrender fired the crowd up before Two Hearts and Hungry Heart had people jumping through the evening sunset.

Seeds was belted out in all its fury, with Springsteen merely warming up with his guitar solo as he stood firmly in the spotlight throughout.

The New Zealand crowd seemed to appreciate his latest work too as High Hopes and Just Like Fire Would received a surge of energy from fans before Darkness On The Edge Of Town unleashed more of the band's fury. An album created in a time of great frustration for Springsteen, it would have almost been a fitting time to play it in a country frustrated with a long wait for the band to return.

A frustration no doubt felt by fans in Christchurch who again received a dedication by Springsteen for travelling to the show, with the tour debut of My City Of Ruins. Complete with band roll call, and spirit-summoning silence seen across the early shows of the Australian Wrecking Ball tour.

Then it came back down to business, and back to Born To Run, taking the weekend in Auckland into the same realm as Melbourne with the double album shows.

It gave the crowd a great chance to see the full band Thunder Road and took Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out and the title track out of the encore, leaving the show finale wide open, as the concentration and energy was firmly on quality, and a clear desire to make every note perfect for the stadium crowd.

When it came to Backstreets, the song grabbed the attention of everybody, with Roy Bittan's piano cutting through the huge standing audience to every corner of the venue.

While Meeting Across The River was a surprising stand out from the performance. Easily skipped over or overshadowed by its place on the album as a predecessor to Jungleland, the song was given a fantastic airing. Curt Ramm coming out of the E Street Horns' shadows for a phenomenal centre stage trumpet solo. (And seriously, how many times do you read 'phenomenal trumpet solo' in a rock concert review?)

Jungleland of course belonged to one man, Jake Clemons. 

The tour has been no easy ride for the Big Man's nephew with the tragic death of his father, but this performance of the trademark saxophone solo was arguably his best yet. 

The confidence and power he brought out into the air was incredible.

When the album was done it was straight into The Rising, before Tom Morello got to deliver his knock out blow with The Ghost Of Tom Joad. It may have been played every night of the tour, but Morello has been great in making subtle, spontaneous changes to his frantic solo each time.

The encore brought back Glory Days and Bobby Jean, with Seven Nights To Rock, thrown in just in case there wasn't enough energy already bouncing around the stage.

After an extensive Twist & Shout came Springsteen's solo acoustic closer.

This Hard Land returned the hyped up 40,000-strong crowd back to a awe-inspired silence as his vocals echoed across the stadium. 

All delivered with the assurance that Springsteen would be back, and it wouldn't be as long as the 10 years since the last appearence in New Zealand.

The only question for everyone in Australia and New Zealand is when. 

Set list

1. Royals (solo acoustic, Lorde cover)

2. We Take Care Of Our Own

3. No Surrender

4. Two Hearts

5. Hungry Heart

6. The Promised Land

7. Seeds

8. Death To My Hometown

9. High Hopes

10. Just Like Fire Would

11. Darkness On The Edge Of Town

12. My City Of Ruins

13. Thunder Road

14. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

15. Night

16. Backstreets

17. Born To Run

18. She's The One

19. Meeting Across The River

20. Jungleland

21. The Rising

22. The Ghost Of Tom Joad.

23. Badlands

24. Waitin' On A Sunny Day

25. Glory Days

26. Seven Nights To Rock

27. Bobby Jean

28. Dancing In The Dark

29. Twist & Shout

30. This Hard Land (solo acoustic)

Show length: 3 hours, 11 minutes.

Australasia tour total: 13 shows, 366 songs, 119 different.

Springsteen at Auckland - Show 1

After Brisbane's Stayin' Alive opener, Bruce Springsteen already showed there are few limits when it comes to choosing a local cover to greet his latest crowd.

Taking to the stage in his acoustic armourment of guitar and harmonica, Springsteen had plenty of people guessing for what was going to come next, and afterwards it felt like the obvious choice. A version of Royals in honour of New Zealand's recent global breakthrough star Lorde.

(And to think a bunch of us were hoping for a full E Street Band cover of New Zealand band OMC's super-hit How Bizarre.)

It was dark, heavy acoustic that Springsteen had clearly been working on for some time as he bashed out the intricate lyrics with a slow, intense anger. Even pounding the guitar t o create the beat of the song. 

After the Kiwi tribute it was straight down to business for the band smashing out My Love Will Not Let You Down, Badlands, and Out In The Street.

It was then the second surprise, and possible highlight, of the night for diehard E Street fans as Springsteen was swayed by Stevie Van Zandt to collect a sign from the front row for Loose Ends.  He first seemed to dismiss the request as being too obscure before giving in and running down from the stadium stage to pick it up.

What followed was a full band explosion for the Tracks number with the band sounding at their ultimate best, and revealing just how complex the song is instrumentally. 

Auckland, which hasn't hosted Springsteen since 2003, was then given a taste of Wrecking Ball and High Hopes before the drums kicked in for Atlantic City.

For the several hundred fans who had flown over from Australia the line about debts no honest man can pay ringing more true than ever.

After The River, came the announcement that night one in New Zealand was to have a full run of Born In The USA. 

Complete with all the well-known stand-out performances - Max Weinberg's USA drum solo, Nils Lofgren's Cover Me cyclone, and of course the "But I'm still the same guy!" banter with Van Zandt before Springsteen launched into I'm Goin' Down.

There was even a nod to people in Christchurch who failed in their campaign to get Springsteen to head their way with a dedication before My Hometown.

Land Of Hope And Dreams finished the main set before the encore hit full steam.

Straight into Born To Run and then picking up the request, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) took the place of Dancing In The Dark's familiar end-of-show slot.

It was of course back to solo duties for a closing acoustic Thunder Road, before Springsteen promised to be back again Sunday night for another spectacular. 

What the hell he will open with for the final night of the Australasia tour - I've no idea.

Set list

1. Royals (solo acoustic, Lorde cover)

2. My Love Will Not Let You Down

3. Badlands

4. Out In The Street

5. Loose Ends (sign request)

6. Wrecking Ball

7. Death To My Hometown

8. High Hopes

9. Atlantic City

10. The River

11. Born In The USA

12. Cover Me

13. Darlington County

14. Working On The Highway

15. Downbound Train

16. I'm On Fire

17. No Surrender

18. Bobby Jean

19. I'm Goin' Down

20. Glory Days

21. Dancing In The Dark

22. My Hometown

23. The Rising

24. The Ghost Of Tom Joad

25. Land Of Hope And Dreams

26. Born To Run

27. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

28. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

29. Shout

30. Thunder Road (solo acoustic)

Show length: 3 hours, 3 minutes

Australasia tour so far: 12 shows, 336 songs, 118 different.