Springsteen at Perth Arena - Show 2

It’s impossible to say whether the early shows of a Springsteen tour will be long-remembered as the best of that run.

But there’s probably going to be a few fans who were at Perth Arena on Friday night who will boldly make that claim.

The excitement level of the faithful soared just a few tracks in when Springsteen went straight into taking a bunch of sign requests. A move that would shape the surviving set list for the rest of the night.

 

Bruce and Stevie (Photo: Twitter - @born_in_a_tent)

And this was after he started with a roaring Badlands and went straight into Out In The Street, so everyone was already pumped for three hours of high adrenaline E Street action.

Front and centre (Photo: Twitter - @born_in_a_tent)

It came pretty quickly with the requests for Sherry Darling and Two Hearts from The River album – both providing Stevie Van Zandt to join Springsteen in chief entertainer duties.

If there was any hesitating from some of the sold out crowd of show 1, the band were determined to blast it away for night 2.

A request for Light Of Day was met with a fantastic no-holds barred rendition –with the horns section and organist Charlie Giordano with a brilliant solo.

All fuelling Springsteen into an intimidating guitar solo that is arguably the highlight of the night. (I, for one, will support that argument).

The track, complete with a taste of Land Of A 1000 Dances, was the final nail in the coffin for any problems that may have been picked up on during show 1, where Springsteen was clearly frustrated with teleprompter issues.

The entire band was on exceptional form.

So confident was Springsteen that he even indulged in performing some of his favourites.

A request for Girls In Their Summer Clothes, which he had admitted at a media call on Wednesday was one of those he wish he could play more, was met with a solo acoustic version.

A decision that may not have been appreciated by everyone – it was fun watching Roy Bittan and Gary Tallent step away from their tools for a discussion which seemed to look like they had no idea what was going on, with a speculatory mix of ‘here he goes again!’.

Another bold move by Springsteen was Save My Love, released on 2010’s The Promise collection.

An underplayed track to say the least, you could see the concentration on some of the band’s faces as they worked hard to keep up.

Some in the audience may had questioned what the song was doing in the set list, but looking back to see such a rarity is always something to be remembered. 

When it came to really blowing the audience away for the second show on the Australasia tour however, it was the trio of successive Atlantic City, Youngstown and Murder Incorporated that did it.

The band on fine form, the crowd in good voice and Nils Lofgren on lead guitar charge for Youngstown. It was the most solid, focused part of the show that cemented the simple fact that every night in Perth is going to be special.

No more so than for than the fans who reached the stage on that night.

First of all little James who became beach buddies with Springsteen this week and who has held his own during the roll calls, became a hero to fans in the pit. (Alongside Wednesday night’s champions Vel Holland and screen dominating ‘Stevie’s Angels’).

Then the efforts of Rosie and Dal for Dancing In The Dark honours – along with Luke Reynolds and Ellie O’Keefe who went for a jive with Soozie Tyrell and Jake Clemons and stayed on stage for a guitar jamming session to close the song.

The pulling up of so many fans not only boosts the appeal of arena shows where the band are closer to the audience, but also backs up how Springsteen has become more accessible to his fans, both on and off the stage.

It looked like another acoustic solo would finish off the night as he farewelled the band and took on solo duties on I’ll Work For Your Love.

(But not before a hilarious band roll call where Springsteen missed out Lofgren, and then tried to correct his mistake by a ‘last and most certainly not least’, followed by ‘Did I mention we have Nils Lofgren!’… several times.)

But even then he wasn’t done. Out came the harmonica and it was another acoustic Thunder Road that took the show to its finale.

Set list:

1. Badlands

2. Out in the Street

3. Sherry Darling (sign request)

4. Two Hearts

5. High Hopes

6. Just Like Fire Would

7. Light of Day (sign request)

8. Death to My Hometown

9. Hungry Heart

10. Girls In Their Summer Clothes (solo acoustic, sign request)

11. Save My Love

12. Atlantic City

13. Youngstown

14. Murder Incorporated

15. Johnny 99

16. Pay Me My Money Down

17. Shackled and Drawn

18. Waitin' On a Sunny Day

19. The Ghost of Tom Joad

20. The Rising

Encore:

21. Heaven's Wall

22. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

23. Born to Run

24. Dancing in the Dark

25. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

26. Twist and Shout

27. I'll Work For Your Love (solo acoustic)

28. Thunder Road (solo acoustic)

Run time: 3 hours, 6 minutes

Tour so far: 55 songs in 2 shows, 41 different.

Springsteen at Perth Arena - Show 1

Out of all the songs he was going to open the Australia tour with, I never thought for a second that Bruce Springsteen would choose Frankie Fell In Love.

But in the first 30 seconds of him launching into the track, and with Stevie Van Zandt rocking the crowd the moment he came out, I was already won over despite my previous thoughts on the song. 

High Hopes had a solid airing for the first night of the tour.

Both the title track and Australian cover Just Like Fire Would were quickly thrown out, and later in the night we heard the Tom Morello-injected Ghost Of Tom Joad and American Skin (41 Shots).

Also a vast improvement from the studio recording was Raise Your Hand – which came a little earlier in the set when Everett ‘Reverend’ Bradley accidentally started to play it, forcing a joking Springsteen to stop and swap guitars.

What made this song, the opening of which I don’t mind skipping on my iPod, was the way in which Springsteen used all four lead guitarists (himself included) to thrash out the chorus with Soozie Tyrell in the middle taking centre stage on the violin and backing vocals.

Not the strongest track from the album, but a real highlight of the night.

For me however the opening night of the Australia tour belonged to Springsteen’s earlier work.

Both E Street Shuffle and Kitty’s Back gave the crowd an incredible taste of The Wild and The Innocent… while showcasing how incredibly tight the 18 musicians are as one band.

With Springsteen leading the charge as orchestra conductor and lead guitarist on Kitty’s Back.

Not one to back away from the solo work, Springsteen twice took over duties by dismissing the band for a great, moving version of For You on Roy Bittan’s piano.

And again taking the show to the end with an acoustic solo of Thunder Road.

Also worthy of a mention are “Stevie’s Angels” – formerly The Brucettes – who managed to get an invite to dance on stage for Ramrod. These are the same family of Springsteen fans whose matching shirts and smiles landed them a spot dancing with the band in Melbourne last year during Pay Me My Money Down. 

And of course Vel Holland who first joined the line outside the Arena on Friday and was already crying tears of joy before the concert because she was finally getting to see a Springsteen show. Pulled out to join him for Dancing In The Dark, Vel wasted no time in leaving her impression on the rock star.

Overall it was a fantastic opener for the tour, and just thinking about what songs could make the setlist for the next two shows in Perth is enough to build plenty of excitement.

More on Perth’s first Springsteen show: Springsteen rocks Perth Arena

Setlist:

1. Frankie Fell In Love

2. High Hopes

3. Just Like Fire Would

4. Badlands

5. Hungry Heart

6. E Street Shuffle

7. Kitty's Back

8. Wrecking Ball

9. Death To My Hometown

10. The River

11. Heaven's Wall

12. American Skin (41 Shots)

13. Because The Night'

14. She's The One

15. Working On The Highway

16. Darlington County

17. Shackled And Drawn

18. Waitin' On A Sunny Day

19. For You (request) piano, solo

20. Ghost Of Tom Joad

21. The Rising

22. Ramrod

23. Born To Run

24. Dancing In The Dark

25. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

26. Shout

27. Thunder Road (solo acoustic)

                                                     

Inside a Bruce Springsteen soundcheck

A few hours before the first Perth Arena show a group of around 30 journalists, including myself, were lucky enough to get an early glimpse of what goes on backstage before a show.

Before going in we were told to stand at the back of the GA pit while Springsteen and the band performed. When he was ready, Springsteen would then call us forward to the stage and we could ask him some questions.

Dream Baby Dream

We were also warned that the whole media call would only begin when Springsteen was happy with the sound and that it could take a while.

So we spent what felt like hours waiting in a hallway of Perth Arena trying to listen out to the songs being rehearsed behind a closed door.

At one point I could make out Frankie Fell In Love, and a friend said she heard The River.

Finally let inside and ushered to the back of the GA pit, Springsteen shouted a welcome from the stage before launching the band into Dream Baby Dream.

The band, following every hand gesture from the lead man even more intently than you would probably notice on show night, were obviously not in the evening’s wardrobe selections yet.

Soozie Tyrell wearing thick glasses and Tom Morello in a big cowboy hat and shades both made a lasting impression.

At the end of the song Springsteen jokingly waved off our applause by saying they weren’t done yet.

“You’ve stumbled into a rehearsal”, he said, before turning to the band and explaining what he wanted to hear more of something before starting up the song again.

But it seemed someone started before others in the 18-member band were ready as something was so out of time he immediately stopped the band a few seconds in, and joked “that was the single version.”

Before running through the song again.

Afterwards he again turned to the band, and you could see how he was determined to perfect the song, that in the end would not get played on opening night.

He then turned to the assembled media and called them forward, sitting on the centre platform at the front of the stage.

There he answered several questions about how he feels about being more open to writers and the internet, the role of folk music “when it’s done well” and his approach to the setlists.

Saying that he still planned to “keep changing things up” and bringing out surprises for the tour.

When asked if there was any songs he wished were requested a bit more he talked about how he liked performing Girls In Their Summer Clothes but didn’t get to do it very often, and also Long Walk Home from Magic, of which he was pleased with the strength of his writing.

The diehard fan in me managed to string a sentence together enough to ask if he would be doing any full album shows on this tour.

He said although they had done some in Europe last year, it was unlikely while he had a new album out and wanted to keep each night different and fresh for both new and returning audiences.

When it came to his interview the answers he gave were never short or abrupt, they were long, detailed and genuine.

The personal commitment and enthusiasm his live performances are known for easily transferred over to a group of 30 people that although excited – and in my case totally bewildered and quietly overwhelmed – were all thinking of fast approaching deadlines and how they would file copy, footage and audio clips to their outlets on time.

As his publicity and crew were obviously eager to hurry things along by calling time on the press conference, Springsteen was happy to keep talking and allowed the questions to keep going.

If he didn’t have a show to do, I think he would have been happy to sit on that stage talking for hours.

But even if spending a lengthy time chatting with Springsteen was an option, I would take being in the pit of his live show for three hours over a conversation every time.

Read the article I scrawled together on the side of the road after the media call here:  Bruce Springsteen promises to keep surprises coming for Australia

Confessions of a Springsteen roll call addict

At 10pm Tuesday it had reached 100, at 8.30am Wednesday 112 people had committed themselves to the line.

And by 3pm today there will be dozens more fighting sun burn and trying to orchestrate the balance of staying hydrated without forcing any unwanted trips to the bathroom.

The procedures in the hours and days before a Springsteen show have become nothing short of a necessity or even an addiction for those that have previously turned up to a venue and had a number printed on their left hand.

During the 2013 Wrecking Ball tour the roll call system of getting a number as early as possible - then returning to the line at designated times to keep that place in line - quickly became a friendly contest between fans for the lowest number, a haven for weary travellers, a roadblock for school-running parents and even a bed for tramps and dreamers.

This time around before the doors have opened for the first of 11 shows in Australia the roll call system is once again alive and well.

Sunday night.

 

Pros and cons?

The pros of the roll call are obvious, it allows fans to line up without physically standing – or sleeping – in place for hours or days on end.

A win for fans and for venues worried about the surge of people who might want to turn a single night’s concert into a week-long festival complete with camping experience.

The breaks to disappear for a few hours, take a walk, get food, water and use the bathroom make all the difference. Especially when the line is at a place like Perth Arena, or Melbourne, rather than say Brisbane, where a choice of places to eat, drink and just gather some healthy shade are miles away.

Not only are people more energised and positive, but venue operators and road crews also appear to be happy with the set up at smaller Arena shows because it saves the need for a lottery system – something that can result in a person in line for 5 minutes getting to the front, while someone who spent hours waiting near the front doesn’t get the view they were hoping for.

Most of all the roll call system does one thing brilliantly, it builds excitement and enthusiasm for the forthcoming show through its form as a giant countdown until doors open.

Those final hours stood in line waiting to land a spot and debating whether or not to come up with a strategy inside the venue for the best position are agonisingly brilliant.

It also builds relationships between Springsteen fans in a way that social groups or fan clubs could never do. By the end of the day you’re not just sharing stories of why you like Springsteen, but even stepping aside to let the shorter person behind you move closer to the stage or reach out for the guitar during Born To Run.

Despite being a massive fan of the roll call system not others agree, and frequent discussions do raise what some would argue are a few disadvantages.

First of all is the question of when to start the system.

Start it too late and you could find disagreement between people already in line who have already committed to staying onsite for days on end regardless of any ordered line.

Start it too early and you’ll find people who travel from outside the area angry that their entire time in a new place is spent attending roll calls instead of seeing the sights.

(My memory of Melbourne is a 15-minute L-shaped path from the Flinders St backpackers to Rod Laver Arena I walked every 3 hours.)

You also have the legitimate criticism from people willing to line up for an entire day - but not much longer - that the line would probably be shorter if people were not given the freedom of leaving for a few hours after checking in, as less people would be inclined to queue for hours on end.

In short, it’s not a perfect system, but I’m a big fan of it and it my experience it has worked really well.

Although those who have been in a roll call for more than one show will recognise the signs of ‘roll call addiction’: 

• saying you don’t mind what number you get but secretly fighting for your lowest number yet.
• telling others you probably won’t line up for the next show and then you run to get a number.
• having a strategy worked out to stand in front of Nils or Stevie then just panicking and making a split-second decision depending on the height of everyone in front of you.
• knowing that it doesn’t matter if you make the first 200 because the rest of GA still get great spots anyway – and yet still not being satisfied with being anything above (Johnny) 99.

My Hometown

One other observation from this week is the mistake I made thinking it would be easier to attend several roll calls as I only lived a short bike ride from the venue.

In theory, a hometown roll call should be easy as you know where everything is and how to get there quickly.

In reality however, life itself just gets in the fucking way.

Even on holiday work issues can flare up, family hassles can arise and the kids can suddenly need a ride to school right at the time you should be answering the call to who owns the faded number you proudly got two nights ago.

Not to mention ‘roll call fatigue’ which can easily set in when you have to keep leaving the comforts of home to stand out in the sun currently burning the side of the building you’re trying not to stand near.

It’s fair to say roll call for more than 24 hours takes commitment, a clear schedule and a toll on your personal appearance. If you waiver or worry about any of these, you’re in for a stressful countdown for the show.

 

Alternatively while you’re away, the roll call becomes an adventure. Sure you would like to see the new place you would never have been to before but your desire to be that one place closer to the stage is just a little bit stronger.

And you get to talk about how far you’ve travelled before spotting the brilliant but mental people who have come from all corners of the planet and are typically roll call experts.

This morning I pulled out of number 28 spot due to some last minute commitments which I was already aware of. My decision to join in three days ago was to bag the best spot incase my diary did clear up and I wouldn’t regret not being in line earlier. Not to mention meeting up with all the familiar faces from last time round.

So for Friday’s show I’m just planning on coming down around midday in the day and seeing what numbers are available, and I’m sure I’ll get a good spot whatever it is.

Or maybe I’ll come by at 11am… or Thursday night... or fuck it, maybe I’ll just see what happens after the show on Wednesday.

The Springsteen fan's road to Perth Arena

Springsteen fever has officially landed in Perth with the Australia tour about to start this week.

A few people have said they enjoyed an article I wrote last year when the 2014 tour was first announced - and before the extra dates were added - so here it is again. 

(More than six months on, let me know how accurate it is Springsteen fans...)

News that Bruce Springsteen is to return to Australia next year has no doubt sent many E Street Band fans into meltdown over the past 48 hours.
Perth and Adelaide, which missed out on the E Street Band in 1985, 2003 and 2013, as well as 1997's solo tour, will be the first two cities on next year's tour (February 7 and 11 respectively).
Bruce Springsteen made special mention of Perth fans during this year's tour told the crowd, thanking them for flying over.

Coming back so soon after an incredible ten-show tour in March and after a series of ground-breaking shows in Europe really is mind-blowing.
Not just because the shows are so good they can change the way you look and feel about music, but because from now until February there will be several times where die-hard fans will put themselves through an insane amount of psychological and physical torture to be at a show.
Insights into the dedication of Springsteen fans were recently touched on in the documentary Springsteen & I, made entirely from fan's own video submissions.
But in terms of what die-hard fans across the world will be doing over the next six months, it barely scratched the surface.
As of right now Springsteen fans are booking weeks off work, cancelling holiday plans and failing to find an acceptable excuse to bail on their girlfriend's sister's Margaret River wedding so they can revel in the E Street experience. Again.
Military-style operations are being formed across different time-zones that will see phones, tablets and computers at battle stations when the ticket pre-sale starts in every state.
The same thing will be repeated a few days later as tickets are released to the general public and every few seconds internet booking sites will be the cause of some of the most abusive, offensive language ever spoken by thousands of people at the same time when they all see, "Sorry, those tickets are no longer available" in bright red annoying letters.
Several hours of war games will end with the occasional sweet victory of a solo GA ticket, only to vanish when another tour date is added to a venue. And you do it all again. And again.
Only when enough tickets are secured and the concert diary is suitably full will fans move on to the next stage of planning and preparation.
Credit card limits will be extended, promises will be broken and more than one fan will end up with debts that no honest man can pay.
"Bruce buds" made last time round will reconnect and reunite with meet-ups and build plans to share accommodation, journeys and even strategies for waiting outside concert venues for days on end in order to secure the very best place in the crowd.
All this will happen months before the first show as every wedding, birthday party or Bar mitzvah invite is met with "as long as it's not in February, I CAN'T DO FEBRUARY!"
Probably followed by a conversation that starts with an excited explanation of what they're up to and ends with a pitying smugness that the person not crazy enough to give up weeks of their life to stand in line will never get it.
Flights, hotels, friend's sofa beds and cardboard boxes are being booked out and journeys between each show are plotted out to the finest of detail.
Meanwhile at the back of every fan's mind is the constant thought about how the world will fall apart if anything gets in the way.
For normal people, the announcement of a concert might be a welcome surprise and something to look forward to.
But for the next six months the sign-making, roll-call-taking Springsteen fan hooked on seeing show after show after show, will self-inflict a ridiculous amount of pressure to not miss a single second of the tour. No matter how impossible that will be.
And these will be the people you see sleeping outside Perth Arena days before the first concert.
Brace yourself Perth... Springsteen is coming.


First published on WAtoday.com.au 

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Did you fall for the Bruce Springsteen USB wristband backlash-scam?

Last week I wrote a blog entry asking whether paying $45 - plus whatever postage fees - for a live recording of a Bruce Springsteen show on a USB wristband was too much.
I was set to publish it but moments before I did I saw on Twitter there was an update to the concert download saga that has excited many fans and simply infuriated others.

Now it seems that the live recordings will be available in a "variety of formats" and not just in the $45(AUS) wristbands. 

Some of these are reported to be higher quality, and cheaper. The two biggest issues that seemed to irk fans who have been begging for official downloads for years, but wanted them in the same way Pearl Jam fans have theirs - highly accessible and highly affordable.

For me, regardless of the price – which really shouldn’t be that shocking when considering the credit card-limit-breaking cost of actually getting to see a show or two - the whole concept is genius and has been a long time coming.

If I had the opportunity to get live recordings of some of last year’s concerts I would have happily added another $50 on to the price of the ticket. (Mainly because at the time I thought it would be the last time they would tour Down Under).

Every Springsteen fan knows there are some songs that just sound better live, and the man’s career has been built on the ‘you-have-to-see-him-live’ ethos.

Ultimately I would love a live album at the end of every tour, and I for one was genuinely surprised one wasn’t released at the end of the Wrecking Ball tour instead of the album High Hopes.

But until then, the opportunity to get a 2 to 3 hour show recorded professionally is a fantastic alternative.

I know many fans just hit up YouTube and search for individual videos of tracks from the setlist to hear a concert they missed, or relive a concert they experienced. With enough patience it is surprisingly easy how you can create yourself a complete bootlegged live album from the multitude of recordings that come online after every concert any big act performs.

But after you've checked to see if you can spot yourself in the video, the novelty of these recordings quickly wears off. When you've heard how great Prove It All Night and Ghost of Tom Joad sounds at the front of the stage, listening to it from a poorly recorded bootleg just isn't enough.

I first encountered the post-concert live recording option at one of the best small gigs I’ve been lucky to review.

In November 2007 Joseph Arthur and his band The Lonely Astronauts finished their UK tour at The Talking Heads in Southampton. About halfway through the gig he noticed some sort of feedback, buzzing sound and delayed his next song by five minutes as they worked to get rid of it.

Arthur the crowd of a few hundred fans crammed into the small venue that they were recording the performance and that if they wanted a copy CDs would be burned at the merchandise stand afterwards.

The show was incredible, so naturally people swarmed to the merchandise stand afterwards as two computer disc drives were spitting out white CDs for the assistants to put in cardboard sleeves with the gig’s date and venue stamped on the side.

The gig’s 21 tracks went across two CDs and cost £10.

The quality was clear enough to sound decent and recorded with professional gear, while still being raw enough that it clearly was a finely produced live album. Turn it up loud enough and you still the static buzz of the room, while the applause and cheers after each song are sometimes deafening.

However, as a unique recording of some excellent performed tracks from a brilliant singer-songwriter, it was a fantastic buy and one of my all-time favourite live albums.

The following year I considered buying a live concert performance for a second time. After waiting in the rain outside Wembley Arena before Matchbox Twenty took to the stage I was drying off at the merchandise stand when I spotted a USB wristband with the option to download the show afterwards.

Apparently Rob Thomas and his band were pioneers of bringing the concept into a mass-merchandise market.

I don’t remember the price tag of the 2008 wristband, but I’m pretty sure it was at least £25. (Checking on Springsteen's online store to pre-order the wristband it shows £25 is how much UK fans will have to part with for their E Street wristbands.)

The show itself was excellent, partly because I was standing front row at Wembley Arena and also partly because the band were a favourite of mine some years earlier.

This wasn’t enough however for me to part with my cash for the souvenir. At the end of the day I just couldn’t justify it. 

The following year I left London's Hyde Park wishing Springsteen had the same offer going for the 2009 Hard Rock Calling concert - which would later be released on DVD. I would have happily paid a lot of money to know I could hear it again a few days later.

Today however, after seeing the incredible performances on the last tour, and not being able to make two of the upcoming 11 Australian shows, I gave in to pre-ordering a number of wristbands within hours of hearing about the announcement.

The main reason is that I’m just not satisfied by the quality of the unofficial bootlegs I’ve listened to online. And as much as I enjoy requesting rare live offerings on Springsteenradio.com – which is a lot, and I urge everyone to sign up immediately – the reality is there is no better act to see, hear and be a part of live, than the E Street Band.

Some initial reactions to the announcement of the wristbands included calls it was scam by Springsteen – including one genuinely funny parody singer – but in reality it was more likely a miscalculation from his PR team who thought fans would welcome professional live recordings they have longed-for without going into enough detail about what would be available.

Then again, the amount of angry chatter between fans that greeted the original announcement leaded to much more press coverage than it would have done if people were happy about it.

So if there really was any sort of "scam" involved in the release of these live recordings, it could have been with the backlash that greeted it, and the petition set up that attracted thousands of signatures.

There's nothing like a protest to generate more publicity for a product, when you already have the desired outcome of the protestors waiting to be released. In this case, the cheaper downloads without the need for a wristband.

Which according to Backstreets.com will come in two options for audio formats: "MP3 (320 kbps) or FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec). Pricing will match Pearl Jam's at $9.99 for MP3 or $14.99 for FLAC."

So, did I fall for the Bruce Springsteen USB wristband backlash-scam?

No. 

(But after rushing online and pre-ordering several wristbands at $45 each, and another t-shirt, I probably should have.)

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