I have officially seen the greatest gig of my life. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at the Austin City Limits theater.
Bruce Springsteen - Photo By Ros O'Gorman
In 1974 John Landau said, “I’ve seen rock and roll’s future and its name is Bruce Springsteen”. Tonight, I saw rock and roll’s present and his name is still Bruce Springsteen.
This was a show full of moments. The most touching was the sax solo by Clarence Clemons’ nephew Jake in ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’. Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Nils Lofgren and Steve Van Zandt turned their backs to the audience to watch. The ghost of Clarence was in the room.
“This is only our second show,” Bruce said. “I had to give a fucking speech and wake up at 8am,” he said referring to his SXSW keynote this morning.
The show was heavy on guests. Imagine reggae legend Jimmy Cliff with Bruce singing ‘The Harder They Come’ and ‘Many Rivers To Cross’. Tom Morello joined the band for numerous songs including ‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’.
“We are here to kick some Tex Ass,” Bruce said at the start of the show. The Low Anthem joined him on stage for the first song. Arcade Fire were up there later in the show. His Mexican brother Alejandro Escavedo was on stage, so was Joe Ely. This was a once in a lifetime show. Mind you, it was filmed by Austin City Limits and could be a DVD for the whole world.
Bruce played:
Ain’t Got No Home (with The Low Anthem)
We Take Care Of Out Own
Wrecking Ball
Badlands
Death To My Hometown (with Tom Morello)
My City Of Ruins / People Get Ready
Seeds
The E Street Shuffle
Jack Of All Trades (with Tom Morello)
Shackle and Drawn
Waiting On A Sunny Day
The Promised Land
The Ghost of Tom Joad (with Tom Morello)
The Rising
We Are Alive
Thunder Road
Rocky Ground
The Land of Hope and Dreams
The Harder They Come (with Jimmy Cliff)
Time Will Tell (with Jimmy Cliff)
Many Rivers To Cross (with Jimmy Cliff)
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (with Eric Burdon)
10th Avenue Freeze-Out
This Land Is Your Land (with Joe Ely, Alejanado Escovedo, Arcade Fire)
