Let's hear all about it...
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Traffic getting out sucked big time!
Bobby Oliver of NJ.Com, didn't care for it, I agree.. Which is why I saw one show at MSG and that was enough. Reprinted below since I think it's a subscriber exclusive (somehow when I log in with Facebook I get these for free):
Springsteen MetLife Stadium concert review: Cookie-cutter thrills, N.J. fans deserve better
By Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Exactly seven years ago to the day, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band stormed MetLife Stadium, unleashing one of the most exhilarating concerts the Meadowlands had ever witnessed.
The four-hour, one-minute marathon broke a record — The Boss’s lengthiest American gig ever (a feat undone by a slightly longer Philly date a few nights later). The unreal set was methodical yet spontaneous, cataclysmic yet spiritual — an exceedingly rare early-career showcase where the first 80 minutes never touched a song released after 1973. Hours later, as the event drew to its delirious conclusion — with Springsteen strumming “Jersey Girl” in a second encore as bleary-eyed fans ambled toward the parking lots — the magic of E Street was palpable. The band was fine wine, purveyors of vintage, only improving with age.
Aug. 30, 2016 was not only a singular performance that lifelong fans could attend 300 shows and never see, but a display that made onlookers exceptionally proud to hail from New Jersey, to even associate with such prowess. How could we be the armpit of America with local heroes like these?
Flash forward to Wednesday night, again at a packed MetLife Stadium, and the big band was back on stage for the first of three nights in East Rutherford, but under far less euphoric circumstances.
This international roadshow, which kicked off in February, has been the group’s most divisive trek since Bruce and the E Street Band returned to touring in ‘99. First, there was the Ticketmaster “dynamic” pricing debacle of last summer, when demand spiked some ticket prices to more than $4,000 per seat. Springsteen’s tone-deaf response: “If there’s any complaints on the way out, you can have your money back.”
The sour taste left in many fans’ mouths [see Oats, haha] grew bitter as the tour got underway, and it became clear the band would be playing nearly the same set night after night. For many acts this is standard, but not for Springsteen, who for half a century has set his own bar for spontaneity. Like the Grateful Dead or Jimmy Buffett, fans follow the Boss around the country — or to other continents — under the assumption that no two shows will be alike.
Yet nearly such allure and mystery has been erased this tour. Despite Springsteen’s prolific catalog of about 350 released studio tracks, plus dozens more rarities and fan-beloved covers, this roadshow has committed to roughly the same 25 cuts every night, with a small handful of others cycled in and the very occasional one-off. Any fans holding signs with song requests are now ignored.
Here’s a statistic: Coming into Wednesday’s show, the band had played 65 different songs across 63 concerts on this tour. In 2016-17, on their 75-date “The River” anniversary tour, they played 144 different songs, including 64 unique songs at their trio of 2016 MetLife Stadium dates alone.
With this, anyone who was rather uninspired by the band’s Wednesday performance, which was again locked on a setlist nearly identical to the one performed at Prudential Center in April, should not feel alone. This act has grown tired, and a live show typically defined by its delicious volatility now feels more like “Springsteen on Broadway” — you arrive knowing what’s coming, for better or worse.
Does the band, a sprawling 19-piece touring outfit complete with horns and backing singers, still jam at a high level? Sure. The highest highs of staples “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run” may still induce goosebumps. Bruce still destroys the solo on “Prove it All Night” and the band’s expansive showcase for 11-minute “Kitty’s Back” remains a welcome, if not over-long, relic.
The Jersey crowd earned one tour debut Wednesday, as breezy “Sherry Darling” was wedged in after “Out in the Street,” which has been the only consistent “River” song built into this set — a travesty in its own right, as is the utter lack of “Greetings” tracks and the omission of “Brilliant Disguise” in favor of inexplicable every-nighters “Mary’s Place” and Bruce’s lukewarm cover of The Commodores’ “Nightshift.” Fine tunes, but no set regulars.
Also, the full-band rendition of “Johnny 99″ is hokey; keep it solo acoustic!
I don’t particularly care that Wednesday’s show (and all the others this tour) clocked in around three hours flat. The band is seven years older and is likely tighter in a three-hour window — at no point did 73-year-old Bruce appear winded.
And to be clear, that MetLife marathon in 2016 was an exception, not a rule.
“Let’s get one thing straight — the band never had four-hour shows in it. That was a bit extreme,” Steven Van Zandt told me in 2020.
But I do expect Springsteen’s Jersey shows to be incomparable to, say, a random night in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Unfortunately, this was more or less another cookie-cutter affair — tinged with moments of requisite electricity but leagues less memorable than the MetLife visits of 2016, 2012 and beyond. The local fans deserve better.
As the tour hits MetLife again Friday and Sunday, I’ll keep wishing for a set that breaks the mold and reignites some level of fascination in the Meadowlands. But at least for now, it’s all probably lost to the land of hope and dreams.
Frank,
You could still meet us for dinner Saturday night?
Very good. He still brings it. My hands will still be in the air every night.
Remember back in 92 when we wondered if we would see E Street again?
Savoring it till the end.
@Hobie posted:Very good. He still brings it. My hands will still be in the air every night.
Remember back in 92 when we wondered if we would see E Street again?Savoring it till the end.
Agreed - -what Dave said!! Nice to have the tour premier and new opening, which added some more fun to the night. I will be there tonight with my hands in the air as well, albeit some rows back behind Dave in the GA.
I intend to remain on the Backstreets until the end.
PS -- Fast escape from the parking lot. We were in lot M-3/4 row, close to where the last SPL tailgates took place. Although we couldn't go out the secret back way, we were home 45 minutes after the show ended -- including a 35 minute drive!!
@Hey_Eddie posted:Agreed - -what Dave said!! Nice to have the tour premier and new opening, which added some more fun to the night. I will be there tonight with my hands in the air as well, albeit some rows back behind Dave in the GA.
I intend to remain on the Backstreets until the end.
PS -- Fast escape from the parking lot. We were in lot M-3/4 row, close to where the last SPL tailgates took place. Although we couldn't go out the secret back way, we were home 45 minutes after the show ended -- including a 35 minute drive!!
I will try to park nearby.