PartyDoll MEG
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10/20, PHILADELPHIA, NIGHT 4 of 4: PAID IN FULL
They're serving ice water in Hell tonight. Pigs have been spotted soaring over the eastern seaboard. And "The Price You Pay" — which hasn't been played live by Bruce Springsteen in any form whatsoever since May 27, 1981 — opened the E Street Band's final show of the Philly stand. Back in December of 1980, they'd played that inexplicably obscure River cut at this very venue, all three nights of the stand. But "The Price You Pay" would go on to be the album track with the longest time on the bench, until Bruce finally called it up tonight. Some in the crowd were mystified. Others — even those who had heard it soundchecked this afternoon — were astonished. Bruce on 12-string electric, a powerful vocal, and Curt Ramm on trumpet. It really happened. April Fool's Day is nearly half a year away.
The main set was bookended by another mind-blower, Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher" by request. "Curveball, curveball, curveball!" Bruce warned as he showed the sign around to the band. After working out the riff, the piano and the horn parts, Bruce took them into an absolutely phenomenal performance. Of "The Price You Pay," Bruce told Backstreets in 2007, "It's become a thing just because I haven't played it. If I had played it, nobody would give much of a damn if they heard it or not! Just because it hasn't been played..." We'd say he gives the song too little credit. But if "The Price You Pay" was a thrill on an intellectual level tonight, "Higher and Higher" was all visceral. Says one regular showgoer: "It was the best, most exuberant Bruce Springsteen performance I've seen since the end of the Seeger Sessions tour. He was so into it. His hands, his posture... he became Jackie Wilson performing that song." Great solo work at the bridge, too, from Curt and Roy.
In between, Bruce broke out "Wrecking Ball" one more time and sang the Spectrum's praises: "This is our last night in this old sweatshop... We're so proud to be in one of the last great rock 'n' roll arenas." He offered up Born in the U.S.A. start to finish, windmilling hard enough to gash his finger on the intense title track. "Cover Me" was rocking, too, with a fiery solo from Nils. "The River" was an unexpected highlight following "The Promised Land."
More curveballs in the eight-song encore. First up, a real taste of the old days, as original E Street drummer Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez took a seat at the kit for "Spirit in the Night." "Behave yourself," Springsteen told the crowd, "Or he'll come out there and kick your ass!" But Bruce himself was the one who came out, circling the pit and singing "Hazy Davy got really hurt" from the riser at the back. By this point, the air in the venue was electric, the crowd in a frenzy, as "Loose Ends" came next by request. The great, long-lost River outtake (and eventual Tracks track) doesn't always go over with audiences the way it should, but tonight, at this point, Springsteen could do no wrong. And following that with "Kitty's Back" didn't hurt matters at all. "Kitty" kicked ass, with Curt's trumpet solo kicking over to Charlie on the organ, then Max on the drums, then Roy on the piano, then finally over to Bruce's searing guitar, his body torqued.
Introducing the band that needed no introduction during "American Land," Bruce hollered, "You've just seen... for the last time in the Spectrum... the heart-stoppin'..." you know the rest. But there were still four more to come: by request, a very nice, and nicely apropos, take on the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me," followed by "Sunny Day," "Thunder Road," and, we imagine, the last Rocky-fied "Rosalita." Three hours and 20 minutes, the longest show yet of the tour. That's how you close a venue. Bring on your wrecking ball. And Pearl Jam, you've got your work cut out for you.
Next stop: Meet me in St. Louis, the site of one of the greatest Magic shows, Sunday night.
8:24
Max, no Patti
1. THE PRICE YOU PAY
2. Wrecking Ball
3. Out in the Street
4. Hungry Heart (w/ crowd surfing)
5. Working on a Dream
6. Born in the USA
7. Cover Me (killer solo by Bruce)
8. Darlington County
9. Working on the Highway
10. Downbound Train
11. I’m on Fire
12. No Surrender
13. Bobby Jean
14. I’m Goin’ Down
15. Glory Days
16. Dancing in the Dark (w/ Adele Springsteen)
17. My Hometown
18. The Promised Land
19. The River
20. Long Walk Home
21. The Rising
22. Born to Run
23. HIGHER AND HIGHER (request)
24. Spirit in the Night (Vini “Mad Dog” Lopez on drums and Bruce in the audience – truly old school)
25. Loose Ends (request)
26. Kitty’s Back
27. American Land (“Thank you, Philly, for coming to the Last Dance at the Spectrum”)
28. SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME
29. Waiting on a Sunny Day
30. Thunder Road
31. Rocky Theme --> Rosalita
11:45
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Anything Springsteen on RO... Part 4a (Read 640,427 times)
