GREENSBORO 2008 – GREENSBORO COLISEUM, GREENSBORO, CAROLINA DEL NORTE, 28 ABRIL 2008 – 3CD – OFICIAL SONIDO DEFINITIVO

GREENSBORO COLISEUM, GREENSBORO, CAROLINA DEL NORTE, 28 ABRIL 208.

Editado de los archivos de Bruce Springsteen.

El sonido definitivo. 3CD oficiales.

Grabado por John Cooper. Mezclado por Jon Altschiller.

¡Atención: Envío importación desde el merchandising de Bruce en U.S.A. Normalmente tarda entre 3-4 semanas. ¿Dudas sobre el plazo de entrega?, escríbenos a stonepony@stoneponyclub.com y te responderemos lo antes posible.

El concierto se abre con una insuperable combinación de los outtakes de «Roulette» y «Don’t Look Back», que ambas debutan en el tour., Greensboro 28 de abril 2008 muestra lo mejor de la gira Magic y mucho más. El álbum está representado por potentes versiones de «Radio Nowhere», «Gypsy Biker», «Devil’s Arcade», «Livin’ In The Future «,» Last To Die, «Long Walk Home» y la canción principal. A ese núcleo mágico, Springsteen agrega «Saint In The City», «Trapped», «Because The Night», «Darkness On The Edge Of Town» y el estreno en la gira de «Mary’s Place» recientemente optimizada.

Opening with an unbeatable outtake pairing of “Roulette” into “Don’t Look Back,” Greensboro 4/28/08 showcases the best of the Magic tour and much more. The album is represented by potent versions of “Radio Nowhere,” “Gypsy Biker,” “Devil’s Arcade,” “Livin’ In The Future,” “Last To Die, “Long Walk Home” and the title track. To that Magic core Springsteen adds “Saint In The City,” “Trapped,” “Because The Night,” “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” and the tour premiere of a newly streamlined “Mary’s Place”.

ROULETTE / DON’T LOOK BACK / RADIO NOWHERE / OUT IN THE STREET / THE PROMISED LAND / MAGIC / GYPSY BIKER / IT’S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY / TRAPPED / BECAUSE THE NIGHT / DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN / SHE’S THE ONE / LIVIN’ IN THE FUTURE / MARY’S PLACE / WAITIN’ ON A SUNNY DAY / DEVIL’S ARCADE / THE RISING / LAST TO DIE / LONG WALK HOME / BADLANDS / BACKSTREETS / BOBBY JEAN / BORN TO RUN / RAMROD / AMERICAN LAND

A fantastic tour premiere one-two opens – «Roulette» into the tour’s only «Don’t Look Back». «Mary’s Place» is also a premiere, a shortened, more palatable rendition than the Rising Tour behemoth (but still including «The Monkey Time»). «Trapped» and «Waitin’ On A Sunny Day» are played by sign request. Patti Scialfa is not present.

• Bruce Springsteen – Lead vocal, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica; Roy Bittan – Piano, keyboards, accordion; Clarence Clemons – Tenor and baritone saxophones, percussion, backing vocal; Nils Lofgren – Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocal; Garry Tallent – Bass; Stevie Van Zandt – Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, backing vocal; Max Weinberg: Drums; Charlie Giordano – Organ, keyboards, accordion;Soozie Tyrell – Violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocal
• Recorded by John Cooper
• Mixed by Jon Altschiller; Additional engineering by Danielle Warman
• Post-Production: Brad Serling and Micah Gordon
• Artwork design: Michelle Holme
• Photo by Guy Aceto
• Tour Director: George Travis
• Jon Landau Management: Jon Landau, Barbara Carr, Jan Stabile and Alison Oscar
• HD Files are 24-bit / 48kHz

We Made It Through The Heart Of A Hurricane

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
April 28, 2008

By Erik Flannigan

Loss is one of life’s most challenging experiences. There is no universal path to solace, no prescriptive behaviors to mitigate its pain. But as we process the death of a loved one, at some point in the days and weeks that follow, the one undeniable truth of the situation is eventually revealed: Life goes on.

Just 11 days removed from the passing of Danny Federici, Greensboro opens with a video tribute to the band’s fallen comrade set to the music of “Blood Brothers.” But from there the mood shifts markedly. At the first four shows performed after Federici’s funeral, setlists dipped back to Springsteen’s first two albums for songs like “Blinded By the Light,” “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” and “Growin’ Up” in tribute to Phantom Dan. There would be time for that this night too, but to open Greensboro, something more cathartic was delivered.

The pairing of “Roulette” into “Don’t Look Back” rivals the best one-two punch from any Springsteen show in any decade. Two stunning, underplayed rockers—one haunting, one life-affirming—blow off the doors of the Greensboro Coliseum, and the release of energy is unmistakably liberating for all.

As the diehard collectors well know, “Roulette” has a very tricky arrangement, especially as a one-off, and here it is played with full conviction in what has to be one of its best modern performances. How convicted? Listen to Bruce declare, “They say they wanna help me but with the stuff they keep on sayin’, I think those guys just wanna keep on playin’.” The guitar solo is searing as well, and Max crushes one of his signature drum parts.

The same can be said for “Don’t Look Back,” which faithfully follows the 1977 arrangement in its only live outing circa 2000-2012 and one of only 31 performances ever. Short-listed for, but ultimately left off of Darkness on the Edge of Town, “Don’t Look Back” remains one of Springsteen’s greatest non-album tracks. In fact, “Don’t Look Back” was so “ready” for Darkness, it is the only song that wasn’t newly remixed for Tracks in 1998. The performance in Greensboro is a faultless rebirth.

One could argue the top of the show isn’t merely a perfect pairing, but a trio, quartet, or even quintet of brilliantly linked performances. The momentum of “Roulette” and “Don’t Look Back” pushes kindred spirit “Radio Nowhere” to new heights. “Out in the Street” (a phrase also uttered in “Don’t Look Back”) bears renewed vivacity and “The Promised Land” brings us home, riding Roy Bittan’s piano and Stevie’s guitar.

Bruce finally catches his breath as we move into Magic territory with a solemn (and timely as ever) reading of the title track with Soozie subbing admirably for Patti. “Gypsy Biker” was a Magic tour highlight every night and continues to deserve consideration as one of the finest E Street Band songs of the 2000s. A heartfelt story follows, as Bruce describes meeting Danny for the first time, preceding a momentarily tentative but ultimately winning “Saint in the City.”

Setlists on the Magic tour were notably tight, and that bang-bang approach is in evidence as Bruce steers “Saint” left into a very fine “Trapped” and follows that with graceful right turn into the Nils Lofgren (and Soozie, too, in Ms. Scialfa’s absence) showcase, “Because the Night.”

The night’s crackling atmosphere sparks a terrific “Darkness on the Edge of Town.” Jon Altschiller’s mix positions piano and guitar ideally. The performance is anchored by an impassioned Springsteen vocal that drops in defeat when he sings the slight variant, “I lost my faith when I lost you,” only to rise to that arresting heightened register to deliver the rest of the verse starting with, “Tonight I’ll be on that hill, ‘cause I can’t stop.” “Darkness” and the “She’s the One” that follows are equal parts vintage and in-the-moment.

By the halftime arrival of “Living in the Future,” the score Bruce has put on the board is at MJ/Lebron levels. And to continue the analogy, those games still make for great, memorable wins, even if the superstars don’t hit quite as many downtown three-pointers or monster dunks in the second half.

The return of a newly streamlined “Mary’s Place” registers as another highlight. “Let’s see if we remember this one…debut on this tour. Come on, let’s try it,” says Bruce with undeniable glee. There is something fresh about “Mary’s Place” mk2, with more echoes of the kind of updated “Thundercrack” or “Santa Ana” vibe that he seemed to be going for in the first place, compared to what the song morphed into on the Rising tour.

Sure, there is something peculiar about spending your sign request on “Waiting on a Sunny Day.” The motivation may have had more to do with being picked for the singalong (which, as it turns out, didn’t even happen for this tidy performance), but we’ll excuse it as well-meaning if slightly misguided. From there, Greensboro moves through a solid back ten that may lack a bit of the first half’s urgency but holds its own, especially the Magic songs: “Last to Die, “Long Walk Home,” and “Devil’s Arcade.” The last of these and “Magic” make their first appearances in the Live Archive series from 2008 performances.

Springsteen and the band ultimately bring Greensboro home in fine form through a long and lively “Badlands,” a musically rich and beautifully sung “Backstreets,” the fitting farewell of “Bobby Jean” (kudos to Clarence for nailing the solo), and the high-spirited finale, “American Land” with Charlie Giordano eloquently deputizing for Danny on accordion.

The recent release of Letter to You on record and film reinforces that life does go on for the E Street Band, and equally that the spirit of those who have departed continue to inspire those who carry on. Greensboro is a wonderful reflection on the process of loss and the power of perseverance.