As a special kickoff concert to the Big Guava Music Festival, Bruce Springsteen and the world famous E-Street Band came down to Tampa last Thursday night. Springsteen's career needs no explanation. The boss is know for his superhuman level of energy and his dazzling live performances.
The hype of that energy was easily seen from the start. Despite being 64 years old, the boss proved to be in great shape. He also has the help of the legendary E-Street Band backing him. I'd like to give special recognition to saxophone player Jake Clemons, nephew of E-Street great, Clarence Clemons. Jake led an outstanding jazz band, who set the groove all night.
As is typical for a Springsteen show, the setlist was completely unpredictable. In total, the 28 songs featured a very high - nine covers. The 19 originals by Bruce and the E-Street band were by no means his greatest hits, but they were still plenty enjoyable. It's downright easy listening; Something that anyone can jam to, even if they don't know the lyrics.
One of the most exciting parts of a live Springsteen show was his incredible interaction with the audience. For a solid hour he seemed to select the next song purely off signs that fans in the pit would hold up. He seemed to scan the signs before pointing at one and going into the crowd to retrieve it. He then showed the sign to all members of the band, displaying this was completely unrehearsed. It was wild for sure!
The interacting didn't stop there. The boss pulled fans up on stage for certain songs like "Dancing in the Dark." He also wasn't afraid to approach the fans in the pit, singing individually to some of them and allowing the first row to shake his hand and even strum on his guitar.
My favorite song of the night was a great cover of "Pay Me My Money Down." The tune, originally recorded by The Weavers, is very simple but gets everyone jamming. It best displayed the amazing brass section of the E-Street band. All the horns belted out the rhythm while following Bruce around stage. The Boss even led a parade of his band members down a side aisle, exiting the amphitheater and to a VIP bar. Springsteen took a shot, and then led the band back to stage. Such a boss move.
The more well known Springsteen tunes all seemed to come during the encores. The Boss's most popular tune, "Born to Run," had everyone singing and dancing. The hits kept coming from there in a seven song encore that included "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" and a Isley Brothers cover of the classic, "Shout."
After the E-Street band departed the stage, Bruce returned for one more tune - a solo, acoustic version of "Thunder Road." After such a loud and bright evening, it almost seemed fitting for Springsteen to play his final song stripped down with just an acoustic guitar. He even held up his microphone for the audiences assistance during the chorus.
At the end of the night, Springsteen himself said it - "Tampa, You Surprised Me?!" It was easy to see that both the crowd and the boss enjoyed being there very much. Springsteen was amazing as always, but I must give equal credit to his backing band. The E-Street band is phenomenal, and really makes the show what it is. Great job Bruce, a living legend - so glad to see it.
CONCERT RATING: UN-RATABLE (you can't put a number on Springsteen)
SETLIST:
1. Joe Hill (Earl Robinson Cover)
2. Clampdown (The Clash Cover)
3. Badlands
4. The Ties That Bind
5. Out in the Street
6. Jesse James (Bascom Lamar Lunsford Cover)
7. High Hopes (The Havalinas Cover)
8. Candy's room
9. Darkness on the Edge of Town
10. Brothers Under the Bridge
11. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)
12. Wrecking Ball
13. Night
14. My Love Will Not Let You Down
15. Gloria (Them Cover)
16. No Surrender
17. Bobby Jean
18. Pay Me My Money Down (The Weavers Cover)
19. The Ghost of Tom Jones
20. Lonesome Day
21. Light of Day
ENCORE:
22. We are Alive
23. Mary Don't You Weep (Fisk Jubilee Cover)
24. Born to Run
25. Dancing in the Dark
26. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
27. Shout (The Isley Brothers Cover)
ENCORE 2:
28. Thunder Road
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