Day 12: Born in the U.S.A.

Okay let’s get something out of the way: I am not a big fan of the BITUSA album. No Surrender, Glory Days and I’m On Fire are fantastic. The rest is middle of the road for me.

That said, what a night. Going from tiny Adelaide Entertainment Centre to AAMI Park was actually quite shocking. It was HUGE. I’m told the “Front Zone” pit held 6000 people. It was crazy big. Actually too big I thought, there were massive empty areas and a lot of flogs everywhere sadly. It’s inevitable in a crowd that big, but still disappointing to see in my hometown. A lot of the floggish behaviour was from people with “E Street Lounge” passes on too. Maybe something for Springsteen management to think about.

What made the night amazing though was that even in a stadium that size (35,000 or so were there) it didn’t feel like Bruce was any less connected to us at all. It was still the same incredible, mindblowing E Street Band show. From two songs at the start with Eddie Vedder, to a really powerful, hard rocking Seeds to the full album, it was just great. Particularly special was a sign request for Factory for all the people that have lost their working lives lately in Victoria (three major car companies based in Victoria have announced they’ll be shutting down over the next few years). Bruce telling the band not to come in until the second verse. He really is for the working class people.

A fantastic night, even with a full album show of an album that is far from my favourite. And a night he apparently got fined $300K for due to breaking curfew. Does that bother him? Of course not. It’s curfew breaking Boss time!

Day 5: The Promised Land

The legendary “Night 3 rule” is alive and well.

The rule is this: Night 1 in a city is your standard hit based set for the most part. Night 2 is the other 15 big name songs he didn’t do the night before. Gives everyone an even spread across the two nights. However, if he does a THIRD night in a city, then the legend says that all bets are off and you’re in for something amazing. That’s what we got.

Stepping into darkness. Asking if Perth was ready for round three. Then launching into his first ever cover of AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’. It got the place rocking straight away. Who got Angus Young’s lead part you ask? Why all four of them of course. Then if that wasn’t enough we got a FOUR shot from Darkness; Badlands, Adam Raised a Cain, Streets of Fire, Candy’s Room. Bruce has stated that it’s unlikely he’ll do any full album shows on this tour, but 4 songs in a row from an album like Darkness is a more than adequate substitute.

Then into songs from the new album; High Hopes, Just Like Fire Would. However following that Perth got asked “just one question”, could they feel the spirit? It was answered with a rousing “yeah yeah” while Bruce and Jake went and sat on an amp in the middle of the rise in between the pit and the floor seating, Bruce conducting Jake with his hand. Jake Clemons really has come into his own of late. While he’ll never be, nor ever want to be, The Big Man, a fitting nickname for him may be “The People’s Champion”. Watching Jake on stage you can see how much he feeds off the band as a whole and the crowd. Coupled with that is Jake’s love of the fans off-stage. Jake “The People’s Champion” Clemons.

“Wrecking Ball” led into a powerful “No Surrender”, Mighty Max doing his finest work of the night thus far. “Bobby Jean” got everyone waving their hands, while “Because The Night” featured Nils’ most stunning solo of the tour thus far. Perhaps compensation for Bruce forgetting him in the roll call last night? “Downbound Train” was rocking, “Heaven’s Wall” predictably got the crowd to raise their hands, and the 30 second rule was in full force in “Open All Night”.

“Shackled and Drawn” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad” sandwiched a tour premiere “Radio Nowhere”, which amazingly meant that tonight we wouldn’t see “Waitin’ On a Sunny Day”. Almost always a certain lock, I’m happy to see it missing occasionally. The main set was closed by “Land of Hope and Dreams”. The People’s Champion coming up front with his sax to round out the set.

A sign request of “The Promise” kicked off the encore with Bruce alone on the piano. The band shortly returned for a roof raising “Born In The USA”, with the houselights up next for “Born To Run”. The crowd wasn’t given the slightest breather, with a proper rock-and-roll killer “Seven Nights to Rock” keeping the mood high. Reliable duo “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out” rounded out the night for the band. Bruce returning for a solo encore of “Terry’s Song” (a song he’s only performed live 4 times in his entire career), and Thunder Road to say goodbye to Perth after three amazing nights.

Time to get serious

IT’S coming and I can’t stop it. Less than 4 weeks until I leave for Perth and begin this crazy adventure. Everything’s organised. Flights, tickets, hotels, things to do in certain cities etc. It’s ready to go. Planning it has been slightly stressful but, for the most part, enjoyable. Looking for the best/most affordable accomodation in each city was by far the most challenging but now that it’s all done it’ll hopefully pay off on the road. Really nothing left to do now except wait and enjoy it when it comes.

Obviously the centrepiece of the trip will be the gigs. Thirteen in total. Ranging from Perth to Auckland. It’s hard to describe a Springsteen concert to someone who’s never experienced it first hand. It really is like nothing else. People’s reactions to my tour seem to be split into two camps; those who have never seen Bruce before (“Why are you seeing him thirteen times?”) and those that have (“Oh I wish I could do that”). Combine that with the new album out in a weeks time, High Hopes, and it promises to be a fantastic series of gigs. However they’ll also be, to use Tom Morello’s words, “Orthopedically exhausting”.

What I’m really looking forward to though is the traveling. It’s 5 weeks going around Australia. What a chance to explore! I’ve structured it so I’ve got at least one (usually more) “days off” in each city. By day off I mean a day where I’m not traveling or going to a gig. So I’ll have time to look around, see new places, and basically just take my time. The only city outside Melbourne I’ve really spent an extended period of time in is Brisbane, so this time around I’ll be able to see every other city properly.

Anyone who follows me on Twitter will also know of my love of burgers. And my quest to find the best in Melbourne. Well, now that extends Australia wide. There’s little doubt this trip will feature a LOT of burger trips. Pictures, thoughts. The lot. Given it’s Oscars season I’ll probably wind up seeing a lot of movies on the road too. I do love movies so. Great chance to see a lot of different cinemas around Australia too. Not a big deal to a lot of people, but old theatres can be absolutely beautiful. Pictures of them!

Speaking of pictures, there’s going to be a lot. Just get ready for it now. They’ll be uploaded over at my Flickr but also a few here. I’m also looking at doing Video Blogs rather than just written ones. Why? I don’t know. Just something different. Maybe more interesting. Who knows. Hopefully they’ll be daily. But again, let’s find out. Hopefully it’ll all be interesting to follow.

That’s all for now. These are going to start becoming a lot more regular as I get closer to leaving. I can’t wait. Bring it on.