Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, HK Areena, Turku, Finland, May 8, 2013
WAGES OF SIN!
SETLIST: I'LL WORK FOR YOUR LOVE / LONG WALK HOME / THE TIES THAT BIND / OUT IN THE STREET / ATLANTIC CITY / WRECKING BALL / DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN / HUNGRY HEART / BLINDED BY THE LIGHT / DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? / AIN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU / WAGES OF SIN / THE RIVER / YOUNGSTOWN / MURDER INCORPORATED / JOHNNY 99 / OPEN ALL NIGHT / SHACKLED AND DRAWN / WAITIN' ON A SUNNY DAY / LONESOME DAY / BADLANDS / RACING IN THE STREET / BORN IN THE U.S.A. / BORN TO RUN / DANCING IN THE DARK / TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT / AMERICAN LAND
Capacity: 11,820
Two archival reviews to accompany today's Official Archive Release!
I reviewed this show for brucespringsteen.net, and since the official site doesn't archive older content, I am reposting it here.
The second night in Finland at the HK Areena in Turku featured an insanely eclectic setlist featuring material from the entire span of Bruce Springsteen's catalog, including mega hits and mega rarities, top ten singles and diehard fan favorites.
The evening began with Bruce walking out onstage alone in a darkened arena, carrying an acoustic guitar, and after a brief greeting, launching into "I'll Work For Your Love" from 2007's Magic. The E Street Band joined him onstage quickly and went into "Long Walk Home," also from the same record. Bruce would go through "Ties That Bind" and "Out In The Street," followed by a quick sign request for "Atlantic City," grabbed out of the crowd around the center stage, before getting to some of the usual Wrecking Ball material.
"Hungry Heart" sent him back to the mid-floor platform again for the traditional arena crowdsurf, the audience having taken direction from Nils Lofgren's tweet earlier in the day: "Pit People, when you body surf Bruce to stage, suggest depositing him feet first! Head first not in our collective, best interest!" Bruce was delivered in the correct orientation and appeared pleased with the Finns' newly acquired crowd surfing assistance skills, nodding approval and saluting various sections of the crowd.
A sign collection interval followed, as Bruce made his way around the stage, peering out into the audience and gesturing for certain signs and grabbing others out of the crowd: "I've seen this one for the last 300 shows," he noted, grabbing a circus-tent-top shaped sign, adorned with a Finnish flag, requesting "Wild Billy's Circus Story". The first sign to be grabbed out of the pile was "Blinded by the Light," Bruce noting, "This is the first song from my first album. I'm always reminded that Clarence was only on two songs because we couldn't find him--but he was on this one." The band made it through the song in good form only for Bruce to stop them as then went into the last refrain: "Wait a minute, boys, I forgot a verse -- back to the D!" The Greetings theme would then continue with a lively rendition of "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?"
The next sign was a song that Bruce said had been requested a couple of times: a rare appearance of "Ain't Good Enough For You" from The Promise. For a song that has only been performed once in concert (three times total if you count the taping of the 2010 Carousel House show in Asbury Park, where Bruce ran through the song twice), the audience responded as though it was an familiar and dearly loved fan favorite, the pit singing and dancing to every word, and fans all the way in the back of the venue waving their arms in approval.
Not satisfied with the pile of signs already onstage, Bruce went back out onto the center platform to grab another one. He noted that the song in question had been requested "over many years, every place we go," before leading the band into the first performance ever of "Wages of Sin," the legendary Born In The USA outtake that made its way into the hands of most fans via the Tracks box set. "Wages of Sin" is a dark, complex composition that showcases the E Street Band at their best: careful phrasing and tone on Bruce's vocals, matching the lyrics perfectly; delicate piano work from Roy Bittan, precise, muted percussion from Max Weinberg, breaking out the mallets on the cymbals, and of course, the haunting horn refrain in the background. Steve and Garry moved closer and faced in towards Bruce. Clearly rehearsed in advance, the band's performance of this song absolutely did its live debut justice.
"The River," followed by "Youngstown" and into "Murder, Inc." brought a little bit of the Reunion tour to Finland, and threatened to melt the ice underneath the floorboards with the different levels of intensity present in all three. "The River" brought the arena to rapt attention, while "Youngstown" turned up the temperature with blistering guitar work from Nils Lofgren. Bruce kept encouraging him to continue, even at the end, urging him on further as he changed guitars and then stood there as Nils hit the last few notes, rhythmically hitting the body of his own guitar to take the band straight into the opening notes of "Murder, Inc." The guitar battle between Steve and Bruce on this song was the two of them at their very best together, facing off, nodding and shouting approval and encouragement as they each took their turn in a shredding, incendiary pile of glorious guitar noise.
Bruce stepped to the mic and looked around the arena at the mostly seated crowd, telling the audience that he had been talking with a friend the previous night, who had informed him that Finns were shy people, they don't want to get up and move their asses around, that "you've got to encourage them." Once again, Bruce informed us that within 90 seconds exactly that would be happening, as Roy's swinging piano intro told us that the next number would be the jump blues version of "Open All Night". Tonight, Bruce didn't need to take the horn section and the rest of the band around the floor to get the audience up and dancing, he just had to start singing and the horn section just had to start playing. Clearly, the Finnish members of the audience were very, very encouraged, judging by the dancing figures all over the venue in every level.
"Waiting On A Sunny Day" was notable tonight in that the young person brought onstage to sing a verse instead performed a rap about the E Street Band. After Bruce escorted the young gentleman onstage, his guest then extracted a piece of paper out of his pocket which Bruce held up in front of him. But since the band wasn't playing, waiting to see what was going to happen, the young man looked at Max to request a beat, much to the amusement of the other members of the band.
The second night in a city is usually notable for its intensity or its energy or its different setlist; tonight managed to be notable for all of these things. Although Bruce didn't make it to Finland until 2003, the dedication and enthusiasm of the Finnish fans is demonstrably comparable to any group of fans anywhere else in the world, and tonight's show definitely paid tribute to that.
as posted at jukeboxgraduate.com
The opening number can sometimes tell you a lot about what the show that follows is going to be like, and “I’ll Work For Your Love” as a show opener is a very definite statement of intent. The return of Magic material had me doing the Snoopy dance on the inside, mostly because I would have looked very stupid doing it during the song. Of course, I got to make up for it one song later when the band walked out and slammed into “Long Walk Home.” Magic! If it takes a bunch of Finnish fans to get him to remember this album and how the songs are worth playing – there were more than a few “Long Walk Home” signs – I’ll start importing them to the US personally. (Fan exchange program!)
It wasn’t like I needed to be reassured that the show would go in the right direction with these two songs as an opener, but they could have been flukes and we could have gone down the same path as the night before. But “Ties That Bind” into “Out In The Street” is an obvious yet masterful combination, speaking to the new fans and the old fans and the fans who know a couple of songs but can dig Bruce walking around the stage and the general sentiment involved in both numbers.
The “Atlantic City” sign came out of the scrum around the center platform and worked beautifully. “Wrecking Ball” came in at the right time and while I might have swapped WTCOO for “Death to My Hometown” I’m just glad to have songs from that album still being performed on the tour it is named for.
“Hungry Heart” and by now the Finns are old hat at this crowd surfing thing; there was a throng there to catch him as he entered and they carefully and correctly steered Bruce back to the stage in record time. (Nils had tweeted about this earlier in the evening, and one of the leaders of the queue came out and read it to everyone when we were waiting to enter the building.)
And then, we came to the signs. Part of my heart sunk when he started collecting the signs, but then it kind of became obvious that he was collecting some of the signs to say thank you and to be polite and to acknowledge the fans who brought them as much as it was to grab a couple of ideas to augment the setlist with. I mean, maybe he would have brought out the tuba for “Wild Billy” but it was a very cool sign that deserved recognition and I’m glad that the fans got it. But the fans in Turku got the early material that they wanted to hear, “Blinded” and “Bus Stop,” both of which made me feel guilty for being a native English speaker as the fans around me who had been so vocal previously reserved their participation for the choruses.
When Bruce displayed the sign for “Ain’t Good Enough For You” I felt like I was going to blast off into orbit. There had been soundcheck rumors (which I tried not to hear) and then when we walked into the building, a friend right in the stage corner yelled that the lyrics on the runway were for that song. This was not the request I made to Bruce on Sunday in Stockholm and I had nothing to do with this request aside from being annoying with a bright yellow sign for it all last year (which Bruce saw three times and three times specifically gave me a very clear ‘no’ to). I am lucky; I was there in the Carousel House when the song was first played live; I loved it then, I love it now. If you’ve heard the version in Oslo, that’s more like a dress rehearsal; this was a fully prepared, very rehearsed and arranged song, and the crowd loved every single bit of it, every moment of it. Bruce gets to do his Jackie Wilson strut along the front of the stage, there’s a chance for a lot of interaction, what’s not to love about this song? The fans down front sang the chorus melody from the opening note, and there was no shortage of people to yell “Jimmy Iovine” into the mic at the appropriate interval. Maybe now that it’s rehearsed and the crowd so clearly dug it – even the casual fans in the club level! – that it could take the place of other songs with extensive crowd participation? (No names, no names.)
I had just recovered from the previous number when Bruce stalks purposefully out onto the center platform looking for a very specific sign. I was taking a drink of water and am grateful that I finished swallowing before Bruce held up the sign. I’m glad Bruce up the sign for “Wages of Sin” because even though I knew he was playing “Wages of Sin” and the words were running through my brain, if he hadn’t held up the sign I would have been standing there saying, “It sure sounds like he’s playing ‘Wages of Sin’ but that can’t actually be possible, so I must have passed out from dehydration or something.”
I held my breath. I closed my eyes. I opened them again. I watched Max hitting the cymbals with the mallets like he was a percussionist in an orchestra. I could feel Roy’s piano, weaving its way through Bruce’s vocals. I am most amazed I think at how Bruce hit the exact right emotional tone, the right tension, as though he’d performed the song dozens of times before. “Wages of Sin” always felt like a movie soundtrack to me and I wish I had been less stunned by the whole thing, and more able to just breathe and take it all in. Everyone was just magnificent: Roy, the horns, Max, Steve and Garry standing inward, facing Bruce, wanting to be sure they got this exactly right.
They got this exactly right.
“The River” was the perfect song to follow it up, because it resonates so hard in Europe, they sing it like they sing “Thunder Road”. So no momentum was lost, everyone’s attention that might have wandered during an unfamiliar song that had never been played before was immediately back on the stage. People around us took out their phones and called their friends. It was a big deal. It is a big deal.
“Youngstown” next was like greeting an old friend, and when my co-conspirator leaned over and said, “‘Murder, Inc.’ next,” I thought he was just being optimistic. But as Nils was bringing his closing solo down to the end, Bruce continued to encourage him to raise it back up again a little, then a little more, then a little more. Bruce changes guitars, and stands there hitting the body of his guitar as Nils finishes one more wave, then another one. And then as soon as Nils is done, Bruce slides right into the intro to “Murder, Inc.” and the pit went apeshit.
It was hot. It was steamy. It was intense. It was an astonishing run of songs, and then just when it’s starting to end, Bruce and Steve face off for the gunfight at the OK Corral just like old times. It was one of those moments where Bruce finishes his solo and looks Steve right in the eye with that “HERE, NOW” look, and then Steve meets his gaze and pulls off the kind of guitar work we know and love him for. They went back and forth and back and forth and you just didn’t want it to end. The Reunion Tour came back to Finland for one night.
“Johnny 99” caused me to ask the question that occurs to me from time to time, which is: who, exactly, does mix Tanqueray and wine? (Also in that vein: engines don’t have keys, and a one-legged dog couldn’t actually GO anywhere). It seems so funny that at one point I was so adamantly against the zydeco Johnny 99 and then I remember, I love it now because of the E Street Horns. And I love the jump blues version of “Open All Night” for the exact same reason: we have this amazingly talented group of horn players who can play the shit out of anything and take it to another level. They can rock and swing and boogie and also, actually, physically dance, and have a sense of humor and clearly have fun doing their job, but do their job as horn guys and blend into the background.
“Shackled and Drawn” was a chance to drink some water, and when that’s what I’m using this song for, it’s been one hell of a night, because I love the chance to use the singers on this particular number. It’s also one hell of a night when I am actively applauding the child brought onstage during “Waiting On A Sunny Day.” This was a 11 or 12 year old Finnish kid who must have somehow gotten ahold of Bruce, because he clearly knew what this young man was going to do. The kid took a piece of paper out of his pocket, which Bruce then held up for him, exchanging it for the microphone. This was apparently a rap about the E Street Band and the price of being on the rail was that I could not actually hear what he was saying. But hey, something cool and unusual and positive and not a party trick for once!
I will never get a decent shot of Bruce throwing the guitar to Kevin.
“Lonesome Day” was fresh and felt like an old friend; I had a big wave of Rising tour deja vu come over me. “Badlands” was bringing us into the home stretch, it was the last lap — and then “Racing In The Street,” the final dedication of the night. It was an odd place for it, and although it was wonderful and beautiful and powerful like it always was, it was almost odd to have it not be the emotional cornerstone of the set.
“Born In The USA” thunders out of the stage and the rail vibrates and I wish I had ear plugs. Everyone is on their feet, the arena is echoing like a stadium, Garry holds his bass straight up in the “10 years down the road” verse, as though in salute.
House lights, and here we are in encore territory now. The New Tenth is still thorny, Bruce forgetting Max as he rushed through the intro – we all yelled, YOU FORGOT MAX and then just laughed. I think he is trying to do too much in that short space, introduce the band and then hop on the piano and then cue the horns.
The tribute video seems different yet again, shortened in new places, but then something went wrong tonight during ‘this is the important part’. I do not want this dropped from the set until Bruce wants to drop it from the set but I think it could use just the tiniest bit of work to make it go smoother.
Bruce turned around at the end of “Tenth” and I watched him say the words “American Land.” Although I was miserable for a few seconds it was absolutely the right thing to do at that moment for this audience, for the people upstairs who don’t know “Wages of Sin” and might not be able to name every member of the E Street Band, their energy carried the show tonight as much as the diehards down front did. This was a show where Bruce read the audience exactly right, where he paced the setlist exactly right, where he called audibles exactly right, where he varied material and albums and rarities in one of the most masterful ways I have ever witnessed — and then proceeded to deliver the material with power and aplomb and some of the finest work I have ever seen from this version of the E Street Band.
We walked outside a little after 10pm and the sun was low in the horizon with the kind of color I have never seen before. I took a deep breath of the very clean air, and said, “Hey, I’m in Finland!” Then I said, ‘Wages of Sin’!” And then I was very, very glad the HK Areena only had 11k seats and the tour snob in me needed to see a show in a venue that small.
Thank you, Finland.
