Bruce Springsteen and the E St. Band rolled into Omaha Friday night, and its safe to say everyone left happy. The fans got a great show from a band that is definitely hitting on all cylinders, and Bruce and the ESB got the kind of reception you'd expect from a city that hasn't hosted a Springsteen show for nearly 30 years.
Omaha was ready for this, with an energetic crowd in the pit, and a fully energized crowd in the seats.
Bruce and the ESB were ready too, matching the crowd's energy with an enthusiasm and intensity that turned into a night of, well, magic.
The show opened, for the second time on this leg, with "No Surrender," "Radio Nowhere," and "Lonesome Day." As the second leg progresses, the potential for a surprise opening song is alive every night. No complaints here with "No Surrender."
The first audible of the night came early, with a setlisted "Darkness on the Edge of Town" getting the boot in favor of "Adam Raised A Cain." The band tore through this with no problem, and it's clear that Charlie Giordano is getting more and more comfortable with Bruce's material. Everyone misses Danny, but Charlie is doing a great job.
"Adam Raised A Cain" was the opening bell for what sounded like a guitarslinger's battle among Bruce, Nils, and Little Steven. Bruce ruled the roost with "Adam....," but Little Steven stepped up and owned "Gypsy Biker."
This was only the second show I've been to on this tour, so I'm sure Steven excels on this song in every show, but something in Steven's work must have got Bruce's attention this time around, because he had a hug for Steven afterwards.
Nils had his shot, and stole the show, with an absolutely blistering solo on "Because the Night." If Nils was more of a role player during the opening leg of the Magic tour, his guitar work on "Because the Night" should serve as a great reminder that Nils is the "Godfather of the Guitar."
The next four songs were pretty true to previous shows on this leg, with "She's the One," "Livin in the Future," "The Promised Land," and "Waitin' on A Sunny Day." Bruce's anti-Bush comments prior to the start of "Livin in the Future" got mixed reviews from where I sat. He got the same kind of mixed reaction during his intro to "Magic." Omaha's not the most liberal city in the Midwest, so while many of us agree with Bruce's positions, it was clear there were many that came to hear him sing and keep his political views to himself.
Based on the good sing-a-long reaction Bruce got from the crowd for "...Sunny Day," he introduced the next song as another one the crowd could sing along with. I swore I saw some more unplanned equipment shuffling, signaling another audible. I learned later this one was on the setlist, with Bruce doing a great version of "The River."
The main set closed with "Devil's Arcade," "The Rising," "Last to Die," "Long Walk Home," and "Badlands." While this is the standard order for this part of the set, there was nothing standard about the performances.
"Long Walk Home" has been reworked with Nils and Steven adding their vocals to the arrangement. Apparently this is something that evolved during the European leg. Nils and Steven have unique voices, and they both sounded great, giving a great song an extra boost. All of which led into an absolutely killer version of "Badlands."
The fan energy was great for this number, as it is in the other cities where I've seen Bruce perform.
Then it was on to the encores.
Normally, a 4-5 song encore closes the show. Lately that number has risen to six, and as many as seven songs. What would Omaha get?
The first song in the encore has been "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," and has been the spot in the show where dedications are made and local food banks are recognized. There was nothing different about that for the Omaha show.
"Thunder Road" followed, with Bruce bringing out his friend Conor Oberst. Oberst is the main man in the Omaha-based band, Bright Eyes. Of all the surprises we thought could happen, I never allowed myself to think this would be one of them.
Oberst came out, was warmly greeted by the band, and then knelt on the stage while Bruce and the band began playing. He finally got up and joined in with something that resembles singing, but if that wasn't funny enough, Bruce and the band kept waiting for him to really join in and sing, but he was hit and miss at best. Bruce and Steven both had to quickly turn to their microphones when Oberst didn't come in to sing as they expected him to. As my friend Mark put it after the show, "he looked like he was taking a crap before for the song, and once the song started, he crapped all over it." Enough said on that subject.
Perhaps to make up for this blunder, but announced as being requests from the audience, we got a great version of "Jungleland," with Clarence doing an absolutely stellar job on the sax solo, and a great rave-up version of the "Detroit Medley." The emotional swing from "Jungleland" to the "Detroit Medley" was incredible. I've never been moved as much during "Jungleland" as I was this time around.
The encore closed with "Born to Run," "Dancing in the Dark," and "American Land." All told, this show clocked in at 2 hours and 40 minutes, which makes it one of the longest of the tour so far.
Even though the setlist had no premieres, it's clear that Bruce is comfortable enough to play around with the setlist some. The changes in tonight's show from the one I saw last year in St. Paul was worth it for me.
My girlfriend and I will be heading to Indianapolis to catch Bruce's show there next week. I expect it will be another great show with plenty of surprises. I can't wait. If there's someone that makes it possible to believe in the power and magic of rock and roll, it is Bruce Springsteen and the E St. Band.
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