A great show in Cleveland to cap off a great Sunday. It did sell out by show time. I went with some longtime buddies who now live out of town, so it was great to relive some of our youth. We watched the Browns game downtown and capped it off with the Bruce show. Bernie Kosar was in attendance as he & Steve Van Zandt are friends.
The setlist was very diverse: a mixture of new songs, classics (Promised Land, She's the One, Badlands, Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark), and some gems that were dusted off and sounded great (It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City, Kitty's Back, Be True, Reason to Believe).
Clarence looked like he has lost significant weight. My buddy joked that he thought CC was doing the South Beach Diet.
Steve looked and played great as well, with a couple of great solos.
Backstreets review:
A knockout performance for Cleveland, with a setlist to match. Every E Street album was represented in the show tonight with the exception of The River -- and if you count River-era B-side "Be True," which had its tour premiere, it was a sweep. Representing Greetings was another tour debut, "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City." Paired with "She's the One," it was just massive. "Tunnel" represented Tunnel, and from The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle in the encore, it was another stunning "Kitty's Back." All that, and they still had room for "woman power," as Bruce put it, with Patti spotlighted on "Town Called Heartbreak" as she returned to the fold after her absence in St. Paul. Oh, and speaking of woman power, Bruce referenced the Lynn Goldsmith photography exhibit down the road at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: "I hope they don't have pictures of me with my pants down!" In the crowd: The Raspberries' Eric Carmen, and retired longtime Plain Dealer rock critic (and huge Springsteen fan) Jane Scott.
Setlist:
Radio Nowhere
Night
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Town Called Heartbreak
Tunnel of Love
Be True
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Kitty's Back
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
