Bruce Springsteen: Milwaukee Concert

UPDATE: Springsteen's November 2009 Milwaukee concert
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UPDATE: Springsteen's second 2008 Milwaukee appearance

Springsteen at the Harley-Davidson 105th Anniversary Celebration, August 30, 2008
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St. Patrick's Day + Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band = A really good time

It's so late and I'm tired, but I'm still somewhat wired.

So, some thoughts---

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Dave Tianen writes a relatively glowing review.

This time, Tianen analyzes more than the music and the performance. He gets into Springsteen's ability to sell his politics. That's a little weird.

Tianen begins:

His new album is called "Magic" and as Milwaukee found again Monday night at the Bradley Center, magic continues to pulse through the night whenever Bruce Springsteen picks up a guitar and steps on stage.

I can't say it happens "whenever" Springsteen steps on stage, but I can say there was magic in Milwaukee and I loved it.

At 58, Springsteen remains the most powerful of rock and roll front men, charismatic, funny, joyous, virile, and coursing with raw energy. There are many of things Springsteen has done well through the years and three of them in particular are on display in the songs of "Magic." One of them is the ability to take themes that are serious, even somber, and craft them into music that is upbeat and, against all odds, exhilarating. "Radio Nowhere" is on one level an apocalyptic vision of a man trying to find human connection after an unspecified calamity. It's a dark tale, but it's also alienation that rocks.

Hmmm. I don't know.

I agree that even at 58 Springsteen is a powerful rock front man. Still the "most" powerful? That's debatable.

There's no question that Springsteen still has it. He is "charismatic, funny, joyous, virile, and coursing with raw energy." He has always given me the feeling that he genuinely wants to give his audience his best. Especially when he's joined by the E Street Band, Springsteen exudes energy. But let's be honest. He doesn't jump as high or slide across the stage or climb up on speakers the way he once did. Time hasn't stood still.

There were times when I was thinking about how quickly time has passed and how short life is. How could Springsteen be pushing 60?

I disagree with Tianen's take on Springsteen's somber themes combined with upbeat music. When his songs are somber, they're somber. The songs may rock, but their downer messages aren't lost, not if you really listen.

"Livin' In the Future" is another example. It is, if you look at the lyrics, almost Orwellian, a bleak tale of American civil liberties under attack, but Springsteen grew up on '60s pop and those dark words ride along on a buoyant pop melody. It is, if you will, an exercise in danceable agitation. That ability to frame stark scenes in almost upbeat music, sometimes leads to misunderstanding, but it also buttresses Springsteen's credibility.

Unlike some of the other old guard of rock - Neil Young and Elvis Costello come to mind - Springsteen also has the ability to frame his views in music that remains on some level positive in spirit. For that reason he rarely comes across as a sour scold. Even "Magic" which is the darkest tune on album, and is clearly leveling charges of government by deception, does it without calling names or railing against specific personalities. For that reason as an artist, Springsteen is able to remain convincing as a patriot in dissent.

Here I disagree.

Springsteen wasn't excessively political last night, but he definitely had his bitter moments. Sure, he was strutting around when he was pontificating, but he did briefly dip in to sour scold mode.

I suspect Tianen agrees with Springsteen politically. That could account for his different interpretation.

Twice, Springsteen overtly talked politics. He didn't mention President Bush by name, but he said: "Here's to the end of the eight ugly years of magic tricks."
His intro to "Livin' in the Future" was similar to what he said when he played it on Today, September 28, 2007.

SPRINGSTEEN: This is a song called "Livin' in the Future" but it's really about what's happening now, right now. It's kind of about how... the things that we love about America - cheeseburgers, french fries, the Yankees battlin' Boston, the Bill of Rights, V-twin motorcyles, Tim Russert's haircut, transfat, and the Jersey shore. We love all those things, and that the way the women folk love on Matt Lauer. That's right.

But over the past 6 years we've had to add to the American picture rendition, illegal wiretapping, voter suppression, no habeas corpus, to the neglect of our great city of New Orleans and her people, an attack on the Constitution, and the loss of our best young men and women in a tragic war. This is a song about things that shouldn't happen here happening here. And so right now we plan to do something about it. We plan to sing about it. I know it's early, but it's late. So come and join us.

Right.

Last night, Springsteen's screed wasn't nearly as drawn out as what he said when he was on national TV, but he still delivered an in-your-face attack on life in George Bush's America.

As soon as Springsteen mentioned the illegal wiretapping, I just tuned out.

Mercifully, it was very brief and he was verbally bipartisan for the rest of the night. No more political speech.

Tianen goes on:

...Of course, if Springsteen did nothing but come out and lecture people, however, cleverly and seductively, he probably wouldn't still be filling big arenas like the Bradley. Nudging towards 60, Springsteen still understands the joy of simply rocking your butt off. Monday's set list included "Cadillac Ranch," "Jungleland" and an encore triple blast of "Ramrod," "Born to Run" and the Irish gig "American Land."

The lecturing wasn't clever or seductive, but it was tolerable because it wasn't lengthy and it was easily forgettable.

Enough about the politics. It's as if Tianen had portions of his review written and just filled in song titles. Give the reader a review of the show, not an essay on Springsteen's political bent and his tactics to express it. I doubt that's what most people are interested in when they want to get a feel for a concert.

Tianen's review fails to give the reader a sense of some of the most magical moments of the night.

I don't think "rocking your butt off" is an adequate description. It's as if that's an afterthought for him. Note to Tianen: First and foremost, it was a great night of music.

"Streets of Fire" was a surprise. It was a very passionate rendition.


He completely left out any mention of "Meeting Across the River."

Richard Davis, bass player on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, played bass on the recording of "Meeting Across the River" from 1975's Born to Run.

Davis was at the Bradley Center last night and performed the song with Springsteen -- definitely a magical moment.

As rewarding as it was, Monday probably wouldn't rank with Springsteen's best Milwaukee appearances. For reasons unexplained, the concert started slightly over an hour after it was scheduled to begin. That's a very long wait for even a superstar.

It's difficult to rank best overall Milwaukee appearances. Each has its own highlights.

As far as the concert starting over an hour later than scheduled, yes, that was annoying. Springsteen always starts late, usually 45 minutes. Once the concert was 50 minutes overdue, I got a little ticked off. But when the lights went down, all was forgiven.

This was also the first time that I've had the sense that time was beginning to slow the E Street Band. Danny Federici has dropped out of the band for health reasons and Patti Scialfa has elected to sit this leg of the tour out to stay home and tend to the kids. More significantly, Clarence Clemons seems like a shadow of himself. The playful interplay between the Big Man and Springsteen seems like a thing of the past. Clemons now moves slowly and deliberately like a man in pain, and often retreats to a lounge chair in the shadows of stage, where he sometimes sits out entire songs.

No, no, no. Don't believe that.

Clarence Clemons is not a shadow of himself. That's not fair.

His sax solo on "Jungleland" was absolutely phenomenal, beautiful.

When Springsteen and the E Street Band performed the old stuff, it was hard not to be moved.

I wondered how they felt. What was is it like for them to be nearing 60 or be 60+ and play the songs they played as much younger men?

In any case, I didn't hear tired old men struggling, or see them just going through the motions. That wasn't my impression at all. Yes, they're older and they behave in a manner that reflects their age; but that fact only serves to accentuate the timelessness of the music and the music's ability to allow one to feel ageless.

Bottom line: The Bradley Center was a great place to be on Monday night.
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Set List

March 17, 2008
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Bradley Center

No Surrender
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Streets Of Fire - Tour Premiere
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason To Believe
It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City
Prove It All Night
She's The One
Livin' In The Future
The Promised Land
Cadillac Ranch
My Hometown
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

Loose Ends
Meeting Across The River
Jungleland
Born To Run
Ramrod
American Land