Roll Yer Tapes: St. Louis Night, 8/23/08
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0GfHJGmLQ8?rel=0&w=420&h=315]
There’s an unknowable alchemy when it comes to a great Bruce show.
I’m talking one for the history books — a Passaic ’78, or a Bottom Line ’75. Certainly many (most? All?) of the greatest Boss concerts have also benefitted from legendary bootlegs passed down from generation to generation. At the same time, you look at a show like the August 1981 concert for Vietnam vets, and there’s a decent audience tape, but it still demands attention, because the emotion and intensity of the night is off the charts.
It gets even harder in the post-reunion era. There’s technologies I barely understand like IEMs and matrices that can deliver remarkable sound quality for even the most average evenings. The internet makes it possible to hear shows within 24 hours of their occurrence, lending an immediacy to every download. But this is an older band, never bad but sometimes sounding a little tired, or forgetful, or worn out. There are more pristine recordings of mediocre shows than ever before.
And yet, somehow, nights stand out. This 2008 Magic tour show took place just a few evenings before the tour finale and features an unexpected trio of Springsteen epics — first “Backstreets,” then “Drive All Night,” and in the encores, a stately “Jungleland.” Clarence Clemons is magnificent throughout — his sax solo on “Drive All Night” especially boozy and romantic.
That’s the predominant vibe, and again, it’s one of those alchemic mystical things — the sound mix that night and the way it translates through the bootleg recording places a special emphasis on the Big Man’s sax, Charlie Giordano’s organ, and the Professor’s keys. The set list is full of rock chestnuts that Springsteen and his crew worship, from the Ronettes to Chuck Berry and the Isley Brothers (via the Beatles). It’s that endless rock carnival vibe, in town for one night only, a completely unpredictable magic.
