FINALLY just listened to this one, and just about the time I was thinking, man, even for him, Bruce is just ON FIRE tonight! As he's giggling and laughing and giving the songs his all...he brings it way the hell down for "Shut Out the Light" and down it stays for some time.
A couple things struck me, and perhaps this first is far from original but it wonder if this night wasn't when he really started thinking about putting the band back together. I know it's usually putting together Tracks and the Hall of Fame induction, but so much of this night (and the previous Freehold show) were about looking backwards in a way he'd seemed to avoid for most of his career and, seemingly, finding it delightful.
(Yes, there's an irony in saying that a guy who wrote compulsively about his experiences growing up avoided looking backward, but I trust the folks on here understand that I'm talking about going backward musically on a personal level.)
The other thing is that when we talk about Most Underrated E Street Band member I don't feel Sooze Tyrell gets her props and based entirely on this show that is a miscarriage of justice. She is fabulous here, with absolutely sumptuous solos and accompaniments. It's perhaps weird to consider her an E Street Band member, and maybe she's not. But if she is, she's a damn worthy addition.
By 2002, the band also included Soozie Tyrell (violin, guitar, vocals). Tyrell had earlier worked with Scialfa touring with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and sporadically with Springsteen dating back to the early 1990s. Whether Tyrell became as full-fledged a member as the others remains unclear. Some press releases refer to her as a "special guest", the cover notes of Live in Barcelona list her as a "with" member, the liner notes of We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions refer to her as "violinist with the E Street Band", and some press releases don't mention her at all. When asked about the lack of mention in a press release prior to the Magic Tour, Springsteen just said in response, "Soozie will be with us."
FINALLY just listened to this one, and just about the time I was thinking, man, even for him, Bruce is just ON FIRE tonight! As he's giggling and laughing and giving the songs his all...he brings it way the hell down for "Shut Out the Light" and down it stays for some time.
A couple things struck me, and perhaps this first is far from original but it wonder if this night wasn't when he really started thinking about putting the band back together. I know it's usually putting together Tracks and the Hall of Fame induction, but so much of this night (and the previous Freehold show) were about looking backwards in a way he'd seemed to avoid for most of his career and, seemingly, finding it delightful.
(Yes, there's an irony in saying that a guy who wrote compulsively about his experiences growing up avoided looking backward, but I trust the folks on here understand that I'm talking about going backward musically on a personal level.)
The other thing is that when we talk about Most Underrated E Street Band member I don't feel Sooze Tyrell gets her props and based entirely on this show that is a miscarriage of justice. She is fabulous here, with absolutely sumptuous solos and accompaniments. It's perhaps weird to consider her an E Street Band member, and maybe she's not. But if she is, she's a damn worthy addition.
By 2002, the band also included Soozie Tyrell (violin, guitar, vocals). Tyrell had earlier worked with Scialfa touring with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and sporadically with Springsteen dating back to the early 1990s. Whether Tyrell became as full-fledged a member as the others remains unclear. Some press releases refer to her as a "special guest", the cover notes of Live in Barcelona list her as a "with" member, the liner notes of We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions refer to her as "violinist with the E Street Band", and some press releases don't mention her at all. When asked about the lack of mention in a press release prior to the Magic Tour, Springsteen just said in response, "Soozie will be with us."