So last night I went to the final Bruce Springsteen show at the LA Sports Arena which is going to be demolished in a few months. This was probably my 8th Springsteen show at that arena (and easily my 15th+ overall Springsteen show) dating back to the first time I saw him there in 1981 at the now legendary Vietnam Vets benefit show.
This tour is kind of weird, Springsteen is playing the 1980 two record "River" album front to back then playing over a dozen other songs, some hits, some deep cuts. One of the big things about all previous Springsteen shows is he often makes up large portions of the set on the fly as the show progresses, so you never know what you might get on any given night. This tour, 2/3rds of the show is known beforehand and he's playing *every* song off that album - I don't care how great an album is (and the River *is* a great album) there's always a few songs that will loose most listeners through the set.
I had to get there really early in the afternoon, to make sure this guy who I sold my spare ticket (my brother bailed on me) got his ticket early enough to get a pit lottery wristband. Thus, I had all afternoon to kill, walked over to the LA science museum across the park from the arena and hung out and had late lunch.
They hand out about 1200 numbered wristbands, have everyone line up around 5pm, draw a random number which then becomes the first number for about 450 people to get into the pit. They drew #880.. the guy who bought my spare ticket had number #855, my wristband was 128. Neither of us got in but that was fine, the Sports Arena floor is pretty small for an arena and I was happy catching the show about 30 feet in front of the mixing desk about halfcourt, but the downside was standing in a cattle call line an hour before the draw, standing nearly another hour to get in and standing another two hours before the show started was rough going. Then the show itself was 3:45 hours.... Yeesh, I just can't comprehend how Springsteen (in his late 60's) and the band pull off this kind of show at such a high energy level.
OK, the show itself..... Just after 7:30, about half an hour before the show started it seemed no one could get cell or internet service. I don't know if their using wifi microwave jammer tech but *something* is making a difference. The end result is very few people fucking with their phones other then taking occasional photos. It was also pretty warm inside the arena even before the show started.
When the band came on stage, the arena went nuts-loud as any clssic 80's Springsteen, U2 or Van Halen show I can recall. Certainly one of the best, most vocal and tuned in LA audiences I've seen the last few decades. After a storming "Meet Me In The City" (an outtake from the River lp), Bruce did a short intro to the album and he and the band methodically proceeded to play excellent versions of the rockers and passionate and sometimes revelatory versions of the slower songs. To be fair slogging through The River, great as it is, is still an endurance test. It's a testament to the audience that 98% cheered the rockers, stayed quiet during the slow numbers and "Brooooooced" during song breaks as if recharging the man's batteries for another run of rock n' roll.
Once the River was done, the place practically exploded with "Promised Land." But the next song (another out take) "My Love Will Not Let You Down" really blew the roof off the arena and continued up to a sublime "Tougher Than The Rest." Jungleland was a well appreciated treat and the obligitory "Wrecking Ball" proceeded by a touching speech from Bruce about playing the place since 1980 drove home the bittersweet celebratory mood of the night. The show closed near midnight with their cover of "Shout" and a surprise extra song, "Bobby Jean" which was a poignant goodbye to the old arena.
The sound from the floor about 30 in front of the mixing desk was great, among the better sounding Springsteen shows I can recall. The large video screen in the center was totally obscured by the lighting rig, I don't think anyone could get a clear view of it unless they were in the highest, furthest back seats. Asshole factor was surprisingly low, although I did move away from a obnoxious drunk pair of guys about halfway through the River set. Something happened midway through the River set right at the outside pit rail dead center that required a medical crew with a stretcher to bring someone out and off the floor.
Imo, this was one of the best paced Springsteen shows I've ever seen and it certainly felt like one of the longest. I also think the band was playing at a higher level then the last few tours I've seen and Bruce's vox were certainly the best I've heard in a very long time. I am so sore and my voice is thrashed today, lol. It's remarkable that Springsteen and his band can pull off such marathon shows with so much energy at this point in their career.
Overall, i'm happy Im only seeing the one show (they played 3 nights there this week). Despite the magnificent performance of The River and the fun and surprises of the post-River set, a very key element of surprise normally present through the *entire* show is missing this tour. I also think I'm done with floor GA for at least Bruce shows. The whole pit raffle cattle call thing is just no fun and I guess I'm finally getting too old to stand for 6+ hours.