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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band triumph at Nashville's Sommet Center in what might have been one of their final shows
Submitted by Zach Everson on Sun, 11/22/2009 - 20:39.
It's not clear how many audience members realized that Wednesday night at Nashville's Sommet Center probably was their last Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert.
After almost two straight years of touring, Springsteen and E Street are going on hiatus after tonight's show in Buffalo. With most of the band members in their 60s, saxophonist Clarence "Big Man" Clemons's health issues and recent remarks from band members, the odds are good that Nashville saw one of rock's greatest live acts' third-to-last show.
While the set list for the Nashville concert was full of older material (1975's Born to Run was played in its entirety and three songs from 1984's blockbuster Born in the U.S.A. anchored the encores, while just one song was played from their last two albums), there was nothing stale or dated about the blistering three-hour 28-song concert. This show was the 26th time I've seen Springsteen with E Street--the performance was as tight and the band was as loose as I've seen. If tonight is in fact their last concert, Springsteen and E Street are not cruising to the finish but rather have kicked into a higher gear.
Springsteen's catalog is so deep that he opened the Nashville show with three straight powerful and timely songs that aren't on any of his 16 studio albums: the new "Wrecking Ball," a tribute to the soon-to-be-demolished Giants Stadium; a scorching "Seeds," which was released on the Live/1975-85 box set; and his powerful version of Jimmy Cliff's "Trapped," which has long been a live favorite.
Based on the crowd's reaction though, you could have thought Springsteen opened with three of his greatest hits. Throughout the show, the audience was what you'd expect from Music City: fun, engaged and loud but respectful too.
When Springsteen did play a track from one of his studio albums, it was the nihilistic "Something in the Night," a deep cut from 1978's Darkness on the Edge of Town, that wasn't on the original setlist for Nashville.
It wasn't until song five that Springsteen performed one of his many hits--"Hungry Heart," which 29 years ago was his first top 10 song. As he usually does in concert, Springsteen let the audience take the vocals on the first verse. But in a twist that's new to this tour, halfway into the track he ventured out to a mini-stage about 10 rows into the crowd for a verse before riding the audience back (OMFG I touched his leg!) to the main stage, probably making the 60-year-old the first AARP The Magazine cover model to crowd surf.
After those songs about a building slated for destruction, a homeless family heading "south with just spit and a song," a trapped lover, a guy on a journey to nowhere and an unrepentant philanderer, Springsteen ended the first part of the show with the optimistic "Working on a Dream," the sole track from his most recent album he played on Wednesday.
The show's emotional and thematic centerpiece began two songs later when the band played the classic Born to Run album in its entirety. From the groggy harmonica opening that snaps to life at the beginning of "Thunder Road" to the final existential wails and cymbal rolls of "Jungleland," Springsteen and E Street nailed their performance of one of rock's best albums. Rather than blowing through an album that they've been playing for 34 years and played start to finish several times already on this tour, the songs were fresh.
Put in the context of the album, the title track, which had become anticlimactic for me after having heard it about two dozen times in concert before, regained the relevancy that it had when I was 17 years old and writing out its lyrics from memory while bored in English class. Mansions of glory, suicide machines, trying to look so hard, the runaway American Dream: why pay attention to a lecture on the 180-page "The Great Gatsby" when you can just rock out to the 4:30 "Born to Run"?
Springsteen too believes "in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch our our arms further..." And while one fine Wednesday night in Nashville, we--band and audience--"beat on, boats against the current," we were not "borne back ceaselessly into the past," but rather were delivered into the present, 15,000 of us thrusting our arms into the air in unison as Bruce belted out "Tramps like us / baby we were born to run."
The only issue with performing the entire album was the segue out of it (there's a reason that on past tours "Jungleland" was a set closer). After finishing that last song on the album, Springsteen and the members of the current E Street Band who recorded the album, all of whom are still in the band except organist Danny Federici who died in 2008, came to the front of the stage for a deserved ovation, but the mid-set break did curtail the show's momentum.
The seven songs performed after Born to Run in the main set came across like an afterthought: a fun, well-played afterthought that I enjoyed, but one without much of a theme. Of course, with Springsteen taking three straight suggestions from the crowd (many audience members--this one included--brought signs with song requests), it's probably a bit much to expect a unifying theme. But then again, he is Springsteen and perhaps the only American who faces greater expectations is the guy we elected president last November.
Some highlights from the last part of the main set:
* "Waitin' on a Sunny Day," with its cliched and simplistic lyrics, is one of my least-favorite Springsteen songs, but Springsteen's bringing kids on stage of late to sing a verse has made it a delight in concert.
* During "Two Hearts," guitarist Steve "Little Steven" "Miami Steve" "Silvio Dante" "That guy who looks like a New Jersey pirate" Van Zandt pulled six women in pink cowboy hat who'd been making eyes at him all concert on stage to dance. That move led Springsteen to audible into...
* A fun version of "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)."
The lightness continued in the encores, which began with Springsteen emerging from a band huddle and announcing, "We've never done this before." After a bit more futzing, Springsteen asked trumpeter Curt Ramm (a great recent addition to the lineup) to play the riff for the still unannounced song to the band. Ramm responded with the mariachi trumpet intro to "Ring of Fire" and not only did the band pick it up, but so too did the audience, turning Johnny Cash's biggest hit into a giant sing-along. Three days later, I'm still singing along to it. Bum, bum bum, bum bum ba da bum…
The show became a dance-along five songs later when Springsteen plucked a girl out of the audience, not to dance with him, but rather to oblige her request to dance with guitarist Nils Lofgren, during "Dancing in the Dark." The former top two song was one of three tracks from the 1984 blockbuster Born in the U.S.A. album played in the encores, songs this Springsteen snob normally would be disappointed to hear when they could be playing some rare gem. But knowing that what could be my final E Street Band concert was close to wrapping up, I was thrilled to hear them play anything.
And while Springsteen finished the show with a hit song, it wasn't one of his own but rather an ecstatic take of Jackie Wilson's "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," which again brought him out to the platform about 10 rows out in the crowd.
Hopefully Springsteen and E Street will remember that feeling and decide to tour again, lifting us all higher and higher one more time.
Set list
Wrecking Ball
Seeds
Trapped
Something In The Night
Hungry Heart
Working On A Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Night
Backstreets
Born To Run
She's The One
Meeting Across The River
Jungleland
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Two Hearts
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Badlands
Ring of Fire
No Surrender
Bobby Jean
American Land
Dancing In The Dark
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher
from louisville.com
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Star Wars: The Old Republic
As I mentioned in my last column, I saw a gameplay trailer for the new Star Wars MMO coming out. It's being done by Bioware in conjunction with LucasArts. If you have played Star Wars games, either single-player, or the existing MMO, then you know this is a good thing. I have played Star Wars Galaxies several times at different phases in it's meandering lifespan. I have revelled in finally reaching 'glowie' status and have ground away at the Jedi path, and have also had my Jedi status handed to me on a silver platter. In short, while I have enjoyed playing SWG in the past, it can be kind of confusing, and if you leave the game and come back, chances are they will have completely changed the mechanics and you will have to learn how to play all over again.
Bioware is the outfit that produced the best of all the Star Wars games that I have played, Knights of the Old Republic. It was set about 4000 years before the events in the movies, at the height of the Sith Wars and had a role-playing system based on Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game. It had great gameplay, and the roleplaying aspect was excellent, driven by a menu system that let you choose your responses to events that you encounter. The new MMO they are developing uses this same system and also the concept of accruing Light side or Dark side points. These points are earned based on choices you make, and have quite a large impact on gameplay down the road, from abilities and equipment available, to how people react to you. This was one of the coolest aspects of KoTOR.
The combat system also looks very promising, with a few features I have not seem before. Combat seems a lot more real-time. In the trailer, a smuggler-class was engaging multiple opponents at the same time, moving to cover and firing from cover. It was impressive. While in combat, the system indicates places in the terrain that will provide cover, and also indicates where others are taking cover
The word used quite a few times in the trailer was 'epic'. The developers want the combat to feel epic - heroic - not routine, but exiting. Based on what I have seen, Star Wars: The Old Republic has a chance to immerse the player in its world like few other games have been able to. The story seems to be very important to the developers - an integral part of the game, not just a construct to build the game around. I love my WoW, but might have to take some time away from Azeroth to jump into the Star Wars world again.
Bioware is the outfit that produced the best of all the Star Wars games that I have played, Knights of the Old Republic. It was set about 4000 years before the events in the movies, at the height of the Sith Wars and had a role-playing system based on Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game. It had great gameplay, and the roleplaying aspect was excellent, driven by a menu system that let you choose your responses to events that you encounter. The new MMO they are developing uses this same system and also the concept of accruing Light side or Dark side points. These points are earned based on choices you make, and have quite a large impact on gameplay down the road, from abilities and equipment available, to how people react to you. This was one of the coolest aspects of KoTOR.
The combat system also looks very promising, with a few features I have not seem before. Combat seems a lot more real-time. In the trailer, a smuggler-class was engaging multiple opponents at the same time, moving to cover and firing from cover. It was impressive. While in combat, the system indicates places in the terrain that will provide cover, and also indicates where others are taking cover
The word used quite a few times in the trailer was 'epic'. The developers want the combat to feel epic - heroic - not routine, but exiting. Based on what I have seen, Star Wars: The Old Republic has a chance to immerse the player in its world like few other games have been able to. The story seems to be very important to the developers - an integral part of the game, not just a construct to build the game around. I love my WoW, but might have to take some time away from Azeroth to jump into the Star Wars world again.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Gaming News
Well, I should have seen it coming, but Bizzard has finally released information on the next expansion for World of Warcraft. Of course, it was announced in conjunction with BlizzCon, and it has some interesting stuff in it. One of the things I have lamented, despite how much I have enjoyed the two expansions, Burning Crusades and Wrath of the Lich King, was that the old Worlds - Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been getting neglected. The next expansion, titled Cataclysm addresses that in a big way. Deathwing the dragon returns to Azeroth with a vengance, and this world event gives Blizzard the opportunity to revisit the old kingdoms quite extensively.
One of the laments I have heard from friends who no longer play is that if they were to return, the new recent expansions look cool, but they don't have the heart to grind through the same old low level content one more time as a part of getting to the new coolness. I sympathize. The thought of slogging through Silverpine or the Barrens again does make my head hurt. Also, one of the things that been said more than once in response to the question, "Will I be able to use flying mounts in the old kingdoms?" is that no, they were not designed for flying mounts, and rewriting all that code would take too much time.
Well Blizzard has apparently heard some of the same feedback I have and has addressed some of our concerns. Cataclysm will feature an upheaval to the old lands that will give the game designers a chance to take their crayons out and completely revamp the zones we are familiar with. According to the FAQ I read, all of the old zones will be reworked to one degree or another. To quote the web site: Nearly all of the game’s original zones are being altered to some degree, but the extent of the changes varies by zone. For example, Darkshore is flooded and has been completely redesigned with all new quest hubs. The Barrens have been split in two; one half is for low-level players and the other is for higher-level players. Azshara is now a low-level zone for Horde players and connects directly to Orgrimmar.
The re-tooling of the original zones has also given the powers that be a chance to implement flying mounts in the old world, but they haven't yet said exactly how this will be done - at what level it will be available, and so forth.
The level cap has again been raised, but not by the standard 10 levels, but only to 85, and they have mentioned a new "path system" which makes me a little nervous. I have visions of Dark Age of Camelot's lame Champion Abilities dancing in my head, but at the same time have more faith in Blizzard than I ever did in Mythic. They are also introducing guild achievements, similar, I suppose to those used in EQ2 - which is a nice system.
One of the main features of Cataclysm is two new playable races, the Goblins and the Worgen. People have voiced the desire to play goblins for some time and now will get their chance, siding of course with the Horde. The Alliance will finally get a scary-looking monster race in the Worgen, a race grown out of the Arugal storyline in Silverpine Forest, and are doing something I have hoped they would - use one of the zones that show up on the world map, but have never been opened before. In this case, they are creating a zone called Gilneas, which was sealed off behind the Greymane Wall at the southern end of Silverpine forest. Goblin players will start on the Isle of Kezan and then head to the Lost Isles in the South Seas before joining the mainland. There are therefore two new starting zones and quest lines to experience, and Blizzard has promised an experience similar to the Death Knight questline and a prominent use of zone phasing. That's a good thing since the Death Knight starting quest line is an exceptionally cool experience.
One of the other minor features is new race/class combinations. In addition to the new races, they are opening up a few other new possibilities including an expansion of the druid class for the first time ever to include worgen and trolls, as well as a few other interesting combinations.
Well there you have it. Feel free to stop by the WoW website and check out the trailer and screenshots, but Blizz has given us (well me at least) something to look forward to. That is not all the news though. In my next post I will discuss the cool new things I saw in a gameplay trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic coming from LucasArts and Biosphere.
One of the laments I have heard from friends who no longer play is that if they were to return, the new recent expansions look cool, but they don't have the heart to grind through the same old low level content one more time as a part of getting to the new coolness. I sympathize. The thought of slogging through Silverpine or the Barrens again does make my head hurt. Also, one of the things that been said more than once in response to the question, "Will I be able to use flying mounts in the old kingdoms?" is that no, they were not designed for flying mounts, and rewriting all that code would take too much time.
Well Blizzard has apparently heard some of the same feedback I have and has addressed some of our concerns. Cataclysm will feature an upheaval to the old lands that will give the game designers a chance to take their crayons out and completely revamp the zones we are familiar with. According to the FAQ I read, all of the old zones will be reworked to one degree or another. To quote the web site: Nearly all of the game’s original zones are being altered to some degree, but the extent of the changes varies by zone. For example, Darkshore is flooded and has been completely redesigned with all new quest hubs. The Barrens have been split in two; one half is for low-level players and the other is for higher-level players. Azshara is now a low-level zone for Horde players and connects directly to Orgrimmar.
The re-tooling of the original zones has also given the powers that be a chance to implement flying mounts in the old world, but they haven't yet said exactly how this will be done - at what level it will be available, and so forth.
The level cap has again been raised, but not by the standard 10 levels, but only to 85, and they have mentioned a new "path system" which makes me a little nervous. I have visions of Dark Age of Camelot's lame Champion Abilities dancing in my head, but at the same time have more faith in Blizzard than I ever did in Mythic. They are also introducing guild achievements, similar, I suppose to those used in EQ2 - which is a nice system.
One of the main features of Cataclysm is two new playable races, the Goblins and the Worgen. People have voiced the desire to play goblins for some time and now will get their chance, siding of course with the Horde. The Alliance will finally get a scary-looking monster race in the Worgen, a race grown out of the Arugal storyline in Silverpine Forest, and are doing something I have hoped they would - use one of the zones that show up on the world map, but have never been opened before. In this case, they are creating a zone called Gilneas, which was sealed off behind the Greymane Wall at the southern end of Silverpine forest. Goblin players will start on the Isle of Kezan and then head to the Lost Isles in the South Seas before joining the mainland. There are therefore two new starting zones and quest lines to experience, and Blizzard has promised an experience similar to the Death Knight questline and a prominent use of zone phasing. That's a good thing since the Death Knight starting quest line is an exceptionally cool experience.
One of the other minor features is new race/class combinations. In addition to the new races, they are opening up a few other new possibilities including an expansion of the druid class for the first time ever to include worgen and trolls, as well as a few other interesting combinations.
Well there you have it. Feel free to stop by the WoW website and check out the trailer and screenshots, but Blizz has given us (well me at least) something to look forward to. That is not all the news though. In my next post I will discuss the cool new things I saw in a gameplay trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic coming from LucasArts and Biosphere.
Monday, January 05, 2009
A Veteran of the Wrathgate
Well I have been playing Wrath of the Lich King for a couple of weeks now and have enjoyed it all. Blizzard really did a good job on this one. There are a lot of new types of quests and some very interesting storyline, but most of all, you feel like you are right in the middle of the action - fighting on the frontline for your faction - a real hero for your side, not just another dork killing 8 of this animal or kill those guys until you collect 10 red hats.
The deathknight beginning quest chain is worth the price of admission and should not be missed, even if you don't think you will play the toon later. The quests are fun and original, and make use of phasing. This allows you to have a real impact on the world around you. As you progress through a quest chain and - for example - help to conquer the village, then you will see the village in flames, and it will be desolate the next time you pass thru it - instead of back to normal like you have never been there.
As much fun as the deathnight quests are, for my money, one of the most entertaining and rewarding gameplay experiences I have ever had is easily the Dragonblight quest chain. Dragonblight is on the south side of Northrend in the center, and is the zone a player would naturally progress to after finishing either Borean Tundra or Howling Fjords. There are the standard faction strongholds, but the centerpiece is the Wyrmrest Temple, kind of a dragon U.N. building. All of the dragons have shrines in the zone, and they come together in an uneasy alliance against the aggression of the Azure Dragonflight who are bent on destroying all who use magic.
The quest chain is very long, and involves interaction with most all of the different dragons in the zone, including a really fun quest where you get to command a dragon in battle against the Azure Dragonflight and fight from his back. It's pretty awesome to participate, but just as incredible to watch from the ground as dead dragons rain from the sky.
If you follow this chain to its end, it climaxes in a confrontation with Arthas the Lich King at the Wrathgate - a Gates of Mordor - type affair at the north end of Dragonblight. The cutscene is epic and Blizzard-worthy (a company famous for its cutscenes) I won't give away the plot details, but it is a great scene, and can be re-visited by talking to the right NPC in game.
The events of the Wrathgate episode are followed by a visit to a locked-down, martial law-imposed Orgrimmar where you meet with Thrall, the Orc battlechief and leader of the Horde and witness a confrontation with Jaina Proudmoor, a hero of the Alliance. You then accompany Thrall to the Undercity where your hero gets to fight alongside him and Lady Sylvanas Windrunner to reconquer the Undercity in an epic battle from the front gates all the way to the Royal Quarter. It is truly an incredible experience, and makes you feel like you truly are a Champion of the Horde
I can't give you an Alliance perspective but the Horde experience was excellent and it makes me want to level up an Alliance toon to see the same events from the other side.
Your character not only gets to be on the frontlines for momentous and epic events, but the player is put right in the middle of a lot of key WoW lore and storyline, and is quite a bit more satisfying than just grinding on murlocs. If you are sitting on the fence and cannot decide whether or not to come back, I give Wrath of the Lich King a hearty thumbs up - it is the best work Blizzard has done to date.
Currently Listening to:
The Newsboys - Take Me to Your Leader
The Tossers - Long Dim Road
Last Movie Seen
Hancock
The deathknight beginning quest chain is worth the price of admission and should not be missed, even if you don't think you will play the toon later. The quests are fun and original, and make use of phasing. This allows you to have a real impact on the world around you. As you progress through a quest chain and - for example - help to conquer the village, then you will see the village in flames, and it will be desolate the next time you pass thru it - instead of back to normal like you have never been there.
As much fun as the deathnight quests are, for my money, one of the most entertaining and rewarding gameplay experiences I have ever had is easily the Dragonblight quest chain. Dragonblight is on the south side of Northrend in the center, and is the zone a player would naturally progress to after finishing either Borean Tundra or Howling Fjords. There are the standard faction strongholds, but the centerpiece is the Wyrmrest Temple, kind of a dragon U.N. building. All of the dragons have shrines in the zone, and they come together in an uneasy alliance against the aggression of the Azure Dragonflight who are bent on destroying all who use magic.
The quest chain is very long, and involves interaction with most all of the different dragons in the zone, including a really fun quest where you get to command a dragon in battle against the Azure Dragonflight and fight from his back. It's pretty awesome to participate, but just as incredible to watch from the ground as dead dragons rain from the sky.
If you follow this chain to its end, it climaxes in a confrontation with Arthas the Lich King at the Wrathgate - a Gates of Mordor - type affair at the north end of Dragonblight. The cutscene is epic and Blizzard-worthy (a company famous for its cutscenes) I won't give away the plot details, but it is a great scene, and can be re-visited by talking to the right NPC in game.
The events of the Wrathgate episode are followed by a visit to a locked-down, martial law-imposed Orgrimmar where you meet with Thrall, the Orc battlechief and leader of the Horde and witness a confrontation with Jaina Proudmoor, a hero of the Alliance. You then accompany Thrall to the Undercity where your hero gets to fight alongside him and Lady Sylvanas Windrunner to reconquer the Undercity in an epic battle from the front gates all the way to the Royal Quarter. It is truly an incredible experience, and makes you feel like you truly are a Champion of the Horde
I can't give you an Alliance perspective but the Horde experience was excellent and it makes me want to level up an Alliance toon to see the same events from the other side.
Your character not only gets to be on the frontlines for momentous and epic events, but the player is put right in the middle of a lot of key WoW lore and storyline, and is quite a bit more satisfying than just grinding on murlocs. If you are sitting on the fence and cannot decide whether or not to come back, I give Wrath of the Lich King a hearty thumbs up - it is the best work Blizzard has done to date.
Currently Listening to:
The Newsboys - Take Me to Your Leader
The Tossers - Long Dim Road
Last Movie Seen
Hancock
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