Many fans of the Boss say the best Springsteen show they have ever seen is the FIRST ONE they saw. I am one of those fans. The first show I saw was the Cincinnati, Ohio show for the 'Born In The USA' tour. How amazing Bruce and the E Street Band are live really struck me (and the rest of the audience!) that night. Amazing concert!
I still have 15 of the 18 tickets. I also have a high percentage of the shows on official and non-official (bootleg) recordings. It is a privilege to listen to the shows afterwards. One of my favorite moments of any of the shows was the 2014 Columbus, Ohio show on the 'High Hopes' tour. That was my first time ever hearing a live performance of the "Sad Eyes" coda as part of the "Backstreets" performance. The coda holds a near-legendary reputation amongst fans. I -- along with hundreds of others -- gasped when the first few notes of the coda were played at that show. I got so emotional that I ended up in a half hug with the middle aged gentleman standing next to me who I had met only a half an hour before. Listening to the official release live recording, I get to relive that treasured moment.
With the help of www.backstreets.com and brucespace.wikispaces.com, I have been able to compile a list of all of the performers from the shows and the songs that were performed. I know these end up looking way too small on this blog page, but you get an idea of what the Excel file looks like. The shortest show: Bruce Springsteen at the Ohio State University campus to support Barack Obama (seven songs). The greatest number of songs played: the thirty four songs played in Pittsburgh to start the current 'The River 2016' tour.
Some of the other song highlights: Hearing the crowd sing along with "Hungry Heart" for the first time in Cincinnati 1984; Cleveland 2007 "Reason To Believe" performance in a rockabilly style; Columbus 2005 when the solo show started with the never-played-live "Lift Me Up"; Pittsburgh 2015 tribute to recently-deceased David Bowie with a cover of "Rebel Rebel"; Columbus 2002 "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"; "Pink Cadillac" in Cleveland 2009; the powerful "The Rising" in Cleveland 2002, honoring the first responders of 9/11; and the first live performance I had heard of "Candy's Room", Columbus 2002.
I have tickets to see Springsteen and the band in Rochester and Columbus on this The River 2016 tour. I am sure they will be amazing shows. Thanks, Bruce for all the amazing shows!
