SPRINGSTEEN L.A. SPORTS ARENA 4/26/12

Last night we went to see Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. I have seen Springsteen 15 times and last night was one of the best shows I have seen from him.

I was wondering how they were going to sound without Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici and I was pleasantly surprised. Springsteen has added a full horn section that includes Clarence Clemons' nephew Jake. When I listened to the concert at the Apollo, at the beginning of the tour, some of the songs that he played during that concert were arranged differently for the addition of a large horn section.  There were a number of songs he played last night that Jake went note for note and had the feel of his uncle. If you closed your eyes, you could see the Big Man up there.

The 17 piece band was firing on all cylinders and they brought an energy that had the crowd going for the nearly 3 hour concert.

Springsten did some crowd surfing, drank someones drink along the way, brought up a little girl from the crowd to help him sing the chorus for Waiting on a Sunny Day as well as just taking a walk through the crowd. He even brought up his little sister to just dance with him. I say this every time I see him in concert, "They just look like they are having so much fun!!!"

Tom Morello played with the band on three of the songs. He strutted his guitar chops on The Ghost of Tom Joad, that only Tom Morello can do.

The night only got better especially when the band did a medley of Temptation and Wilson Pickett. The band lined up in the front of the stage and sung a capella while the crowd joined in. The band also did a Riveras cover song, California Sun, which got the crowd back up on it's feet during his encore.

Twice during the show, Springsteen paid tribute to his great friend, Clarence Clemons. When he did his role call, Springsteen looked stage right where a spotlight shown on an empty microphone and called out, "If you're here, they're here!!!" 

If anyone knows how to go out with a bang, Springsteen is the master. During his last encore song, "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out", Springsteen took a walk through the crowd while singing the lyrics and when he got to a podium in the middle of the general admission floor seats, he climbed on it just in time to sing, "When the change was made uptown and the Big Man joined the band...."  The whole band stopped and on the video screen was a Clarence Clemons montage. The crowd cheered for a least two minutes and the band picked up right where it left off. Springsteen made his way back to the stage and when the song ended he said, "Goodnight Los Angeles." How do you not want more?

Below is the set list from last night's show.

1. Badlands 
2. We Take Care Of Our Own 
3. Wrecking Ball 
4. The Ties That Bind 
5. Death to My Hometown 
   (with Tom Morello)
6. My City of Ruins 
7. The E Street Shuffle 
8. Jack of All Trades 
   (with Tom Morello)
9. Something in the Night 
10. Candy's Room 
11. She's the One 
12. Easy Money 
13. Waitin' on a Sunny Day 
14. The Promised Land 
15. Apollo Medley 
16. The Ghost of Tom Joad 
    (with Tom Morello)
17. The Rising 
18. Lonesome Day 
19. We Are Alive 
20. Land of Hope and Dreams 
21. Encore:
21. Rocky Ground 
    (With Michelle Moore)
22. California Sun 
    (The Rivieras cover)
23. Born to Run 
24. Dancing in the Dark 
25. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out