What’s nice about summer is that the classical season is over and that means its time for good ol’ rock and roll concerts. This summer has been capped by 3 memorable pop concerts. We saw a wonderful Jackson Brown show at the Beacon theater in NY in July (with Steve and his wife, Cathy and Myles and his wife Heidi). Then a few weeks ago I saw an absolutely fantastic concert by Yes in the intimate Mayo theater in Morristown NJ. I’ve never seen Yes in concert. Their musicianship is at the very highest level in rock. Those in the know appreciate that Steve Howe is probably one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time, although he may be the least well-known. He did not disappoint. He may look like he is going to go to the great R&R stage in the sky any day, but the guy can play. And I mean play.
But this post is about another iconic R&R figure, Bruce Springsteen. I’m embarrassed to say I have not seen Bruce before, but last Thursday, Aug 25h at the Meadowlands was a show for the ages. Even long time Bruce attendees said it was his best show in many years. I’ve always liked Bruce, but like many rock legends (the Grateful Dead come to mind) , his recordings have never had the same gravitas that his concerts have among the Springsteen afficionados. Yet 50,000 of them gathered in the Meadowlands on a warm summer evening to hear their favorite NJ son, and wow is all I can say. I may have been the only person there that did not know the lyrics to every song. I mean every damn song. He’s been touring for over a year by starting his set with the River album, which many fans find slow going. But for his Meadowlands tour starting last Tuesday, he changed that and it was a rocket ride from beginning to end. The complete review and play list is here:
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/mus...en_nj_concert_2016_review_metlife_photos.html
It was indeed memorable for several reasons. First, it was the longest concert he has ever done according to several reports such as the one above.. Four hours of non-stop music. What keeps his battery charged is very simply the crowd. He feeds off of it and you can see that easily. How Max Weinberg manages to drum relentlessly for 4 hours without being plugged into a AC outlet is a mystery to me. Unbelievable energy.
Here too the musicianship was first rate as everyone who knows the E street band will confirm. But they were also joined by a guest guitarist in Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), who shredded the guitar with the solo of the night. That's saying something as Nils Lofgren is no slouch on the guitar and had some superb solos as well, but Morello was in another zone. Some highlights were that Bruce spotted a 3 years old girl in the front row who knew all the lyrics and invited her up to sing on stage, which she did. The crowd went nuts. He hoisted he up on his shoulder and said that was a record for the youngest person he ever pulled from the audience to come up to the stage. At the end of the show, during “Jersey Girl”, Bruce spotted a marriage proposal occurring in the first few rows and he pulled that couple on stage and sang to them while they danced arm in arm. Again, the crowd went nuts. He passed the mic to the groom to be who said to his fiancé, “I love you more than music. I love you even more than Bruce”. Springsteen was hysterical and the audience almost had a stroke as well. It was beautiful and made more beautiful by fireworks over the stage as the song played.
Finally word about the sound. We were at the opposite end of the stadium from the stage but with a great view of the hi def big screens so it was a surprisingly involved feel even though were were 150 yds from the stage. The sound was terrific. Loud but pretty damn good. How loud? Check this out from my trusty meter, capturing 108dB here. Routinely the sound was between 95 and 100dB and broke 100dB often. Without earplugs (to damp things down a good 10 db or so), I’d be deaf by now.
And the mix was pretty impressive as well. Aside form a nice bass hump that is par for the course at rock concerts, the response was notably smooth and not offensive in any way (except for the volume).
We were about 50 yards away from the speaker arrays that fed our section. But don’t try this at home folks. Your system would disintegrate in smoke. A truly fantastic night.
Marty
But this post is about another iconic R&R figure, Bruce Springsteen. I’m embarrassed to say I have not seen Bruce before, but last Thursday, Aug 25h at the Meadowlands was a show for the ages. Even long time Bruce attendees said it was his best show in many years. I’ve always liked Bruce, but like many rock legends (the Grateful Dead come to mind) , his recordings have never had the same gravitas that his concerts have among the Springsteen afficionados. Yet 50,000 of them gathered in the Meadowlands on a warm summer evening to hear their favorite NJ son, and wow is all I can say. I may have been the only person there that did not know the lyrics to every song. I mean every damn song. He’s been touring for over a year by starting his set with the River album, which many fans find slow going. But for his Meadowlands tour starting last Tuesday, he changed that and it was a rocket ride from beginning to end. The complete review and play list is here:
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/mus...en_nj_concert_2016_review_metlife_photos.html
It was indeed memorable for several reasons. First, it was the longest concert he has ever done according to several reports such as the one above.. Four hours of non-stop music. What keeps his battery charged is very simply the crowd. He feeds off of it and you can see that easily. How Max Weinberg manages to drum relentlessly for 4 hours without being plugged into a AC outlet is a mystery to me. Unbelievable energy.
Here too the musicianship was first rate as everyone who knows the E street band will confirm. But they were also joined by a guest guitarist in Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), who shredded the guitar with the solo of the night. That's saying something as Nils Lofgren is no slouch on the guitar and had some superb solos as well, but Morello was in another zone. Some highlights were that Bruce spotted a 3 years old girl in the front row who knew all the lyrics and invited her up to sing on stage, which she did. The crowd went nuts. He hoisted he up on his shoulder and said that was a record for the youngest person he ever pulled from the audience to come up to the stage. At the end of the show, during “Jersey Girl”, Bruce spotted a marriage proposal occurring in the first few rows and he pulled that couple on stage and sang to them while they danced arm in arm. Again, the crowd went nuts. He passed the mic to the groom to be who said to his fiancé, “I love you more than music. I love you even more than Bruce”. Springsteen was hysterical and the audience almost had a stroke as well. It was beautiful and made more beautiful by fireworks over the stage as the song played.
Finally word about the sound. We were at the opposite end of the stadium from the stage but with a great view of the hi def big screens so it was a surprisingly involved feel even though were were 150 yds from the stage. The sound was terrific. Loud but pretty damn good. How loud? Check this out from my trusty meter, capturing 108dB here. Routinely the sound was between 95 and 100dB and broke 100dB often. Without earplugs (to damp things down a good 10 db or so), I’d be deaf by now.
And the mix was pretty impressive as well. Aside form a nice bass hump that is par for the course at rock concerts, the response was notably smooth and not offensive in any way (except for the volume).
We were about 50 yards away from the speaker arrays that fed our section. But don’t try this at home folks. Your system would disintegrate in smoke. A truly fantastic night.
Marty
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