Can't say it much better than this review from Backstreets.com does...but seeing Roger McGuin was incredible!
April 23 / Orlando, FL / Amway Arena Notes: More greatness in Florida. Tonight's was an energetic, unpredictable show, with the standard setlist (including much of Magic) all but thrown out the window. A tour premiere -- one of four -- started things off. When word of Tampa's Danny Federici montage started going around, the video tribute with a musical backing of "Blood Brothers," there was some initial confusion: was it the recorded studio version, or played live? Tonight, the Orlando crowd got both. After the montage, Bruce and the band revisited "Blood Brothers" in a new live arrangement, more akin to the Alternate Version on the Blood Brothers EP, a fierce performance with no question who it was for, especially as Springsteen repeated the singular "my blood brother."
"Spirit in the Night" was "for Dan," too, a very physical performance from Bruce, hanging every which way from the mic stand. And the oldies just kept on coming, with the tour premiere of "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" "Gonna test the band's memories," said Bruce, "We did 'Growin' Up' last night, and we're gonna try to get through this one." (Soon, he had reason to add, "I don't remember it!") "Prove It All Night" found Nils reaching new heights and even finding new sounds on his solo, wowing veryone, Bruce and the band included.
"Fire" was the local radio pick-a-song contest winner, giving Springsteen occasion for his longest, funniest banter to date on this tour. "This is what puzzles me," he said about the contests, mention of which got little to no reaction from the crowd, "Every time I mention it, every one says I don't know!... This was a management decision." He also gave a history of the song, saying he originally wrote it for Elvis and jumped the Graceland wall with Steve to try to get it to him ("Don't go trying that at my house, now!"), recalling covers by the Pointer Sisters and Robert Gordon, and highly recommending the latter's "All for the Love of Rock & Roll" wih his band Tuff Darts ("Go home and look it up on your damn thing," Bruce said, miming fingers on a keyboard). And then there was Babyface's "Fire" cover: "The best version I ever heard. I was sure it was a hit -- I ran out and bought a new car. But the cruel vicissitudes of rock 'n' roll... it wasn't. I should have been sitting on the beach with my new car parked at the curb."
"Lost in the Flood" up next -- forget talk, all action. This one killed, as did Bruce's solo.
In the encore, perhaps the biggest treat of the night, "the incredible Roger McGuinn" joined the band for two songs. Bruce set the bar high with his introduction, praising the Byrds leader for singlehandedly inventing Folk Rock, Space Rock, and for his profound influence on Bruce and the band. At 15, Springsteen said, on a little stero in his room, "I played that first Byrds album over 200 times in the dark." McGuinn did not disappoint, taking lead for "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and trading verses with Bruce on "Mr. Tambourine Man," a knock-out guest spot that was clearly a thrill for the band. Just one look would have told you Steve was in heaven, he and Roger playing matching black, 12-string Rickenbackers. "Some of the most beautiful music ever written and sung," Bruce declared, before offering up one of his own that could arguably fit that description. It was "Jungleland," an audible, played by request -- "Kitty's Back" was on the setlist, but with all those "Jungleland" signs, how could he not?
Setlist: Blood Brothers (Alt. Version) Night Radio Nowhere Out in the Street Spirit in the Night The River Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street? Candy's Room Prove It All Night She's the One Livin' in the Future The Promised Land Fire Lost in the Flood Devil's Arcade The Rising Last to Die Long Walk Home Badlands * * * Turn! Turn! Turn! (with Roger McGuinn) Mr. Tambourine Man (with Roger McGuinn) Jungleland Born to Run Dancing in the Dark American Land
