Fargo 06 Novembre 1999
Boss
works the Fargodome
By Tom
Pantera
The
Forum - 11/07/1999
A Bruce
Springsteen concert makes you understand why some people would
travel across half a continent, to a city that's not exactly on
the way to anywhere, to see him for the umpteenth time.
Performing before 17,245 people at the Fargodome Saturday, the
bard of New Jersey worked the stage and worked the crowd for
three hours and through three encores, giving an unexpected twist
to his most famous song and bringing down the house with, of all
things, a song from a Michael J. Fox movie. And he appeared to
have a genuinely good time doing all that.
He came onstage at 8:16 p.m. wearing black jeans, a striped shirt
with the sleeves rolled up, a black vest and a huge grin. He
doffed the vest and dress shirt halfway through the concert, but
the grin kept reappearing.
Springsteen and the E Street Band started fast, warming up on
some less familiar numbers. But with the fifth song of the night,
"Darlington County," Springsteen really began playing
to the crowd, kneeling at the corners of the stage and holding
out the microphone to catch the sing-along crowd noise.
Springsteen also mentioned the one missing member of the band,
wife Patty Scialfa. "Patty sends her regards," he said.
"She perforated her ear on the airplane, so she couldn't be
here. But the boys are gonna do their best." Scialfa's
perforated eardrum caused postponement of two Minneapolis
concerts earlier this week.
The show was paced well, with slower numbers scattered throughout
the evening. "My Hometown" was an early emotional high
point in the show, with Springsteen wiping the sweat from his
brow as though it were tears, and leading another singalong at
the end. That was followed by a very pretty rendition of "The
River," highlighted by Clarence Clemons' saxophone solo and
Danny Federici's turn on the accordian.
The slower tunes also showed the versatility of Springsteen's
voice, which sounds somewhat higher and more piercing - even
sometimes sweeter - than you might expect.
It was an often joyous performance. After starting "Tenth
Avenue Freezeout," Springsteen launched into a long,
preacher-style monologue that included a Tom Jones imitation (he
called it "the ghost of Tom Jones," poking fun at
"The Ghost of Tom Joad," a song he did later in the
evening as a dedication to the Great Plains Food Bank). He
continued with the preacher rap, finally blending it into an
introduction of the band.
The singer really seemed to connect with the crowd. Part of it
was his lyrics. When he sang, "When I'm out in the street/Pretty
girls pass me by," you know most of the guys in the audience
knew that feeling. But there were other moments of pure
showmanship brilliance, like Springsteen handing his guitar to
somebody in the front row and letting him play a few licks during
"Working on the Highway."
And there also was the occasional unexpected twist, like his
acoustic blues version of "Born in the U.S.A.," which
was simply amazing, and his almost operatically intense
performance of "Jungleland."
Springsteen and the band ended the first part of the concert with
"Light of Day," written for a little-seen Michael J.
Fox-Joan Jett movie. It was the hardest rocker of the night and
drew a huge response, particularly when Springsteen worked the
word "Fargo" into the song, repeating it twice.
Springsteen performed four encores, one of which included "Born
to Run" and "Hungry Heart." "Should I Fall
Behind" finished with beautiful four-part harmony provided
by Springsteen, Clemons, Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren.
It's hard to believe, given Springsteen's native state's seedy
reputation, but it was a fine thing Saturday when The Boss
brought a little bit of New Jersey to the Fargodome.