He came, he saw, he conquered. &,
as a one-man show, it was unparalleled.
A once-in-a-lifetime event. On the way
home, I kept welling-up talking about
it ~ it was just that potent a gig.
~~
Latest News from The Plain Dealer
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN CONCERT
by John Soeder
Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic
Bruce Springsteen's phenomenal solo concert Sunday night at Cleveland State University's Wolstein Center began and ended with him playing pump organ.
"My Beautiful Reward" made for a spellbinding opener. The final encore was a left-field cover of "Dream Baby Dream" by post-punk synth-pop act Suicide.
Between those bookends, the Boss accompanied himself on acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica and piano. He even played banjo on "I'm on Fire."
"Matamoros Banks," "Jesus Was an Only Son," the conscience-pricking title track of Springsteen's latest album, "Devils & Dust," and other new songs were juxtaposed with a variety of highlights from his back pages, including "Racing in the Street," a transcendent "The Rising" and a fresh take on "The Promised Land."
It all added up to a magical show, clocking in at just under two-and-a-half hours. If you missed it, commence kicking yourself immediately!
Read Pop Music Critic John Soeder's complete concert review Tuesday in The Plain Dealer's Arts&Life section.
http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/print.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_plaindealer/archives/print061183.html
~~
John Soeder: Springsteen's Solo Tour Gives 'Devils' its Due
MUSIC PREVIEW
Sunday, May 15, 2005
John Soeder
Cleveland Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic
The "BROOOCE!" cheers gave way to BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! when Bruce Springsteen launched his solo tour last month at Detroit's Fox Theatre.
Pounding out a 4/4 beat with his boot, the Boss wailed into a harmonica and howled into a miniature microphone. What sounded at first like a gritty old blues tune turned out to be a Mississippi Delta-style overhaul of "Reason to Believe," a declaration of hard-earned faith originally found on Springsteen's 1982 album "Nebraska." (continued in depth ) http://carnageandculture.blogspot.com/2005/05/john-soeder-springsteens-solo-tour.html
