There we were, young, loose, maybe a bit drunk on a summer night in the swamps of New Jersey...we had those hard-to-find $17.50 tickets. Back then you needed the luck to grab a seat. In truth, I went with scalper prices for a few of the Sports Arena shows around Halloween. It's criminal none of those 7 shows were recorded. But in life, we live with choices, as we do now and we did then. I can imagine the parking lot outside the arena, in the soft light of a summer Sunday night...girls and boys in t-shirts and sneakers, beers flowing. Back then we had no setlists to track on the internet, just the ever present now. That girl is looking at me, or is she not?? Have another beer, we are in the concourse upstairs tonight. Who cares about the seats when all you want is to be there. Yes, she was looking at me.
This recording is as massive as those memories, he's in fine form on the 9th night of the Jersey stand. I just put this on, hoping the feeling of the last two weeks will leave me. I really love these Born in the USA shows. Now we have 6.
My Father's House has never been a particular favourite of mine, but this version... I was captivated. Chalk up another win to the Archive series in getting me to re-evaluate stuff I might’ve over looked before.
That Prove It All Night which explodes out of the quiet No Surrender... brilliant version, love it.
What these shows demonstrate yet again is how much more powerful a 'less is more' approach can be to some of the rock songs. This compact Darlington County is much more fun than having an over long outtro which is just the same riff repeated. Same with Glory Days (ok, yeah, it's longer with the schtick on this tour, but it does it's business and finishes quick after that instead of that same riff just being bludgeoned to death for two or three minutes). This is probably the one thing I'd love to see on the next tour... the fun rockers pared back to a length where they are, well, fun.
Great posts, both of those. And you're still here.
If you're still here and we're still here, they're still here.
I can't decide what means more to me than Nebraska/Trapped from 8/6 or RTB/MFH from 8/19...
Kinda like the chicken or the egg. One hand you have someone isolated who explodes, then on the other hand, lost and misguided faith while being afraid of the man who is to protect you from those bumps in the night or the monster in the woods.
Just an odd thought.
My Father's House is so beautiful and haunted. As he sings I can see the black and white footage in my mind. He is a master, and now another example. God, this music saves me each and everytime.
What a show!!! I am playing it again now. Best of the '84 shows released so far...
What I find most interesting about the 84/85 shows is that he is speaking about certain things to a wide audience. Themes related to misused faith (Reason to Believe) and Child abuse (My Father's house) these things were not easy to explain while simultaneously being on the cover of People magazine. He had all that exposure to all those new fans in these audiences. He used it for good and of course created the working man image we all loved in those days...sad to say the bloom is off that rose.
Plus, we are only 5 or 6 shows away from the beginning of the tour. When the tour comes to an end sometime in 2024, we'll all be dying to hear an archive release. 😊
I understand the fatigue feeling, and I don't believe that it is something we should be ashamed of, it doesn't have to be a taboo... Let's talk about it. How much Bruce is too much Bruce? I can get fed up with him temporarily, but it doesn't jeopardize the unconditional love for his music. It's engraved someplace deep... I downloaded the show and was relatively untouched all the way through Thunder Road. Then he had me once again...
Just finished listening to the show and I loved every bit of it. Badlands is insanely powerful, it gave me goosebumps. But My Father's House is guaranteed to make me emotional, and the introduction story added a lot to the performance. A gorgeous moment.
Darkness was amazing, one of my very favourite performances of the song in the whole archive series. Bruce's voice is incredible. And man, I never tire of hearing those horns on Tenth.
A great, great show overall. The Born In The U.S.A. tour really was something else, the band was spectacular night after night. I hope we get more from this tour in the future.
And Adam, I always love reading your posts, for what it's worth. I hope you keep sharing what you have to say here and I can't wait to read it all. 🙂
I suppose I should say something about the release. Well, I will once I purchase it and have a chance to listen in a day or so.
I must sheepishly admit that I may be getting some Archive series fatigue. These suckers drop overnight Friday night into Saturday morning Adelaide time... I usually get up the first Saturday morning of the month, quickly check out our forum here to see what's been released, then fire up the laptop to download the latest offering.
Some months now, I find myself waiting a few days before doing so. There's no question I won't get it eventually, but I've now worked out that with family commitments etc I'm not going to listen to the whole thing straight away.. in fact, most shows take me a week or so to get through and then due to the sheer weight of the riches we now have, many of them stay repeat unlistened to.. to the point I will suddenly go, 'holy crap, when did this come out?' when scanning through what I have.
I guess being a bit time poor in terms of being able to devote time to just music listening, I've found myself gravitating towards my favourite shows more and more. If I have an hour to spare, I'm more likely to whack on Stockholm 88, Leeds 2013, LA 99, LA 85, one of the December 1980 shows... the things that have become my utter favourites. I want instant gratification, dammit, not waiting to see if this latest version of, say, Darkness will suddenly become my favourite.
I don't know, I probably haven't articulated this right... but it's almost like this series has become too much for me at times now. (Well, good luck telling that to the 18 year old version of me who was listening to 75-85 and reading the brilliant Blinded By The Light book and dreaming of hearing all this amazing music they were talking about... that your jaded 52 year old self wouldn't be grabbing this stuff at the first instance he could. 18 year old me was a wimpy nerd, but he'd slap 52 year old me around something fierce on this point).
Rick said it with all the appropriate words, but I'd love to add something. When I'm having a bad day, or feeling low, seeing people posting here always snaps me back, making me feel better and safer. It's a shelter, this forum, and it's good to keep in mind that sometimes we post here while we are troubled and wounded, and this is the actual value of this little community. It's a cool space with lots of love, tolerance, and genuine feedback. Adam, I love your direct and spontaneous posts, love it when you let your emotions run the keyboard. Positive or negative, I can always feel exactly what you are saying. Don't go.
@Buddhabone
Okay, brother, I want you to listen and hear me. You're the second person in the last month to say they think they killed the board. I'll tell you the same thing I told them - this board has a very small community and it gets quiet for periods of time. If only three or four of us are busy or otherwise occupied at the same time, the board can appear dead. It's been quiet around here the last few months for no reason other than some of us have been preoccupied or away.
Now, I'll tell you something meant just for you. You're vital here. Everyone is vital here because we're small. You bring life to the forum, you share honest emotions and you have a purpose here. You're a free man and you can leave anytime you like, but you'd be doing us all a great disservice and you ain't going nowhere.
I've been at work all day, waiting to get home and listen to the show and comment here. Having seen your post, my comment on this show is that it reminds me that this music made a worldwide community out of strangers and that you are part of it. You're part of us.
Now, shake yourself loose and find some reason to believe.
If you need someone to talk to, I stay up very, very late. 951-226-4121
I think I killed the board. Sorry people. I think I am gone.
Darkness is the best Born in the USA version I have heard.
It's a really good show...I love the shows from later in the Fall with a bigger, more defined Nebraska section, but its fantastic and it sounds great.
Listening now to Reason to Belive and then My Father's house. Incredible.
He knows how to do this, and in 1984, he really was good.
The story prior to MFH just gutted me. The idea of running through the woods to make it home, then being afraid of what the old man is going to say as you pass him in the kitchen. One of the many things that bind me and Bruce together are those stories and fearing our fathers. I don't think that was part of his trick, it's too truthful and raw.
Now on to Cover Me, another amazing one.