Well, this doesn't suck:
The start-to-finish performance of an album in concert, despite having so much in common with the music format so many of us were weaned on, is a far different animal than a listening session with the LP or CD itself.
Great concerts thrive on internal mechanics, intentional peaks and valleys that, when done well, take the audience on a journey. Bruce Springsteen famously crafts that journey through setlist choices, dialing in the dynamics that make his concerts so electrifying, while also creating a narrative arc—more pronounced on some tours than others, but always present in some form—from the opening song to the encore closer.
Boys and girls, Mario might be turning into Maripoll.
#polldrivercomebacktour2k22?
Uh-oh.
What's your favourite version of "Can't Help Falling in Love"?
This version of "Can't Help Falling in Love" is my new favourite. Clarence's sax at the finish is a delight.
Fun show!
https://cantfindtickets.wordpress.com/2022/03/06/new-from-the-springsteen-archive-november-10th-2009-cleveland-oh-quicken-loans-arena/
I can confirm that Back In Your Arms is, indeed, magnificent.
That whole request sequence of the full band Red Headed Woman/Pink Cadillac/BIYA is the highlight for me so far.
For me, though, the full BTR performance hasn't blown me away like I hoped it would. The tempos sound a bit laboured and off in parts here. I know the Reunion era in general has seen an ongoing drop off in the tempo of the performances of the classic era material but I'm really noticing it here. She's The One sounds really sluggish to me. Jungleland too. These sound slower than the versions from the Hyde Park DVD which was a performance only a few months prior. Tenth Ave also isn't quite there for me.
Backstreets and Meeting, though, are superb.
I certainly never found the tempo drop as distracting on any of the other 2009 full band shows, or indeed even really thought about it. Perhaps it's just more noticeable on the BTR album due to the nature of the material? Maybe a slightly off night? Whatever, but so far I feel that this is the weakest of the full album performances (in the context of just the album part, not necessarily whole show) of all the 2009 full album Archive shows released.