April 15 LA Sports Arena
By Smudge from Cypress, CA on 4/16/2009
Pros:
Crowd Was In To It, Engaging Stage Presence, Great Encores
I haven't seen Bruce since his megafest Born in the USA Tour at the Coliseum in 1985. An arena suits The Boss well and the Sports Arena was perhaps a nod to days when Bruce and the Band were killing it old school. A great setting for a city on hard times. Springsteen opens fittingly with Badlands and the crowd is totally into it. Bruce plays a game of the stump the band in which he's picking up "sign requests" from fans and picks a couple out of the bunch. He pulls Raise Your Hand and Spirit in the Night and the crowd is feelin' it. Besides the main pleasers like Born to Run, The Promised Land and and Tenth Ave Freeze Out, surprises of the night were when Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) joins Bruce for a steroid induced Ghost of Tom Joad. It was sick! Another highlight was Pete Seeger nod, American Land near the close of the encore. You didn't want the song to end. In typical Bruce fashion, he extolls the virtues of the LA Food Bank and then sends home a happy and rejuvenated crowd with Rosalita. Bruce and the E Street Band made good on its promise to bring a good vibe to LA. Check it out if you can tonight (4/16). Worth it!
