Springsteen Finally Plays One For Levon

The first leg of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s Wrecking Ball came to a close tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Not only did The Boss bust out a song he hadn’t performed in 39 years, but he also led a singalong tribute to the late Levon Helm.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – The Weight

To start, the 17-piece band opened with the second No Surrender of the tour before tackling the newer We Take Care of Our Own and Wrecking Ball. Following the raucous Badlands and all the musician intros in My City of Ruins, Springsteen treated the crowd to the incredibly rare Bishop Danced. There are only nine known performances of this original by the New Jersey native and they all took place in 1973 – 39 years ago – making it the biggest bust out of Bruce’s illustrious career. Bruce wasn’t done yet with the rarities and dusted off It’s Hard to Be A Saint In The City for the first time all tour immediately following Bishop Danced. The rest of the main set saw a mix of Wrecking Ball numbers, greatest hits and a few underplayed gems in Candy’s Room and She’s The One.

05/02/12: Newark, NJ

  1. No Surrender
  2. We Take Care of Our Own
  3. Wrecking Ball
  4. Badlands
  5. Death to My Hometown
  6. My City of Ruins
  7. BISHOP DANCED (1st time since 1973, First ever Full E Street)
  8. It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City
  9. Jack of All Trades
  10. Candy’s Room
  11. She’s the One
  12. Shackled and Drawn
  13. Waiting on a Sunny Day
  14. The Promised Land
  15. Talk to Me
  16. Apollo Medley
  17. The Rising
  18. Lonesome Day
  19. We Are Alive
  20. Land of Hope and Dreams
  21. The Weight (Cover)
  22. Rocky Ground (w/ Michelle Moore)
  23. Born to Run
  24. Dancing in the Dark
  25. Rosalita
  26. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

[via Blog It All Night]

Following the bows that mark the end of the main set, The Boss grabbed a sign that said “Play 1 For Levon” and told the crowd about how much he loved Levon Helm’s voice. With that, Springsteen grabbed an acoustic guitar and started The Band classic The Weight as a tribute to Levon. The debut cover turned into a singalong, with the crowd handling all of the harmonies. All in all, the encore segment spanned six songs including the oft-requested Rosalita. The tour moves to Europe later this month and returns to this side of the pond in August.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Bishop Danced

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2 Responses

  1. 9th Bishop Danced ever:
    09/01/1973 USA,Boston,MA,Wbcn-FM Studios
    31/01/1973 USA,New York,NY,Max’s Kansas City
    01/02/1973 USA,New York,NY,Max’s Kansas City
    03/02/1973 USA,New York,NY,Max’s Kansas City
    04/02/1973 USA,New York,NY,Max’s Kansas City
    05/02/1973 USA,New York,NY,Max’s Kansas City
    19/02/1973 USA,New York,NY,Max’s Kansas City
    02/03/1973 USA,Berkeley,CA,Community Theatre
    (Dates above are day 1st, then month, euro style)

    But who cares! 39 years!

    Here’s another view of The Weight:
    http://www.americansongwriter.com/2012/05/bruce-springsteen-honors-levon-helm-with-the-weight/

    Thanks for the vids Scotty!

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