I almost didn't get to see the Boss this time out. St. Louis was announced as getting one of the original dates for his The River 2016 Tour. The day they went on sale, I didn't get up early and by the time I checked only nosebleeds were left. And it was "sold out" by the late afternoon.(I use that term loosely because the day of the March 6 show or a day before, I could have gotten tickets off Ticketmaster. Though nosebleeds again).
There were several reasons for this, one he was playing in Chaifetz Arena, instead of Scottrade Center, due to them having the Arch Madness tournament going on that weekend and Chaifetz holds half of what Scottrade does. That and St. Louis has increasingly seen a lot of quick "sell-outs" recently, which to me means the legal scalpers and secondary sites are getting most of them right-away.
Another key factor was there was only sixteen or so dates originally announced, which meant people all over the country might be planning a trip to see it. Not to mention people from Kansas City.
Lo and behold, a month of two later, more dates were added and K.C. got a date. The night before they went onsale, I made sure I knew my passwords for the AXS ticket site and my internal clock got me up in time. I played around for forty minutes or so until I got seats 17 rows up on the side and in the closest or next closest section towards the stage. I was gonna see the Boss and the E Street Band in 2016 after all.
Me and dad arrived about an hour before the actual start time, mainly because he couldn't find Popeye's. He passed up one in Oak Grove and then had to settle for a hot dog and soda at the Sprint Center. He's still trying to get to pay the $11 for that. Not gonna happen.
We also failed to find the proper exit, even though we'd been there three times previous. It's a quick short exit, but we missed it and had to do some back and forths. We did the same thing leaving, though more from not having a proper exit to I-70, and I wound up in Kansas, leaving the state for the first time in at least five years. The last time I can for sure remember leaving Missouri, was in similar fashion after me and my brother saw Pearl Jam in St. Louis. We didn't make a good exit and wound up taking a detour into Illinois.
Bruce and the band hit the stage a few minutes after 8. Their entrance two by two(sans Patty, who's never been at the four shows I've seen) until Bruce comes out with house lights up, is not quite as powerful as the past, with the house lights getting turned out all at once and the stage lights not coming on until after the first notes are played. The opening song and The River outtake Meet Me in the City is a strong opener, up tempo and catchy. He also threw in some ad libs to Kansas City, about "where the crazy little women were at." Then, Bruce gave us the standard intro to the album about being about, "love, marriage, sex...I wanted to write about everything.
I'll admit, though I got the River Deluxe Box Set, I haven't given the album a proper listen, though know most of the songs. It's a challenge playing a 20 song double album in concert, which clocked in close to two hours. Overall it was a great experience, but with so many ballads and lesser known material it can be a struggle for audiences.
And at the Sprint Center it was no different, which with previous Kansas City concerts, I've been they've been pretty laconic and mellow. The crowd was into it with the faster paced and rocking numbers and would sit down and take in the ballads and slower numbers. Crush on You, You Can Look, Out in the Street, Cadillac Ranch,(Which, he sing, "...in the Kansas night." Wrong state) and Ramrod were kick ass and he had the crowd's full attention.
The middle part of the album performance, seemed to sag down the show. With the opening songs, it felt like it breezed by, until around I Wanna Marry You. The funny thing was by the time the last five, four of which were slower ballads, came around I felt they came off better. Fade Away and the Price You Pay, were two of the stronger parts. Maybe, I just knew the album portion was about down.
But as soon the River portion, was done, it was an apparent audible into Badlands, which got the crowd pumped again and kept them up the rest of the show. There was another audible to Candy's Room, but no real surprises the rest of the way, save for The Rising not being played. The first time out of four that he hasn't played it. But She's the One has made it all four times.
By the time he hit Thunder Road, I knew it was pretty close to E-Street auto pilot the rest of the way. I discussed with my dad, that he might play a Merle Haggard tribute song, but alas it didn't come to pass. I was mostly hoping for a surprise or song or two I've never seen. He did do Bobby Jean along with Shout, which fulfilled that. Well, in addition to the 17 on the River I'd never seen, plus the opener.
Overall, I'd say the last Kansas City show was better and probably my favorite of the four shows I've seen.(If I'd been a bigger fan at the time, the St. Louis 2008 show would have probably blown me away.) The album while good and gave me two of my favorites, in Two Hearts and Cadillac Ranch, which I'd never seen live, lose some of the randomness and uniqueness of a Bruce show. He didn't play any sign requests. Then again, I think I saw just a handful, Crush on You, Lucky Town, Death to My Hometown and something else that I can't remember. Also, apart from a few intros during the River, there wasn't much rapport with the audience, save for the band intros during Shout and the foodbank shout out before Born to Run.
One cool sign that did get rewarded, was one that read, 'Weinberg's a Badass! Max after the band lineup walked over and gave that person his drumsticks. I've think I've said it every time I've seen him, but Max is well...a Badass. He's probably the hardest working man in show business, when playing with the Boss.
It was a good show and definitely worth it. And I'm sure if I wasn't a set list watcher and reader on Backstreets, I'd have enjoyed everything a lot more. And I'm hoping of course for one more run of shows in the future....
Set List
Meet Me in the CityThe Ties That Bind
Sherry Darling
Jackson Cage
Two Hearts
Independence Day
Hungry Heart
Out in the Street
Crush On You
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
I Wanna Marry You
The River
Point Blank
Cadillac Ranch
I'm a Rocker
Fade Away
Stolen Car
Ramrod
The Price You Pay
Drive All Night
Wreck on the Highway
Badlands
No Surrender
Candy's Room
Because the Night
She's the One
Backstreets
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Shout
Bobby Jean
KC Star Review and Backstreets Review
