Bruce Springsteen
(Wiltern Theater, Los Angeles; 2,136 seats; $27.50)
Heavy, yes. Yet in this context, one of his highly personal works of the last seven years, "If I Should Fall Behind," provided a much-needed glimmer of faith that so much of the new material discards. Until the performance of the cliche-ridden "My Best Was Never Good Enough" closed the evening, Springsteen essentially asked the audience to sit quietly in the dark and absorb his vision -- which it did admirably.
Springsteen has attained an appropriate level of maturity for this type of show; his rich body of work allows him to weave a coherent and consistent vision for 90 minutes without having the aura of a "hits unplugged" evening. As short as the show was -- by Springsteen standards -- so too were the stories between songs; the conciseness and somber nature of his comments blended well with the texture of the evening.
His new songs, inspired by John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" and Woody Guthrie's Dust Bowl ballads, are daring in their starkness; detailed stories of contemporary society along the Mexican border, as well as racism, drug-running and fatalism are all given deep exploration with exceptional quality.
Though too many songs start with name, address and societal rank, he gets to the dilemma quick. Most of these people have their roots in 1980's "The River" and '82's "Nebraska," yet Springsteen never appears to be repeating himself.
Springsteen did an excellent job of reinterpreting a number of songs. "Born in the U.S.A." got the greatest reworking, starting with a fierce slide-guitar rumble that grated against Springsteen's disgust-filled vocals; "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "If I Should Fall Behind" revealed heavy Dylan influences in the approach to guitar and harmonica, the vocal phrasing and, particularly in "Fall," a wanton disregard for self in the name of love.
A similar feel graces new song "The Line," a lengthy discourse on a San Diego border patrolman, as Springsteen ventures deep into Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" for inspiration.
For all the hopes of an E Street band reunion that this year's "Greatest Hits" provoked, Springsteen deserves kudos for staying true to his ideals and performing "songs that mean a lot to me." In this context, Springsteen remains a potent voice for a side of this nation that's not only ignored, it's barely acknowledged.
He restores a tradition that makes him sound more like a Texas troubadour than a Jersey rocker, but the field worker's shirt fits fine; his best work, actually, has always come when he has stepped outside of himself and presented another man's plight.
Springsteen at 45 delivers a mellow yet intense side that shows he's too wise and too young to give up storytelling for the sake of nostalgia.
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