Though our last two articles looked at some of the lesser known acts at Jazz Fest, let’s face it – it’s the headliners that get us through the door at these events. It’s their incredible and anticipated sets that we spend the day holding our breath for, while we enjoy weeks of anticipation in the leadup. Few acts come bigger, especially in America, than Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and without question he was the biggest attraction over both weekends, followed closely by Eric Clapton on the first.
Bruce’s set was on the Saturday of the second weekend, which is traditionally the day that the biggest act plays, and thus sees the biggest attendance at the festival of the whole week (in 2012 this honour went to The Eagles). It was also, easily, the most talked about performance. He graced billboards, the covers of newspapers and was one of the feature stories on the local news that night. There’s a certain respect that Bruce and his band has amongst the general public in New Orleans. I asked a few people what it was about Bruce that made him such a loved figure, and the majority pointed to something I didn’t expect: Hurricane Katrina.
Less than a year after Katrina hit, while the news was still in sensational mode, the dead were still being counted and the cleanup had barely begun (it’s still continuing today in some areas), Bruce was one of the first major musicians to return to the city, at the first Jazz Fest following the Hurricane. Already he was the working man’s musician, but now in New Orleans he had garnered another level of respect entirely. There was this feeling in the air – and indeed vocalised in the conversations I had – that New Orleans had a special connection with Springsteen, and it’s a feeling that is reciprocated. Standing there and enjoying his 2 and a half hour PLUS performance at the event, you couldn’t help but get why the locals have such a particular affinity with the man.
But beyond that, the affection goes without saying. As we experienced in Australia barely 6 weeks ago, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are one of the finest bands on the planet. And every single show is different. From playing albums in their entirely to bringing on special guests and playing rarities no one expects, a show with the E Street Band is always going to bring with it surprises and a unique experience. Indeed, this is the third time I’ve seen the group in the last two years, and I’ve never been disappointed – nor do I feel like I’ve seen the same show twice. Hell, even the songs I’ve seen repeated seem like a new experience each time.
They are one of the finest bands on the planet. Hands down. And the Jazz Fest set brought with it all the surprises you could hope for. One might call it a very “jazz fest” set. More brass, more piano, more covers and more Fogerty. And a lot of songs that one would call “rarities”. Personal favourites were “Jesse James” and “Mary Don’t You Weep” with special guest Rickie Lee Jones, the Blind Alfred Reed cover “How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?” and the inclusion of “When the Saints Go Marching In”, which made sure you knew just where you were. And I can’t say enough good things about “The Ghost of Tom Joad”, which sees Tom Morello accompanying Springsteen on vocals! And of course there was surprise special guest John Fogerty for two Creedence songs in the encore… The only thing missing from the set was Little Steven, who was off filming a TV series.
What more is there to say? The full setlist from the performance is below.
Setlist:
High Hopes (The Havalinas cover)
Johnny 99
Badlands
No Surrender
Hungry Heart
Jesse James (Bascom Lamar Lunsford cover) (with Rickie Lee Jones)
The River
How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? (Blind Alfred Reed cover)
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
The Promised Land
Mary Don’t You Weep (Fisk Jubilee Singers cover) (with Rickie Lee Jones)
Shackled and Drawn
The Ghost of Tom Joad (with Tom Morello on vocals)
The Rising
Land of Hope and Dreams
Encore:
Green River (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) (with John Fogerty)
Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover) (with John Fogerty)
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
When the Saints Go Marching In (Cover)
Pay Me My Money Down (The Weavers cover)
Thunder Road
Stay tuned for the third and final part of our New Orleans Jazz Fest review series, featuring many more of the event’s headliners, from Alabama Shakes’ return to the stage and the epic Arcade Fire main stage performance.
Photo Credit: Douglas Mason
