CYAN MAGENTAYELLOW BLACK

•TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2008THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR G3

C M Y

CELEBRITY

The Big Guy on sax may be getting a tad frail and it’shard to look at Little Steven without seeing his Sopranos’ mobster TV persona, but the The Boss isstill The Boss.

Bruce Springsteen is a lot easier on the furniture.He doesn’t climb up the speaker columns anymore(because there aren’t any) and he keeps his feet offthose high-price keyboards. As a matter of fact, at 58,he does a lot more walking than running these days.

But it doesn’t matter.Last night he put on one of the better rock ’n’ roll

shows this town, or any other for that matter, will seein a long long time.

I haven’t had the good fortune of being in the audi-ence for a Springsteen/E Street Band performance inmore than 20 years. Back in those days the showseasily ran more than three hours, sometimes four,with a setlist of about 25 songs. The audience left al-most as exhausted as the Boss himself.

Last night’s show attended by some 17,500 fans atCopps Coliseum ran about two-and-a-half hours,but he still managed to cram almost 25 songs into it.The difference is less banter, some trimmed solosand no intermission. Tighter. More compact. Bril-liant. Garage rock at its finest.

Springsteen managed to run through the entire showwithout a break ... right into the incredible multi-songencore that featured the relatively rare and killer classicKitty’s Back (from The Wild, The Innocent And the EStreet Shuffle), plus the nostalgic Thunder Road.

But I digress. As old as The Boss (and his fans) maybe, this wasn’t some nostalgia show. Springsteenperformed some seven tracks from the new CD,Magic, that easily stands up to the classics. Living InThe Future, Long Walk Home, Last To Die and Devil’sArcade were all loaded into the back end of the show,sitting strongly next to well-established show stop-pers like The Rising and Badlands.

We got also got plenty of fan favourites like She’s TheOne, Born To Run, Dancing In The Dark, PromisedLand, Thunder Road and Because The Night.

This is street poetry as good as anything pop cultureoffers. But what makes it truly special is a work ethicthat surpasses anything else in the world of rock.

The fans paid more than $100 for a ticket andSpringsteen made sure they got their money’s worth,and more.

Nonetheless, there are some creaky spots. Sax player Clarence Clemons — lovingly known as

The Big Guy — is probably the best known of the EStreet gang next to The Boss himself. He can stillblow the pipes as he proved several times last night.At 66, however, you’ve got to wonder how muchlonger he can keep up with Springsteen’s pace — evenwith that big comfy take-a-break chair behind him.

Little Steven Van Zandt’s guitar has long playedsecond fiddle to those of Nils Lofgren and Spring-steen. And fans of The Sopranos know that VanZandt isn’t that “little” anymore. Still it’s nice tohave the rocker-turned-mob-actor along for theride. It wouldn’t be the same without his kerchiefedhead.

The E Street Band was missing two regulars lastnight. Springsteen’s wife Patti Scialfa was absent forher third straight show. And that’s understandable,it’s hard to run a family with both parents on theroad. Besides, I’m not sure if I really wanted to seeher perform one of her solo songs. We came forBruce, right?

Otherwise, organist Danny Federici is still off re-ceiving treatment for melanoma although Spring-steen said he expects him to return later in the tour.

Federici has been replaced by Charles Giordano,who worked with Springsteen on the Seeger Sessionsrecord and tour. Springsteen has still got a lot of rock’n’ roll in him and this E-Street tour looks like it’ll bestretching through the summer.

That’s great news because, let’s face it, it’s hard toimagine this band getting together for another recordand tour.

Can Clemons keep this up into his seventies?

grockingham@thespec.comor 905-526-3331

RON ALBERTSON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

A rapt audience soaks up Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert.

Glory Days:Springsteen doesn’t disappoint

RON ALBERTSON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band stalwart Stevie Van Zandt fire up the crowd at Copps Coliseum last night.

RON ALBERTSON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

The E Street Band chip in with some great support for The Boss, makingSpringsteen’s Hamilton show truly memorable.

RON ALBERTSON, THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR

Bruce Springsteen struts his stuff, revving up thefans with his special brand of music.

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GRAHAM ROCKINGHAM