Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour
Encyclopedia
The Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour, afterward sometimes referred to simply as the Sessions Band Tour, was a 2006 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen
and The Sessions Band
playing what was billed as "An all-new evening of gospel, folk, and blues," otherwise seen as a form of big band folk music. The tour was an outgrowth of the approach taken on Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
album, which featured folk music songs written or made popular by activist folk musician Pete Seeger
, but taken to an even greater extent.
as well as a promotional appearance there on ABC
's Good Morning America
. Then came a successful performance before a non-Springsteen crowd at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
on April 30, in a city still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina
; Springsteen voiced discontent over government handling of the aftermath of Katrina
, much to the satisfaction of the handkerchief-waving audience.
The tour's first proper leg then began in May with 10 regular concerts and one special television concert in Western Europe
; the first was at The Point Depot in Dublin on May 5. A return to the United States for the second leg saw 18 concerts from late May to late June, ending at the PNC Bank Arts Center
in Holmdel, New Jersey on June 25.
Springsteen said in various languages during the latter stages of the European leg of the tour, "See you in the fall!" Accordingly, the tour's third leg consisted of 27 shows in Europe again, during October and November. This leg was sometimes dubbed The American Land Tour 2006, after a new Springsteen song that was being played as well as the We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - American Land Edition reissue of the album. It began on October 1 at the PalaMalaguti in Bologna
, Italy
, and concluded on November 21, 2006 at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
.
No further American shows took place.
Material from the Seeger Sessions album dominated the set list
of the 2½ hour shows. Especially in the numbers played first, such as "John Henry
" and "O Mary Don't You Weep", the typically 18-strong band put up a huge sound, with a four-acoustic-guitar-led rhythm section creating a strong beat, punctuated by plenty of violin, banjo, and trumpet solos as well as multiple false endings. Audience participation was encouraged for the later "My Oklahoma Home" ("Blown away!") and sing-songey "Pay Me My Money Down
", while "Jacob's Ladder
" was musically illustrated by three or four key changes. The San Francisco Chronicle
wrote, "[Springsteen] used every trick in the trade to make these 100-year-old songs sound bigger than life."
To these album numbers Springsteen added more songs from the same cloth, such as Seeger's "Bring 'Em Home" (cast towards the Iraq War rather than the original Vietnam) and Blind Alfred Reed
's "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
" (with Springsteen writing new verses regarding New Orleans and Katrina).
On the first two legs, Springsteen also played from four to eight of his own songs per show. A few were straightforward versions of recent material, such as "Devils & Dust
", "Long Time Comin'", and "My City of Ruins
". Others were drastically re-arranged takes on old material, such as "Atlantic City
", "If I Should Fall Behind" (changed into waltz time), and "Ramrod". The most remarked upon of these was Nebraska
s "Open All Night
", whose already surreal lyrics about New Jersey's industrial landscape were brought to the level of a "showstopping rave-up" by being rapped against a big band
swing arrangement and a pseudo-Andrews Sisters female backing vocal trio.
On the third, European leg, the enormous reception the band had received earlier in the year was not lost in the larger shows, and with Springsteen's arrangements of over ten of his original works into folk-like performances to add to the ever-expanding repertoire of Seeger-influenced songs. "The Seeger Sessions Band [was] no longer the ragtag collection of fine individual players they were some months ago, but a tight unit here toward the end of the tour — a band," Backstreets.com reported. The shows were seen by many to be among Springsteen's absolute best. Late in the American leg, he had debuted the Irish jig-styled "American Land", which now closed many of the European shows. On November 11 at Wembley Arena
, the band debuted a new Springsteen composition titled "A Long Walk Home", which was a ballad about the current state of American politics
, which a special comments about the just-completed mid-term elections
having restored "some semblance of sanity" to the country.
, Manchester
, and Amsterdam
all selling out in ten minutes or less. Some of Springsteen's most devoted fans were now overseas, and Milan
and Barcelona
provided especially fervent crowds, some of whom were mass singing the new album's songs even before the show started.
When the shows returned to the United States for the second leg, however, mediocre or poor ticket sales became quite noticeable; PopMatters
talked of "the bizarre alternate universe that has swallowed Springsteen's strangely under-attended summer tour ... Rambling along languidly in almost clandestine fashion, it may take the prize for the Worst-Pitched Concert of the Summer." The shows were mostly booked in outdoor amphitheatre
s, and lawn areas as well as sections of seats were often deserted. Springsteen commented to the sparse crowd in Columbus, Ohio
, "We are not great in numbers, but we are mighty!" The Indianapolis
venue saw a "yawning green lawn (empty as it was)." A Milwaukee area venue, already cut down in size, was only about half full. For a show outside Chicago
, The Chicago Tribune reported that "Springsteen faced a sea of empty seats ... The 11,000-seat pavilion was barely half full, and the 17,000-capacity lawn was barren."
Yet despite attendance woes, the U.S. shows received almost universal praise from critics and concert-goers. While they were without the E Street Band
and do not include any of Springsteen's biggest hits such as "Born to Run
", fans were consistently kept on their feet singing along.
David Hinckley of the New York Daily News
wrote of the tour, "In Saratoga
Monday night, Springsteen kept a full house on its feet pretty much the whole show. No one left wishing for 'Born to Run'." Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe
said that the "homespun symphony of accordions and fiddles, pedal steel guitars, and joyful voices was filled with the irrepressible spirit that's the very essence of folk music." Dan Barry of The New York Times
, writing as an old folk music follower, described how "music exploded from the stage: rock and bluegrass, jig and reel, spiritual and swing, honky-tonk and acoustic blues... he raised his audience up with old songs and spirituals that he had infused with rocking urgency, then toyed with so that brass and guitar could harmonize, an accordionist could jam with the Boss, and a tuba player could know rock-concert adulation." The Chicago Tribute review quoted above went on to say, "The no-show Springsteen faithful missed a good one." Newsday
said the show had both high points and stumbles. And Reuters
' Erik Pederson wrote that even "without 'Born to Run' et al., this was Springsteen at his best – delivering impassioned, interactive, socially conscious music while never failing to entertain."
Explanations for the poor U.S. attendance varied, including two straight records without the E Street Band, aftereffects from the morose solo Devils & Dust Tour
the year before, and backlash from the political stances of the Vote for Change
tour the year before that. The most common reason offered was the title association with banjo
-picking Pete Seeger
, and the consequent (mistaken) impression that this tour was going to be dour folk music. As PopMatters said, "At first the idea of enduring a folk-powered evening of Pete Seeger songs made me want to sprint home and smooch my copy of Born in the U.S.A. ... And that's why this Seeger business is such an out-of-left-field surprise: against all odds, it's fantastically fun. Seeger's name is on the ticket, sure, but in Springsteen's hands the music gets an enormous, big-band, horn-powered treatment that can only be explained with commas: gospel, blues, folk, rock, and zydeco."
In any case, by the conclusion of the leg, things rebounded. Crowds were bigger and knew the material, and the final two New Jersey shows (which had sold out, although not right away) contained very enthusiastic audiences. Springsteen appeared quite grateful, and thanked the fans for "taking a risk by coming out to see us." He closed out the last American show with a "song that explains what we're trying to do ... not what we're trying to do – what we're doing", the 19th century circus ode and lament, "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
".
And, when tickets for third leg shows back in Europe went on sale in July, some shows such as those in Dublin sold out within minutes, and others sold out with unprecedented rapidity for music of this genre, usually unseen in arena formats, thus marking again a stark contrast in the tour's reception on the two sides of the Atlantic.
A year later, Springsteen rated the whole experience highly, saying that the Sessions Band were "a tremendous discovery, and just an amazing group of musicians," and saying that he looked forward to working with them again. "American Land" would retain prominence as the accordion-dominated show-closing jig in Springsteen's subsequent E Street Band Magic Tour
.
's St Luke Old Street
church, was filmed by the BBC
and also broadcast in the U.S. by PBS
.
In addition, performances sequences from the tour were included on the expanded DVD portions of the October 2006 We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - American Land Edition album reissue.
Three late-in-tour shows at The Point Depot in Dublin were filmed, to materialize in June 2007 on the Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin
DVD, Blu-Ray, and CD, a release whose title represented a belated removal of the Seeger connotation from the venture (and one that has been kept since). A 90-minute theatrical version played in various U.S. major cities on June 4, 2007, the day before the commercial release of the DVD/CD.
Scialfa missed a number of shows (especially in Europe) due to family duties.
Pender and La Bamba missed some shows, or parts of shows, due to Late Night with Conan O'Brien
commitments.
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
and The Sessions Band
The Sessions Band
The Sessions Band is an American musical group that has periodically recorded and toured with roots rock musician Bruce Springsteen in various formations since 1997.- History :The Sessions Band was first formed in October 1997...
playing what was billed as "An all-new evening of gospel, folk, and blues," otherwise seen as a form of big band folk music. The tour was an outgrowth of the approach taken on Springsteen's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
-Personnel:* Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, B-3 organ, and percussion* Sam Bardfeld – violin* Art Baron – tuba* Frank Bruno – guitar* Jeremy Chatzky – upright bass* Mark Clifford – banjo...
album, which featured folk music songs written or made popular by activist folk musician Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, but taken to an even greater extent.
Itinerary
The tour began on April 20, 2006, with the first of four rehearsal shows at Asbury Park Convention HallAsbury Park Convention Hall
Asbury Park Convention Hall is a 3,600-seat indoor exhibition center located on the boardwalk and on the beach in Asbury Park, New Jersey. It was built between 1928 and 1930 and is used for sports, concerts and other special events. Adjacent to the Convention Hall is the Paramount Theatre; both are...
as well as a promotional appearance there on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
. Then came a successful performance before a non-Springsteen crowd at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...
on April 30, in a city still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
; Springsteen voiced discontent over government handling of the aftermath of Katrina
Criticism of government response to Hurricane Katrina
The criticism of the government response to Hurricane Katrina consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and lack of preparation in the relief effort in response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Specifically, there was a delayed response to the flooding of New Orleans, Louisiana...
, much to the satisfaction of the handkerchief-waving audience.
The tour's first proper leg then began in May with 10 regular concerts and one special television concert in Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
; the first was at The Point Depot in Dublin on May 5. A return to the United States for the second leg saw 18 concerts from late May to late June, ending at the PNC Bank Arts Center
PNC Bank Arts Center
The PNC Bank Arts Center is a modern amphitheatre located in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, USA. About 17,500 people can occupy the amphitheater; there are 7,000 seats and the grass area can hold about 10,500 people. Concerts are from May through September featuring 35–45 different events of...
in Holmdel, New Jersey on June 25.
Springsteen said in various languages during the latter stages of the European leg of the tour, "See you in the fall!" Accordingly, the tour's third leg consisted of 27 shows in Europe again, during October and November. This leg was sometimes dubbed The American Land Tour 2006, after a new Springsteen song that was being played as well as the We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - American Land Edition reissue of the album. It began on October 1 at the PalaMalaguti in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and concluded on November 21, 2006 at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
No further American shows took place.
The show
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
of the 2½ hour shows. Especially in the numbers played first, such as "John Henry
John Henry (folklore)
John Henry is an American folk hero and tall tale. Henry worked as a "steel-driver"—a man tasked with hammering and chiseling rock in the construction of tunnels for railroad tracks. In the legend, John Henry's prowess as a steel-driver was measured in a race against a steam powered hammer,...
" and "O Mary Don't You Weep", the typically 18-strong band put up a huge sound, with a four-acoustic-guitar-led rhythm section creating a strong beat, punctuated by plenty of violin, banjo, and trumpet solos as well as multiple false endings. Audience participation was encouraged for the later "My Oklahoma Home" ("Blown away!") and sing-songey "Pay Me My Money Down
Pay Me My Money Down
A work song, "Pay Me My Money Down" originated among the Negro stevedores working in the Georgia Sea Islands. It was collected by Lydia Parrish and published in her 1942 book, Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands:Also known as "Pay Me" or "Pay Me, You Owe Me", it was performed by The Weavers...
", while "Jacob's Ladder
We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder
"We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder" is a spiritual, often used as a Sunday school song, Gospel song, or folk song, that depicts the Biblical story of Jacob's Ladder...
" was musically illustrated by three or four key changes. The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
wrote, "[Springsteen] used every trick in the trade to make these 100-year-old songs sound bigger than life."
To these album numbers Springsteen added more songs from the same cloth, such as Seeger's "Bring 'Em Home" (cast towards the Iraq War rather than the original Vietnam) and Blind Alfred Reed
Blind Alfred Reed
Blind Alfred Reed was an American folk, country, and old-time musician. He was one of the artists who recorded at the Bristol Sessions in 1927, alongside more famous names such as Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family...
's "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
"How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?" is an American folk song originally recorded on December 4, 1929 in New York City. It was written, composed, and performed by Blind Alfred Reed, accompanying himself on the violin. The song tells of hard times during the Great Depression...
" (with Springsteen writing new verses regarding New Orleans and Katrina).
On the first two legs, Springsteen also played from four to eight of his own songs per show. A few were straightforward versions of recent material, such as "Devils & Dust
Devils & Dust (song)
"Devils & Dust" is the title track on Bruce Springsteen's thirteenth studio album Devils & Dust, and was released as a single in 2005. Concerning the Iraq War, the song gained critical praise, a Grammy Award for Song of the Year nomination.-History:...
", "Long Time Comin'", and "My City of Ruins
My City of Ruins
"My City of Ruins" is a 2000 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, and included on his 2002 album The Rising.-History:The song was written in November 2000, for an Asbury Park, New Jersey Christmas show benefit to help promote the revitalization of the city...
". Others were drastically re-arranged takes on old material, such as "Atlantic City
Atlantic City (song)
"Atlantic City" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska, considered to be one of Springsteen's most dour albums in tone...
", "If I Should Fall Behind" (changed into waltz time), and "Ramrod". The most remarked upon of these was Nebraska
Nebraska (album)
-Themes:The album begins with "Nebraska", a first-person narrative based on the true story of 19-year-old spree killer Charles Starkweather and his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, and ends with "Reason to Believe", a complex narrative that renders its title phrase into contemptuous sarcasm...
s "Open All Night
Open All Night (song)
"Open All Night" is a song written and recorded by rock musician Bruce Springsteen, which first appeared on Springsteen's 1982 solo album Nebraska.-History:Of the 10 songs on Nebraska, "Open All Night" is the only one to feature an electric guitar...
", whose already surreal lyrics about New Jersey's industrial landscape were brought to the level of a "showstopping rave-up" by being rapped against a big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
swing arrangement and a pseudo-Andrews Sisters female backing vocal trio.
On the third, European leg, the enormous reception the band had received earlier in the year was not lost in the larger shows, and with Springsteen's arrangements of over ten of his original works into folk-like performances to add to the ever-expanding repertoire of Seeger-influenced songs. "The Seeger Sessions Band [was] no longer the ragtag collection of fine individual players they were some months ago, but a tight unit here toward the end of the tour — a band," Backstreets.com reported. The shows were seen by many to be among Springsteen's absolute best. Late in the American leg, he had debuted the Irish jig-styled "American Land", which now closed many of the European shows. On November 11 at Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena is an indoor arena, at Wembley, in the London Borough of Brent. The building is opposite Wembley Stadium.-History:...
, the band debuted a new Springsteen composition titled "A Long Walk Home", which was a ballad about the current state of American politics
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
, which a special comments about the just-completed mid-term elections
United States general elections, 2006
The 2006 United States midterm elections were held on Tuesday, November 7, 2006. All United States House of Representatives seats and one third of the United States Senate seats were contested in this election, as well as 36 state governorships, many state legislatures, four territorial...
having restored "some semblance of sanity" to the country.
Commercial and critical reaction
Both the album and the tour proved more popular in Europe than in the U.S. The first sign of domestic weakness came when the local Asbury Park rehearsal shows, placed in the very heart of Bruce fandom, were not completely full; in the past, these had been extremely difficult tickets to get. European shows, on the other hand, did very well, with for example shows in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
all selling out in ten minutes or less. Some of Springsteen's most devoted fans were now overseas, and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
and Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
provided especially fervent crowds, some of whom were mass singing the new album's songs even before the show started.
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
talked of "the bizarre alternate universe that has swallowed Springsteen's strangely under-attended summer tour ... Rambling along languidly in almost clandestine fashion, it may take the prize for the Worst-Pitched Concert of the Summer." The shows were mostly booked in outdoor amphitheatre
Amphitheatre
An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
s, and lawn areas as well as sections of seats were often deserted. Springsteen commented to the sparse crowd in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, "We are not great in numbers, but we are mighty!" The Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
venue saw a "yawning green lawn (empty as it was)." A Milwaukee area venue, already cut down in size, was only about half full. For a show outside Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, The Chicago Tribune reported that "Springsteen faced a sea of empty seats ... The 11,000-seat pavilion was barely half full, and the 17,000-capacity lawn was barren."
Yet despite attendance woes, the U.S. shows received almost universal praise from critics and concert-goers. While they were without the E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
and do not include any of Springsteen's biggest hits such as "Born to Run
Born to Run (song)
"Born to Run" is a song by American singer songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and the title song of his album Born to Run.- Songwriting :Written at in Long Branch, New Jersey in early 1974, the song was Bruce Springsteen's last-ditch effort to make it big. The prior year, Springsteen had released two...
", fans were consistently kept on their feet singing along.
David Hinckley of the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
wrote of the tour, "In Saratoga
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is an amphitheater in Saratoga Springs, New York, which presents summer festivals of all kinds of music , dance, and opera, as well as a Wine & Food Festival...
Monday night, Springsteen kept a full house on its feet pretty much the whole show. No one left wishing for 'Born to Run'." Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
said that the "homespun symphony of accordions and fiddles, pedal steel guitars, and joyful voices was filled with the irrepressible spirit that's the very essence of folk music." Dan Barry of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, writing as an old folk music follower, described how "music exploded from the stage: rock and bluegrass, jig and reel, spiritual and swing, honky-tonk and acoustic blues... he raised his audience up with old songs and spirituals that he had infused with rocking urgency, then toyed with so that brass and guitar could harmonize, an accordionist could jam with the Boss, and a tuba player could know rock-concert adulation." The Chicago Tribute review quoted above went on to say, "The no-show Springsteen faithful missed a good one." Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
said the show had both high points and stumbles. And Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
' Erik Pederson wrote that even "without 'Born to Run' et al., this was Springsteen at his best – delivering impassioned, interactive, socially conscious music while never failing to entertain."
Explanations for the poor U.S. attendance varied, including two straight records without the E Street Band, aftereffects from the morose solo Devils & Dust Tour
Devils & Dust Tour
The Devils & Dust Tour was a 2005 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage on a variety of instruments. It followed the release of his 2005 album Devils & Dust.-Approach:...
the year before, and backlash from the political stances of the Vote for Change
Vote for Change
The Vote for Change tour was a politically-motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed to encourage people to register and vote...
tour the year before that. The most common reason offered was the title association with banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
-picking Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, and the consequent (mistaken) impression that this tour was going to be dour folk music. As PopMatters said, "At first the idea of enduring a folk-powered evening of Pete Seeger songs made me want to sprint home and smooch my copy of Born in the U.S.A. ... And that's why this Seeger business is such an out-of-left-field surprise: against all odds, it's fantastically fun. Seeger's name is on the ticket, sure, but in Springsteen's hands the music gets an enormous, big-band, horn-powered treatment that can only be explained with commas: gospel, blues, folk, rock, and zydeco."
The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
"The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", originally published under the title "The Flying Trapeze" and also known as "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", is a 19th century popular song about a flying trapeze circus performer, Jules Léotard...
".
And, when tickets for third leg shows back in Europe went on sale in July, some shows such as those in Dublin sold out within minutes, and others sold out with unprecedented rapidity for music of this genre, usually unseen in arena formats, thus marking again a stark contrast in the tour's reception on the two sides of the Atlantic.
A year later, Springsteen rated the whole experience highly, saying that the Sessions Band were "a tremendous discovery, and just an amazing group of musicians," and saying that he looked forward to working with them again. "American Land" would retain prominence as the accordion-dominated show-closing jig in Springsteen's subsequent E Street Band Magic Tour
Magic Tour (Bruce Springsteen)
The Magic Tour was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2007–2008 concert tour of North America and Western Europe.The tour began October 2, 2007, in Hartford, Connecticut, and concluded August 30, 2008 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin...
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Broadcasts and recordings
Bruce Springsteen - The Seeger Sessions Live, a video recording of a May 9, 2006 performance in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's St Luke Old Street
St Luke Old Street (church)
St Luke is a historic Anglican church building in the London Borough of Islington. It is now a music centre operated by the London Symphony Orchestra and known as LSO St Luke's. It is the home of the LSO's community and music education programme LSO Discovery...
church, was filmed by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and also broadcast in the U.S. by PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
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In addition, performances sequences from the tour were included on the expanded DVD portions of the October 2006 We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - American Land Edition album reissue.
Three late-in-tour shows at The Point Depot in Dublin were filmed, to materialize in June 2007 on the Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin
Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin
Bruce Springsteen with The Sessions Band: Live in Dublin is a 2007 video and audio offering that captures in-concert performances from the Bruce Springsteen with The Seeger Sessions Band Tour recorded in November 2006 at The Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. The release consists of a concert DVD,...
DVD, Blu-Ray, and CD, a release whose title represented a belated removal of the Seeger connotation from the venture (and one that has been kept since). A 90-minute theatrical version played in various U.S. major cities on June 4, 2007, the day before the commercial release of the DVD/CD.
Band members
The band ranged in size from 17 and 20 members on stage, depending upon availability on a given night. About half the members had played on the Seeger Sessions album, while the other half were new.- Bruce Springsteen - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
- Marc "Chocolate Genius" Thompson - acoustic guitar, background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, some featured lead vocals - Patti ScialfaPatti ScialfaVivienne Patricia "Patti" Scialfa is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She is married to Bruce Springsteen and they have three children.- Early life :...
- acoustic guitar, background vocals, some featured lead and duet vocals - Frank Bruno - acoustic guitar, background vocals, occasional drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and washboardWashboardA washboard is a tool designed for hand washing clothing. With mechanized cleaning of clothing becoming more common by the end of the 20th century, the washboard has become better known for its originally subsidiary use as a musical instrument.... - Soozie TyrellSoozie TyrellSoozie Tyrell, , formerly known as Soozie Kirschner, is an American violinist and vocalist, most known for her work with Bruce Springsteen in the E Street Band.-Biography:...
- electric violinElectric violinAn electric violin is a violin equipped with an electronic output of its sound. The term most properly refers to an instrument purposely made to be electrified with built-in pickups, usually with a solid body...
, background vocals - Sam Bardfeld - violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Greg Liszt - banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
- Marty Rifkin - pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
- Charles GiordanoCharles GiordanoCharles Giordano is an American keyboardist and accordionist. Giordano is known primarily as the newest member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing keyboards and organ following the serious illness and subsequent death of longtime E Street organist Danny Federici in 2008...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist.... - Jeremy Chatzky - upright bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, occasional electric bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Larry Eagle - drums
- Lisa Lowell - background vocals
- Curtis King - background vocals
- Cindy Mizelle - background vocals
- Art BaronArt BaronArt Baron is an American jazz trombonist. He also plays didgeridoo, conch shell, penny-whistle, alto and bass recorder, and tuba.Baron is an alumnus of the Berklee College of Music...
- tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, occasional tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Eddie Manion - saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Mark PenderMark PenderMark "The Loveman" Pender is a trumpet player and vocalist who has played with Southside Johnny, Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen. Since 1993 he has performed on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien as a member of The Max Weinberg 7 and The Tonight Show Band...
and/or Curt Ramm - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg and/or Clark GaytonClark GaytonClark Gayton is an American multi-instrumentalist, musician, composer and musicians' rights advocate.-Biography:Born as Carver Clark Gayton Jr. to Carver Clark Gayton and Mona Marie Lombard, Clark Gayton is a professional musician , composer and producer.Clark studied music with Floyd Standifer,...
- trombone
Scialfa missed a number of shows (especially in Europe) due to family duties.
Pender and La Bamba missed some shows, or parts of shows, due to Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
commitments.