Tour by Bruce Springsteen | |
Associated album | The Ghost of Tom Joad |
---|---|
Start date | November 21, 1995 |
End date | May 26, 1997 |
Legs | 7 |
No. of shows | 128 |
Bruce Springsteen concert chronology |
The Ghost of Tom Joad Tour was a worldwide concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage in small halls and theatres, that ran off and on from late 1995 through the middle of 1997. [1] It followed the release of his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad . [2]
The tour represented Springsteen's first full-length, solo tour; [3] he traveled with only an instrument technician and a sound engineer. [4] As such it was a marked departure from the high-energy shows with the E Street Band that Springsteen had become famous for. [5] The album itself was quiet, dark, and angry, and Springsteen presented it as such in the shows on the tour. [3] Older songs from Springsteen's catalog, such as "Born in the U.S.A.," were presented in very different, often harsh re-arrangements. [2] [6]
The result, especially in the tour's first leg of shows, was an uncompromising portrayal of pessimism; [7] Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that with the tour's performances, Springsteen "has taken his music to an extreme, a depressive's view of tedious, unending woe." [6] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "In contrast to past tours, which have been celebratory events tinged by introspection, Springsteen brought a sobering sense of solitude" to the shows of this tour. [2] By some of the later shows of the tour, however, Springsteen relaxed the mood a bit by interweaving a few new songs with an almost comedic bent. [7]
The tour began on November 21, 1995, at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey. [8] The first group of shows ran through the end of the year in major media centers such as Los Angeles, the San Francisco area, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston. [9]
After a winter holiday break, the show visited other North American cities in January 1996, including a stop in Youngstown, Ohio, due to "Youngstown" being the album track most (relatively) played on radio. [10]
February and March saw shows in Western Europe, [11] followed by a three-week break during which Springsteen attended the Academy Awards show in Los Angeles. The tour resumed in Europe through early May. [12]
A family man with three small children at the time, [13] Springsteen took off the summer of 1996 and then started again in the U.S. in mid-September, playing smaller markets and colleges, as well as local stops in Asbury Park and his old St. Rose of Lima School in Freehold, and finishing in mid-December. [14]
Another winter holiday break was taken, then in late January 1997 Springsteen took the show to Japan and Australia for three weeks. [15] In May the final leg started up; first Springsteen went to Stockholm to accept the Polar Music Prize, [16] then he toured Central Europe, seeing Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic, before concluding with additional shows back in Western Europe. The 128th and final show of the tour was on May 26, 1997, at the Palais des Congrès in Paris and was attended by hundreds of fans from around the world. [17]
While the Ghost of Tom Joad album was in the more acoustic, somber vein of his earlier Nebraska , it did contain some limited additional instrumentation and arrangements. Given that Springsteen was famous for his full-band, high-energy, crowd-rousing concerts, this tour was sure to be a surprising departure. Advertisements tried to make this clear, and all show tickets were printed with Solo Acoustic Tour on them [18] to give audiences a firm understanding of what to expect.
Due to the small venues played on the tour, often in the 2,000–3,000 capacity range, tickets were often hard to get, creating a "ticket scalpers' heaven." [19] Dave Marsh's Two Hearts biography assessed the tour as not expanding Springsteen's audience any, but helping to solidify it, especially in Europe.
The Asbury Park Press characterized a November 1995 Count Basie Theatre show as Springsteen "spinning his acoustic tales of desperation and hope ... he played with power and poise ... The lyrics are bleaker than usual for Springsteen and the music reflects the solemn mood." The New York Times said a December 1995 Beacon Theatre show "easily qualifies as the most earnest concert of the year," that "Where [Springsteen] once saw open highways, he now sees roads to nowhere," and that "Springsteen turned in a painstaking and convincing performance. But with that material, he has turned himself into nearly a one-note performer." [6] The Washington Post , on the other hand, found a December 1995 DAR Constitution Hall performance showing strains of the "sense of triumph" that Springsteen's previous work had evoked, although his physical appearance made him "look more like the custodian at Constitution Hall than the star attraction." [20]
The collection Hard Travelin': The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie, edited by Robert Santelli and Emily Davidson, found praise for the tour, saying the album's songs gained onstage and that the shows, "although hushed and void of the anthemic rockers that made him the greatest performer that rock has ever known, managed to bring Woody Guthrie back to life again." [5] Jimmy Gutterman's Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen criticized the first leg of the tour for producing "the most dour performances of his career". [3] However Guterman praised later legs that incorporated new material that was "sly, low-key, and funny." [7]
Portions of the December 8 and December 9, 1995, shows from Philadelphia's Tower Theater were later broadcast on the syndicated Columbia Records Radio Hour on U.S. album-oriented rock stations.
Several shows were released as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archives:
Date | City | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
North America | |||
November 22, 1995 | Red Bank | United States | Count Basie Theatre |
November 26, 1995 | Los Angeles | Wiltern Theatre | |
November 27, 1995 | |||
November 29, 1995 | Berkeley | Berkeley Community Theatre | |
November 30, 1995 | |||
December 3, 1995 | Rosemont | Rosemont Theatre | |
December 5, 1995 | Washington, D.C. | DAR Constitution Hall | |
December 6, 1995 | |||
December 8, 1995 | Upper Darby | Tower Theater | |
December 9, 1995 | |||
December 12, 1995 | New York City | Beacon Theatre | |
December 13, 1995 | |||
December 15, 1995 | Boston | Orpheum Theatre | |
December 16, 1995 | |||
December 17, 1995 | New York City | Beacon Theatre | |
January 7, 1996 | Montreal | Canada | Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier |
January 8, 1996 | Toronto | Massey Hall | |
January 10, 1996 | Detroit | United States | Fox Theatre |
January 11, 1996 | |||
January 12, 1996 | Youngstown | Stambaugh Auditorium | |
January 16, 1996 | Cleveland | Cleveland Music Hall | |
January 17, 1996 | |||
January 18, 1996 | St. Louis | Fox Theatre | |
January 22, 1996 | New Orleans | Saenger Theatre | |
January 23, 1996 | Houston | Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts | |
January 25, 1996 | Austin | Austin Music Hall | |
January 26, 1996 | Dallas | Bronco Bowl | |
January 28, 1996 | Atlanta | Fox Theatre | |
Europe | |||
February 12, 1996 | Frankfurt | Germany | Alte Oper |
February 14, 1996 | Dresden | Kulturpalast | |
February 15, 1996 | Munich | Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle | |
February 17, 1996 | Hamburg | Congress Centrum Hamburg Halle 1 | |
February 18, 1996 | Düsseldorf | Philipshalle | |
February 21, 1996 | Paris | France | Le Zénith |
February 22, 1996 | |||
February 25, 1996 | Rotterdam | The Netherlands | De Doelen |
February 26, 1996 | Amsterdam | Koninklijk Theater Carré | |
February 28, 1996 | Manchester | England | Manchester Apollo |
February 29, 1996 | Birmingham | Symphony Hall | |
March 2, 1996 | Newcastle | Newcastle City Hall | |
March 3, 1996 | Edinburgh | Scotland | Edinburgh Playhouse |
March 13, 1996 | Stockholm | Sweden | Cirkus |
March 14, 1996 | Oslo | Norway | Oslo Spektrum |
March 16, 1996 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Falkoner Salen |
March 19, 1996 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | King's Hall |
March 20, 1996 | Dublin | Ireland | Point Theatre |
April 10, 1996 | Rome | Italy | Auditorium Santa Cecilia |
April 11, 1996 | Milan | Teatro Smeraldo | |
April 13, 1996 | Genoa | Teatro Carlo Felice | |
April 16, 1996 | London | England | Royal Albert Hall |
April 17, 1996 | |||
April 19, 1996 | Berlin | Germany | ICC Berlin Halle 1 |
April 20, 1996 | Antwerp | Belgium | Koningin Elisabethzaal |
April 22, 1996 | London | England | Royal Albert Hall |
April 24, 1996 | Brixton Academy | ||
April 25, 1996 | |||
April 27, 1996 | Royal Albert Hall | ||
April 30, 1996 | Strasbourg | France | Salle Erasme |
May 1, 1996 | Brussels | Belgium | Palais des Beaux-Arts |
May 2, 1996 | Zürich | Switzerland | Kongresshaus Zürich |
May 6, 1996 | Barcelona | Spain | Teatro Tivoli |
May 7, 1996 | |||
May 8, 1996 | Madrid | Palacio de Congresos Y Exposiciones | |
North America | |||
September 16, 1996 | Pittsburgh | United States | Benedum Center |
September 18, 1996 | Wallingford | Oakdale Theatre | |
September 19, 1996 | Providence | Providence Performing Arts Center | |
September 24, 1996 | Kalamazoo | James W. Miller Auditorium | |
September 25, 1996 | Akron | E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall | |
September 26, 1996 | Ann Arbor | Hill Auditorium | |
October 1, 1996 | Normal | Braden Auditorium | |
October 2, 1996 | Milwaukee | Riverside Theater | |
October 3, 1996 | Minneapolis | Northrop Auditorium | |
October 15, 1996 | Salt Lake City | Abravanel Hall | |
October 16, 1996 | Denver | Paramount Theatre | |
October 17, 1996 | |||
October 19, 1996 | Albuquerque | Kiva Auditorium | |
October 21, 1996 | Tempe | Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium | |
October 22, 1996 | San Diego | Civic Theatre | |
October 23, 1996 | Fresno | William Saroyan Theatre | |
October 25, 1996 | Santa Barbara | Arlington Theatre | |
October 26, 1996 | San Jose | Event Center Arena | |
October 28, 1996 | Portland | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall | |
October 29, 1996 | Seattle | Paramount Theatre | |
November 8, 1996 | Freehold | Saint Rose of Lima School | |
November 12, 1996 | Buffalo | Shea's Performing Arts Center | |
November 13, 1996 | Syracuse | Landmark Theatre | |
November 14, 1996 | Lowell | Lowell Memorial Auditorium | |
November 19, 1996 | Memphis | Ellis Auditorium | |
November 20, 1996 | Louisville | The Louisville Palace | |
November 21, 1996 | Indianapolis | Murat Theatre | |
November 24, 1996 | Asbury Park | Paramount Theatre | |
November 25, 1996 | |||
November 26, 1996 | |||
December 2, 1996 | Sunrise | Sunrise Musical Theater | |
December 3, 1996 | |||
December 5, 1996 | Columbia | Township Auditorium | |
December 6, 1996 | Birmingham | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Concert Hall | |
December 10, 1996 | Cincinnati | Music Hall | |
December 11, 1996 | Columbus | Veterans Memorial Auditorium | |
December 12, 1996 | Nashville | Ryman Auditorium | |
December 14, 1996 | Charlotte | Ovens Auditorium | |
Japan | |||
January 27, 1997 | Tokyo | Japan | Kokusai Forum Hall |
January 29, 1997 | |||
January 30, 1997 | |||
January 31, 1997 | |||
Australia | |||
February 4, 1997 | Brisbane | Australia | QPAC Concert Hall |
February 5, 1997 | |||
February 7, 1997 | Sydney | Capitol Theatre | |
February 8, 1997 | |||
February 10, 1997 | |||
February 11, 1997 | |||
February 12, 1997 | |||
February 15, 1997 | Melbourne | Palais Theatre | |
February 16, 1997 | |||
February 17, 1997 | |||
Europe | |||
May 6, 1997 | Vienna | Austria | Austria Center Vienna |
May 7, 1997 | |||
May 9, 1997 | Warsaw | Poland | Sala Kongresowa |
May 10, 1997 | |||
May 12, 1997 | Prague | Czech Republic | Congress Center |
May 15, 1997 | Lyon | France | Auditorium Maurice Ravel |
May 16, 1997 | Montpellier | Berlioz Opera House | |
May 18, 1997 | Nice | Acropolis | |
May 19, 1997 | Toulon | Zénith Omega | |
May 21, 1997 | Florence | Italy | Teatro Verdi |
May 22, 1997 | Naples | Teatro Augusteo | |
May 25, 1997 | Paris | France | Palais des congres de Paris |
May 26, 1997 | |||
Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
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Other
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Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", he has released 21 studio albums during a career spanning six decades, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Springsteen is a pioneer of heartland rock, a genre combining mainstream rock music with poetic and socially conscious lyrics that feature narratives primarily concerning working class American life. He is known for his descriptive lyrics and energetic concerts, which sometimes last over four hours.
The Ghost of Tom Joad is the eleventh studio album, and the second acoustic album, by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on November 21, 1995, by Columbia Records. It reached the top ten in two countries, and the top twenty in five more, including No. 11 in the United States, his first studio album to fail to reach the top ten in the US in over two decades. It won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.
The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing career, the band included guitarists Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, and Patti Scialfa, keyboardists Danny Federici and Roy Bittan, bassist Garry Tallent, drummer Max Weinberg, and saxophonist Clarence Clemons.
"The Ghost of Tom Joad" is a folk rock song written by Bruce Springsteen. It is the title track to his eleventh studio album, released in 1995. The character Tom Joad, from John Steinbeck's classic 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath, is mentioned in the title and narrative.
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.
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. The tour was named the Top Small Venue Tour of 2005 by the Billboard Touring Awards.
The Rising Tour was a lengthy, worldwide, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in arenas and stadiums over 2002 and 2003. It followed the release of their 2002 album The Rising.
The Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Reunion Tour was a lengthy, top-grossing concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place over 1999 and 2000.
The Bruce Springsteen 1992–1993 World Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and a new backing band, that took place from mid-1992 to mid-1993. It followed the simultaneous release of his albums Human Touch and Lucky Town earlier in 1992. It was his first of four non-E Street Band tours. Later, Springsteen had more non-E Street Band tours, the Ghost of Tom Joad Tour, the Seeger Sessions Tour, and the Devils & Dust Tour. The tour was not as commercially or critically successful as past tours, due to poor reception of Human Touch and Lucky Town as well as changes from previous tours. According to Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, die-hard fans have informally referred to the backing band as "the Other Band".
The Tunnel of Love Express Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and featuring the E Street Band with the Horns of Love that began at the end of February 1988, four and a half months after the release of Springsteen's October 1987 album, Tunnel of Love. Considerably shorter in duration than most Springsteen tours before or since, it played limited engagements in most cities which fueled the high demand. The tour finally grossed US$50 million not counting merchandise. Shows were held in arenas in the U.S. and stadiums in Europe. A historic performance in East Berlin took place on July 19, 1988.
The River Tour was a concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band that took place in 1980 and 1981, beginning concurrently with the release of Springsteen's album The River.
"Fade Away" is a 1980 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen, accompanied by the E Street Band. It is included on his album The River, and the second single released from it in the United States, reaching the top twenty in both the United States and Canada.
The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album Working on a Dream. This was the first full E Street Band tour without founding member Danny Federici, who died during the previous tour in 2008, and the final tour for founding member Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011.
"The Angel" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from the album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. in 1973. It was also released as the B-side to Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light" single. The song was part of the demo that Springsteen recorded for John Hammond of CBS Records in advance of getting his first recording contract. At the time Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. was released, Springsteen considered it his most sophisticated song. It has had very few live performances.
"Youngstown" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. Although many of the songs on the album were performed by Springsteen solo, the lineup for "Youngstown" includes Soozie Tyrell on violin, Jim Hanson on bass, Gary Mallaber on drums, co-producer Chuck Plotkin on keyboards, and Marty Rifkin on pedal steel guitar. The song has also been covered by Kenny Greco, Blue Moon Rising, Show Of Hands, The Stairwell Sisters, Steve Strauss and Matthew Ryan.
"New Timer" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. Springsteen performs the song solo on the album, with only guitar accompaniment.
"Land of Hope and Dreams" is a 1999 song written by Bruce Springsteen and performed by Springsteen and the E Street Band. After being performed on tour and released on multiple live albums, a studio recording was released for the first time on Wrecking Ball in 2012.
The River Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in support of Springsteen's 2015 The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set and in celebration of the 35th anniversary of Springsteen's 1980 album, The River. The River Tour ended in September 2016. Subsequently, the Summer '17 tour in Australia and New Zealand continued the tour using the same promotional image from the original legs.
Springsteen on Broadway is a concert residency by Bruce Springsteen held at the Walter Kerr Theatre and St. James Theatre in New York City. The original residency at the Walter Kerr Theatre consisted of Springsteen performing five shows a week, Tuesday through Saturday. Preview performances began on October 3, 2017, followed by the official opening on October 12, 2017. The run was originally expected to conclude on November 26, 2017; however, due to high demand for tickets and issues with scalpers, additional dates were added through June 30, 2018. The show was extended a second time on March 20, 2018, extending the run through December 15, 2018. On June 7, 2021, Springsteen announced a limited 31-show run of Springsteen on Broadway at the St. James Theatre beginning on June 26, 2021, with additional performances through September 4, 2021.
The Springsteen and E Street Band 2023 Tour is an ongoing concert tour by American singer Bruce Springsteen and his backing band the E Street Band. The tour began on February 1, 2023, in Tampa, Florida; it marks the first time since 2017 that Springsteen and the E Street Band have toured together. The tour is scheduled to conclude on November 22, 2024, in Vancouver. Due to band member illnesses and Springsteen suffering his own health issues, twenty-four dates of the tour were postponed and were rescheduled for 2024. Four dates in May and June 2024 were also postponed due to vocal issues suffered by Springsteen.
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