Bruce Springsteen @ Ricoh Arena, 3rd June 2016
“Bruce is relentless. Bruce is life. Bruce is eternal.” So says Noisey, and that is indeed how it seems. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have just completed their UK shows in May and June, which included a storming appearance at the Rich Arena in Coventry. The River Tour, which started in North American, began on 25th May with a show at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium and finished at Wembley Stadium on 5th June. The tour coincided with the recent release of ‘The Ties That Bind: The River Collection’, a comprehensive look at the era of the 1980 ‘The River’ album.
The original The River Tour began 3rd October 1980, two weeks before the release of Springsteen’s fifth album, and continued through to 14th September 1981. With sets that regularly approached the four-hour range, the 140-date international tour firmly established a reputation for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band as marathon performers.
‘The Ties That Bind: The River Collection’ includes 52 tracks on four CDs with a wealth of unreleased material and four hours of never-before-seen video on three DVDs. It contains the original ‘The River’ double album; the first official release of ‘The River: Single Album’; a CD of 1979/80 studio outtakes; a brand-new documentary about ‘The River’; and a coffee-table book of 200 rare or previously unseen photos and memorabilia, with a new essay by Mikal Gilmore. The set also includes a two-DVD film of never-released, newly edited multi-camera footage from a November 1980 show in Tempe, AZ.
Brumlive’s Andy Watson braved the Ricoh Arena to capture the The Boss on a tour with his nabd that garnered rave reviews throughout. The E Street Band’s members are: Roy Bittan – piano, synthesizer; Nils Lofgren – guitar, vocals; Patti Scialfa – guitar, vocals; Garry Tallent – bass guitar; Stevie Van Zandt – guitar, vocals; and Max Weinberg – drums; with Soozie Tyrell – violin, guitar, vocals; Jake Clemons – saxophone; and Charlie Giordano – keyboards.
Photographs: Andy Watson