Confessions of a Fanboy

Springsteen Magic Tour Chronicles| Oct. 5 - Philly #1: No “Incident,” but Patti Gets Booed

Posted on October 6th, 2007 by Josh Hathaway

Welcome to your Magic Tour World Headquarters: Dedicated To Bruce Springsteen Fans Who Actually Like Bruce Springsteen

Memo to BruceFan: it’s bad form to boo a man’s wife. You just don’t do it. It’s wrong. Of course this is Philly, a town that once booed fuckin’ Santa Claus and cheered when Dallas Cowboy WR Michael Irvin was injured and feared paralyzed. I’m not going to say Philadelphia lacks class, but there’s something wrong with some people in that city and it extends to Springsteen fans.

The Magic tour resumed last night in Philadelphia, the second show of the tour. At the warmup shows and the tour opener in Hartford, Bruce and wife Patti Scialfa did a duet of a song from her new album. At the point where Bruce and Patti have sang together at other shows, Bruce began talking about her new album and there were audible boos from the audience according to some fan accounts.

What the fuck happened to this world?

I’ve admitted I’m not the world’s biggest fan of Patti’s singing, although I’ve come around on this point just a little. Even though I don’t go to the shows to hear her sing, she’s his wife and she’s part of the band. Booing her is rude and wrong. I’ve always thought there was decency at the root of all the passion Springsteen fans have for his music. I still believe that about most fans, but reaction to Magic and the first two shows of this tour has put some of that in doubt. I’m embarrassed for these people.

All right, so enough about a throng of tacky people. Let’s talk about the show. Bruce’s official web site is posting not only the set list that gets played, but the handwritten set lists Bruce makes out before the show. Sometimes
they’re one in the same, sometimes he calls an audible. Last night, he called audibles from the planned set list as well as mixing in some songs not played in Hartford.

Bruce played “My Hometown” in the slot where he had initially written down “Adam Raised a Cain.” That would have bummed me out. First, I don’t like “My Hometown” that much. Second, I’ve been saying ever since I heard “Radio Nowhere” that “Adam Raised a Cain” and “Ramrod” should be played nightly. So far, neither has been played. “No Surrender” was a nice call in the #2 slot behind “Radio Nowhere,” but I’d love to hear “Adam” there. The one that will really have fans tearing their clothes is that Bruce pulled “Racing in the Streets” from the first encore in order to play “Girls In Their Summer Clothes.” I like both songs. I’d have probably preferred “Racing,” but this is the Magic tour and “Summer Clothes” is a good song. “Candy’s Room” also made it’s tour debut.

Absent from the show was Philly regular “Incident on 57th Street.” We’ll have a full wrapup of tonight’s second show in Philly tomorrow. Here’s the full set list for Philly #1:

1. Radio Nowhere
2. No Surrender
3. Lonesome Day
4. Gypsy Biker
5. Magic
6. Reason To Believe
7. Candy’s Room
8. She’s The One
9. Livin’ In The Future
10. The Promise Land
11. Brilliant Disguise
12. My Hometown
13. Darlington County
14. Devil’s Arcade
15. The Rising
16. The Last To Die
17. Long Walk Home
18. Badlands