Just released is Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band‘s July 4th and 5th, 2012 concerts at Paris, France’s Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The double-shot release is from the 2012/2013 “Wrecking Ball” tour, which was the band’s first following the 2011 death of Clarence Clemons. In addition to “The Boss” and the band, the touring ensemble featured a five-man horn section, a percussionist, and three additional vocalists.
Back in 2012, when the band began rehearsals following the death of Clarence Clemons, it was guitarist Steve Van Zandt who passed the idea to Bruce Springsteen that going out on the road with a horn section might ease fans into dealing with the loss of the “Big Man”: “It took us a while to actually come to the conclusion that the horn section would work. And then, how do we adapt the show according to the horns — y’know, would the horns be useful enough to justify taking them out on a whole tour? Y’know, that’s a big decision. Uh, y’gonna be doing whatever the number is, 24, 26 songs a night, how many of those, y’know, will the horns be used in?”
At the time, guitarist Nils Lofgren told us that despite the loss of Clarence Clemons, the horn parts were alive and well on E Street and the band was thriving from performing with the new players: “We did a big tour (for) Tunnel Of Love, ‘had a great horn section we used a lot. So, it hearkens back to those days. It’s a really powerful tool and, y’know, between Bruce, of course, who’s a master bandleader and Steve (Van Zandt), who always did a lot of work with horns and helped arrange them, and of course, five great horn players, they’re puttin’ together parts. . . and they’ll evolve as always. Everybody’s parts evolve through the tour. That’s the beautiful thing about this band.”
The setlists for the E Street Band’s 2012 Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy releases are:
July 4th, 2012
La Vie En Rose
We Take Care Of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Badlands
Death To My Hometown
My City Of Ruins
Spirit In The Night
The E Street Shuffle
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Jack Of All Trades
Because The Night
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Johnny 99
Darlington County
Easy Money
Waitin’ On A Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Apollo Medley
Independence Day – Springsteen solo piano
The River
The Rising
Out In The Street
Land Of Hope And Dreams
We Are Alive
Born In The U.S.A.
Born To Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing In the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
American Land
July 5th, 2012
Au Clair De La Lune
The Ties That Bind
No Surrender
Two Hearts
Downbound Train
Candy’s Room
Something In The Night
We Take Care Of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death To My Hometown
My City Of Ruins
Spirit In The Night
Incident On 57th Street
Because The Night
She’s The One
Working On The Highway
I’m Goin’ Down
Easy Money
Waitin’ On A Sunny Day
Apollo Medley
For You – Springsteen solo piano
Racing In The Street
The Rising
Out In The Street
Land Of Hope And Dreams
We Are Alive
Thunder Road
Born To Run
Glory Days
Seven Nights To Rock
Dancing In The Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out