Bruce Springsteen with the Seeger Sessions Band

Palais Omnisport de Paris-Bercy, Paris

May 10th 2006

The Setlist :
  1. John Henry
  2. O Mary Don't You Weep
  3. Johnny 99
  4. Old Dan Tucker
  5. Eyes on the Prize
  6. Jesse James
  7. Cadillac Ranch
  8. Erie Canal
  9. My Oklahoma Home
  10. If I Should Fall Behind
  11. Mrs. McGrath
  12. How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?
  13. Jacob's Ladder
  14. We Shall Overcome
  15. Open All Night
  16. Pay Me My Money Down
  17. My City of Ruins
  18. Buffalo Gals (w/ Elliott Murphy and Garland Jeffreys)
  19. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
  20. Bring Them Home (If You Love Your Uncle Sam)
  21. When the Saints Go Marching In

               

I hadn't seen Bruce live since the excellent Rising Tour, and from the day I 1st listened to We Shall Overcome, I was expecting a very special, original and enjoyable evening.

The concert started around 8:35 PM, with a very dynamic rendition of John Henry, followed by an also efficient O Mary Don't You Weep.

Bruce shared the stage with Patti Scialfa, Soozie Tyrell, and an ensemble of 15 musicians and/or backing vocalists, including Cindy Mizell, who's been on tour with the Rolling Stones in North America and Japan back in 1989/1990. 

Despite the important amount of different instruments played together, the sound was very clear and surprisingly good considering the size of the venue.

Bruce was in a very good mood, and spent quite some time speaking to the audience in french, which was, as usual, very appreciated.

As usual in Paris, we had the Elliot Murphy gest spot, which took place during Buffalo Gals. This time, the surprise came from a 2nd guest : Garland Jeffreys.
Bruce introduced his 2 friends as songwriters who started in the same era as he, the "not-so-far seventies"

The evening's real treat songwise was Bring Them Home (If You Love Your Uncle Sam). This was a live premiere of an anti-war song Bruce recorded in 2003 with Billy Bragg, Ani DiFranco and Steve Earle for the The Songs of Pete Seeger, Vol. III CD.

This song and How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live? were very appreciated from the french audience.

The audience has been a great part of the show. I feared the record would not be welcomed very well, but I was wrong. Pay Me My Money Down ended the main part of the show with people singing and sometimes dancing like crazy.

If I should point out one dispointment for this concert that lasted over 2 hours and 20 minutes, it'd be the way the band performad the final song, When the Saints Go Marching In
It started very emotionally, and my disapointment was that it didn't go crescendo. It was a beautiful version, but it did not bring the audience to a final climax like
Pay Me My Money Down did.