Boot Tracker; March 31 2008 Vancouver

Vancouver is available for download from the Dime. I decided to haul this one in because of the already legendary "None But The Brave" request. A good starting point for an extra feature here on Boss Tracks reviewing live recordings. These days almost every Springsteen show gets recorded and released in some fashion. Not every recording is worthwhile chasing down for various reasons such as sound or set list. I'm going to try and shift through the madness of collecting some for you here.

The Vancouver show was blessed with an interesting set list featuring two tour debuts. That alone gives this recording a big plus. "Atlantic City" debuted with a fine performance, using the same arrangement he's been using since the Reunion tour. But the biggest surprise of all is "None But The Brave" of course. A true nugget in Springsteen's discography. An outtake for "Born In The USA", never before played with the E-Street Band and a request from a fan. How cool is that. According to this post on BTX it all happened backstage at a Foo Fighters show. I wonder if Dave Grohl is as much a fan of the Boss. But that's a beside. The rest of the show was filled with songs we've seen more of during the recent few show. The encores continue to be the surprise section of the show. "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" wasn't played again, but then again "Waiting On A Sunny Day" made it earlier into the set. There's only so much of the pop Boss some fans can take, so this will be a nice balance for them. The performance of "10th Av." is somewhat disappointing, "Rosie" on the other hand came out full force.

Sound wise this is a very nice bootleg to listen to. An audience recording, sound board recordings seem to be rare this tour, with especially Bruce's voice coming out excellent. Since his singing seems to be much fuller this tour that's a big plus. Although the instrument separation is decent on this recording, the sound is sometimes somewhat hollow and lacking in depth. Especially the songs that need that full wall of sound to be appreciated suffer because of that. Songs like "Born To Run" loose some of its punch. In short, this boot is great for those who were at the show and the semi completists. You'll probably give "None But The Brave" a few spins before it starts gathering dust.

Download Vancouver in MP3 format here.

Show : 4 out of 5
Sound: 4 out of 5
Art work: none

Review from the Vancouver Province
Pictures from the Vancouver Sun