Boot Tracker, July 28th 2008, Giants Stadium, NJ (Travitz)

An early birthday party for Patti this second Giants Stadium night. And I must admit, I am one of those fans who really likes having her up there on stage. There's a certain dynamic between her and Springsteen that is exhilarating. Sparks fly... maybe not as sizzling and intensely as during the Tunnel of Love Express tour, but there certainly still is a certain dynamic between them. It carries a certain erotic quality that comes across especially well in the "Tunnel of Love" songs, but doesn't stop at that quality. When the missus joins the Boss on a song, like title track of that album, it always sounds to me like they are reaffirming their relationship and aren't scared to ask the difficult questions that come with the territory. It is a dynamic that would hard to act out when their hearts wouldn't be in it, which is exactly why it is so thrilling to watch or to listen to. Though Patti's voice doesn't work as well in every song, there are a select amount of songs that gain something. Especially "Out in the Street" and "No Surrender" always seem to gain quite a bit of depth with the female voice added.

Ironically, or maybe a blessing for the people out there that aren't as big a fans, Patti's voice is one of the things that doesn't come across very well on this second Travitz tape. Her voice gets buried in a rather bass heavy mix. Though the recording is enjoyable once again, quite a bit of subtlety gets lost. So while we can enjoy Stevie's soulful belting on "Two Hearts," Patti gets drowned a bit. On an aside, I have always been curious how that song would sound as a duet with miss Scialfa. Maybe the song would a get too mushy, while right now it still stands as song that underscores the nearly mythical brotherhood that is such an important part of the E-Street Band's appeal. How much that sense of companionship and family is a part of the band perhaps became clear when Max's son Jay Weinberg was allowed to step in for his old man on "Born to Run." Let me tell you, from the sounds of it, mighty Max produced some thunderous offspring. And is it just my imagination, or are those 'Boom ' Carter fills less of a struggle for Jay?

"Born to Run"

MP3 File

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Recording: 3- out of 5
Show: 4+ out of 5
Artwork: none