Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band perform at the New Orleans Jazz Fest in 2006.
At the Asbury Park Music and Film Festival, April 27, Bruce Springsteen said he was planning to release, in some form, a film of his April 30, 2006 performance at the New Orleans JazzFest. He considers that show, he said, to be among his Top 5, ever.
Today, he posted professionally shot clips of all 17 songs to YouTube.
The first clip comes with a written introduction. It says: “On April 30, 2006, Bruce Springsteen took the stage at the New Orleans Jazz Fest for the debut performance of his new group, Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band. The weight of Hurricane Katrina, which had happened only eight months earlier, could be felt everywhere in that great city, especially on the site of Jazz Fest. This is the live film of that legendary and premiere performance …”
A few notes:
• Though the show is described as a “debut,” he had, in fact, done four open-to-the-public rehearsal shows plus a performance for “Good Morning America” at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, from April 20 to April 26.
• The tour followed the release of his album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, featuring songs performed by Pete Seeger. Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of Seeger’s birth.
• The timing of the clips’ release may also have to do with the fact that this year’s Jazz Fest ends tomorrow.
Here are the clips:
“O Mary Don’t You Weep”
“John Henry”
“Johnny 99”
“Old Dan Tucker”
“Eyes on the Prize”
“Jesse James”
“My Oklahoma Home”
“Mrs. McGrath”
“How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?”
“Jacob’s Ladder”
“We Shall Overcome”
“Open All Night”
“Pay Me My Money Down”
Encore:
“My City of Ruins”
“Buffalo Gals”
“You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)”
“When the Saints Go Marching In”
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