Tour dates & setlists

-- 25 April 2010 --

2010 Index

General information

Date:

25 April 2010

Venue/show:

Wow Hall

Location:

Eugene, OR, USA

Show comments:

 


Bruce in Eugene
Bruce in Eugene
Bruce in Eugene

Setlist

Interval

Encore


Comments/further information

Submitted by Mark Robinowitz, and the photos are by Randy Layton. Hal Darst contributed the following review:

There was a HUGE standing ovation for Bruce - and that was before he even started! The WOW Hall (old Woodsman of the World union organizing hall) was jam packed with probably more people standing than sitting (I would have preferred another venue - but this was certainly filled to the max with probably the most wildly enthusiastic Eugene crowd I've ever seen.) And he got not only all the encores of elsewhere, but there were generally people standing up to applaud for most every song.

Guitar work was blistering, just stunningly unbelievable was the reaction of everyone I spoke to. The End Of All Rivers is hypnotically other-worldly, the sound system for the guitar and feedback couldn't have been better, but it didn't pick up the chimes at all. But geez, there was only so much I could absorb just from the guitar, the lack of chimes was almost a relief. His new acoustic song (unnamed but someone suggested "Distracted" in response to Bruce alluding to a moment of distraction in the previous song) again is quite the showcase of guitar musicianship. And Bruce was very engaged with the audience - in these last years he definitely has been bantering more, and this show more than any other I've seen.

Bruce spontaneously took a song from the audience which I've never seen him do before - The End Of All Rivers from one of the early albums [Salt, Sun And Time]. It seemed clear he was re-remembering it and figuring it out as he went, but it seemed close to spot on, though it's a song I only know a little. The setlist seemed like the one from Arcata or Santa Cruz, minus a couple - no Beautiful Creatures, no Mystery (though there was still mystery and wonder throughout the evening).

Partly because it was a small hall, it was the most packed I've seen of a Cockburn concert, and the crowd was definitely up for this one. To my perception it seemed it took Bruce a number of songs before really stepping into the energy of the evening. And he had a show in Bend the night before, so there might have been some latent tiredness he had to shake off.

But no matter how many times I've heard If A Tree Falls, Lovers In A Dangerous Time and even If I Had A Rocket Launcher, the guy is sooo incredibly on with each note, there remains a relentless freshness and energy that each song is fully alive as if I were hearing it the first time. To me that is one of the more amazing things about this Cockburn guy. Part of it I guess is just the craftsmanship of the song, but the bigger part is his ability to... just be so deeply in the moment that each song is as powerful as ever. A couple times he forgot a lyric and all you could think is "thank god the guy is human".

A great, Great, GREAT evening! Thanks Bruce!


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