The Ghost of Tom Joad Tour was a worldwide
concert tour
A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...
featuring
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
performing alone on stage in small halls and theatres, that ran off and on from late 1995 through the middle of 1997.
[Santelli, ''Greetings From E Street'', pp. 83–84.] It followed the release of his 1995 album ''
The Ghost of Tom Joad
''The Ghost of Tom Joad'' is the eleventh studio album, and the second acoustic album, by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released on November 21, 1995, by Columbia Records. It reached the Top Ten in two countries, and the Top Twenty ...
''.
The tour represented Springsteen's first full-length, solo tour;
he traveled with only an instrument technician and a sound engineer.
[Santelli, ''Greetings From E Street'', p. 83.] As such it was a marked departure from the high-energy shows with the
E Street Band
The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...
that Springsteen had become famous for.
The album itself was quiet, dark and angry, and Springsteen presented it as such in the shows on the tour.
Older songs from Springsteen's catalog, such as "
Born in the U.S.A.
''Born in the U.S.A.'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on June 4, 1984. It topped the charts in nine countries, including the US and UK, becoming his most commercially su ...
", were presented in very different, often harsh re-arrangements.
The result, especially in the tour's first leg of shows, was an uncompromising portrayal of pessimism;
Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said that with the tour's performances, Springsteen "has taken his music to an extreme, a depressive's view of tedious, unending woe."
Greg Kot
Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...
of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' wrote that "In contrast to past tours, which have been celebratory events tinged by introspection, Springsteen brought a sobering sense of solitude" to the shows of this tour.
By some of the later shows of the tour, however, Springsteen relaxed the mood a bit by interweaving a few new songs with an almost comedic bent.
Itinerary
The tour began on November 21, 1995, at the
State Theatre in
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...]
, New York City, and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
After a winter holiday break, the show visited other North American cities in January 1996, including a stop in
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County, Ohio, Mahoning County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of ...
due to "
Youngstown
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...
" being the album track most (relatively) played on radio.
February and March saw shows in Western Europe, followed by a three-week break during which Springsteen attended the
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
show in Los Angeles. The tour resumed in Europe through early May.
A family man with three small children at the time, Springsteen took off the summer of 1996 and then started again in the U.S. in mid-September, playing smaller markets and colleges, as well as local stops in
Asbury Park
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188 and his old St. Rose of Lima School in
Freehold
Freehold may refer to:
In real estate
*Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple
*Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England
*Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...
, and finishing in mid-December.
Another winter holiday break was taken, then in late January 1997 Springsteen took the show to Japan and Australia for three weeks. In May the final leg started up; first Springsteen went to
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
to accept the
Polar Music Prize
The Polar Music Prize is a Swedish international award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, best known as the manager of the Swedish band ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The award is annually given to one contemporary ...
, then he toured Central Europe, seeing Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic, before concluding with additional shows back in Western Europe. The 128th and final show of the tour was on May 26, 1997, at the
Palais des Congrès in Paris and was attended by hundreds of fans from around the world.
Show
While the ''Ghost of Tom Joad'' album was in the more acoustic, somber vein of his earlier ''
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
'', it did contain some limited additional instrumentation and arrangements. However, Springsteen decided to perform the new material completely by himself, using only
acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
and
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
. (A couple of the dourest ''Joad'' numbers did have a hidden offstage
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
being played, by Springsteen's
guitar technician
A guitar technician (or 'guitar tech') is a member of a music ensemble's road crew who maintains and sets up the musical equipment for one or more guitarists. Depending on the type and size of band, the guitar tech may be responsible for stringin ...
Kevin Buell.)
Given that Springsteen was famous for his full-band, high-energy, crowd-rousing concerts, this tour was sure to be a surprising departure. Advertisements tried to make this clear, and all show tickets were printed with Solo Acoustic Tour on them to give audiences a firm understanding of what to expect (and leading some to call the tour by that name, although it would become ambiguous in light of the later
Devils & Dust Tour
The Devils & Dust Tour was a 2005 concert tour featuring Bruce Springsteen performing alone on stage on a variety of instruments. It followed the release of his 2005 album ''Devils & Dust''. The tour was named the Top Small Venue Tour of 2005 b ...
; Springsteen's publicists did not give this tour any formal name).
After an opening rendition of "
The Ghost of Tom Joad
''The Ghost of Tom Joad'' is the eleventh studio album, and the second acoustic album, by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released on November 21, 1995, by Columbia Records. It reached the Top Ten in two countries, and the Top Twenty ...
", which featured audience members whooping and "Brooocing" by habit, Springsteen regularly addressed this audience with some variation of this speech:
:"This is where I get to set the ground rules a little bit ... a lot of these songs tonight were composed using a lot of silence, silence is a part of the music, so I really need your collaboration tonight in giving me that silence so I can do my best for you ... if you feel like clapping or singing along, you'll be an embarrassment to your friends and family ... if someone sitting next to you is talking, politely ask them to shut the fuck up ... Don't make me come down there and smack you around, it'll mess with my man-of-the-people image."
Sometimes Springsteen felt the need to reiterate parts of the message after subsequent songs, especially if Brooocing continued. The whole bit created quite an impression among Springsteen fans, some of whom would always refer to this as the Shut the Fuck Up Tour as a result, and others of whom would wish the same rules were in effect for slower songs at future Springsteen
E Street Band
The E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...
concerts.
The performance style of the tour varied greatly depending upon song. Some older numbers such as "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and the recently exhumed "Murder Incorporated" were vigorously strummed on guitar and bellowed in voice.
Slide
Slide or Slides may refer to:
Places
* Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998
* ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018
*''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...
work also sometimes lent musical dynamism. But most selections, including almost all of the ''Joad'' material, were indeed arranged with silence as the leading accompaniment. Even normal fan favorite "
Born in the U.S.A.
''Born in the U.S.A.'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on June 4, 1984. It topped the charts in nine countries, including the US and UK, becoming his most commercially su ...
" was recast into a snarling attack mostly bereft of its anthemic title line. "The Promised Land" was transformed into a ghostly echo of its usually rousing self, propelled by percussive slapping of Springsteen's
Takamine guitar body.
The typical all-''Joad'' six-song closing sequence of the main set – "
Youngstown
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...
", "Sinaloa Cowboys", "The Line", "Balboa Park", "
The New Timer
"New Timer" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1995 album ''The Ghost of Tom Joad''. Springsteen performs the song solo on the album, with only guitar accompaniment.
Lyrics
The narrator of the song is a man who has left behind a wife and c ...
", and "Across the Border" – was especially stark and quiet. Based on the fates of lost American workers and Mexican immigrants in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, it suffered from some of same lack of melodic interest and forced didactic purpose that the album had been criticized for.
As the tour wore on, shows became a little looser. Springsteen introduced some humorous songs he had recently written, including "In Freehold", a ribald homage to his growing up, "In Michigan", a homage about the folks in Michigan, "Sell It and They Will Come", a tribute to the insanity of late-night
infomercials
An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of dire ...
, and "Pilgrim in the Temple of Love", a tale of
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
doing something naughty. Indeed, explicit sexual mentions became something of a theme of the tour, with Springsteen telling any children in the audience that words they didn't understand were
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "doing your homework", or "cleaning your room". Springsteen also engaged the faithful by unearthing some old numbers that had not seen concert action in a long time, or in the case of ''
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. It was produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos from June through October 1972 at the budget-priced 914 Sound Studios. The album was r ...
s "
The Angel", ever; Springsteen once swore he would never perform the song live (it wasn't performed again until 2009 during full performances of the album). The tour also marked the first time that Springsteen did not perform anything from the ''
Born to Run
''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. As his effort to break into the mainstream, the album was a commercial success, peaking at number thr ...
''. Nothing from the album was sound-checked although on the third to final date of the tour, Springsteen treated fans in Italy to a post-show singalong performance of "
Thunder Road" from the venue's balcony. Two songs written for the ''Joad'' album that did not make the final cut, "The Hitter" and "Long Time Comin'", made their tour debuts although Springsteen would not release the two songs for another ten years until the 2005 ''Devils & Dust'' album.
Critical and commercial reaction
Due to the small venues played on the tour, often in the 2,000–3,000 capacity range, tickets were often hard to get, creating a "ticket scalpers' heaven".
Dave Marsh
Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...
's ''Two Hearts'' biography assessed the tour as not expanding Springsteen's audience any, but helping to solidify it, especially in Europe.
The ''
Asbury Park Press
The ''Asbury Park Press'' is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state. It has been owned by Gannett since 1997.
Its reporting staff has been awarded numerous national hon ...
'' characterized a November 1995
Count Basie Theatre
The Count Basie Center for the Arts is a landmarked performing arts center in Red Bank, New Jersey, United States.
In 1926, the building opened as the "Carlton Theater" became the "Monmouth Arts Center" in 1973, and was renamed "Count Basie The ...
show as Springsteen "spinning his acoustic tales of desperation and hope ... he played with power and poise ... The lyrics are bleaker than usual for Springsteen and the music reflects the solemn mood." ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said a December 1995
Beacon Theatre show "easily qualifies as the most earnest concert of the year", that "Where
pringsteenonce saw open highways, he now sees roads to nowhere", and that "Springsteen turned in a painstaking and convincing performance. But with that material, he has turned himself into nearly a one-note performer."
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', on the other hand, found a December 1995
DAR Constitution Hall
DAR Constitution Hall is a concert hall located at 1776 D Street NW, near the White House in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution to house its annual convention when membership delegations outgrew Memo ...
performance showing strains of the "sense of triumph" that Springsteen's previous work had evoked, although his physical appearance made him "look more like the custodian at Constitution Hall than the star attraction."
The collection ''Hard Travelin': The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie'', edited by Robert Santelli and Emily Davidson, found praise for the tour, saying the album's songs gained onstage and that the shows, "although hushed and void of the anthemic rockers that made him the greatest performer that rock has ever known, managed to bring Woody Guthrie back to life again."
[Santelli, "Beyond Folk: Woody Guthrie's Impact on Rock and Roll", p. 54.] Jimmy Gutterman's ''Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen'' criticized the first leg of the tour for producing "the most dour performances of his career".
[Guterman, ''Runaway American Dream'', pp. 86–87.] However Guterman praised later legs that incorporated new material that was "sly, low-key, and funny."
[Guterman, ''Runaway American Dream'', p. 87.]
Broadcasts and recordings
Portions of the December 8 and December 9, 1995, shows from Philadelphia's
Tower Theater were later broadcast on the syndicated ''Columbia Records Radio Hour'' on U.S.
album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
Album-oriente ...
stations.
Several shows were released as part of the
Bruce Springsteen Archives
''Bruce Springsteen Archives'' is an ongoing collection of officially released live albums by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Beginning in November 2014 with the release of the 2012 Apollo Theater concert, Springsteen sought out to relea ...
:
* ''Kings Hall, Belfast March 19, 1996'', released September 1, 2017
* ''Freehold, NJ 1996 Saint Rose of Lima School Gym'', released May 4, 2018
* ''Asbury Park 11/24/96'', released November 1, 2019
* ''Nice France 1997'', released February 5, 2021
* ‘’Philadelphia 12/9/95’’ released February 4, 2022
* ''Asbury Park 11/26/96'', released November 4, 2022
Tour dates
Songs performed
Source:
Sources
* Guterman, Jimmy. ''Runaway American Dream: Listening to Bruce Springsteen''. Cambridge: DeCapo Press, 2005.
*
Marsh, Dave. ''Bruce Springsteen on Tour: 1968–2005''. Bloomsbury USA, 2006. .
* Santelli, Robert, "Beyond Folk: Woody Guthrie's Impact on Rock and Roll", in Robert Santelli and Emily Davidson, eds. ''Hard Travelin': The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie''. Hanover: Wesleyan University Press, 1999.
* Santelli, Robert. ''Greetings From E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band''. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2006.
Killing Floor's concert databasesupplies the itinerary and set lists for the shows, but does not support direct linking to individual dates.
Brucebasethe same, with ticket and promotional images as well.
References
{{Authority control
Bruce Springsteen concert tours
1995 concert tours
1996 concert tours
1997 concert tours