It’s been a long time since Bruce Springsteen performed LOUIE LOUIE. According to Stan Goldstein of the (New Jersey) Star-Ledger, the last time Bruce ever played LOUIE LOUIE was on May 7, 2009 in Toronto, Canada. The spell was broken a few days ago on April 19th at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C. It was a very special show featuring a lot of rarities, surprises and special requests.
LOUIE LOUIE was the first song of the event performed as a result of a sign request. There were 8 other songs performed in response to fan requests, including Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl,” another one of my personal favorites.
Rob Nichols of ROCKforward Music had some high praise for this very special performance of LOUIE LOUIE:
I’m gonna call it the greatest version of the roadhouse/garage rock classic “Louie Louie” since The Kingsmen did it. Bruce turns in a marvelously slurred vocal, a wicked and raw solo, and mines his inner Joe Strummer throughout.
Big thanks to my friend Clay Stabler for sending me the info.
Big thanks to SomewhereInJersey75 on YouTube for documenting this magnificent moment.
… and a very BIG THANKS to Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band for the music!
REFERENCE:
The (New Jersey) Star-Ledger article by Stan Goldstein, including a set-list.
Rob Nichols of ROCKforward Music on LOUIE LOUIE
UPDATE:
if you visit the Bruce Springsteen Official Store, you can purchase an excellent live recording of this show in South Carolina. It’s available in both MP3 and FLAC formats, and it sounds WONDERFUL!