The Working on a Dream Tour was a concert tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which began in April 2009 and ended in November 2009. It followed the late January 2009 release of the album Working on a Dream.
The tour was shorter than a typical Springsteen outing, but for the first time in his career, it placed an emphasis on performing at music festivals, especially in Europe. Even more unlike all his previous tours, the Working on a Dream Tour featured little of his new album. Instead, several trends from the latter stages of the previous year's Magic Tour were carried forward: a focus on topical content, this time the late-2000s recession; a repetition of some of the stage raps and antics; and most visibly, continuation of a 'signs' segment, in which audience members would hold up signs requesting rare Springsteen songs or decades-past oldies and the band would stage (sometimes impromptu) performances of them. The final leg of the tour often featured another first as Springsteen played one of his classic 1970s or 1980s albums all the way through. Critical reaction to the tour's shows was generally positive, although the absence of the new material was noted. The tour was a commercial success, grossing over $156 million, being seen by over 1.7 million ticket holders, and finishing as the third-highest grossing tour in the world for 2009.
The tour had some logistical issues. Ticket sales were botched by Ticketmaster, a situation further exacerbated by revelations of their holding seats back for their secondary market TicketsNow. Before long, legislatures and attorneys general of several states, as well as members of the U.S. Congress and federal regulatory agencies, were weighing in on the matter, with various lawsuits, settlements, and proposed laws as the result. E Street drummer Max Weinberg was not available for parts of the tour due to his bandleader obligations to The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, which was just commencing. His 18-year-old son, Jay Weinberg, became his replacement for parts or all of a number of shows, to a mostly positive reception from the rest of the band, the audience, and critics. The tour also gave Springsteen a chance to bid farewell to two famous venues he had played many shows at – the Philadelphia Spectrum and New Jersey's Giants Stadium.
This was the first full E Street Band tour without founding member Danny Federici, who died during the previous tour in 2008, and the final tour for founding member Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011. ·
Read more about Working On A Dream Tour: Itinerary, Ticket Sales, Critical and Commercial Reception, Broadcasts and Recordings, Tour Dates, Songs Performed
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