Badlands (Bruce Springsteen Song) - Live Performance

Live Performance

As evidenced by its appearance on three live offerings, "Badlands" is a staple of Springsteen and E Street Band concert performances. It opened shows on the 1978 Darkness Tour before the album had even been released, a slot it held for much of that legendary tour (one such performance from Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum was filmed and released as a promotional video in the early 1980s). It was featured near or at the end of the first set during the 1980-1981 River Tour (one such performance from Arizona State University, famously introduced by Springsteen decrying the election of Ronald Reagan as president the night before, was included on Live/1975–85, less the intro), a spot it held for much of the 1984-1985 Born in the U.S.A. Tour until the stadium shows, when it was used to keep momentum going out of the opening "Born in the U.S.A.". "Badlands" was put on the shelf for most of the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express, a mark of how radically that tour sought to throw out stock show elements. Once the 1992-1993 "Other Band" Tour was underway, it was quickly added back in for some needed mid-first-set energy. Springsteen seemed to conclude it fit this role, as he kept it in the same "10 songs in" position during all of the 1999-2000 Reunion Tour and 2002-2003 Rising Tour shows, recapturing audience enthusiasm after less familiar material such as "Murder, Inc." or "Worlds Apart" were performed. On the 2007 Magic Tour, however, the shortened show time resulted in "Badlands" becoming even more prominent as the main set closer. For the 2009 Working on a Dream Tour, "Badlands" resumed its old role as the show opener; it stayed in that slot until the final two months of the tour - when Springsteen chose to play the Born to Run album in its entirety at a show, "Badlands" was usually shifted to be the final song of the main set, which the track "Born to Run" had previously held on the tour.

Performed live, "Badlands" features a number of band and audience customary practices. Danny Federici, while he was alive and touring, would play the electronic glockenspiel, which added to carry the opening keyboard riff, immediately announcing the song to the crowd and getting everyone to their feet. Fans clap hands in time to Weinberg's famous part, with newcomers watching and then following the double-time part at the end. During the chorus, when Springsteen shouts "Bad-lands!" fans pump their fists in the air twice, once for each syllable of the word. In the years when it slotted at the start of shows, this would be Clemons' first sax solo, which would bring him to center stage and elicit huge cheers from the crowd. The slow-down afterward that is often elongated, with the audience joining Springsteen for the long, wordless "oooh oooh"s part. One or more false endings is usually tacked on, to further prolong the experience.