The second title, chronologically speaking, from Crystal Cat and their March 2008 batch of Magic Tour titles. This show in the Netherlands was postponed a day from November 30th because Bruce was trying to shake a bad cold and the whole formality of it being rescheduled at the start of December just added a dimension to the occaision due to the whole Christmas holiday factor, and he would acknowledge it from here in Arnhem with the first rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" on through the last show in London.
"I'm Aliiiive!" is the greeting tonight and a gruff-sounding Boss quickly attacks "Radio Nowhere" to try hitting a groove again after a severe cold ailment delay in the tour rhythm. This is a very crisp and rockin sounding recording with a very responsive crowd that is ready and engaged right out of the chute. Aside from the aforementioned "Santa Claus.." and the couple change-ups that drop "Candy's Room" into the middle of the set and later "Tunnel Of Love", it's a pretty standard Magic Tour setlist tonight. Strategically it made sense to just get back into the flow again and establish the musical energy with the band. An early highlight is a spirited "No Surrender".
A handful of bonus tracks to supplement the fairly straight-forward Arnhem setlist includes "Ramrod" from the excellent tape from Auburn Hills on November 5th, an early tour version of "Born In The U.S.A" from Convention Hall in Asbury Park on September 28th that frankly sounds like the band is stuck in the mud but with conviction! Next up is a really nice version of "My Hometown" from another excellent audience recording from The Wachovia Center in Phillie and the crowd is totally digging it, hard not to be engaged and enjoy this one. Rounding out the bonus track set is "Something In The Night" from the September 24th show from Convention Hall and this recording sounds so intimate which of course adds to the atomsphere of the song, adding a bit of drama but the recording is over-modulated causing the audio to distort.
The packaging and presentation is right up there with the best of anything Crystal Cat has ever presented, providing an 8-page deluxe glossy booklet with some stellar performance shots of the band - not sure if they are from the Arnhem show but they are outstanding in every way and I dare say these booklets rival some concert programs I've seen! There is also a glossy insert with a copy of the actual hand-scrawled setlist on one side and the 2007 tour dates on the other. This standard is replicated throughout these five new titles in the batch. A superb Arnhem package but not necessarily a must-have Magic Tour title.
