(AP Photo/Jessica Hill - link)

Last night marked the 2008 resumption of Bruce’s Magic tour. He and the E Street Band (minus Patty and Danny F. - still) kicked this leg off in Hartford, Connecticut. From the report on Backstreets, this wasn’t one of those safe warm-up gigs after a break. The band “were immediately up to speed, and Hartford was a hot, high-energy show.”

Three - count ‘em - three high quality tour premieres last night:

• “So Young and In Love” (mp3 from the show) - This kicked off the show! The studio version found on Tracks was recorded in January 1974.
• “Loose Ends” (mp3 from the show) - an outtake from The River.
• “Janey Don’t You Lose Heart” (mp3 from the show) - One of my favorites from the Born in the U.S.A. sessions. Last night, Nils Lofgren took the second verse - his “first recorded vocal with the E Street Band”, according to Backstreets.

Next up on the calendar? Sunday night in Montreal. Look out Quebec.

LOOKING FOR TICKETS….. Since it doesn’t look like a Phoenix date is going to happen (!), I am in the market for two tickets to see Bruce in Anaheim on Monday, April 7th. If you or anyone you know has a couple available, please let me know (pete at ickmusic.com).

The full set list from last night’s Hartford show after the jump…

February 28 / Hartford, CT / XL Center

So Young and in Love
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Loose Ends
She’s the One
Livin’ in the Future
The Promised Land
Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
Janey Don’t You Lose Heart
The River
Devil’s Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Backstreets
Kitty’s Back
Born to Run
American Land