Spotlight on Springsteen

Spencer Patterson

Friday, Aug. 16, 2002 | 8:58 a.m.

Two years after his Las Vegas debut, the Boss is back in town.

With his new album, "The Rising," topping Billboard's sales charts, Bruce Springsteen plays Sunday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

With him will be the E Street Band, which also recorded on the album with Springsteen, making it their first together since "Born in the U.S.A." in 1984.

In his first Las Vegas appearance -- on May 27, 2000, at MGM Grand Garden Arena -- Springsteen and his Band tore up the set list, tailoring the show for their Las Vegas audience. "Lucky Town," "Viva Las Vegas," "Roll of the Dice" and "Atlantic City" were all performed, along with a lion's share of the classics.

The Thomas & Mack visit will mark the sixth stop on a tour that will take Springsteen & Co. to Europe and back, stretching into December and likely well beyond.

Who: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band.

Where: Thomas & Mack Center.

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $82.65 (reserved balcony tickets still available Thursday afternoon; floor sold out).

Call: 895-3900.

Opening band: None.

Personnel: Bruce Springsteen (guitar, vocals), Roy Bittan (keyboard, piano), Clarence Clemons (saxophone), Danny Federici (organ), Nils Lofgren (guitar), Patti Scialfa (vocals), Garry Tallent (bass), Steven Van Zandt (guitar), Max Weinberg (drums).

Latest release: "The Rising" (Columbia, 2002).

Album feedback: "In what could be called a positive development in light of so many negative ones, the post-Sept. 11 world has refocused his songwriting," (Entertainment Weekly); "The Rising sounds unlike any other record of its time; in an era of rock murk and heavy synthetics, it flaunts its hard, bright guitars and positively walloping beats," (Rolling Stone).

Tour feedback: "The years have barely laid a glove on Springsteen as a live performer," (The Washington Post); "New songs were well received ... some of the older songs come across as worn after their repeated exposure on the last tour," (Billboard.com).

Essential releases: "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." (1973), "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle" (1973), "Born to Run" (1975), "Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), "The River" (1980), "Nebraska" (1982), "Born in the U.S.A." (1984), "Live 1975-85" (1986).

What to expect: If the tour's first few shows are any indication, there's a good chunk of "The Rising," plus a smattering of old favorites. Then again, he seemed to enjoy playing Vegas the first time, so you never know what might happen.

Recent set list: From Saturday's show at MCI Center, Washington, D.C.: "The Rising," "Lonesome Day," "Prove It All Night," "The Fuse," "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "Empty Sky," "You're Missing," "Waitin' on a Sunny Day," "The Promised Land," "Worlds Apart," "Badlands," "Bobby Jean," "Mary's Place," "Countin' on a Miracle," "American Skin (41 Shots)," "Into the Fire." First encore: "Thunder Road," "Glory Days," "Born to Run." Second encore: "My City of Ruins," "Born in the U.S.A.," "Land of Hope and Dreams" (set list according to backstreets.com fan website).

Says Springsteen: "They're really marketing ("The Rising") as a Sept. 11 album. I think we want art that can deal with it, but it's still such an uncomfortable thing, and it's still pretty fresh. Frankly, the commercial element of it really scares me," (Time magazine).