As much as I enjoyed seeing the show with Scott, who is a WILD MAN — dude, that thing you did with the duct tape and the chicken during “Spirit in the Night”? I wanna party with you again! — this was probably the least favorite of the Bruce shows I've seen.

FIrst, the absence of Patti from the stage was a major distraction. Apparently she skipped last tour's O.C. show as well, but in the wake of the affair accusations it couldn't help but be on my mind — not to mention my wife's. She was stuck at work (hence Scott not sitting in the nosebleed seats) but was texting me, asking if Patti seemed OK–she text-sobbed when I told her Patti wasn't there. Maybe not having her there loosened Bruce up a bit–I had never seen him stage-dive or wander into the crowd before–but this was the first time (maybe since the Tunnel of Love tour, which I didn't see) that a Bruce show had taken on tabloid- fodder implications, and it wasn't a great feeling.

I love seeing Bruce play — I've been to six of his shows — and I like his attachment to the Sports Arena over Staples Center. The place is so loveably worn down and old-fashioned, it's like they're playing in a high school gym. So that's nice.

But apart from the requests Scott mentioned, the whole process of which was loads of fun, I thought the set list was not as interesting as past ones. I suppose most people who go to Bruce shows love the ritual aspects — the air-punching and background-vocal singing and whatnot — but my favorite part of a Bruce show is when he does something really surprising. That's why my fave Bruce show was on the Devils and Dust tour, where we had no earthly idea what he was going to do next. On Wednesday night there weren't enough real surprises — “Seeds,” yes, and “I'm Goin' Down,” but little else on the setlist offered a real “holy cow” moment.

And otherwise the list of non-standards he pulled out — “Promised Land,” “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “Waitin' on a Sunny Day,” etc. — seemed to me a bit self-congratulatory and complacent. Yes, Bruce has become more openly political in recent years, and yes, when he was pulling out songs and using them to rail against Bush it was fun, but now that he hasn't got as many political complaints he seems to have woven a thread of liberal congratulation into the show that is just a little…dull.

So I'll take the “Rising” tour, and even the “Magic” tour (with its populist anti-Bushism), over this one. Still, it was great to hang out with Scott!