Bruce at the Garden, Jeanne Sheehy, tips

OK, this was more like it. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band were pretty good show at their tour opener in Hartford this fall, but they were fantastic at their second Boston show last week when they hit the archives for some gems that had the diehards in a swoon.
Bruce again kept with a fairly predictable set list overall, but the show hit transcendence with the rarely played likes of “Candy’s Room’’ (with drummer Max Weinberg in overdrive on the skins), “Kitty’s Back’’ (a true Bruce classic), and the very emotional “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),’’ another oldie that turned back the years and made you feel you had seen an extraordinarily special show.
An encore of “Tenth Avenue Freezeout’’ also featured J. Geils singer Peter Wolf, who has bopped out to perform “Dirty Water’’ with Bruce in the past (including a Fenway Park show), but who featured some blues exclamations instead on this track, though his vocal mic cut out at the end. Still, it was a fitting highlight to a mesmerizing night with the E Streeters.
Speaking of which, saxophonist Clarence Clemons (having recovered from two hip replacements) was much more active than at the Hartford show – and that was refreshing to see. So was the twin-accordion dynamism of keyboardists Danny Federici and Roy Bittan on the closing “American Land,’’ though this was Federici’s last gig before departing the tour with melanoma. Bruce gave him special props during the night and you somehow sensed that something might be wrong with Danny, before his cancer was confirmed in the next couple of days.
Whether or not this was Federici’s last show (he hopes to be back), it was a Bruce concert for the ages. The new material has been whipped into sharper focus (especially “Last to Die,’’ about the Iraq fiasco) and oldies like “Darkness on the Edge of Town,’’ “Badlands,’’ and “Working on the Highway’’ had a full-fledged roar to them. And with the seldom played gems of “Kitty’s Back’’ and others, this was a show to keep Bruce fans talking until the band returns to New England to play the Hartford Civic Center on Feb. 28.

RALLYING FOR JEANNE: If you’re a local club fan, you no doubt go to T.T. the Bear’s occasionally and are served by bartender extraordinaire Jeanne Sheehy. She’s been there for a quarter-century, but has been hit with colon cancer and is going through chemotherapy. Some benefit shows will soon take place in her honor at T.T.’s: Dec. 6, the Delusions, the Country Doctors, and more; Dec. 21, the Shods, the Pills, Ad Frank, and others; and Dec. 28, the Gravel Pit, Francine, and Baker. She’s a great lady, so get out and help her out.

CRITIC’S TIPS
Will Dailey – at the Paradise on Thursday, Nov. 29. Dailey has parlayed his engaging singer-songwriter pop into a national career. He’s been one of the recent success stories out of Boston.

A.KA.C.O.D. – at the Plough & Stars on Friday, Nov. 30. This group has been tearing up the clubs with its angular, offbeat rock. It’s a trio with Monique Ortiz, Dana Colley (formerly of Morphine), and Larry Dersch.

deSol – at the Paradise on Friday, Nov. 30. The Latin rock group put on a great show at WBOS’s Copley Square series this past summer. They stoke the party spirit. And Adam Ezra opens up.

Boston Music Awards – at the Orpheum on Saturday, Dec. 1. Incredibly, the 20th anniversary of these awards is upon us. The performers alone are enough to lure you in: Augustana, Bobby Brown, Lori McKenna, Martin Sexton, Peter Gammons, and many others. Plus, Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer as emcee.

Sister Hazel – at the Somerville Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 1. Say what you will about Sister Hazel, they have some of the best vocal harmonies in the land. The Hazelnuts will be out in force to support this WBOS-sponsored show.

Chris Trapper – at the Brattle Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 1. Trapper cut his teeth in the pop-rock Push Stars. He has gone in a more pensive direction, but his talent remains underestimated.

David Gray – at the Orpheum Theatre on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Gray is among the most emotionally gripping singer-songwriters of the past decade, yet he makes it look so easy.

Raul Malo – at the Paradise on Wednesday, Dec. 5. Many people liked Malo better when he fronted the country-rocking Mavericks, but there are many sides to his talent and he’s showing them now.

(Steve Morse can be reached at spmorse@gmail.com.)