On Friday night (4/4), Springsteen and his fabled backing band brought the second leg of their tour in support of 2007’s "Magic" to the Arco Arena in Sacramento, CA. The two-hour-plus concert was high on thrills, low on frills, and delivered the type of sustained adrenaline rush that can really only be had a truly great rock 'n' roll show. In all, it was everything that die-hard fans have come to expect from a date with the Boss.

The group opened the show with a sensational version of "Spirit in the Night," a track from Springsteen's 1973 debut, "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." The song was the leading vote-getter in a contest in which local radio listeners got to pick one song that the Boss would play in Sacramento.

Springsteen sounded strong from the get-go, and his voice would hold up nicely throughout the evening. The nine-piece ensemble consisted of the Boss, guitarists Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, piano men Roy Bittan and Charles Giordano, saxophonist Clarence Clemons, bassist Gary Tallent, drummer Max Weinberg and violinist/guitarist Soozie Tyrell.

Giordano was filling in for Danny Federici, Springsteen's longtime keyboardist who has taken a leave of absence from the band to undergo treatment for melanoma. The other notable missing member was Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa, who, the Boss said, will have her hands full trying to watch their three teens while dad is out on the road.

"As I was leaving, I saw the kegs of beer being wheeled up the driveway," Springsteen said, presumably in jest. "I smelled the pot brownies coming out of the oven. That didn't worry me so much, but when the 'Girls Gone Wild' bus pulled up . . . "

His kids weren't the only ones in a party mood. Springsteen was definitely having fun on this night as he led his troupe through blistering renditions of "Because the Night" and "She's the One" that seemed to draw more from his barroom brawling days back in Jersey than they did from the stadium spectaculars he held in support of 1984's "Born in the U.S.A."

Springsteen was really rolling in last portion of the main set, as he delivered monstrous versions of "Devil's Arcade," "The Rising" and the main-set closer, "Badlands," and then turned it up another notch during the five-song encore. The highlight, as per usual, was the anthem "Born to Run," but the party number "Rosalita"--which the Boss decided to add to the set list after reading a sign from the crowd--was a pretty close second.

In all, however, it didn't really matter what song Springsteen was playing--a new one, a big hit or a relative obscurity. What mattered most was that he was playing all of them with the E Street Band. When that happens--as the fans in Sacramento could attest--"Magic" just seems to happen.

Setlist:
Spirit in the Night
Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Murder Incorporated
Candy's Room
Because the Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Sherry Darling
Backstreets
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
Encore:
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Rosalita
Born to Run
Ramrod
American Land