Bruce Springsteen, Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, 7/2/17
- New York City Serenade
- American Land
- The Ties That Bind
- No Surrender
- Out in the Street
- My Love Will Not Let You Down
(Sign Request)- Hungry Heart
(Sign Request)- Long Tall Sally
(Little Richard cover) (Sign Request, Tour Premiere)- Wrecking Ball
- Darkness on the Edge of Town
- American Skin (41 Shots)
- Youngstown
- The Promised Land
- Mary's Place
- Candy's Room
- She's the One
- Downbound Train
- I'm on Fire
- Because the Night
(Patti Smith Group cover)- The Rising
- Badlands
- Thunder Road
- Jungleland
- Born to Run
- Dancing in the Dark
- Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
- Shout
(The Isley Brothers cover)- Bobby Jean
Wow! What a night! I wasn't sure if I was really a Springsteen concert person because while I consider myself a fan I don't have that many of his albums. Most of the first few songs weren't familiar to me, but I especially liked American Land with its Celtic rhythms, a paean to the immigrants who contributed so much to the USA. (I am not making any political points. I just enjoyed the song, and I will say the same about American Skin (41 Shots) and Youngstown.
Bruce was in superb voice throughout. He is a much more powerful & emotive singer than he was in his young, scruffy days. He put so much emotion into songs like I'm On Fire & Downbound Train, while making the crowd just enjoy themselves in No Surrender. How he did Hungry Heart, where the audience sang the first verse & then he crowd surfed while still singing, I don't know. He did a few songs without a guitar and I have to say that as a guitarist he is more the Guitar George from Sultans Of Swing type, meaning strictly rhythm for the most part. The famous Telecaster was swung around to great effect.
So I finally got to see Roy Bittan who added so much to the Making Movies album by Dire Straits, and the other legendary members Steven Van Zandt (I don't feel enough of an insider to call him 'Little Stevie' though he is certainly short), Max Weinberg, Nils Lofgren & Mrs Springsteen, Patti Scialfa. Then of course we had Clarence Clemons' nephew Jake on sax. He was excellent.
I was surprised by the cover versions. I loved Long Tall Sally because Little Richard or not, it's a Beatles song to me. I was less convinced by (Meet Me At) Mary's Place by Sam Cooke. Shout was a bit predictable. I was getting tired by then. You will note that Because The Night is listed as a Patti Smith cover! Bruce wrote it! It was a highlight!
Of the really famous songs I am not sure why he closed with Bobby Jean, a song which I regard as ordinary, but I could hardly complain after the stirring versions of No Surrender, Downbound Train & I'm On Fire. Downbound Train, a song I have always loved, was a personal highlight. Badlands was awesome. Of the Born To Run songs, Candy's Room was a surprise. I have always struggled with Jungleland but it worked pretty well. Thunder Road featured a superb performance by the audience on the first verse, whjich Bruce said was 'very good' .Born To Run itself was just a mesmeric, joyous trip.