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Rock Metal Machine

BST 2023 – Bruce Springsteen, The Chicks

Artist: Bruce Springsteen, The Chicks, James Bay, Brittney Spencer

Venue: London: Hyde Park

Date: 8 July 2023


Bruce Springsteen showed tonight why he is a genuine living legend and one of the greatest Rockstars to ever grace a live stage.

 
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. Photo Credit: Dave Hogan

Tonight was my third and final trip for 2023 to the BST concerts in Hyde Park. The old saying goes that you would save the best to last, and in terms of my passion about an artist, that was certainly true when it came to Bruce Springsteen. The Boss has been one of my all-time favourite artist since I was a child, a passion that started when I regularly borrowed my uncle’s ‘Born In The USA’ tape from his car. A close friend from my past who I’ve known since before I was a teenager was also a massive fan, and together we forged an unquestionable love of the New Jersey singer. Many of his studio albums have a special place in my heart, and I consider his epic ‘Live 1975-1985’ three-disc live album to be one of the best of its kind to ever be released. Suffice to say, there are memories galore attached to his songs. I hope that gives you some context and idea about how special it was for me to be at the second of his two BST shows tonight. For all my adoration of The Boss, I have sadly only seen him live once before, on ‘The Rising’ tour in May 2003, financial constraints and being out of the country a couple of times preventing me from adding to that number. Therefore, the chance to see such a special show meant the world to me, and I consider myself beyond privileged to have had the chance to do so. I know many were not so fortunate.


I must also offer an apology to my fellow Springsteen fans who attended the show as I’m afraid I may have jinxed us all. In my review of last week’s Guns N’ Roses show, I mentioned that over the years I had been extremely lucky to have avoided any serious rain across a swathe of outdoor shows that I have attended, with just one having what could be considered a large amount of rain. I should have kept my mouth shut! It was again cloudy and overcast, and the weather forecast the night before predicted some showers between 11am-1pm. I was due to arrive around 12:30, so I expected to miss the worst of it. Literally, the second I walked out of Hyde Park Station and up the slope to street level… the heavens opened with a fury. We are not talking a minor downpour here, but a deluge with huge raindrops. It cleared within a few minutes and I thought the worst had passed. Having queued and made my way in for a bite to eat and a beer, it started again and continued constantly more or less into the first act. That seemed to be the end of it, but we did get another drenching during the main man’s show, but frankly by that point, I didn’t care and I don’t think anyone else did. So, my apologies to everyone for tempting fate… I shall be more cautious next time.


Having purchased my t-shirt (sadly, no programs were available), plus had some refreshments, I made my way to The Great Oak Stage. Once again, I will not repeat myself by explaining the ins ‘n’ outs of BST. If you wish to know more about this series of concerts, you can read my review of the P!NK show. Much like Guns N’ Roses the week before, the numbers waiting to see the opening act were somewhat small, which I suspect had as much to do with the rain as anything else. The support acts for each show vary depending on the style of the headliner, and many of today’s openers had a sound that was based in Country Rock. That may not suit some of the Rock/Metal fans, but I happen to have a love of New Country (something the aforementioned friend and I also gained together), so that suited me just fine.


First up was Brittney Spencer, a Country singer originally from Baltimore who now resides in Nashville… naturally. Her star is definitely rising, as proved by her appearing at the Country Music Awards and singing the national anthem at the 2023 NFL Draft. She possesses a wonderfully strong voice and an easy-going stage presence that made her a great opener. Right from the start, she mentioned the weather by stating, “Let’s just rock out in the rain.” She opened her six-song set with ‘Damn Right You’re Wrong’ and it had a luscious Country styled guitars and vocals (with an empowerment edge), although the rhythm seemed a little heavy in the mix again. There was an empowerment edge to the lyrics. The three-piece, made up of Spencer, Megan Jane (drums) and Gabe Burdulis (guitar), continued with ‘My Stupid Life’, where Spencer opened with an impressive and soulful wail. The delightful chiming riff preceded a great opening verse. ‘Better As Friend’ was another with an acoustic opening that increased in tempo as it went along, and I couldn’t help but note down how Spencer “can really wail” in my notes. After a cover of ‘Yesterday’ (The Beatles), she performed one of her better known songs called ‘Skinny & Sober’. It once again showcased her vocal range and seemed to go down well with the limited crowd. She closed out her set with a cover of Lee Hazelwood’s ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’ (although it was recorded by Nancy Sinatra) and it was a well-played version with some rather enjoyable guitar from Burdulis. I was aware of Spencer due to her performance at the NFL Draft and she delivered a strong opening set to kick proceedings off.


As was the case last week, when GN’R did a massive three-hour set, there wasn’t as much time as usual between main stage acts, so I decided to remain there for the duration of the concert. On my way to the Hyde Away area, I did catch a bit of Kelly McGrath on the Birdcage Stage, and I have to say she really got my attention. The two tracks I heard had that kind of upbeat, slightly Pop-styled Country and she has one hell of a voice. I am sad I wasn’t able to stay for the rest of the show, but those readers into Country, I truly encourage you to check out this lively, already well-regarded singer.


Second on the main stage line-up was James Bay. A number of my friends were familiar with Bay, no doubt due to his #1 album and various award nominations/wins. I must confess I vaguely knew the name and that was about it. The English singer/song-writer came out wearing his trademark black hat and opened up with ‘Best Fake Smile’. It was a rather lively start to the set with lots of guitar and a bouncy beat. Bay sounded in good voice and his vocals were clear above the foundational bed of riffs and beat. ‘Just For Tonight’ had a bit of a Nashville feel to it for this performance, and during the song his fellow six-stringer and keyboardist encouraged hands in the air, at this stage to slightly limited response. Personally, I thought it was a catchy little number. You can’t beat a bit of slide guitar, whether it is Rock or Country, and Bay’s guitar sidekick provided plenty of that during ‘If You Ever Want To Be In Love’. Bay is quite an animated front-man, both in his vocals and his visual performance, even when he is just strumming away on his acoustic as was the case for this number. I’m not sure I hear it so much on the studio version, but this felt a little Eagles-like at the time. There were also a few hands up by this stage and a slowly growing audience. He made a comment about having opened for The Rolling Stones… “but they ain’t no Bruce”, which unsurprisingly got quite a cheer prior to ‘Wanderlust’. This cut saw Bay playing a bit of a scorcher during the guitar solo and there was a decent clap-along in the bridge. In terms of sound on the day, Bay was up there with the best ones. After a big cheer for the band, he then decided to include two unreleased (at the time) tracks entitled ‘Goodbye Never Felt So Bad’ and ‘All My Broken Pieces’. I don’t have an issue with headliners chucking in new tracks, nor main supports, but I’ve never been a fan of doing them back-to-back in a show as it can sometimes lose momentum; I am less keen on a pair of them in a short support slot, but to be fair, they seemed to go down okay. ‘Goodbye…’ had a nice chimed riff, ringing keys and a hefty Bay wail, and it sounded rather Springsteen-y to me, while ‘…Pieces’ was mellower with acoustic guitar and quality vocals. ‘Get Out While You Can’ reinvigorated the crowd with its vibrant rhythm and infectious chorus, plus a more committed clap-along from the audience when Bay asked for it. After the calmer ballad ‘Let It Go’, Bay upped the tempo for ‘Endless Summer Nights’. The piano and ringing riff intro had another Eagles/Don Henley feel to it and at times ‘Boys Of Summer’ came to mind. The fans in the audience seemed to enjoy this one and I was also rather taken with it. Still bouncing around the stage like he’d had too many coffees, Bay and his fellow axeman met centre stage and kicked off the riff for his hit song ‘Hold Back The River’. Following a mean bit of Hammond action, Bay strummed the verse and wailed his vocals while the rest of the band encourage everyone to clap along. There was a little showman pose prior to the solo and bridge before a call and response “hold back the river.” This got the best response of his ten-song set and finished it on a high. As mentioned above, I didn’t know much about James Bay, but today proved he can be quite the showman even when faced with a limited crowd and the tail end of bad weather. As a support for The Boss, he was a good choice.


The main support tonight was a band that I came across back in the late nineties/early noughties, but much like everything to do with New Country, I lost touch many years back. I’m sure numerous people might recall their original name, The Dixie Chicks, but they now go by the moniker of just The Chicks, having changed their name in 2020 due to the Southern connection with slavery and to highlight racial inequality. With the rain having held off for a while, many more people arrived at the stage to enjoy the day’s main support. Though officially a three-piece comprising Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer, they have several touring members to their band bringing the total to nine, including a drummer, keys, two additional guitarists, lap steel guitarist and a bassist. I did make a point of checking that total by revisiting a couple of videos, but given you can often see techs behind working on the instruments, there could indeed have been a couple more. The large, but no largest, ensemble for the day came out to a nice clap-along for the opening of ‘Sin Wagon’. It was a bit of a rip-snorting Country Rock first salvo, which came with a side order of Bluegrass. Despite the large number of instruments playing, the mix was rather tasty with everything fitting together nicely. There was even a bit of slap bass that whipped up a few in the crowd. I’m a huge sucker for some fiddle/violin, so The Chicks satisfied that soft spot right from the off. Kicking off with some harmony vocals, ‘Gaslighter’ was a cut with a delightful “Gaslighter… Delighter” chorus that was easy for everyone to join in with. This was the sort of Country I adore and I was already in my element. ‘Julianna Calm Down’ saw vocalist Maines took more of a centre stage role for the opening, but once it got going, there was some great fiddle playing from Maguire. There are always a handful of covers across a BST day, but maybe none so different as The Chicks’ rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’. Instead of acoustic and electric guitar, there were mandolin, banjo, acoustic guitar and lap steel guitar, plus some rather glorious harmony singing from the three leading ladies. It may not be to every reader’s taste, but I thought it was a top-drawer version. A strummed opening signalled the arrival of ‘The Long Way Around’, which featured more lively violin/fiddle and a chorus that quickly wormed its way into your head. For a Country band, The Chicks create quite a wall of sound and this one had it all. The combination of two lead guitars, an acoustic, lap steel and a banjo was quite effective for ‘Wide Open Spaces’, and Maines’ voice soared above it all. I did smile at the little for the little fiddle/violin solo and many joined in when Strayer egged them on for a clap-along. The Chicks took it down a notch for the mellower ‘Cowboy Take Me Away’, and it reminded my why I love Country ballads with its bit of slide, slow lap steel, quality harmonies and some fiddle. Even during a slower track with plenty going on, the sound from the stage was top-notch. They kept the pace low with a cover of Brian Robinson’s ‘Travelin’ Soldier’, which was a major hit for The Chicks. It was a charming cut built upon acoustic guitar, slide guitar and mournful fiddle. If you don’t know the song, go and check out the lyrics as they are pretty stirring stuff, a point magnified by the military drumbeat and fiddle at the end. Following the applause, there was a massive three-way harmony moment before an explosion of full-on Bluegrass made up of banjo, electric guitar, acoustics and pretty much every one on the stage playing one thing or another. It might not have been raucous in a Metal sense, but it certainly fired up the audience, who roared their approval at the end. I am happy to report that even I was doing a bit of a jig for this one. The fun continued for ‘Daddy Lessons’, which saw one of the band members blowing into an instrument that from my viewpoint looked like a keytar type thing, but it wasn’t. Hands up, I have no idea even having watched videos what the hell that chap is playing. The middle section had a real Country Fair type feel with Maines wailing whilst the rest of the musicians played away. The show took a more serious turn at this point for The Chicks’ political song, ‘March March’. It was released in 2020, and is inspired by social justice and the events that were taking place in the State at that time. It featured echoed vocals at the start and a solid fiddle/electric guitar tandem solo in the middle. Towards the end, Maines stepped forward and pounded on a drum for all she was worth. As would be expected for a song like this, there were plenty of thought-provoking images on the large screens. Their penultimate choice was ‘Not Ready To Make Nice’, a slower cut that contained some strong vocals from Maines during the verse and lush three-way harmonies in the chorus. It hit the spot with the now continually growing audience, who gave it a big cheer. As I had for the whole set, I really appreciated the fiddle playing in this number. As Maines strummed her guitar for the opening of ‘Goodbye Earl’, Strayer and Maguire raised their hands to encourage the audience to join in with the lively beat. About a minute in, the banjo and thick organ joined in, and the full Country effect was completed by the line dancing video on the back screen. Despite the somewhat darkish subject of the lyrics (a beaten wife killing her husband), it was a good closing choice. With numerous awards and sales upward of thirty million, The Chicks have earned the title of the biggest selling US all-female band of all-time, and watching the show tonight, it’s not hard to see why. Leaving aside whether you are a fan of Country or not, their performance, both musically and vocally, was pretty much faultless, and they have an armoury of songs for all situations. I absolutely loved watching The Chicks and it has somewhat reinvigorated my passion for New Country… the neighbours might want to prepare themselves for a different musical onslaught coming from this house. Unless you despise Country with a passion, do yourselves a favour and try to catch The Chicks next time they tour; I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.


After a fairly swift toilet and refreshment run, the big moment had arrived… the one I had been waiting for since the very first second I saw that Bruce Springsteen had been added to the BST line-up. As you can already tell from my introduction, this was a truly special occasion for me. I am usually a fastidious note-taker during gigs that I review, but I decided to limit it somewhat tonight; that way so I could review it as much from a fan point of view as that of a reviewer. As the legendary E Street Band strolled out onto the stage one after another, all eighteen of them according to my best count, the feeling of anticipation grew. There was a particularly loud cheer for Jake Clemons, the nephew of E Street iconic sax player Clarence Clemons, and Steven Van Zandt, who was initially sporting a long coat and large hat with a feather. To loud roars of “Bruuuuuuce”, Springsteen walked up to his mic and declared, “Hello, London, Saturday night.” Without further ado, the expected “One… two… three… four”, heralded the start of a something I can only describe as utterly magnificent. A few drums beats later and ‘My Love Will Not Let You Down’ kicked off one of the most hotly anticipated musical events of the year. From the drums, bass, tambourines and tinkling keys to the horns, guitar and The Boss himself, everything sounded just about perfect from where I was stood. Mid-song, the main man threw a shape and fired out the first of many solos to come. The first song had even finished before we got the sight of the three guitarists – Springsteen, Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren – standing centre stage in unison. Springsteen is as animated on stage at the age of seventy-three as he was thirty-plus years ago; what he and the likes of Mick Jagger continue to do on the live stage is nothing short of incredible. The opening of ‘Death To My Hometown’ brought Clemons to the front with a military type drum and plenty of space given to the trumpet. Following an enthusiastic clap-along, Springsteen deliver one of his newer tracks with genuine force. I didn’t have to wait long for one of my all-time favourites to make an appearance. Now, I will be truthful and admit that I absolutely adore the slowed down, ballad-like version of ‘No Surrender’ that appeared on the aforementioned live album, but I have never expected to hear it live. I hold out hope, but third song in, that little itch would have to remain unscratched as The Boss gave us the full-blooded rendition. There were plenty of hands up, masses more singing and even a few shouts of “fuck, yeah” as this classic washed over the gathered masses. For the “la,la,la” moment, Van Zandt joined Springsteen on the main mic, and the audience matched them every step of the way.


‘The crowd seemed a little less familiar with ‘Ghosts’, from his 2020 album ‘Letter To You’, but that didn’t stop them dancing and responding well with a good hand clap. In a perfect illustration of what a legacy The Boss has, Springsteen jumped from a three-year-old record all the way back for three track that are forty-five years old, starting with ‘Prove It All Night’. Springsteen’s eyes often closed up tight as he sang the verses, then Van Zandt joined his long-time cohort on the mic for the dual vocal chorus. Almost as if preaching to the crowd, the line of “If dreams came true, wouldn’t that be nice” sounded more poignant as he pointed at the crowd. At this stage, the rain started to come down again, but if everyone felt the same as I did, it could have hailed down and I wouldn’t have cared; I was in the company of true greatness. Mid-song, the Big Man’s nephew stepped forward to massive cheers and unleashed the sax solo, and there was a sizeable clap-along in the bridge. The pace came down a notch for the lovely ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’. Springsteen rasped the vocals in the verse, then roared them as the chorus arrived where he was backed up superbly by the various backing singers on stage. Unlike many older rockers these days, the various other vocalists were there to add depth, not to mask and cover the main singer’s failing voice. The final offering from the ‘Darkness…’ album trio was ‘Promised Land’. Not only do I love a bit of violin/fiddle, but I am a real sucker for some harmonica. Having egged the crowd to clap, we got a barrage of Springsteen harmonica and sax from Clemons, and of course a huge wail from the main man near the end. The Boss suggested that, “London, let’s have a party” and duly obliged with the massive sing-along that is ‘Out In The Street’. From the opening words “Put on your best dress, baby”, the crowd lifted their voices to the skies. Keys tinkled, drums banged and guitars riffed in perfect balance sound-wise, and when it came to the “O, O, OO, O” chant, the crowd roared along. During the second chorus, the boss took his mic from the stand and went for a walkabout along the barrier in front of the stage, almost singing directly to those how spent all day crammed in there to see him. I truly wish I could, but two knee injuries prevent standing upright for that length of time.


Clemons took his moment in the spotlight and wandered along to stand in-front of the large oak tree that made up part of the stage, before joining Springsteen closer to the crowd. The massive “OO, OO” call and respond at the end was fabulous, especially when he passed the “out on the street” line around the various E Street members, including Clemons who was stood next to him. Having encouraged Van Zandt to, “Play that thing, Steve… a little more” The Boss took the audience on a trip to ‘Darlington County’. The Boss once again went on a walkabout down front, and at one point proceed to spray a can of drink, contents unknown, over himself. This time he went down a long runway type section that led to one of the two towers, mixing with the crowd and even climbing up on the barrier at one point. He shook hands, had a placed on his head and even joked around with a kid on his father’s shoulders. The look of serene joy as he leaned backward into the fans epitomises the connection between this man and the fans. Suffice to say, the “Na, na, na, na” chant was provided with gusto. The sax/violin tandem solo between Clemons and Soozie Tyrell was fun as well.


Unbelievably, we were still just a third of the way through the show. Sticking with the humongous ‘Born In The USA’ album, Springsteen donned an acoustic and strummed out the opening notes of ‘Working On The Highway’. That quick-fire, almost deadened riff provided the perfect moment for a bit of side-to-side boogieing. The brass section was given a bit more prominence in the mix and the crowd provided the “wohoo” shouts when called upon. Dropping all the way back to 1973 and ‘Kitty’s Back’, The Boss allowed a chance for his E Street virtuosos to shine. From the brass section through Roy Bittan’s piano solo, via Springsteen’s guitar solo and Charles Giordano’s keyboard segment, to Clemons’ little solo, it was an E Street extravaganza highlighting just what a talented bunch have backed him up for so many years. From early seventies to last year, they followed this with Springsteen’s rather gorgeous cover of The Commodores’ ‘Nightshift’ from his most recent album, ‘Only The Strong Survive’. With the stage bathed in blue, rather fitting as the rain had returned, this rather funky number was less known but no less performed. As Bruce counted out two, then three and finally four bangs followed by a “shoosh”, Springsteen went from an almost whisper to his usual volume for ‘Mary’s Place’, a song I have always liked. During the extended bridge with Springsteen and drummer Max Weinberg, you could almost hear nothing more than a quiet hum during another “shoosh” moment. Springsteen was back along the front clutching the hands of his faithful, then rather fittingly, he started with the “Let it rain… turn it up” section. On cue, the crowd did indeed turn it up and yelled out the closing sing-along. “Meet me at Mary’s place, we’re gonna have a party”… yes, indeed, a party was in full swing. After the funky ‘E Street Shuffle’, where we once again got to see the band in full flow, Springsteen was left alone on stage bar Barry Danielian on the trumpet. Springsteen proceed to tell the crowd about his friend George Theiss. Talking about his fight with cancer and losing such an influential person in his life was extremely powerful. “Death gives you pause to think”, he told Hyde Park, “It brings a certain clarity of thought, of experience, Death’s final and lasting gift to the living is an expanded vision of this life itself.” As the rain came down again, even the quiet hum from earlier had dropped to nearly nothing. It was a moment that is tough to explain unless you were there. The New Jersey man then played ‘Last Man Standing’ from his ‘Letter To You’ release, a reference to him being the last man standing from The Castilles. It was one of the things I loved about the three-disc live album, the introductory monologues about his life, which if there is one slight disappointment from this show, was the fact there weren’t more. Many would argue that they’d prefer another song to The Boss talking about his teenage years; I am not in that category. Staying in his distant part, the E Street Band returned and they slipped into the still somewhat mellow ‘Backstreets’ from the mid-seventies, where The Boss’ roared vocals powered out of the PA. Bittan provided some plonking piano during the intro for ‘Because The Night’, a track many class as a cover despite the fact it was Springsteen (plus Patti Smith who released it) who wrote it. The song is pretty famous, as shown by the audience response during the chorus. I can’t speak for the rest of the crowd, but those around me were pretty vocal, and this was just the start. ‘She’s The One’ took the show all the way back to ‘The River’ album, it’s highly memorable cascading keys juicing up the crowd to erupt again. Clemons gave us another solo and Springsteen took out his mouth organ as Van Zandt smiled away at his side. The final of what could be termed newer tracks (anything under fifteen years) was ‘Wrecking Ball’, the title-track from his 2012 album. It may not be as classic as some offerings, but the crowd bloody loved it! With the E Street encouraging the claps, Bruce demanded, “London, let me hear your voices call… c’mon… c’mon… c’mon.” Of course, he got what he wanted and they got louder with each one. The solo section saw The Boss, Van Zandt, Lofgren and Tyrell mid-stage together, and for a song that many causal fans may not know, it was a well-received track.


From here on in, it was big beast after big beast, starting with an all-time favourite. I had waited twenty years to ‘The Rising’ again on the live stage and it didn’t disappoint. There is something almost spiritual about this song in the live environment, like being at church (or I guess). Opening mildly with some backing and Springsteen’s voice, it builds to the first chorus and then explodes. The audience reacted the same, and just thinking about that first “Na, na, na, na” moment makes the hairs on my arm stand up just typing this. You can appreciate this live monster until you hear it for yourself. Had he gone off then, we’d already been spoilt, but this was just the start. The Boss followed this with the crowd yell-along that is ‘Badlands’. During the verse, the audience swayed and shimmied, but once the title appears in the chorus, they thrust their hands in the air and screamed it at the top of their lungs. The “wohoo… oo…oo” chant was almost magical. The Boss had his arm in the air and the audience seemed to get louder and louder. The joyous images of the masses watching looked brilliant; what it must have been to look upon that all night from the stage! With darkness now descending, The Boss lifted the crowd to fever pitch with the colossal ‘Born To Run’. From the first line of “In the day, we sweat it out…” the audience were singing along, and despite their volume and the sheer numbers on stage, the sound remained as clear as it had the whole show. When Clemons stepped forward, some may have even needed a change of underwear, and the “Cause tramps like us, baby, we were Born To Run… wohoo, wohoo…” section at the end was immense. Without missing a beat, The Boss jumped straight into ‘Bobby Jean’. During the verse, many had their arms in the air, swaying from one side to the other, and when they showed it on the big screen, it was something to see – go take a look if you can find any videos online. Again, with little in the way of separation, it was time for another essential cut, the party animal that is ‘Glory Days’. People were dancing, bouncing and bouncing, everyone was enjoying it in their own way, but all of them singing. As is customary for this one, Van Zandt joined The Boss on the main mic for bits, and the shout of “but I probably will” that Springsteen left to the crowd was lapped up. Near the end, there was a reference to Springsteen’s last Hyde Park appearance. In the extended outro, The Boss asked, “Are The E Street Band with me… oh, yeah… Is London with me?” With Van Zandt’s arm wrapped around him, The Boss announced he thought it was time to go home, to massive boos, and Van Zandt didn’t want to either. “I’m telling you, they’re gonna pull the fucking plug again… they’re gonna pull the fucking plug agaaaaain.” Moments later, they agreed it wasn’t home time and fired up the song again. There was an amusing step-step-step to each side by the pair that matched the drums, then both slowly shuffled up in time up to a camera at the back. On the big screen, the audience were treated to close-ups of the pair mouthing about not pulling the plug. It got a lot of laughs. With the expected Boss bum-wiggle, in a night of amazing moments, this sat near the top. Maybe this sums it up better than any words I can write, but when you can follow that with an even bigger song in ‘Dancing In The Dark’, you have one stellar catalogue of songs! As expected, the chorus was bellowed out, especially the “you can’t start a fire” line, and Clemons provided another snorter of a sax solo. By the time of the “hey baby” chant, the crowd were in raptures. Most seventy-plus men wouldn’t dare to bare their chest, not The Boss. Prior to a Gospel styled backing, he ripped open his shirt before introducing the band. With several “LONDON…” shouts and “BRUCE” replies, he passionately declared we’d just seen, “the hearts’ stoppin’, pants droppin’, earth shockin’, hard rockin’, booty shakin’, love makin’ Viagra takin’, history makin’, LEGENDARY E Street Band!” With that, it was straight into “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out. The Boss was once again on a walkabout down front, while the crowd provided the massive title response when needed. At one point, he was again leaning back on the barrier, half into the crowd, laughing and smiling. When the “important part” arrived, and the “Big Man joined the band”, images of the irreplaceable Clarence Clemons were shown on the big screens to the loudest roar of the night. With plug-pulling time approaching, Springsteen opted for a massive sing-along, a rocked up version of ‘Twist And Shout’. I doubt there was a person there who didn’t know that song, and they sang along at the top of their voices. Springsteen did a little “Dad Dancing” on stage and every performer looked like they were having a blast on stage. When they did a little moment of ‘La Bamba’/rumba moment, just wow! The volume of the response. By the end, every hand was in the air, again, the image on the screens unforgettable! The band left and The Boss returned for one more song. Many might think it strange to go from such orgasmic crowd action to an acoustic ballad, but it’s The Boss. ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ was a spine-tingling ending with the crowd almost silent as they stood soaking up the final moments, only making noise when asked to contribute singing the title. The way the harmonica rang out into the darkness was gorgeous. With a raise of his arms and guitar, The Boss gave a satisfied smile and walked off the stage.


How does one sum that night up… in The Boss style… utterly, unquestionably, unmistakably, totally, completely magnificently sensational! I have many gigs I consider to be some of the best I have seen, and a number that are my favourites for personal reasons, that is one of the very few that sit in both categories. Springsteen may not have the same upper range he once had, but you’d barely notice, and that old rasp and roar are still there. That this man can still perform for three hours and whip up a crowd like he did tonight is nothing short of astonishing. A Springsteen show is like attending a vibrant and passionate Church Of Rock with The Boss as the crowd’s Minister Of Music. It’s a soulful, uplifting experience that is hard to explain unless you have witnessed it for yourself, as the 65,000 did tonight (and on Thursday). This is my fifth BST show, and I’ve lost count of how many large-scale shows I have seen at Wembley, Milton Keynes and other assorted venues, but I can’t remember ever hearing a crowd as loud as the one I was part of tonight. If I am to be brutally honest, I think the set-list for the Thursday show was better, losing the two openers and getting ‘The River’ and ‘Born In The USA’ instead. Taking my fan hat off, those two openers seem strange choices at the expense of two absolute stone-cold classic fan favourites, although we would have also lost ‘Darkness…’ That minor point aside, this concert was absolutely stunning and it’s a night that will live with me for the rest of my days. I want to follow up on a point I made about P!NK’s wonderful visual show and the lack of anything similar in Rock. Yes, I stated, GN’R had the big video screens, but it wasn’t in the same league. Springsteen had just the two huge side screens and another above the stage that all showed the same image, and thus had even less when it came to that aspect. However, bizarrely, the less-is-more approach really worked… I can’t explain it to myself, let alone in this review. I can only guess it has something to do with him being such a hypnotic performer that everything else doesn’t matter. I suspect some may not have had the unforgettable experience I did tonight, and that’s alright. Music and gigs are a very personal thing, but if my extensive words (apologies to all for the length) have moved you, I hope you’ll take the plunge if you get the chance in the future.


I have mentioned it at the end of my reviews, but I want to add a couple of lines to repeat my thanks to Outside.Org for arranging my entry to see three of the biggest live acts around. I am sure they were inundated with review requests for these shows, especially Springsteen, and I am immensely grateful that I was given the opportunity to attend three absolute crackers this year, but the most gratitude is reserved for seeing this show.


Bruce Springsteen showed tonight why he is a genuine living legend and one of the greatest Rockstars to ever grace a live stage.

 

Review: Dave Scott Photos: Dave Hogan

 
 

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