U N C L E *B R U C E* S P R I N G S T E E N *

wolfamongwolves

I'm leaving the house any minute...

Hitch-Hiker

wolfamongwolves wrote:

I'm leaving the house any minute...

Hey, haven't seen you around these parts for a while. How have ya been?
You're gonna have a great time at the Boss. It was awesome last night.

Carlos D - Sorry to hear that. Whereabouts were you? I was in the pit to the right of Bruce. Close enough to the front. Everyone up around there was havin a great time.

Carlos D

Hitch-Hiker wrote:

Hey, haven't seen you around these parts for a while. How have ya been?
You're gonna have a great time at the Boss. It was awesome last night.

Carlos D - Sorry to hear that. Whereabouts were you? I was in the pit to the right of Bruce. Close enough to the front. Everyone up around there was havin a great time.

Yeah I could see on the big screen everyone in the pit was well up for it.I thought it was hilarious when he got down on his knees,right in front of the crowd on the barrier and you could see on the big screen that this girl was staring his crotch out of it!Haha. I was at the front for the last gig maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much,traffic was so bad this time though that it took us three hours to get up there from Newbridge so we got stuck at the right on the second barrier.I got sick of it and moved into the middle though where there was a pretty good atmosphere,actually delighted I moved cos the concert seemed to really pick up then.

Don't mind my complaining by the way,just had to get that off my chest.Have good memories of it really. Any personal highlights of the show?When he let everyone sing the first bit of the River I got goosebumps.

Hitch-Hiker

Carlos D wrote:

Any personal highlights of the show?When he let everyone sing the first bit of the River I got goosebumps.

That was awesome!
I think Mary's Place and 10th Avenue Freezeout were my favourites.

Bathgate66

there are always what a call " kill-joys" , no matter whgat artist you may be going to see on any given night.

Its like when youre at a Pearl Jam show, - some people sit down the entire time until they hear Even Flow or Jeremy- then they lose their minds.

Hey at least Bruce and ESB have over 250 songs from their catalogue to choose from- and IMO there are very few sit down and or bathroom songs found in it..

Enjoy the Magic people,...

Bathgate66

MAY 22, NIGHT ONE OF THREE AT DUBLIN'S RDS ARENA



pics at Backstreets



It was a cool and drizzly Dublin day, settling down to a light mist as Bruce and the E Street Band kicked off their Spring 2008 European tour. "We brought the New Jersey weather with us, I guess!" Bruce said. Don't let the word arena fool you, they've most definitely made the move to stadiums. This Dublin venue is an equestrian oval -- perhaps not your standard stadium, but an open air venue vastly larger than anything the Magic tour has played so far, with a bigger stage, bigger video screens, bigger everything. So any faltering tonight can be chalked up to the performers getting the feel of the new setup, getting their stadium legs back -- not to mention the strangeness of playing in broad daylight, as "The Promised Land" opened the show at 8:10 before the sun went down. No Phantom Dan tribute video, but Bruce mentioned Danny's passing as he thanked the crowd for their good wishes.



Despite a tentative start, Bruce and the band turned in a powerful and lengthy performance, at 26 songs. Four songs between "Reason to Believe" and "She's the One" made for a kick-ass mid-set stretch. "Out in the Street," "Candy's Room," and "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" were all audibles, with the sing-along on "Sunny Day" going so well that Bruce had to hush the crowd in order to go into "The River." Patti Scialfa hasn't made the jump across the pond, with Bruce telling the crowd that as he left home, "the Guinness was being poured." But Southside Johnny was there -- "the most dangerous man in show business" -- singing backup and clowning around on "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out." And here in the land of its inspiration, "American Land" closed the show.



Next: The Dublin stand continues Friday and Sunday nights.

For the full song list, and reports from other recent performances,

wolfamongwolves

Night
Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Lonesome Day
The Promised Land
Magic
Trapped
Murder Incorporated
Darlington County
Prove It All Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
Mary's Place
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Jungleland
Born to Run
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
American Land

Hey Hitch, you were right. It was amazing. Was hankering for Rosalita, Blinded by the Light or Thunder Road, but Given what we got, it was fantastic.Never seen Bruce before, so I was blown away by his performance. So much energy! "Promised Land" was an early highlight, just tremendous, and Magic was really nice. The downside was that the crowd (at least where I was) was fucking terrible. There were people next to me who talked non-stop through every single song, saying inane things like "ooh, you should go and see George Michael the next time. He was fantastic - like listening to one of his CDs"( Anyone who ever says that is a philistine who should be forever banned from all live music events for the sake of the rest of us, in my "humble" opinion.) Came to a head during what seemed to be a really intense and beautiful Devil's Arcade, but I couldn't tell because I could just hear distracting chatter so much more than the song. When I eventually turned to them to tell them to keep quiet, they told me not to be so rude. One guy actually stared to pick a fight, so I did what I should've done long before and pushed my way out of there. I ended up missing "The Rising" and "Last to Die" during all of this. But from then on it was unspeakably amazing, from the end of the first set right through the encore. I've got no words for "Jungleland", and "Dancing in the Dark" was a big surprise, with fiddle gratifyingly standing in for the synth, and a big bald 40-year-old man standing in for Courtney Cox ("I love you / you're so hot / on that show..." ). As for "American Land", that was like a big drunken karaoke cêilî, that was never going to end, and I wish it hadn't. I also wish I was going on Sunday. whoever is, is in for a treat

Bathgate66

U2 (MINUS ONE) CATCHES THE BOSS IN DUBLIN
May 24, 2008
posted by: m2

@U2 reader Dave H. reports from Ireland that all of U2, minus Adam
Clayton but including Paul McGuinness, was in attendance for Bruce
Springsteen's gig Friday night at the RDS in Dublin. (Thx Dave!)

___________________
@U2
http://www.atu2.com

Hitch-Hiker

Bathgate66 wrote:

U2 (MINUS ONE) CATCHES THE BOSS IN DUBLIN
May 24, 2008
posted by: m2

@U2 reader Dave H. reports from Ireland that all of U2, minus Adam
Clayton but including Paul McGuinness, was in attendance for Bruce
Springsteen's gig Friday night at the RDS in Dublin. (Thx Dave!)

___________________
@U2
http://www.atu2.com

Cool

My friends mam met him in town on Saturday before the second gig. She got a kiss and an autograph. I'm jealous on both counts regardless of my heterosexuality

edit: Born to Run just came on on random. Awesome!

Bathgate66

Did They open up these shows with the Calliope , like they had been on the first US Leg ?

It an amazing spectical to see/hear that thing upon shows opening,...

Hitch-Hiker

I had to look up what that was
And no, not to my recollection.

Bathgate66

MAY 25, DUBLIN NIGHT THREE: FEELING THE SPIRIT
If you caught one of the first two Dublin shows but not the third, you might be taken aback to hear them described as warm-ups. But they really were trial laps compared to Sunday night at the RDS Arena, when Springsteen and the E Street Band put pedal to the metal and blew the doors off. Now thoroughly in stadium mode and completely comfortable on the bigger stage, this was the show of the stand. A happy, appreciative Springsteen clearly knew it -- and two bonus songs after "American Land" served as the victory lap. This night was even more physical, with Bruce running up and down, back and forth, and making the most of the three stage thrusts to interact with the crowd. As they grabbed at his legs on "Spirit in the Night" -- "Can you feel the spirit?" he sang in a new intro -- Bruce took advantage of the hold to do a complete backbend, all the way down. Yes, literally bending over backwards to please.

A powerhouse trio of "Gypsy Biker," "Atlantic City," and "Reason to Believe" shook the RDS foundations. But it was next that the surprises really started coming. One might have thought that "Spirit" would be the night's flashback for Danny, but here Springsteen thanked the crowd for their condolences and offered two more: "Sandy" into "Growin' Up." There was a Danny-gets-busted story, and Bruce also told the crowd: "Danny's name was Federici, but he was adopted -- that red hair and freckles... I'm sure he was Irish."



Patti remains absent from this leg so far, Bruce now telling the crowd, "The fort must be guarded at all times." Also missing was "Devil's Arcade," dropped from the five-pack and replaced by "Racing in the Street." This Darkness epic is obviously a far cry from stadium sing-alongs like "Sunny Day" or "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," but it they brought it off and then some -- even indoors, this "Racing" would have been a stand-out, but hushing a venue of this size, it was astounding communal moment.

bruce in a pimp hat from a fan :


Is the band ready?" Bruce asked in the encore, "Are the people ready? Is the band ready? Are the people ready?" A great, goofy "Rosalita" was followed by "Dancing in the Dark." Once again a frightened girl had to be quickly handed back to her parents after Bruce tried to bring her up for a dance... maybe the stadium crowd is just that much more intimidating? "If this keeps happening," said Bruce, "I'm gonna be cited for child abuse!" By this point in the show, though, he had everyone else eating out of the palm of his hand, too in the groove to stop with "American Land." "One more for Dublin!" Bruce hollered -- which turned into two more for Dublin, as "Ramrod" (complete with silly hat mugging) gave way to "Glory Days" without a breath. Stretched out to two hours and 45 minutes, it was a sensational performance.


Setlist:
No Surrender
Radio Nowhere
The Ties That Bind
Spirit in the Night
Gypsy Biker
Atlantic City
Reason to Believe
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Growin' Up
Because the Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
Mary's Place
The Promised Land
Racing in the Street
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Born to Run
Rosalita
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
Ramrod
Glory Days

||Release_Me||

1. No Surrender
2. Radio Nowhere
3. Night
4. Lonesome Day
5. The Promised Land
6. Magic
7. Trapped
8. Adam Raised A Cain
9. Darlington County (request)
10. It’s Hard To Be A Saint In The City (request)
11. Because The Night
12. She’s The One
13. Livin’ In The Future
14. Mary’s Place
15. I’ll Work For Your Love
16. Devil’s Arcade
17. The Rising
18. Last To Die
19. Long Walk Home
20. Badlands

21. Growin’ Up (Request for Brad aged 6)
22. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
23. Born To Run
24. Rosalita (request)
25. Dancing In The Dark
26. American Land

Last night was my first ever Bruce show. There's only thing thing that has to be said...

Bruce.Is.The.Boss.

Absolutely phenomenal show! Arrived at 9.30am and met some great people who we spent the day with (Kath, who we traveled to the show with, Graham, Jan, John)..so if you're on this forum i just want to say hello and thank you all for making the whole experience a perfect one.

Managed to get right to the front, just off centre so had a perfect view of everyone. The setlist was near-perfect imo, although on certain songs i think the sound wasn't brilliant, especially Bruce's mic. Maybe it was clearer further back on the field.

The songs from Magic sounded great, in particular Radio Nowhere, Magic, and Long Walk Home - the crowd really seemed to enjoy the latter song. Everyone went nuts for Badlands, Born To Run, Trapped (which was AMAZING), Hard to Be a Saint, Born To Run, Mary's Place, Darlington County, American Land etc.

American Land is one of the best show closers i have ever seen. By that point, everyone around us was dancing and there were a group of guys who were so ecsatic they had their arms around each other dancing in a circle as if it was an Irish jig song!

Other highlights - Nils' brilliant solo during 'Because The Night' (spinning around on stage, jumping up and down, kicking his legs out like a madman)
- Nils and Bruce taking a stroll along the front of the stage singing to the camera during Darlington County.
- The amount of times Bruce came out into the crowd to sing to everyone and get everyone to sing. I lost count how many times he involved the crowd.
- Badlands. The power of this last night was off the chart. Whenever i caught a glimpse of the screens during this song i could see the whole floor just going completely insane. It gave me goosebumps.
- The people around me. There was a girl behind me for most of the show and i think i kept hitting her in the face with my big hair lol, i kept apologising and she said it was ok. I felt bad though, she moved about two rows back for the last 25 mins or so, and another young girl moved forward and she had the biggest smile on her face the whole time. Graham and some friends kept reaching over to hug me/high-five/ruffle my hair thanks to the eurphoria we all felt. A couple to my right danced together all night with smiles on their faces. It really moved me to see so many happy people close together.
- The crowd in general. For the most part, the people in the stands were quite reserved, singing and clapping along but staying seated. But, Bruce got them all to wave their hands and clap at the beginning of Mary's Place which was great. The 'Are You Ready?' back and forth singing was LOUD. The floor was great for the most part, really enthusiastic all night, singing and dancing to most songs.

Oh, and it was great that he played Growin' Up which was a request of a little boy wearing big read headphones sat on his dad's shoulder. Bruce told a little story before the final verse as if he was the little boy...'so there i was, at my first rock and roll concert, sat on my dad's shoulder's and he's making me wear these big red headphones'. The kid loved the song, we could all see because the camera kept showing him on the screen dancing and waving his arms around.

All in all, it was a perfect first show. And now i'm sooooo tempted to go to Cardiff. Thanks everyone!

HOOKER

I LOVE marys place!

Bathgate66

||Release_Me|| wrote:

Last night was my first ever Bruce show. There's only thing thing that has to be said...

Bruce.Is.The.Boss.

Absolutely phenomenal show! Arrived at 9.30am and met some great people who we spent the day with (Kath, who we traveled to the show with, Graham, Jan, John)..so if you're on this forum i just want to say hello and thank you all for making the whole experience a perfect one.

Managed to get right to the front, just off centre so had a perfect view of everyone. The setlist was near-perfect imo, although on certain songs i think the sound wasn't brilliant, especially Bruce's mic. Maybe it was clearer further back on the field.

The songs from Magic sounded great, in particular Radio Nowhere, Magic, and Long Walk Home - the crowd really seemed to enjoy the latter song. Everyone went nuts for Badlands, Born To Run, Trapped (which was AMAZING), Hard to Be a Saint, Born To Run, Mary's Place, Darlington County, American Land etc.

American Land is one of the best show closers i have ever seen. By that point, everyone around us was dancing and there were a group of guys who were so ecsatic they had their arms around each other dancing in a circle as if it was an Irish jig song!

Other highlights - Nils' brilliant solo during 'Because The Night' (spinning around on stage, jumping up and down, kicking his legs out like a madman)
- Nils and Bruce taking a stroll along the front of the stage singing to the camera during Darlington County.
- The amount of times Bruce came out into the crowd to sing to everyone and get everyone to sing. I lost count how many times he involved the crowd.
- Badlands. The power of this last night was off the chart. Whenever i caught a glimpse of the screens during this song i could see the whole floor just going completely insane. It gave me goosebumps.
- The people around me. There was a girl behind me for most of the show and i think i kept hitting her in the face with my big hair lol, i kept apologising and she said it was ok. I felt bad though, she moved about two rows back for the last 25 mins or so, and another young girl moved forward and she had the biggest smile on her face the whole time. Graham and some friends kept reaching over to hug me/high-five/ruffle my hair thanks to the eurphoria we all felt. A couple to my right danced together all night with smiles on their faces. It really moved me to see so many happy people close together.
- The crowd in general. For the most part, the people in the stands were quite reserved, singing and clapping along but staying seated. But, Bruce got them all to wave their hands and clap at the beginning of Mary's Place which was great. The 'Are You Ready?' back and forth singing was LOUD. The floor was great for the most part, really enthusiastic all night, singing and dancing to most songs.

Oh, and it was great that he played Growin' Up which was a request of a little boy wearing big read headphones sat on his dad's shoulder. Bruce told a little story before the final verse as if he was the little boy...'so there i was, at my first rock and roll concert, sat on my dad's shoulder's and he's making me wear these big red headphones'. The kid loved the song, we could all see because the camera kept showing him on the screen dancing and waving his arms around.

All in all, it was a perfect first show. And now i'm sooooo tempted to go to Cardiff. Thanks everyone!

Reading your accounts of your first Bruce show gave me goosebumps- & helped me recollect my first time. ( Bruce /ESB @ Giants Stadium BITUSA 1984---or was it 83 )

The comradery works in unison as the Boss comandeers the entire crowd from the opening note to the closing note. Every night. Everyone does seem to be smiling, even as you walk out of the show, everyone is still smiling.
( I would also compare this comradery to that of the Pearl Jam fanbase as well, overall. )


Its no wonder he is legendary and an american music icon, without question.
I suggest if Cardiff isnt too far off you make the pilgrimage to the show ( and as many others as you possibly can ) because who knows the next time you will ever have the chance to see the e street band - as we know it - - ( or if there will be the chance - especially with the death of danny recently- its gotta take its toll on the entire band )


great read ! glad you enjoyed the show and the experience !



cheers !

jeaubong

finally got to see the boss in action. went to the friday show after work. they played for 2 hours and 40 mins almost non stop - phenomenal show. when they hit the stage, bruce was 'surprised' to 'see the sun' shining in london. so was the crowd, laughing.

he said something about friday was the first time a concert was ever held at emirates and they were going to 'test the structure of this stadium'. they didn't need to try hard to test my resolve. next day i was back at emirates unplanned, went straight to the box office and grabbed a ticket.

asked my friends who made the pilgrimage from italy for the 2 shows about the front stage pit and the special wrist band, was feeling a bit annoyed i couldn't get in on the first night.

they said the pit was for no 'special' group, didn't matter if it was your hundredth or first show, the boss crew would give the wrist bands out to the fans who only needed to turn up before the door opened. no discrimination, no special treatment. you don't need to hound them, the crew will find you. maybe that's why the fans see bruce as a working class hero. maybe that's why bruce's fans - young and old, and i mean old, old, can embrace each other and shake their body together throughout the show. amazing.

was really amazed too how bruce could take so many requests and the band could play the songs just like that - 'a living jukebox' said a fan. played point blank the first night. second night, a guy next to me put up a sign for thunder crack but bruce said 'that was too hard'.

the guy then shouted for i wanna be with you, everyone seemed glad bruce didn't hear that, or pretended not to hear that. i was pretty sure the guy was straight. don't think his requests written on something very much looked like a handbag was the reason bruce turned down the request.

when he was playing all the requests on the second night, bruce told a story about danny and the marijuana plant in his car, when the police towed the car away, danny was going to tell the police that the car was stolen.

funny that the next day, my italian friend told me about his stories on the road, when one day, when they were driving back to italy after a boss show, the police stopped them and asked where they were driving from. the police searched their vehicle when they said they had just been to amsterdam.

guess that's why the fans can relate to the band, through their songs or lives - bruce springsteen and the e-street band are everyday people. after my first show on friday, my italian friend sent me a text message 'yeah! you've seen the pants-droppin' body-shakin history-makin' legendary e-street band'.

oh yeah, i could relate to that. ok, my pants almost dropped because i didn't wear a belt but it had much to do about me losing a few kilos from my body-shakin'.

wished the band had toured the part of the world where i was from, so i didn't have to wait this long. if they actually did, i was too young to remember. when i was born to run in 1975, the band was already born to rock.

bong

disclaimer: this was written based on my 2 day surreal experience from watching the band's shows. if anything was factually inaccurate, or if i offended anyone in particular, i apologise.

Bathgate66

jeaubong wrote:

finally got to see the boss in action. went to the friday show after work. they played for 2 hours and 40 mins almost non stop - phenomenal show. when they hit the stage, bruce was 'surprised' to 'see the sun' shining in london. so was the crowd, laughing.

he said something about friday was the first time a concert was ever held at emirates and they were going to 'test the structure of this stadium'. they didn't need to try hard to test my resolve. next day i was back at emirates unplanned, went straight to the box office and grabbed a ticket.

asked my friends who made the pilgrimage from italy for the 2 shows about the front stage pit and the special wrist band, was feeling a bit annoyed i couldn't get in on the first night.

they said the pit was for no 'special' group, didn't matter if it was your hundredth or first show, the boss crew would give the wrist bands out to the fans who only needed to turn up before the door opened. no discrimination, no special treatment. you don't need to hound them, the crew will find you. maybe that's why the fans see bruce as a working class hero. maybe that's why bruce's fans - young and old, and i mean old, old, can embrace each other and shake their body together throughout the show. amazing.

was really amazed too how bruce could take so many requests and the band could play the songs just like that - 'a living jukebox' said a fan. played point blank the first night. second night, a guy next to me put up a sign for thunder crack but bruce said 'that was too hard'.

the guy then shouted for i wanna be with you, everyone seemed glad bruce didn't hear that, or pretended not to hear that. i was pretty sure the guy was straight. don't think his requests written on something very much looked like a handbag was the reason bruce turned down the request.

when he was playing all the requests on the second night, bruce told a story about danny and the marijuana plant in his car, when the police towed the car away, danny was going to tell the police that the car was stolen.

funny that the next day, my italian friend told me about his stories on the road, when one day, when they were driving back to italy after a boss show, the police stopped them and asked where they were driving from. the police searched their vehicle when they said they had just been to amsterdam.

guess that's why the fans can relate to the band, through their songs or lives - bruce springsteen and the e-street band are everyday people. after my first show on friday, my italian friend sent me a text message 'yeah! you've seen the pants-droppin' body-shakin history-makin' legendary e-street band'.

oh yeah, i could relate to that. ok, my pants almost dropped because i didn't wear a belt but it had much to do about me losing a few kilos from my body-shakin'.

wished the band had toured the part of the world where i was from, so i didn't have to wait this long. if they actually did, i was too young to remember. when i was born to run in 1975, the band was already born to rock.

bong

disclaimer: this was written based on my 2 day surreal experience from watching the band's shows. if anything was factually inaccurate, or if i offended anyone in particular, i apologise.

loved reading this as well as the other reviews from our European brotheren.
Glad you saw the band and jumped on the back to back chances.
great job. !


fantastic persepctive on these fan taken photos:
enjoy !

http://www.backstreets.com/btx/viewtopic.php?t=95371&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Bathgate66

||Release_Me|| wrote:

Last night was my first ever Bruce show. There's only thing thing that has to be said...

Bruce.Is.The.Boss.

Absolutely phenomenal show! Arrived at 9.30am and met some great people who we spent the day with (Kath, who we traveled to the show with, Graham, Jan, John)..so if you're on this forum i just want to say hello and thank you all for making the whole experience a perfect one.

Managed to get right to the front, just off centre so had a perfect view of everyone. The setlist was near-perfect imo, although on certain songs i think the sound wasn't brilliant, especially Bruce's mic. Maybe it was clearer further back on the field.

The songs from Magic sounded great, in particular Radio Nowhere, Magic, and Long Walk Home - the crowd really seemed to enjoy the latter song. Everyone went nuts for Badlands, Born To Run, Trapped (which was AMAZING), Hard to Be a Saint, Born To Run, Mary's Place, Darlington County, American Land etc.

American Land is one of the best show closers i have ever seen. By that point, everyone around us was dancing and there were a group of guys who were so ecsatic they had their arms around each other dancing in a circle as if it was an Irish jig song!

Other highlights - Nils' brilliant solo during 'Because The Night' (spinning around on stage, jumping up and down, kicking his legs out like a madman)
- Nils and Bruce taking a stroll along the front of the stage singing to the camera during Darlington County.
- The amount of times Bruce came out into the crowd to sing to everyone and get everyone to sing. I lost count how many times he involved the crowd.
- Badlands. The power of this last night was off the chart. Whenever i caught a glimpse of the screens during this song i could see the whole floor just going completely insane. It gave me goosebumps.
- The people around me. There was a girl behind me for most of the show and i think i kept hitting her in the face with my big hair lol, i kept apologising and she said it was ok. I felt bad though, she moved about two rows back for the last 25 mins or so, and another young girl moved forward and she had the biggest smile on her face the whole time. Graham and some friends kept reaching over to hug me/high-five/ruffle my hair thanks to the eurphoria we all felt. A couple to my right danced together all night with smiles on their faces. It really moved me to see so many happy people close together.
- The crowd in general. For the most part, the people in the stands were quite reserved, singing and clapping along but staying seated. But, Bruce got them all to wave their hands and clap at the beginning of Mary's Place which was great. The 'Are You Ready?' back and forth singing was LOUD. The floor was great for the most part, really enthusiastic all night, singing and dancing to most songs.

Oh, and it was great that he played Growin' Up which was a request of a little boy wearing big read headphones sat on his dad's shoulder. Bruce told a little story before the final verse as if he was the little boy...'so there i was, at my first rock and roll concert, sat on my dad's shoulder's and he's making me wear these big red headphones'. The kid loved the song, we could all see because the camera kept showing him on the screen dancing and waving his arms around.

All in all, it was a perfect first show. And now i'm sooooo tempted to go to Cardiff. Thanks everyone!

jeaubong wrote:

finally got to see the boss in action. went to the friday show after work. they played for 2 hours and 40 mins almost non stop - phenomenal show. when they hit the stage, bruce was 'surprised' to 'see the sun' shining in london. so was the crowd, laughing.

he said something about friday was the first time a concert was ever held at emirates and they were going to 'test the structure of this stadium'. they didn't need to try hard to test my resolve. next day i was back at emirates unplanned, went straight to the box office and grabbed a ticket.

asked my friends who made the pilgrimage from italy for the 2 shows about the front stage pit and the special wrist band, was feeling a bit annoyed i couldn't get in on the first night.

they said the pit was for no 'special' group, didn't matter if it was your hundredth or first show, the boss crew would give the wrist bands out to the fans who only needed to turn up before the door opened. no discrimination, no special treatment. you don't need to hound them, the crew will find you. maybe that's why the fans see bruce as a working class hero. maybe that's why bruce's fans - young and old, and i mean old, old, can embrace each other and shake their body together throughout the show. amazing.

was really amazed too how bruce could take so many requests and the band could play the songs just like that - 'a living jukebox' said a fan. played point blank the first night. second night, a guy next to me put up a sign for thunder crack but bruce said 'that was too hard'.

the guy then shouted for i wanna be with you, everyone seemed glad bruce didn't hear that, or pretended not to hear that. i was pretty sure the guy was straight. don't think his requests written on something very much looked like a handbag was the reason bruce turned down the request.

when he was playing all the requests on the second night, bruce told a story about danny and the marijuana plant in his car, when the police towed the car away, danny was going to tell the police that the car was stolen.

funny that the next day, my italian friend told me about his stories on the road, when one day, when they were driving back to italy after a boss show, the police stopped them and asked where they were driving from. the police searched their vehicle when they said they had just been to amsterdam.

guess that's why the fans can relate to the band, through their songs or lives - bruce springsteen and the e-street band are everyday people. after my first show on friday, my italian friend sent me a text message 'yeah! you've seen the pants-droppin' body-shakin history-makin' legendary e-street band'.

oh yeah, i could relate to that. ok, my pants almost dropped because i didn't wear a belt but it had much to do about me losing a few kilos from my body-shakin'.

wished the band had toured the part of the world where i was from, so i didn't have to wait this long. if they actually did, i was too young to remember. when i was born to run in 1975, the band was already born to rock.

bong

disclaimer: this was written based on my 2 day surreal experience from watching the band's shows. if anything was factually inaccurate, or if i offended anyone in particular, i apologise.

OK

as if i wasnt jealous of you europeans enough- from reading these accounts ,


then I found this.
How beautiful this must have been- for everyone in attendance and especially those lucky few in the very front.
amazing !

jamie uk

Bathgate66 wrote:

OK

as if i wasnt jealous of you europeans enough- from reading these accounts ,


then I found this.
How beautiful this must have been- for everyone in attendance and especially those lucky few in the very front.
amazing !

That's fantastic, can't wait now......June 14th, Cardiff......:D

fragileblake

Anybody know the song that bruce tags at the beginning of live versions of "Mary's Place" on the rising tour?