I kept you all up to date with everything that happened on the day of the gig itself during one of my daily blogs where I wrote about meeting Jake Clemons, hanging in The E Street Lounge before and after the gig and being upgraded to the royal box so if you want to read more about the excitement of the day be sure to click here. I did however promise that I'd eventually get round to writing an actual review of the show so at last, here it is!
On Wednesday the 1st of June 2016, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band rolled into town as part of 'The River' Tour. Unusual for most concerts, the tickets stated that the show was due to begin around half six which is remarkably early. My only guess would be that this was due to the fact that Hamden is built in the midst of a housing estate so the curfew will be earlier and as we all know Bruce likes to play for as long as he possibly can so I can understand why this was the case. Sure enough around half past six (or thereabouts) Bruce hit the stage, kick
ing off the evening with 'Waitin' On A Sunny Day', although unusual for Scotland we weren't waiting on a sunny day; it was probably one of the warmest days of the year so far! This was bizarre in comparison to both occasions that I previously attended Bruce gigs at Etihad Stadium in Manchester and Wembley Stadium in London; the rain was torrential and we were absolutely soaked! I love 'Waitin' On A Sunny Day', it's such an upbeat and cheerful song that one can't help but sing along to-who in their right mind wouldn't?! Like always Bruce invited a little girl from the crowd sporting a 'Born In The USA' t-shirt to join him on stage and sing for the audience. What an amazing young lady! She completely belted out the lyrics which in turned received a eruption of applause from the eager audience. A moment I'm sure she'll remember for the rest of her life!
I could easily go through the entire set list but if I wrote every single detail it would take you the entire three and a half hours of the show to read it. So for your sake I'll summarise it as much as I possibly can. Second in the set was 'Spirit In The Night' a song I recently challenged myself and my tutor to learn to play on bass. It certainly kept me on my toes working out where all the changes were. Needless to say, I found myself sitting there mentally playing the bass parts alongside the band.
Making his way into the audience, Bruce handpicked a selection of signs with song requests on them from fans to before returning to stage clutching them in his hands nodding to The E Street Band as they begin to play their first request 'Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)' much to my delight. I loved that song when I was younger and was fascinated with the music video where random girls run up onto stage which I found rather amusing as a little girl. This was then followed by a second sign request '4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)'.
Next, was 'Hungry Heart' a classic song from The River album which I absolutely love! I remember hearing it at Wembley a few years ago and it standing out to me for whatever reason so was delighted to hear it live again! During the song Bruce makes his way down the stairs, off of the stage and strolls through the crowd as he sings shaking hands with his fans as he passes through. Not many artists would do that nowadays and in such a relaxed manner might I add. The security followed Bruce as he paraded his through the crowd but not once did they have to step in and get involved; there's a mutual respect between Bruce and the audience. And that for me is extremely special!
This was followed by the likes of 'Out In The Street' which is a song that particularly sticks out to me from my first ever Bruce concert, 'Lonesome Day', another sign request from the audience, 'You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)' and the amazing 'Death To My Hometown' from the 'Wrecking Ball' album. I remember hearing that live for the first time during the 'Wrecking Ball' tour and having shivers. I love the Celtic feel to the song and how it sounds in a stadium filled with thousands of people. The atmosphere was buzzing and the crowd were totally into it; you really had to be there experiencing it to completely understand just how incredible it is live. According to something I read online the next song 'American Skin (41 Shots)' which featured on Bruce's most recent album 'High Hopes' was a tour debut. Again, don't hold me on that one but it certainly went down well with crowd!
The set continued with a number of back to back hits that had the audience in sheer delight. I for one was having an absolute ball! The band played a selection of songs including 'I'm Going Down', 'The River', 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' and 'Because The Night' which is a real crowd pleaser. 'Because The Night' is what I'd describe as stadium song because it completely brings the audience to life; it's a song that depicts a true rock concert and get's everyone rocking out!
Just a few songs later Bruce went straight into another of my favourites 'Badlands'. He opened with this number in Wembley a few years ago so it was funny to hear it further along in the set. I love the sax solo during this song which of course Jake pays great tribute to his Uncle Clarence when playing, it's just so awesome! Any of the sax solos during Bruce's songs give me shivers, they instantly make you stop and listen. You just know it's a Springsteen song when you hear it! My very favourite part of the song however, is when the audience take over with their 'woah, oh oh oh oooooh oh!' part. It's quite tricky to write that out in comparison to chanting it at the gig! When you hear that live it shows the true power of music and how it brings people together! It must be incredible to be on stage and look out into the crowd filled with thousands of people and hear them singing your song as if their lives depended on it! As Badlands finished the stadium erupted into loud cheers across every inch of the stadium morphing into thousands of voice shouting 'BRUUUCCEEE' and loudly signing the Badlands chant once again. It's magical to experience; it makes you feel alive!
The encore was filled with some of Bruce's biggest songs to date. Now, I know there's a lot of people who moan about the fact that they've heard particular songs a million times (you know the ones) but guys, Bruce has played some of the rarities, he's taken requests from the audience and now he's playing the songs that gave him the status that he's got; he wouldn't be able to sell out the world's biggest stadiums if it wasn't for albums like 'Born In The USA' or 'Born To Run'. There's also people like myself who've only recently start attending his gigs and yes, as much as I love hearing the rarities, I also go wanting to hear some of the classics too! You guys have been lucky enough to have seen Bruce back in the day when these songs first came out, sadly, the next generation of fans haven't. I wish I could have though!
Anyway, next Bruce and the very awesome E Street Band performed 'Born In The USA' and 'Born To Run' which are downright awesome in my opinion! And then the moment I'd been waiting in great anticipation for since I was little girl rocking out in the backseat of the car finally happened! Four years ago I attended my very first concert which I'm delighted to say was in fact Bruce Springsteen at Etihad Stadium in Manchester; I remember my Dad's friend asking me what songs I wanted to hear and I replied with quite a list. One of the songs happened to be 'The E Street Shuffle' which is probably up there in my top 5 favourite Springsteen songs, it's rarely played live but believe it or not during my first Bruce gig I actually got to hear it! However, I never got to hear my childhood favourites 'Rosalita' or 'Glory Day's the songs that I as a five or six year old girl would belt out the lyrics to when my Dad played them. I attended the Wembley gig a year later and screamed at the top of my voice when he played 'Rosalita'. But guess what!? He never performed 'Glory Days' much to my dismay. So I spent the past few years hoping that my dream would come true and I'm delighted to say at long last I finally got to hear it! My parents and sister turned to look at me from the other side of the box as they too, had been waiting in anticipation all night in hope that my dream would come true. It was totally worth the wait and it made me appreciate the moment all the more! Bruce, thank-you so much for finally playing it! Even if some of the fans were groaning please know that you made one young fan the happiest girl on the planet that night! My friend Heather and I spent the entire song bopping in our seats, singing along at the top of voices probably driving the people sitting beside us absolutely nuts. Both parties seated beside us eventually got up and left before the end of the show, I'm not sure whether that was because of us or they had transport to catch but I for one was get my money's worth! Apparently we kept the stewards in The E Street Lounge entertained throughout the show with our antics! I'm there for a good time that's for sure and I ain't gonna let anyone stop me!
Continuing with the classic hits the audience were treated to a firm favourite from the 'Born In The USA' album, 'Dancing In The Dark'! You spend the entire song waiting for the part when Bruce pulls a lady from the audience to dance with him-I mean how cool would that be!? And in more recent years he's started pulling a couple of fans up on stage each night and hands them a guitar to perform with the band. A dream come true I'm sure! I'd give an arm and a leg for that opportunity-maybe one day!
This was immediately preceded with another much loved 'stadium song' (as I would describe it) 'Tenth Avenue Freeze Out' of course! Again, this number has the audience chanting and singing along in unison as Bruce once again wanders down into the audience. He spends more time down amongst the crowd than on stage which is downright awesome-certainly worth the hours on end that some of the dedicated fans spent camping out to get to the barrier! Hats off to you-I don't think I could do it!
My parents had raved about Bruce performing this next song at previous Glasgow shows and I finally got to witness it before my very eyes. This was of course a rendition of 'Shout' which was originally by The Isley Brothers however, the Scottish singer Lulu recorded an extremely popular cover of the same song back in the 60s. So really, Bruce couldn't have picked a better number to perform for his Scottish fans! Without a doubt that was going to get the Glasgow audience onside although I don't think he had to worry too much about that! Let's face it, he already had us all eating out the palm of his hand from the word go! Everywhere you looked people were singing, dancing and waving their hands in the air-it was like attending a large party!
It was then when The E Street Band took a final bow, waving goodbye to the Glasgow audience after another incredible evening leaving Bruce standing alone with his guitar and harmonica in hand to perform one final song. This final number just so happened to be 'This Hard Land' which was a powerful, passionate and calming acoustic wind-down.
What a concert! But I really wouldn't expect anything less from Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. They certainly know how to put on a show! It's incredible for someone of Bruce's age to play non-stop without a support act for around three and half hours. Simply outstanding! Honestly, if you've got tickets to catch Bruce in the next couple of weeks, you are in for a real treat! Each night is different so expect the unexpected; who knows what Bruce will pull out the hat next!
