Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band live in Nowlan Park Kilkenny 28/07/2013.

Bruce Springsteen Kilkenny 28/07/2013

 Last weekend the beautiful medieval town of Kilkenny played host to the final 2 gigs of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band's Wrecking Ball Tour. Billed as the 'Wrecking Ball Weekender, it certainly drew huge interest and tickets were announced as sold out within days of release months ago. Being a huge Springsteen fan I could not pass up the opportunity of seeing him a second time on his latest trip to Ireland. The Limerick concert just 12 days previous already had me hooked, so I figured I just had to attend his final date which was on the Sunday. A ticket was sought out and I was on my way early that  morning to what would be a wonderfully memorable day.

 An early arrival at Nowlan Park secured a good chance of getting a much coveted wristband that would allow access to the pit area close to the stage. Around 3000 of these were made available and my friends and I at first thought our chances were dimmed when we saw that many other people had already gotten through. One steward soundly advised us where to perhaps try a bit harder and low and behold he was correct in his observation. A bunch of a dozen or so revellers were spotted receiving the final round of wristbands and we rushed to get ours before the word spread too fast. A few minutes later we were chilling out with a beer and safe in the knowledge that no matter what, we would now be close to the action near the stage. The light rain that we experienced as we walked down to the venue earlier was beginning to abate, the sun began to shine through. The day was unfolding into a very enjoyable, relaxing experience, everyone seemed to be in jovial mood hanging around the food stalls and bars.

Dublin based band The Delorentos were the opening act of the day, kicking off after 2pm before LAPD and Imelda May, varied choices yet perfect fillers for a long anticipated Springsteen show.

The word from the previous night was that Bruce and the band had performed the entire 'Born In The U.S.A album along with such treats as a duet with Glen Hansard on 'Drive All Night'. My friends and I discussed about what tonight's set list would be. There was an agreement all around that our wish would be to hear the 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' album in it's entirety, but that's just the thing, you never know what to expect. After all, this was the final night of the European tour, it was going to be special, that was an undeniable certainty. 

At 7.30pm Bruce and his legendary band hit the stage and broke straight into the gospel inspired 'This Little Light Of Mine' with an intense urgency. The 35,000 or so strong crowd went ecstatic, this was the closest I had ever come to the stage in all of my 6 Springsteen concert experiences and it was an incredible feeling. In comparison to the Limerick show, there was less interaction with the crowd for the first few songs, the music did the talking. 'My Love Will Not Let You Down', 'Badlands', 'We Take Care Of Our Own' and 'Adam Raised A Cain' followed respectively with equal explosive delivery. 'Adam Raised A Cain' would have been my banner request of choice if I had taken the time to create a cardboard sign, needless to say I was more that overjoyed when I heard the opening chords.
Speaking of cardboard sign requests, one man finally got his wish with his choice, apparently he had been to several Springsteen concerts never giving up on encouraging Bruce to sing 'Wild Billy's Circus Story'. He kept making the same sign each time crossing off each venue that the song wasn't performed in, but tonight his dream would come through. As the camera panned down to the front row of the crowd and onto this guy, it was clear that he was filled with emotion. This was the only time that this song was played on the Wrecking Ball tour.

                                                                            

 

A girl holding a banner which read 'I died my hair blue to Irish dance with Bruce' had her Courtney Cox moment realised as she was plucked from the crowd to swing around with the Boss during 'Dancing In The Dark'. A young boy who can't have been more than 10 years old was spotted in the crowd with his parents. His banner read 'Bruce can I play guitar with you?', a simple gesture that anyone among the huge crowd would secretly only dream about. The star struck boy was called up onstage and given an acoustic guitar to strum along with the band. Then the most amazingly kind  gesture occurred, Bruce allowed him to keep the guitar to take home. The boy looked astonished as he got down from the stage, holding onto the instrument, one can only imagine that this six string will forever more be a prized possession of the young man and his family.

                                                                                 

However a huge honour it must feel to have a request played for you live by Springsteen and the E Street band it must have been extraordinary for Jimmy Iovine, who was apparently backstage tonight. The complete 'Born To Run' album which he helped produce back in 1975 was played in dedication to him once 'a skinny little Italian kid' as Bruce described him back in the day. Again I did not expect to hear this album performed in full after the Limerick concert but I could not have wished for more. 'She's The One', 'Thunder Road' 'Tenth Avenue Freeze Out' were particularly  affecting but in fact the whole album was played out from start to finish with such perfection that I would fail to single out one track with preference.
Much of the complete set list was in fact similar to the Limerick show and comparisons could be made, however there was I thought a feeling of a different vibe from this show.
After all, this was the final night of a very long European tour that took in 140 shows, it was heavy with emotion and obviously had drained a lot of energy from everyone involved.
The respect between band members was even more noticeable than ever before, old friends who had stayed together through thick and thin for decades creating, playing and performing were inspiring to watch. At one point Max Weinberg's daughter joined the group onstage to play the accordion, the rumour was also out that many of Bruce and the band's family members were here in Kilkenny for tonight's special finale.

                                                               

                                                       
After yet another marathon performance came to a close, clocking in at a few minutes short of 3 and  a half hours the E Street Band slowly left the stage one by one. Clearly they were overwhelmed by the reaction in the stadium tonight, the crowd participation, the eagerness to hear the music and the adoration. Each final minute was heavy with emotion, Bruce remained on, he would play one more song this time with just acoustic guitar and harmonica. 'I've been doing this for almost 50 years' he smiled, 'hopefully I will keep going another 50'.....the cheering grew thunderous around Nowlan Park.
The final song of choice was a beautifully raw version of  'This Hard Land', an exhausted Bruce sang out each line with pride in every breath. Stripped to his t-shirt and drenched with sweat, only a few lights above the stage were remaining now. 'Take care of yourselves' he called out as he finished and walked to the back stage area. A light rain was dribbling from the dark sky above and the night air felt warm and still. I would not want to have been anywhere else but here tonight at this show, I felt blessed to have been there.
                                                                          

  

 

The Set List.

1.This Little Light 2.My Love Will Not Let You Down 3.Badlands 4.We Take Care Of Our Own 5. Adam Raised A Cain 6.Death To My Hometown 7. American Skin (41 Shots) 8. The Promised Land 9.Wrecking Ball 10. Spirit In The Night 11.The River 12. Wild Billy's Circus Story 13.Man At The Top 14.When You Walk In The Room.

Born To Run

15.Thunder Road 16.Tenth Avenue Freeze Out 17.Night 18.Backstreets 19.Born To Run 20.She's The One 21.Meeting Across The River 22.Jungleland

 

23.The Rising 24.Land Of Hope And Dreams 25.Born In The U.S.A 26.Bobby Jean 27.Seven Nights To Rock 28.Dancing In The Dark  29.American Land 30.Shout 31.This Little Light Of Mine 32.This Hard Land.

 

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live in Thomond Park Limerick 16/07/2013

Bruce's early appearance onstage in Limerick's Thomond Park.

Last Tuesday evening, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band rolled into Limerick, my home city for the first of 5 Irish shows this month.

It would be a vast understatement to say that this was a dream come true for me along with thousands of Springsteen fans in our part of the country. His many appearances previously in Ireland had been confined to Dublin or Belfast with the exception of his by now legendary 1985 performance at Slane castle in Co. Meath.

The first time I went to a live performance by Springsteen was back in 1993 at the RDS Dublin.

For years before I had spent a lot of time listening to his early studio albums and of course the 1975 to 1985 box set of live recordings. Incidentally I had that box set on cassette tape format and I remember how one of the tapes actually snapped because I had played it so many times.

I joined the tape with some sticky sellotape thus somewhat repairing it, however when it reached Bruce's introduction to the song 'The River' I had to wind it forward with a pencil over the lumpy joining in order for it to continue.

I remember a few things about the 1993 concert, the ticket for one thing had a glorious photo of the Boss on the front. This is something we don't see anymore, I guess it's a cost cutting measure today just to have text on a concert ticket. I also remember how Bruce just walked onto the stage with an acoustic guitar to belt out a very raw version of 'Seeds' and 'Adam Raised A Cain' before being joined by the band. It was a thrilling experience to be there finally hearing and seeing this guy in the flesh after years of wishing. I must also mention that another great memory from that 1993 show was when Bruce was joined onstage by none other than 'the killer' himself, Mr. Jerry Lee Lewis for a rendition of 'Whole Lot Of Shakin Goin On' and 'Great Balls Of Fire'. It was an incredible show to say the least but that was then, this is now, the summer of 2013. We are in the middle of a mini heat wave, 35,000 or so fans were about to be treated to a gig of a lifetime in Thomond Park. This was Limerick's night, our turn to welcome one of the greatest rock performers of all time to our county.

 Nils, Bruce and Steve at Thomond Park.

 

The stadium was filling up as soon as the gates opened at 5pm, many had camped outside days in advance, the enthusiasm was huge among all age groups. While the food stalls and bars were busy trading their wares and revellers were mingling, what seemed like a sound check started from the stage area. It was just 5.30pm, one and a half hours before the scheduled kick off time for the concert, when almost in disbelief there was a rush of people towards the sound of a strumming acoustic guitar. Suddenly there was a familiar voice, Springsteen was onstage ready to play some songs as a warm up. I must admit I along with most people there never expected this 3 song solo acoustic treat before The E Street Band were ever to appear. The songs of choice were certainly from the vaults 'Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street' and 'For You' from his 1973 debut album 'Greetings From Ashbury Park'.  A rarely performed song which can be found on the 'Tracks' box set compilation called 'Hearts Of Stone' completed this short set that opened up the atmosphere for an unforgettable evening.

It was two hours later that Springsteen returned, this time with an extended E Street Band complete with brass section and backing singers. 'This Little Light Of Mine' was the introductory song of choice tonight, an unlikely choice I thought, but I didn't research too deeply into the recent tour set lists. I wanted this concert to unfold without too many predictions. In the past 20 years I have attended a few Springsteen concerts and they have never failed to be full of surprises. 'American Land' was next, I did expect such a choice due to geographical and historical  reasons. What I did not expect and I will always hold this as the greatest memory from the Limerick concert was the playing of the entire 'Born To Run' album. This is my favourite of all his records and I never dreamed for one minute that I would one day hear it all played in sequence from start to finish live.

 From the harmonica introduction to  'Thunder Road' to the final notes of 'Jungleland' this collection  epitomises everything about the creative genius of Springsteen and his long standing band.

Released in 1975, it's incredible to listen to how fresh it still sounds today, what was even more incredible was to be there tonight in an audience thirty eight years later to witness it played out in full. 

 

 Sweat drenched just minutes into the first few songs, Springsteen never left the stage once during this marathon performance that included countless delightful moments. Notably there were a few hilarious incidents too, someone from the densely populated front rows handed him a pint of beer, which he duly drank  down in just a few gulps. At one point a young boy called Ross, who was holding a sign that read 'Ross with the boss on my 12th birthday' was hoisted up on to the stage to duet with his hero on 'Waiting On A Sunny Day'.

On a more serious note 'American Skin (41Shots) was selected as a tribute to murdered victim Trayvon Martin, while there was also a special mention for the recently injured Limerick jockey J. T McNamra with which he dedicated the song 'My Hometown' to.

 

                                                                   

Patti Scialfa was absent tonight from The E Street line up but it was a joy as always to watch Steve Van Zant on guitar, forever such a prominent member of the band. Nils Lofgren , Gary Tallent, Max Weinberg and  Roy Bitten also from the original line up added the magic touches to what seems like an ageless union.

Multi instrumentalist Soozie Tyrell a few years now a permanent addition, provides something special to the group, while Jake Clemons on saxophone is simply impeccable throughout.

I don't think there could be a single soul leaving Thomond Park this night disappointed, from the die hard long term Springsteen fanatics to the new fans just now discovering the music, all were obviously overwhelmed.

On a week that Limerick were celebrating a Munster hurling win and when the weather had reached Mediterranean temperatures for the first time in years, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band came and played the concert of a lifetime. History was in the making tonight, positivity seemed to be everywhere around the city and county, it's something I among many will never ever forget.

 

                                                                      

The complete set list.

Pre concert solo acoustic set; 1.Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street, 2.For You 3.Hearts Of Stone.

1. This Little Light Of Mine, 2. American Land 3. Badlands 4. Death To My Hometown  5. Hungry Heart. 6. Spirit In The Night 7. Ain't Too Proud To Beg 8. American Skin (41 Shots) 9. The Promised Land 10. Wrecking Ball, 11.We Take Care Of Our Own, 12. Jack Of All Trades, 13. The River.

Born To Run 

14. Thunder Road, 15. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, 16. Night, 17. Backstreets, 18. Born To Run, 19. She's The One, 20. Meeting Across The River, 21. Jungleland.

 

22.Waitin' On A Sunny Day, 23. The Rising, 24. Land Of Hope And Dreams, 25. My Hometown, 26. Born In The U.S.A, 27. Glory Days, 28. Bobby Jean, 29. Drive All Night, 30. Dancing In The Dark, 31. Shout, 32. This Little Light Of Mine. 

 

                                                                

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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live @ The RDS Dublin. 17/7/2012.

                                      

                                                       

Of the 5 times I have seen Bruce Springsteen perform live, last Tuesday night's show in Dublin was the most memorable. As if he felt he owed something to his fans after having the plug pulled on a time curfew two nights previously at London's Hyde Park, he certainly gave one of the greatest performances of his career.

Kicking off with a rousing version of 'Twist And Shout' amid various jokes about getting shut down early in London, he along with The E Street Band provided a roller coaster performance that lasted close on 3 and a half hours. For no minute did this show sag or fall into a cliched routine, this was Springsteen and his long time troop of musicians at their greatest.

New faces have been added to the bands line up on this 'Wrecking Ball' tour, most notably saxophonist Jake Clemons, nephew of the late great 'big man' Clarence Clemons who played with The E Street Band from the very beginning. Undoubtedly a very humbling position for Jake to find himself in, he is the perfect choice for the line up. An emotional movie short of Clarence Clemons played out on the big video screens during a performance of 'Tenth Avenue Freeze Out', Springsteen pausing for a minute on the lyric "When the change was made uptown and the big man joined the band".

It was a simple but affectionate tribute to one of his greatest friends, nothing more was necessary to be said.

Other song highlights included picks from the vaults like 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town', 'Badlands' 'Rosalita' and a thunderous rendition of 'Born In The USA'.

Some new songs too faired well as sturdy social anthems, notably 'Death To My Hometown' a stomping folk- rock tune, reminiscent musically of what we heard on 'The Seeger Sessions' album a few years ago.

The lyrics reading out like a public comment for our present world recession and a familiar uncertain future.

Again Bruce picked several banner requests from the crowd as a challenge to himself and the band, one in particular was a song they had not played for a long time 'I'm A Rocker' others included 'Prove It All Night'

'Murder Incorprated' 'Working On The Highway' and 'Johnny99'.

 Here is the full 31 song set list.......

Few rock performers have been as consistantly dynamic as a live act, compared to Bruce Springsteen, who

now has 4 decades of a career  to boast. I first saw him play live in 1993 and I can firmly attest that each time I witnessed him play since has been as thrilling in equel or higher measures. A fine account of Bruce's apperances in Ireland over a 25 year period can be found in a book entiled Land Of Hope And Dreams. It was compiled by Greg Lewis and Moira Sharkey and features many fan accounts and photos of every Irish concert up to the time of publication, find out more about it here

Last Tuesday nights gig was magical and certainly will be remembered by all 35,000 fans as one of the greatest live rock shows they will see in their lifetime. As the closing song of the night 'American Land' faded out and the crowd slowly dispersed out into the street, the rain just started to pour down. A reminder yet again of how dismal our summer has been perhaps; but for the people who had seen the Boss for the past 3 and a half hours, it all seemed irrelevant. I know that each one of them including myself had felt a whole lot more pleased with life.

                                                                       

Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band Tour 2012.

Much to many people's delight The 'Boss' himself Bruce Springsteen will again embark on an extensive European tour with The E Street Band between May and July of next year. Already 29 dates have  been confirmed with a possibility of more being added. The latest update reveals that so far all 5 Scandinavian dates have quickly sold out. Today the tickets go on sale for the July 17th Dublin show at the RDS, a second date will no doubt be imminent. In fact such is the interest for Bruce Springsteen in Ireland that 2 shows wont justify the demand. There is nothing like experiencing Springsteen play live. I've seen him perform 4 times and each concert had me completely entranced for every minute he spent onstage.
He is the ultimate  Rock performer and at 62 years old, he has no intention to resign his position as 'Boss' and often puts young imitators to shame. Earlier this year the death of  E Street saxophone player Clarence Clemons was one of the biggest shocks any fan could handle. His contribution to Springsteen's sound was the backbone of this extaordinary New Jersey union. His absence on next years tour will be no doubt an unmistakable void to the band , however no doubt each show will highlight his memory with intensity. He is sorely missed by so many who grew up with the music and a career that spanned almost four full decades.

" I can't promise you life everlasting...but I can promise you life...right now!" is often one of Springsteen's proclaims onstage and he means ever word.

Roll on next summer, it certainly is one for the diary.........

                                                             

Neil And Bruce

One of the funniest video clips on youtube at the moment is Jimmy Fallon's parody of Neil Young singing a version of 'Whip My Hair'. This pop song was a chart hit for Willow Smith (young daughter of  actor Will Smith). Springsteen is hilarious here and really shows what a fun loving guy he is...