https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G3hy2IZxp8
Dave & I drove up to Sunderland's Stadium Of Light - in appalling rain - to see Bruce Springsteen's first UK appearance on tour (21st June) following the release of 'The Wrecking Ball'. We set off feeling unlucky - though wisely Margaret told me not to go if I wasn't looking forward to it! Once we parked in a multi-story we walked into town in rain that faded and found Luciano's restaurant almost straightaway. Though we were three hours early for the booking for two they welcomed us ... just as well as we enjoyed a leisurely meal and left to get in the stadium for 6.15pm. Springsteen came on at 7.08 - perfect!
It was a brilliant concert ... the moment he came on he strolled out on the central runway, looking up into the light drizzle & said “Sunderland, this is what it’s supposed to be like. I don’t want 75 degrees and sunny.” ... he was bound to get the crowd immediately on his side and to forget the weather. "When I come to Sunderland, England, I want it just like this!" ... what a showman!
The set list was awesome ...
Badlands
We Take Care Of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
Jack of All Trades
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
Johnny 99
Working on the Highway
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Point Blank
The River
The Rising
Out in the Street
Land of Hope and Dreams
Encore
We Are Alive
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Hungry Heart
Seven Nights to Roll (Moon Mullican cover - see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbJy9V4MeKw)
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (and stopped when he got to "When the change was made uptown
And the big man joined the band" - images of Clarence Clemons came on the screens, to rapturous applause.)
Badlands
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins
Spirit in the Night
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Jack of All Trades
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
Johnny 99
Working on the Highway
Shackled and Drawn
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Point Blank
The River
The Rising
Out in the Street
Land of Hope and Dreams
Encore:
We Are Alive
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Hungry Heart
Seven Nights to Rock
(Moon Mullican cover)
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Dave kept remarking that it was more religious than rock ... and that the crowd was fantastic!
It was all great but I thought 'Jack Of All Trades', 'Johnny 99' & 'Waitin' On A Sunny Day' excellent and 'The River', 'The Rising' and 'Born To Run' were knock out.
We walked out in stunned silence ... we had been to a fantastic concert / religious ceremony! Got home about 12.30 - happy.
Here's a review by Katy Wheeler in the Sunderland Echo published on Friday 22 June 2012 09:36
It was more like born to rain as wet weather and fog threatened to put a dampener on Bruce Springsteen’s debut performance in Sunderland. But The Boss was never going to disappoint his legion of fans – more than 50,000 in fact – who travelled from across Wearside and beyond to see the first night of his Wrecking Ball UK tour. “Sunderland, this is what it’s supposed to be like,” he yelled in his inimitable gravelly tones as he arrived on stage. “I don’t want 75 degrees and sunny. When I come to Sunderland, England, I want it just like this.” From that moment on, it didn’t really matter what the weather threw at the crowd – their hero was on stage and that’s all that seemed to count.
This was the first time I’d seen Springsteen live and he proved to be as impressive as his fans had promised. You can’t fault his enthusiasm and passion which was etched across his face as he gave emotion-fuelled performances of tracks from Wrecking Ball, such as We Take Care of Our Own, Land of Hope and Dreams and the title track. He was given a warm Wearside welcome by a sea of outstretched arms and ponchos, some fans draped in U.S flags in homage to the rocker’s home country. Clad in black jeans, grey shirt and waistcoat, Bruce’s outfit and his stage was plain and simple, but this was about the music: no gimmicks, no effects, just rock ‘n’ roll in its purest form. In keeping with this, Bruce was, of course, backed up by top-class musicians in the form of his E Street Band. Guitar, saxophone, harmonica, trumpet, violin and more – they played them to perfection.
At times slow and mournful, such as with The River
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpvjZbMaOH4
other times rousing, like during Hungry Heart, this was a show which ran the whole gamut of emotions. Never more so than when they paid tribute to late E Street Band saxophone player, Clarence Clemons, with a montage of images of the great musician. Bruce seemed genuinely appreciative of the fans who had paid at least £55 to be there and two of them were given the ultimate reward when they were given the chance to bop alongside their hero for Dancing in the Dark. The two lads chosen were no Courteney Cox, who was plucked from the crowd in the song’s video, but they gave it their all.
It was inevitably the more classic Springsteen tracks which drew the greatest crowd reaction. Thunder Road, Born to Run and Glory Days were given a roaring reception at the home of the Black Cats. Even the club’s bosses Martin O’Neill and Ellis Short were spotted near the front of the stage, lapping up the atmosphere. In true Springsteen style, Bruce put in a lengthy performance at more than three hours. And, for a 62-year-old, he never let up. There was no mistaking who was The Boss of that stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh1bH0116I8
... and a comment in The Daily Telegraph - theveeman
It was sometime around 9:15pm last night, as The Boss played the opening chords to 'The River' on his harmonica, that I realised I was witnessing the greatest performance I'd ever seen. Up until that point I knew I was experiencing a cultural highpoint in my life, but that was the moment when I knew all other gigs would be marked by how they compared to this.
To attempt to review Bruce Springsteen based solely on his music is a difficult task, one that almost does an injustice to the man. He is more than a mere singer, more than simply the leader of his E Street Band. He is a philosopher, a hero, a political barometer, an icon, a legend; he is, quite simply, The Boss.
Because of the iconic status he holds and the reverence he instils in his devoted fans, his core followers have often likened his concerts more to a religious than a musical experience. The way in which he commands the audience, the manner in which his songs have bookmarked the lives of those listening to him down the years, the lessons he teaches us about life, this is something only to be found amongst the very elite of artists. There was certainly a feeling of a captivated faithful in the crowd last night and we weren't disappointed by what we witnessed.
A set at over three hours long, spanning 5 decades of a stellar career, we were all invited to The Boss' 'house party' for the night. From the opening of 'Badlands' to the closing with '10th Avenue Freezeout' the energy levels never dropped below maximum. Even the slower-paced tracks such as 'Thunder Road' and 'Point Black' were delivered with such intensity that every member of the audience felt like he was speaking directly to them.
The material from his latest album, Wrecking Ball, stood up well alongside the back catalogue; the politically charged 'Jack of all trades' striking a chord with the many families affected by the economic troubles we're facing.
Allied to the music, Springsteen has always had the human touch that shows he really is one of the good guys. Even the North-Eastern rain raised a smile as he told us 'This is what I wanted in Sunderland' and 'Give me some of that good old English rain'. He embraced the elements of our native land just as he embraced the audience with his performance.
Throughout the night, Springsteen paid tributes to the late 'Big Man' Clarence Clemons (his place in the band taken by his nephew Jake who received rapturous support every time he stepped up to deliver a saxophone solo). A departing that Springsteen has described as elemental, like losing the rain, the crowd shared in both the sorrow of his loss and the recognition of a glorious life. In '10th Avenue Freezeout', the song that would close the night, the band stopped at the line 'The Big Man joined the band' to show a collection of pictures of Clarence on the big screens. The applause that accompanied the pictures was one of the loudest of the night and there were many misty eyes around me.
The truest thing I can say about last night is that, having seen hundreds of gigs in my life, it was the best by far. The smiles on the faces of those in attendance would surely be all the evidence others may need to say that this is not simply the view of one fan, but a feeling shared by many.
62 years old and as good as ever.
Talk about a dream, try to make it real...
No comments:
Post a Comment