Hola!

Disclaimer:this review follows the same-old,same old...wonderful...way too many ropey photos...best live act on the planet right now...blah-blah-blah.
As you may imagine,the crowd were a little giddy:it´s a small wonder that all the photos weren´t blurred beyond belief.Blimey-a genuine excuse at last!
Do you know what?I don´t care,heh-heh-heh!



























































The two shows were genuine sell-outs:he shifted 150000 tickets for these back-to-back shows.I had an absolute ´mare trying to get a pitch ticket for the first show-you just couldn´t get them below 150 Euros!

It´s some feat to live up to expectations.A different kind of pressure,I suppose,but for show#2 they came roaring out of the traps with "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out".Lord knows what Bruce said in the pre-match team-talk..."OK guys,this could be the last show in Europe with this line-up...".

There was the usual rehearsed and teleprompted address in Catalan (er,I think) which was well received but that aside there wasn´t too much chat...some songs segued into the next which kept the fever high at times.
You could see who was in command,both of the 75000 punters and the musicians:during mid-song Bruce took a furious gulp of Powerade or whatever and nodded to Nils to play his own guitar part.At other times he was pushing Silvio,"...Come on,Steve...",exhorting his foil to solo like a bastard.

It´s a funny thing to see bruce wander off to one side and turn to face the guys:he actually looked and listened to how his band sounded.He must have reckoned they were OK.

You can see elements of Townshend in Bruce:the mini-windmills,the repetition of a gesture to fever pitch,the leap.I just wish PT would now get inspiration from BS.He could start with the variety of songs playedver the two nights, Bruce and the band played a total of 43 different songs, with 15 songs coming out for the final night that weren't played the night before.

July 19 Setlist:

No Surrender
Radio Nowhere
Out in the Street
The Promised Land
Hungry Heart
Summertime Blues
Brilliant Disguise
The River
Atlantic City
Candy's Room
Janey, Don't You Lose Heart
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Backstreets
Because the Night
Livin' in the Future
Mary's Place
Tunnel of Love
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Jungleland
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
Twist and Shout



July 20 Setlist:

Tenth Avenue Freeeze-out
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Prove It All Night
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Spirit in the Night
Light of Day
Working on the Highway
Tougher Than the Rest
This Hard Land
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
The Promised Land
Livin' in the Future
I'm Goin' Down
Mary's Place
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Thunder Road
Detroit Medley
Born to Run
Rosalita
Bobby Jean
American Land
Twist and Shout

Come on,Peter.

BS played to those in the pit,but somehow manages to get everyone involved.I know this because the whole bloody stadium was on it´s feet,singing and waving their arms.I met to a fan who was right at the back in the gods after the show and he said the sound was good up there.Not every act can claim that.

Towards the end of the three hours I felt for Max,with his hair now unkempt and sweating wildly.You could almost read his mind,"Awwww,come on Bruce,call it a night-we none of us are getting any younger!".He should share the man of the match award with his partner in rhythm,Gary.

Yeah,you could say it was a pretty fine weekend.One downer after Sunday´s show...the metro was closed!
"...It´s gonna be a long walk home...".

Cheers,

Si.

ps edited once because I forgot to include ´O/T` in the title.Berk.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-22 20:54 by SimonN.

Cool, a Beatles cover as concert finale.
Glad I wasn't there !

More seriously, I like BS a lot, just didn't go this time.

'Twist and shout' is a 'Beatles cover'? er...

great post, Simon. Glad you had a great time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-07-22 18:03 by Gazza.

thanks for the photos and the reviews Simon!

Great stuff Simon, as ever!

Hey, how long did you have to wait in line to get into the pit?

SimonN,

2 questions based on your nice pix :
What was in the parcel ?
Who are the guests ?

Hello,

Thanks for the comments,guys.

Doc,
what may look like a parcel was just a side of a cardboard box with a song request written on it.
The guests were the offspring of Springsteen!

Hi Logie,
the pit malarkey was bad for me on Saturday but that was because I was still hunting for a reasonably priced ticket,which I eventually got for 75 Euros.Time taken from arriving at the stadium to having the manky but prized blue band was almost 4 hours.
Sunday was a doddle-only about 90 minutes,if even that.
There aren´t too many other acts I´d do that for!

Cheers,

Si.