Bruce Springsteen returned to Edinburgh on the 30th May on his latest tour. The crowd went wild as ‘The Boss’ energetically went through 29 decades-spanning hits.
Opening with the roaring Born In The USA classic No Surrender, the night was off to a great start as the crowd went wild upon his entrance to the stage.
Ghosts – from latest original album, Letter To You – was one of the songs Springsteen himself was most excited to perform live, and it didn’t disappoint.
Hits from all eras were included, such as Darkness on The Edge of Town‘s soaring track The Promised Land, and pub-party classic Out In The Street from The River.
The whole band had time to shine with the excellent Kitty’s Back, performed with an energy even those decades younger than the band members struggle to achieve.
While the upbeat energy continued throughout the night, pauses were taken to perform more down-tempo songs, a stunning cover of Nightshift released by Springsteen last year & an acoustic solo presentation of Last Man Standing, accompanied by a good old Springsteen storytelling session.
A highlight for the audience seemed to be Wrecking Ball, from the album of the same name, as they sat on each others shoulders and waved their hands in the air – its Celtic rock roots the perfect fit for the country, which may be why Death To My Hometown was performed earlier in the night.
Even those who had been quietly admiring the performance couldn’t help but get into the spirit of things, singing and dancing along when an extended encore began with Badlands, and the setlist came to resemble more of a greatest hits tour.
Thunder Road, Born In The USA, Born To Run and Bobby Jean were barely heard from the stage as the audience sang-along, their singing probably even filling the streets outside.
Glory Days was performed youthfully by Stevie Van Zandt and Springsteen, as they danced around the stage and even got up close to the cameras to make some funny faces.
“You’ve just seen the… heart-stopping… love-making… viagra-taking… f-cking legendary E STREET BAND”, proclaimed The Boss before the final song of the night with the band. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out began to play, with beautiful tributes to Danny Federici & Clarence Clemons playing on the side-screens.
Springsteen by himself then came back on to end the night with an acoustic rendition of I’ll See You In My Dreams.
The extent of Bruce Springsteen’s catalogue meant that some fan favourites and beloved classics (Jungleland, The River, I’m Goin’ Down, Cover Me) were omitted. However, for a legend pushing 73 (and unafraid to remind audiences of his own mortality), this was another phenomenal 3-hour marathon with a tight-as-ever E Street Band and a vocally fantastic Springsteen.
Featured Image Credit: BatOutOfHell92 via. Reddit
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Film & Media & Journalism Student
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