Bruce Springsteen - review

Last week I went and saw Bruce Springsteen & the E Street band in Sydney. He has always been on my list of musicians to see live, and needless to say I was not disappointed. One of the first things I noticed on the way to the show was the average age of the concert goer. His shows have been described as a religious experience, I might not chose those words, but it was an awesome night, with a crowd who were really into the show.

I really love both his voice and the passion he sings with. Hard to believe at 67 he's still powering on, even crowdsurfing.. I also love how a lot of his songs are telling stories,which less seems less common these days. It was great that he let the songs speak for themselves, which is perhaps more powerful than speaking before or after the song.

What really struck me at the show was the chemistry between the band members. It was awesome to see a tribute to the original saxophonist Clarence Clemens during 10th Avenue Freeze Out. I love Jake Clemen's saxophone, particularly in Jungleland, Dancing in the Dark.  The saxophone adds so much to each song.

Setlist:
New York City Serenade / American Land / The Ties That Bind / No Surrender / Out in the Street / My Love Will Not Let You Down / Hungry Heart / Long Tall Sally / Wrecking Ball / Darkness on the Edge of Town / American Skin (41 Shots) / Youngstown / The Promised Land / Mary's Place / Candy's Room / She's the One / Downbound Train / I'm on Fire / Because the Night / The Rising / Badlands / Thunder Road / Jungleland / Born to Run / Dancing in the Dark /
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out / Shout / Bobby Jean.

There were so many highlights in the show.  I was really excited to hear American Skin, Jungleland, Dancing in the Dark, and really loved New York City Serenade, complete with a string section. The other awesome thing about the show was seeing the energy he put in to connecting with the crowd that night, and making it special.  He played at list three songs from sign requests, and pulling people up onto the stage for Dancing in the Dark.

I certainly would go back and see him again if I got the chance, but the other awesome thing with Bruce Springsteen is that you can buy a CD or digital recording of the show and relive it :)  Personally I wish more bands would do that.