BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : LONDON 2023 SECOND NIGHT

 

Disc One (51:48)

  1. My Love Will Not Let You Down
  2. Death to My Hometown
  3. No Surrender
  4. Ghosts
  5. Prove It All Night
  6. Darkness on the Edge of Town
  7. The Promised Land
  8. Out in the Street
  9. Darlington County

Disc Two (62:57)

  1. Working on the Highway
  2. Kitty's Back
  3. Nightshift
  4. Mary's Place
  5. The E Street Shuffle
  6. Last Man Standing
  7. Backstreets
  8. Because the Night

Disc Three (65:11)

  1. She's the One
  2. Wrecking Ball
  3. The Rising
  4. Badlands
  5. Born to Run
  6. Bobby Jean
  7. Glory Days
  8. Dancing in the Dark
  9. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
  10. Twist and Shout
  11. I'll See You in My Dreams

Label : live.brucespringsteen.net

Venue : British Summer Time, Hyde Park, London, UK

Recording Date : July 8, 2023

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Concert Review (Soundsphere) : Returning to Hyde Park for the second of his two headline shows, Bruce Springsteen yet again reminds everyone why he’s The Boss. Would it really be Britain without it raining at a festival that’s called British Summer Time? The rain is on and off all day in London damping some spirts ahead of the gig which featured big names support for Bruce Springsteen. Playing to what isn’t his usual audience James Bay rips through a 10 song set filled with non-stop pop rock. Mixing the setlist from his own shows, Bay plays his bigger, upbeat songs to the crowd showcasing impressive guitar playing – something he prides himself on. Having openly talked about his love for Springsteen in the past his smile is beaming on stage playing his Springsteen-esque ‘Get Out While You Can’ and closing with his biggest track ‘Hold Back The River’. The Chicks were next and much like Bay had a mixed reaction from the crowd. Playing their outspoken country hits, the trio transform Hyde Park into what could’ve been their own headline show. The crowd perk up when they hear them cover ‘Landslide’ and ‘Travelin’ Soldier’ while people also recognise ‘Wide Open Spaces’, ‘Cowboy Take Me Away’ and ‘Goodbye Earl’. Their 13 song set ends at 6 o’clock leaving an hour before Springsteen takes to the stage. Right on time, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band take to the stage. Opening with the Tracks deep cut ‘My Love Will Not Let You Down’, the crowd seem confused and continue talking ignoring the fact the man they came to see was on stage. ‘No Surrender’ was the first of six Born in the USA songs followed by a rocking rendition of ‘Ghosts’. At this point the crowd are still static, with little groups of 3/4 people spread out across the giant park actually singing and dancing. Bruce and the band are sounding as good as ever with a slightly slowed down version of ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ and what should’ve been mass singalongs with ‘The Promised Land’ and ‘Out in the Street’. If the crowd wasn’t already lost, a long version of ‘Kitty’s Back’ before a cover of ‘Nightshift’ really loses them. Filling songs with longer instrumental sections ‘Mary’s Place’ goes on a minute or two longer than it needed to be, before an acoustic version of ‘Last Man Standing’. ‘Backstreets’ is a highlight with Bruce showing he still has it, hitting every note like it’s 1975. ‘Wrecking Ball’ is followed by ‘The Rising’ before a massive version of ‘Badlands’ to close out the main set. At this point they’ve played for just short of two and half hours and go off ahead of the encore. Kicking off the encore is ‘Born to Run’ where for the first time the crowd shows a little bit of life. The performance from Bruce at 73 years old is enough to blow anyone away with his appetite for rock and roll not fading yet. Three huge songs off Born in the USA follow with ‘Bobby Jean’, ‘Glory Days’ and ‘Dancing in the Dark’ follow with Bruce and the band pouring every ounce of energy into the last few songs. ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out’ acts as a tribute to the members of the E Street Band that have passed away with huge pictures of Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici appearing on the screens. Finishing at 10pm Bruce closes his set alone on stage with a poignant ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’. For a band who are all into their 70’s, they’re showing no signs of slowing down, however the same could not be said for the crowd. With the majority of people only knowing songs in the encore, it leaves you confused as to why they’d even bother spending £100+ in the first place. As The Boss himself sang “you can’t start a fire without a spark”, Bruce and the band gave the crowd that much needed spark – the crowd just didn’t give them the fire in return.

Concert Review (When The Horn Blows) : The rain was descending in London as I entered Hyde Park on Saturday, but I didn’t care, I was attending the church of The Boss. It was my second time at a BST concert, after being fortunate enough to watch Bob Dylan and Neil Young back in 2019 (in a pre-pandemic world). Yet this time felt even more special, knowing I was about to witness a 3 hour rock show of the highest calibre from the New Jersey heroes. Now it was Bruce time. Arriving on stage one by one like superhuman athletes, the almost 20-strong E Street Band assembled to a rapturous applause. With an iconic ‘2,3,4’ count from Bruce, they launched into opener ‘My Love Will Not Let You Down’, a deep cut yet live staple. Bruce’s vocals were as powerful as ever, with an age defying stamina. Roy Bittan’s bright piano stabs pierced delicately over the cacophony of jangling rock guitars, whilst Max Weinberg slammed the skins. It’s instantly clear why the E Street Band are revered as the greatest live band. Bruce and co followed with the 2012 single ‘Death To My Hometown’ taken from ‘Wrecking Ball’. Saxophonist Jake Clemmons suited up the marching drum for this rampant folk punk banger. This track perfectly illustrates the depth of songwriting Springsteen possesses, from anthemic to politically conscious in a matter of minutes. Bruce then dove back to 1984 with the upbeat rocker ‘No Surrender’ from the iconic ‘Born In The USA’ album. The melodic skill of guitarist Nils Lofgren was on full display as his hands danced across the fretboard. “We learned more from a three-minute record, than we ever learned in school” sang Bruce, as well as the entirety of Hyde Park. It’s Springsteen;s lyricism that has maintained his status as one of the greats, with the ability to craft stadium-filling anthems with truly poetic and thoughtful storytelling. ‘Ghosts’ taken from his last studio album ‘Letter To You’ followed next, highlighting how even in the 2020s, Bruce can still write a perfect song. The setlist took a moment to honour Bruce’s greatest album (in my opinion) ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ with a thrilling triple billing of ‘Prove It All Night’, ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ and ‘The Promised Land’. These tracks got some of the greatest response from the BST crowd, with every word passionately sung back at The Boss. It was a real thrill to hear the title track ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ live, with its brooding vocal delivery, and euphoric chorus. Speaking of euphoric, Jake Clemons faithful recreation of his uncle Clarence’s sax solo in ‘The Promised Land’ was simply stunning, as he and Bruce (on the harmonica) traded licks. “Mister I ain't a boy, no I'm a man, and I believe in a promised land”, and that promised land was right here in central london on Saturday. We then returned to the 80s with hits ‘Out In The Street’, ‘Darlington County’ and ‘Working On The Highway’. The latter featured the first glimpse of a solo Springsteen moment, as he strummed the opening verse on his trusty acoustic before The E Street Band slammed in and Little Steven played a soaring solo. ‘Kitty’s Back’ was next from Springsteen’s second record ‘The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle’. The 1973’s sprawling rocker featured shredding Springsteen solos (a severely underrated guitar slinger), bombastic percussion from Anthony Almonte and even some mock conducting from The Boss, as the E Street Horns triumphantly blared the hook. On the contrary, the most emotional part of the night followed with ‘Last Man Standing’, a beautiful solo acoustic number taken from 2020’s ‘Letter To You’. With The E Street Band off stage Bruce spoke about the start of his career, joining his first band The Castilles, which lasted three years, a lifetime for teenagers. The song was written for band member George Theiss after he passed away, leaving Springsteen to be the last man standing. It was incredible to hear Hyde Park so deadly quiet as Bruce delivered the mournful lines “I'm the last man standing now.” Transitioning from this delicate moment, the spine tingling piano intro of ‘Backstreets’ echoed through the sound system. The power of the E Street Band was back as they roared through classics including ‘Because The Night’, ‘Badlands’ and recent hits ‘The Rising’ and ‘Wrecking Ball’. “I was raised outta steel here in the swamps of Jersey some misty years ago” sings Springsteen to rapturous applause from the London crowd. The encore is something else. Bruce takes a deep before embarking on a 6 song back to back journey through Born To Run, Bobby Jean, Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark, 10th Avenue Freeze-Out before landing on a joyous cover of The Top Notes ‘Twist and Shout’, in honour of the infamous Hyde Park collaboration with Paul McCartney, which famously was cut off due to the curfew. It’s quite unbelievable to hear some of the finest, most beloved songs of the past 50 years presented back to back. A particularly special moment is the on screen memorial to E Street Legends Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici during 10th Avenue Freeze-Out which Springsteen exclaims “This is the important part!”. These former members played such a vital role in the band, but the legacy lives on through the new younger members, and the E Street Band sounds better than ever. A brilliantly funny moment happens during ‘Glory Days’ where Springsteen looks across to his faithful sidekick Little Steven and says, "Steve, I think it's time to go home." Drawing upon his acting experience in The Sopranos, Stevie Van Zandt, simply replies, "Say what?". Springsteen shouts through gritted teeth "they're going to pull that plug again! They're going to pull that plug again!". Following this mind bending journey of an encore, Bruce embraces each member of the band as they leave the stage, and The Boss returns to the microphone one last time. Armed with just a harmonica and acoustic guitar, Springsteen sings the mournful ‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’ as a final farewell to both his bandmate George Theiss and to the adoring Hyde Park crowd. The audience is silent once more, and Bruce ends one of the biggest shows of the year with a moment of pure intimacy, before walking off into the darkness (on the edge of the stage).