Review: Bruce Springsteen

When you go through the history of rock music, few have had the success, influence and universal admiration that The Boss has achieved over his long career. Testament to this is that Springsteen performed in front of 130,000 over two nights as he headlined BST Hyde Park, one of the biggest festivals in the UK.

As it hit 7pm it sounded like many in the crowd were booing, but in fact, it was cries of ‘Bruuuuce’ as the crowd braced for the arrival of the legendary rock star on stage.

The Boss came out and got the party started straight away with ‘No Surrender’ which had the crowd fist-pumping and dancing along.

The show was relentless as The Boss sequenced from song to song without pause for breath as he performed hits like ‘Prove it all Night’, ‘Working on the Highway’ and ‘Darlington County.’

Springsteen had steps leading into a pit nearing the audience and during ‘Darlington County’ he walked up to the crowd and was embraced by his loving fans, one even placed a red cowboy hat on his head as he walked around the stage with it on before placing it back on her head.

Bruce performed some covers which have been regular features of his sets like ‘Nightshift’ by the Commodores, which really highlighted the abilities of the incredibly talented E Street Band. There was also a performance of Patti Smith’s ‘Because the Night’, which had the crowd dancing along to the classic rock anthem that Springsteen put his unique twist on.

One of the highlights of the evening was a performance of ‘The River’, which was clearly a fan favourite as everyone sang along with Springsteen, which created a beautiful atmosphere. This song is classic Springsteen, it showcases his poetic lyricism, vocal ability and musical talent with multiple instruments like the harmonica and guitar.

The night ended with a flurry of Springsteen’s biggest hits with ‘Born in the USA’, ‘Born to Run’ and ‘Glory Days.’ During a guitar riff on the latter track, he asked his guitarist Steven Van Zandt “Do you want to go home?” Adding a joke that they might pull the plug again, referencing his 2012 London concert at Hyde Park when organisers pulled the plug on Springsteen and Paul McCartney.

They carried on and history wasn’t repeated as The Boss finished with ‘Dancing in the Dark’, which quite literally had everyone dancing in the dark, ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’ and a solo acoustic of ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams.’

Bruce Springsteen is a force of nature, there’s no other way to describe him. The Boss is 73 but performed for three hours straight with no breaks, no outfit changes… just pure music. He has been famed for his long sets throughout his career but to see it live in the flesh was a sight to behold and a bucket list-worthy moment.

Image: Dave Hogan @ Hogan Media copy

SEE WHAT’S ON IN YOUR LOCAL THEATRE RIGHT NOW