While being a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen’s music, I definitely haven’t attended as many shows as some of the audience, with last night’s Co-Op live opener being a modest 7th show over 16 years for me. There will probably be a lot of people there last night who end up going to that many over the next month!! I can see how people do it though, as each gig is always very different with a lot of songs swapped in and out, unlike some bands that play the same set for years.
The Co-Op is an incredible arena, with the sound and facilities making everything really easy, from having loads of bars and food options to having enough toilets to mean there are rarely queues (at least for the men’s!).
The first thing that I noticed was that the stage was set up to be very small and intimate, with the seats behind the stage being in use too. It might have been isolated with other artists but he spent a lot of time acknowledging them and getting them involved.
We had floor seats near the back left, and our view was great, with screens for those times you couldn’t see past the person in front. I’d probably prefer standing because you can move when there’s someone taller in front, but the atmosphere on the floor as the show went on more than made up for that.
Onto the show…and without going into the politics of it, there is a clear theme of this tour. Many of the chosen songs have political themes, some old classics and some lesser (or never) played ones. ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ and ‘Death to my Hometown’ were a clear message as opening tracks.
Even with more than one monologue, there was plenty of high energy songs that got the crowd involved. Early highlights ‘My Love Will Not Let You Down’ and ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ got a few on their feet but ‘The Promised Land’ and ‘Hungry Heart’ is where the energy really picked up.
‘My Hometown’ was next, which is one of those tracks I’ve always loved and wanted to see live but previously hadn’t. This was followed by ‘Youngstown’ and a seamless transition into ‘Murder Incorporated’, both of which give Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren and Bruce himself the chance to let loose on the guitars. This section was one of the highlights of the show for me.
There was a little dip for an acoustic ‘House of a Thousand Guitars’ and then an extended ‘My City of Ruins’, though the latter did sound excellent live.
From there it was all go, with ‘Because the Night’, ‘Human Touch’ (another long time favourite I’d always wanted to see), ‘Wrecking Ball’ and ‘The Rising’.
After that is pretty much the usual end, but it is probably one of the best runs of songs any artist can call on. ‘Badlands’, complete with the customary sing along is next, followed by a personal favourite ‘Thunder Road’.
The tradition of the house lights being turned on for the encore has a much bigger impact indoors compared to a stadium, where it can sometimes still be light at that time.
‘Born in the USA’ got a rare-ish play, followed by ‘Born to Run’, ‘Bobby Jean’, ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’. Even those casual fans who have come along not knowing that many songs would go home happy after that run.
One last surprise with a cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Chimes of Freedom’ to finish off, and then we’re on our way home.
A short set by Bruce standards but they are getting older!! The show really suited an indoor venue, and was pretty much relentless in its energy, with only a couple of lulls.
I’m going to night 3 too, so am interested to see how different two shows that close together are!
Setlist
Some short clips:
