Newark, NJ 14.04.2023 #SpringsteenTour2023

Show day #3! After as sturdy breakfast we went to the venue quite early to see if Ticketmaster would have any GA tickets for sale. The only GA offered online were “verified resale” ticket for about $2000. We had a nice chat with the security guard while waiting for the box office to open at 11 am, and then we waited practically all day in that box office, with only a break for some lunch.

We held out until 7:30 pm until we finally gave up and made our way to our original seats behind the stage.

It might sound like a boring day, but it wasn’t. There were other people there to talk to and to watch. I’m a rookie at this touring thing and I find it very interesting to observe the culture and “code of conduct” of the community. So far the people I’ve met have been friendly and helpful. Some safe conversation starters, for example, would be:

“So, how many shows have you seen?” or “Where are you from?”, “I like your shirt” (when you see someone wearing a Springsteen shirt) or ”Great show!” (after the show). That always breaks the ice and makes people start talking. 😃

Yesterday we met some very interesting people in the line, but the most exciting meet for me was to finally see Donna from BruceFunds after the show. She’s a true Springsteen community legend. For those of you who don’t know anything about BruceFunds: “Bruce Funds is a community of Springsteen fans who like to pay it forward. Bruce Funds is a chance to give without expecting anything in return. Bruce Funds is a spiritual, soul-driven investment in Springsteen fans around the world. If you believe in the philosophy that “nobody wins unless everybody wins,” then you will probably understand what Bruce Funds is about.”

Bruce Funds is run by Donna and she donates her time and the costs with maintaining a web site, inspiring fans to buy and give tickets to each other, finding fans who need assistance getting to a show and distributing tickets to those people.

So, how did I like the concert? It was great! We knew from the beginning that it would be exceptional since it was the last one of the first American leg AND that the show was in New Jersey (Springsteen’s home state).

When I saw the horns and backup singers take the stage already at the start of the show, I knew we would be in for something special. A very strong performance of the song Local Hero (tour premiere) kicked off the show in a very good way before playing No Surrender and a more normal setlist.

The first encore was Jersey Girl, also a tour premiere and the first time for me live. We had expected him to play that song but it was nevertheless brilliant.

All in all it was just an incredible night and what a way to end the US leg of this tour. The arena was packed and the crowd was into it from start to finish. Our seats were ok and it was interesting to get another view of the set. We saw things they did with the lights that can’t be seen from the pit. However, I prefer the pit and I’m glad that our tickets for the rest of the shows are FOS (Front of Stage).

Next show: 28 April in Barcelona, Spain.

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Setlist:

1. LOCAL HERO (tour premiere)
2. No Surrender
3. Ghosts
4. Prove It All Night
5. Letter To You
6. The Promised Land
7. Out in the Street
8. Candy’s Room
9. Kitty’s Back
10. Nightshift
11. Mary’s Place
12. E Street Shuffle
13. Last Man Standing
14. Backstreets
15. Because the Night
16. She’s the One
17. Wrecking Ball
18. The Rising
19. Badlands

Encores:

20. JERSEY GIRL (tour premiere)
21. Thunder Road
22. Born To Run
23. Rosalita
24. Glory Days
25. Dancing in the Dark
26. 10th Avenue Freeze-out
27. I’ll See You in My Dreams