I landed on Friday night at 23:20 in the airport Charles De Gaulle and realised there were no more trains for the day, so I decided to take a taxi to the hotel. Unfortunately the taxi driver didnโt know any English and my knowledge of French is limited to just a few words: โoui, no, merci, bonjour and bonne nuitโ. These words would prove to be very unhelpful in the situation I was in. I managed to explain to the driver where he would take me by showing him the address of the hotel on my phone (he had to get his glasses from his car to be able to read it). However, I was not quite sure he had got it right because he kept talking aggressively to me while we started driving towards Paris. I kept an eye on Google Maps on my phone and it seemed like he was driving in the right direction.
To cut a long and frustrating story short, I finally ended up at the hotel and Oliver was waiting outside. Before I paid, the driver gave me a long lecture and it might have been about the correct way to tell a French address. ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ๐
Cut forward to show day and the final roll call 1pm, where a long dayโs wait became even longer and frustrating due to lack of organisation and information from the arena security. The volunteer fans had done their job nicely but then we were lined up and security took over we were moved around like sheep from one stockyard to another and had to sit/stand in the scorching sun for hours.
Once we had entered the arena we saw that the roof was closed and that would be the explanation to why we hadnโt heard any soundcheck from the outside. It was a huge pit again and one weird thing that happened was that security didn’t allow us to go to the back of the pit in the first place. They tried to force us up front and when we refused they made us stand in the middle for five minutes before we were allowed back. To the question โwhy?โ the guard (who probably didnโt know any English) pointed to his headphones and said โdirectivesโ. When we got to the back of the pit we saw the open cables on the floor again, just like in Barcelona.
It was a solid show with no surprises. I realise Iโm beginning to be a bit spoiled after seven shows but donโt get me wrong. It is a good setlist, but it would have been nice to get at least one surprise song each show. We all know how many songs there are to choose from. The audience was very good this time. They were on the go from the start, even in the stands. Towards the end of the show the front of the pit made a try to convince Bruce to continue a little bit longer by holding up signs that said โBruce dontโt stop tonightโ. Unfortunately he didnโt listen to that.
The subtitles for Letter To You (โLettre pour toiโ) and Last Man Standing were back. I wonder if that is a normal routine now for every country that doesnโt have English as an official language. Oh, I forgot to mention Curtis Kingโs extraordinary pipes. His performance during Nightshift was spectacular as always. It amazes me every time.
I enjoyed myself dancing, fist pumping and singing ugly as I always do. I donโt know why but I got a little emotional at the end during Iโll See You in My Dreams. It was probably a combination of standing with his arms around me while I was suffering from dehydration/starvation ๐ป.
After the show we had the chance to meet new and old friends and to take photos.
This was concert number 8 of our #SpringsteenTour2023. Sadly weโre not able to see Paris 2. Next show: Amsterdam 25.05 (Oliver only) and 27.05 (the two of us together).
SETLIST:
๐ธ @pita_oli and I= @annalind1
Stray Bullet 
I am so sorry it was a trial 4 u both in the Paris show, Anna. It makes me think that my lone one show on 3 April in Brooklyn was quite enough, in its rarity. Sometimes doing a summer of Bruce & E Street is just excessive, especially w these complications in each venue. Respect your body too, in terms of the eating/drinking. It’s gonna get plenty hotter this summer, as it goes on. Being outdoors for hrs is a significant risk, in terms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke even. I am just trying to look out 4 u and Oliver, as u traverse Europe, hearing and seeing Bruce close up…enjoy it safely!
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Thank you Marsha! I promise to take better care of myself.
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