Düsseldorf 21.06.2023 #SpringsteenTour2023

After a 3,5 weeks Springsteen hiatus (I had to work) I was more than ready re-embark the Springsteen tour. Let’s call it the “second leg” of the European tour. From now on we’ll see practically all remaining European shows (except for the two shows in London).

I can’t lie, standing on the sideline, following the Zürich setlist only via direct reports from Oliver and social media, was not easy. I couldn’t believe it when I learned that they had pulled the My Hometown “flash-mob” off, that I had read about on Facebook. It’s not that My Hometown is my favourite song or anything. It’s just that even the smallest change of the playlist is welcomed at this part of the tour.

https://www.jambase.com/article/bruce-springsteen-my-hometown-zurich-setlist-video/amp

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The next show was in Birmingham and they got My Hometown AND The River (!) and so did Werchter. We were quite curious to see what the first German show would offer. On the evening before the show we met a fellow fan (Carina) to speculate over a beer if those songs were there to stay and the possibilities of any other surprises in the setlist.

Cut forward to the day of the concert. It was a warm and very humid day. The weather forecast had predicted showers, so we brought our ponchos to be on the safe side. To the show we also brought two colleagues of Oliver’s that would experience their first Springsteen show ever.

FOS1 in the Merkur Spiel-Arena was smaller than the pits that we had seen so far on this tour. The consequence was that, even though we were standing quite far back in the pit, it was relatively close to the stage. At exactly 7pm the band members entered the stage and the starter was The Ties That Binds – a tour premiere! What a wonderful surprise.

Letter To You, Last Man Standing (and the story before Last Man Standing) plus I’ll See You in My Dreams kind of sum up the message and theme of the tour and it is obviously important to Springsteen that people understand them. That is probably why they are translated with subtitles in all non-English-speaking countries. As a language teacher, that is a fun/interesting (and sometimes hilarious) part. German is pretty sexy, don’t you think? 😅

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To sum this experience up: it is genuinely good to back on tour again. It was an excellent show with a 28 songs playlist, including My Hometown and The River, which now appear to be there to stay. Springsteen and the E Street Band seemed to be in a good mood. However, they never mentioned that it was Nils Lofgren’s birthday. The German crowd was energetic and I was soaked, not with rain but with sweat. It was also enjoyable to see a 22 year old and a 60 year old experience their first ever Springsteen shows. I also ran into a friend, by chance, and that was a nice surprise.

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Next stop: 3x Gothenburg – My hometown, I can’t wait!

📸 @ pita_oli and AnnaLind1

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Setlist:

1. “THE TIES THAT BIND”
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. “My Hometown”
13. “The River”
14. “Last Man Standing”
15. “Backstreets”
16. “Because the Night”
17. “She’s the One”
18. “Wrecking Ball”
19. “The Rising”
20. “Badlands”
21. “Thunder Road”
22. “Born in the U.S.A.”
23. “Born to Run”
24. “Bobby Jean”
25. “Glory Days”
26. “Dancing in the Dark”
27. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
28. “I’ll See You in My Dreams”