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Bruce Springsteen – review Bruce Springsteen – review
(7 months later)
Bruce Bruce Springsteen opened his Australian tour with a first ever West Australian concert last night, the first of three sold-out shows at Perth Arena. The three-hour extravaganza reaffirmed the Boss's reputation as the best live performer in rock‘n’roll. Celebrating the biggest hits of his famous catalogue interspersed with newer material, the show was a masterclass in audience interaction and the virtuoso jams of an 18-piece E Street Band.
Springsteen opened his Australian tour with a first ever West Australian “Hey Perth! It’s great to be in the remotest place on earth,” Springsteen exclaimed before a note was sung. The Boss teamed up with old sparring partner Steve Van Zandt to sing opener Frankie Fell in Love, from new album High Hopes. That album’s title track followed before a cover of Australian punks the Saints’ Just Like Fire Would, then Badlands, taking us back to 1978.
concert last night, the first of three sold-out shows at Perth Arena. The three-hour extravaganza reaffirmed the Boss's reputation as the best live performer in rock‘n’roll. Celebrating the biggest hits of his famous From there the floodgates opened: a great Hungry Heart, then The E Street Shuffle, during which The Boss let most of the band have a solo. The extended jam culminated in Springsteen himself performing an astounding blues guitar solo, a reminder of what a great player he is.
catalogue interspersed with newer material, the show was a masterclass in audience Formidable solos became a theme for the evening, with Springsteen and Van Zandt joined in axe worship by Nils Lofgren and ex-Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello. Lofgren’s epic lead on Because the Night saw him spinning like a whirling dervish, while Morello’s technically jaw-dropping shred on The Ghost of Tom Joad – on which he also duetted – was mesmerising.
interaction and the virtuoso jams of an 18-piece E Street Band. Then there were the songs that sent emotions flying the other way. Wrecking Ball, The River and American Skin (41 Shots) were moving to the point of tears for many, their themes of struggle, hope and despair getting to the core of why Springsteen is the king of heartland rock. For You was performed solo on grand piano after Springsteen saw a sign calling for it in the crowd. The 1973 track never sounded so affecting.
“Hey Deep cuts were dressed up with invitations for lucky punters to join the Boss on stage, the funniest of which was Stevie’s Angels, a group of girls worshipping Van Zandt, who twerked their way through Ramrod.
Perth! It’s great to be in the remotest place on earth,” Springsteen exclaimed And there were hits. The Rising. Born to Run. Dancing in the Dark. No Born in the USA but it didn’t matter. And when it seemed that it couldn’t get any better, with the E Street Band finally retired following a raucous take on the Isley Brothers' Shout, The Boss returned solo, performing Thunder Road to close the show.
before a note was sung. The Boss teamed up with old sparring partner Steve Van It was a once in a lifetime end to a show that could hardly have been bettered.
Zandt to sing opener Frankie Fell in Love, from new album High Hopes. That
album’s title track followed before a cover of Australian punks the Saints’ Just Like Fire
Would, then Badlands, taking us back to 1978.
From
there the floodgates opened: a great Hungry Heart, then The E Street
Shuffle, during which The Boss let most of the band have a solo. The extended
jam culminated in Springsteen himself performing an astounding blues guitar
solo, a reminder of what a great player he is.
Formidable solos became a theme for the evening, with Springsteen and Van Zandt joined in
axe worship by Nils Lofgren and ex-Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom
Morello. Lofgren’s epic lead on Because the Night saw him spinning like a
whirling dervish, while Morello’s technically jaw-dropping shred on The Ghost of Tom Joad – on which he also duetted – was mesmerising.
Then
there were the songs that sent emotions flying the other way. Wrecking Ball,
The River and American Skin (41 Shots) were moving to the point of tears for many,
their themes of struggle, hope and despair getting to the core of why Springsteen is the king of
heartland rock. For You was performed solo on grand piano after Springsteen saw
a sign calling for it in the crowd. The 1973 track never sounded so affecting.
Deep
cuts were dressed up with invitations for lucky punters to join the Boss on
stage, the funniest of which was Stevie’s Angels, a group of girls
worshipping Van Zandt, who twerked their way through Ramrod.
And there
were hits. The Rising. Born to Run. Dancing in the Dark. No Born in the USA but
it didn’t matter. And when it seemed that it couldn’t get any better, with the E Street Band
finally retired following a raucous take on the Isley Brothers' Shout, The Boss
returned solo, performing Thunder Road to close the show.
It
was a once in a lifetime end to a show that could hardly have been bettered.