Family Affairs and other matters

Don’t worry, I haven’t taken to reviewing every single band that plays in London – it’s just that my brother is the biggest Bruce Springsteen fan ever and I knew he’d do a better job of writing about his performance yesterday than I did when I wrote about him after playing at the Emirates Concert last year:-

“First of all let me make it clear that this is hardly likely to be an unbiased review. I am a long time Springsteen fan and this was my 5th time seeing him. I listen to his stuff more than anything else. He doesn’t know me but he gets me and I get him. I will put him on when I’m happy and when I’m sad. When Barack Obama introduced him at one of his rallies last year he said he was only running for President because he couldn’t be Bruce Springsteen. I know what he means. Listening to Springsteen is unbeatable. Until you do it with 40000 other likeminded people. Then it is takes on a whole new level.

The whole day was great. I met up with my oldest friend and his wife and the weather was perfect. Overcast for the hottest part of the day before turning into a beautiful evening. I missed the 1st band but really enjoyed Gaslight Anthem’s set. I started listening to them when I heard they would be a support act and their album ’59 Sound has probably been the one I’ve enjoyed most this year. They are from New Jersey as well and really won the crowd over with their energy. It didn’t hurt that Bruce joined them to share the lead for the title track of their album just as he did at Glastonbury. If you are a Springsteen fan and don’t know them I urge you to seek them out. There a lot of similarities between them.

James Morrison came on next. Not much to say about him. Nice voice but once he’d played the one song I knew I lost interest.

The Dave Matthews Band were next – another where I didn’t know the music but I did really like them / him. Lots of energy and humour and I believe in the States they are huge. I’ll give them a proper listen soon.

Bruce came on at just after 1900 and opened with “London Calling”- a great unegotistical nod to the crowd and Joe Strummer. You just never know what you are going to get at a Springsteen concert. He doesn’t talk to the audience as much as he used to but with a back catalog of more than 400 songs to choose from his music does that for him. He made his usual foray into the crowd to gather up the written requests, hamming it up on the way back up on the stage and asking for an elevator to be put in because he turns 60 this year.

He then went on to do a 3 hour set without a single break that would put most bands half his age to shame. He didn’t do all my favourites but most were in there and I love to watch the interactions between him and the E Street Band. They are a really tight unit and Bruce is the consumate band leader, whipping the crowd up to a frenzy one minute before slowing things down the next. Clarence was as amazing as ever. His knees may be arthritic but there is nothing wrong with his fingers and his sax solos were as soulful as they have always been.

I haven’t read any reviews of Bruce’s Glastonbury set yet but I a glad a new audience got to hear him. Those that don’t know his music tend to base their judgement of him on his big single, “Born in the USA”, in my mind one of his weakest songs. It still amuses me that Reagan took that on to promote his Party when it is actually a very scathing song about American foreign policy and not the patriotic anthem it seems to be.

For me the best songs of the night were “Jungleland” and “Outlaw Pete” but it was great to hear “Youngstown” from the Ghost of Tom Joad album and see the singer from Gaslight Anthem join the bad for “No Surrender”.

I wish I had got to see Bruce in his early years. There has been a lot if talk this week about how many people feel that Michael Jackson’s sudden death was the day that the music died for them. For me that time will be when Bruce stops touring. From last nights’ show he may have a few rounds left in him yet”.