Music
Preview: Bruce Springsteen brings The River tour to the UK this month
With less than two weeks to go until The Boss hits British shores, we take a look what we can expect from his upcoming tour and what we’re looking forward to the most.
Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band kick off the UK run at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium on 25 May before heading to Glasgow, Coventry and finally London’s Wembley Stadium on 5 June.
What can you expect?
A rock ‘n’ roll legend like Springsteen delivers a great show one hundred percent of the time. That’s a given. What’s a little more on the unusual side is the fact that there is no support band at a Springsteen gig. Which only goes to show, the man exudes energy from the minute he walks on stage with the E Street Band. No warm-up required. “But then the show ends too soon!” I hear you cry – no need to worry about that. With an average set list length of roughly 33 songs the shows easily go on for three or more hours. One of The Boss’ record show took place on 31 July in Helsinki with four hours and six minutes on the clock.
Within that monster of a set list you can find all the gems you could ever wish for. And here’s a tip: If you desperately want Springsteen to play your personal favourite – make a sign. It’s an old concert tradition and with the takeover of mobile phones people don’t do it as often anymore. Springsteen fans do.
We can’t wait for…
The queuing. First of all, it’s a British thing. Secondly, it’s a Springsteen thing. Early queuing so you can get the best spot in the crowd. And the cherry on top is queuing with other E Street Fans is fun – you get to know so many people who enjoy the same music taste as you do, exchange concert experiences, latest gossip, and (hopefully) enjoy the nice weather.
The sing-alongs. Yes, we have practiced our lyrics and warmed up our vocal chords. Three hours of shouting your heart out might result in loss of voice the next day, but you can always blame it on The Boss, no one can be mad at him.
The music. Whether you know every tune off by heart or have just bought your first album – you’ll enjoy every minute of it. The best thing is, you never know what to expect when it comes to new arrangements or the band finding a tune they haven’t played in 30 years.
Perceived chants. Okay, here’s one thing you need to know if you’re not a die-hard Bruce fan. There will be multiple times throughout the show where the whole crowd will sound a bit like they are booing the band. They’re not. It’s a collective “Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce”, of course.
Bring it on, Bruce!
While the US leg of the tour earlier this year included the classic album to be played in full, the European set lists will vary on a nightly basis – all the more reason for those ticket-seeking, hotel-booking, money-juggling, plane-taking, train-riding, queue-forming, tramp-meeting, feet-throbbing, back-breaking, burger-eating, rain-enduring, music-loving, Boss-following, legendary E Street Fans to go to more than one show. And they’re exactly the ones you’ll see singing every line of every song and having the time of their lives. And judging from the photos we’ve seen so far from the European leg – it’s looking pretty sweet!
So whether you have seen Bruce Springsteen a hundred times or it’s your first time – it will be a show you won’t soon forget and you will end up making a bunch of new friends who love his music as much as you do.
Book remaining tickets for Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band now at Ticketmaster.co.uk/brucespringsteen.
