by Lesley Mason

Created on: May 29, 2008   Last Updated: May 30, 2008

Still The Boss
Bruce Springsteen @ "The Theatre of Dreams" Old Trafford, Manchester (England)28.5.08

Those who know me will know that I came to Springsteen late. I could not be persuaded to give the guy a chance, until one night on TV I saw him stand very still in front of a microphone and sing "The River" - to this day one of my favourite songs.

My other half came to him early, waking up in the middle of the night in the 70s to hear Born to Run blasting out of a left-on radio.

Know then, in advance, that this might just be a tiny bit biased as reviews go. Last night's gig was my Christmas present to my boyfriend. It's now the end of May. Manchester is about four-and-a-half hours away by train. (London's closer, but apparently sold out.) It was a stadium gigand the weather has been like February of late: cold and wet.

You might get the idea that we feel the Boss is worth making an effort for.

~

So how was it?

THE SET & THE LIGHT SHOW? Erm... No. If you want interesting sets and pretty lights, go to a YES concert.

THE SUPPORT BAND? Again no. At a Springsteen gig, you do not get supporting acts. What you get is a pure two-and-a-half-hour non-stop solid dose of Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. (Well, let's face it, the man will be 60 next year. We can't really expect the full three hours any more.)

STILL THE BOSS

But is he without a doubt still "The Boss". Having missed the last couple of tours I haven't seen Springsteen live since the Ghost of Tom Joad tour, which was very much the melodic folksy side of his persona. The current assault is back to the impure rock icon that switches easily from folk to rock'n'roll, to the almost disco-pop of the early 80s, and on into some stunning heavy rock guitar work, jazzed up as ever by the big man' Clarence Clemons on the horn.

Does the age really show? Only a little. You could almost see him whince as he jumped back up onto the stage after fraternising with the fans and feel joints creak a little as he clambered rather than leapt back to his feet after a stage-length knee-slide. A Chuck-Berry toe-tapping spin sequence successfully executed saw him grin at the band with a "Hey! That worked!" expression.

The energy of the whole band is still what it was. We can lose half-an-hour or so between friends, when the band come on stage and rock their way through five full-length high-power numbers before even pausing to acknowledge the applause or say "Hello Manchester". For most super-groups' that would be half-a-set. The E-Streeters

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>