2023-07-19 06:05:47
The first concert that “The Boss” has given in this country since 2012 has been sold out for weeks. And so the 73-year-old was greeted with frenetic applause before he and his E Street Band gave an almost three-hour best of his career, which has lasted for more than 50 years.
Springsteen is one of those rock veterans who seems to have passed the age without a trace and who still comes across as authentic with the casual virility of a hard worker next door. Only thoughtful – and on the video walls subtitled in German – interim announcements regarding deceased companions and one or the other crushed tear in songs dedicated to them like “Last Man Standing” or “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” reminded that he himself is older becomes. Otherwise, the musician from New Jersey, who of all things didn’t integrate his hit song “Born in the USA” into his 26-track setlist in Vienna, delivered a varied show that was extremely popular with the audience, but which suffered from massive acoustic problems, especially at the beginning was accompanied in the stadium.
But Springsteen made up for initial dissonance and overdrive with a lot of charm, following the opener “No Surrender” from 1984 to the 2020 released “Ghosts” he walked into the ditch between the stage and the audience, where he continued to get close once more and once more looked for his fans, gave his harmonica to a young boy and gave out plectrums like US soldiers used to give chewing gum. From the ditch he also observed one or the other solo of his faithful companions: Nils Lofgren on the electric guitar delivered many a performance underpinned with show elements, while Garry W. Tallent (bass), Roy Bittan (piano) and Max Weinberg (drums) tended to stay in the background and keep things running. Springsteen finally brought his guitarist Steven Van Zandt aka “Little Steven” to the microphone once more and once more for small duets, on whom the ravages of time gnawed the most visibly and audibly. However, 43-year-old Jake Clemons, who has replaced his deceased uncle Clarence Clemons on the saxophone since 2012, was able to enjoy a particularly large amount of applause.
That the “Boss” not only has a lot to offer vocally, but also on the guitar, might be seen in some solos, such as “Prove It All Night”, released in 1978. Springsteen didn’t have to prove anything to his fans anyway. How much he had the crowd under control might also be seen with younger hits like “Mary’s Place” or “Wrecking Ball”, both of which come from albums from the past 20 years. Nevertheless, with Springsteen – similar to his colleagues who are also getting on in years like the Rolling Stones or Bon Jovi – it’s the hits from the 1970s and 1980s that make the concert-goers boil.
And so evergreens like “Born to Run”, “Glory Days” or “Dancing in the Dark” might not be missing in the varied set, in which the E Street Band was repeatedly supported by a brass ensemble and background singers . But a Springsteen can also fish in strange ponds – and inspire the crowd with cover versions of “Nightshift” by the Commodores or “Because the Night”, which he wrote together with Patti Smith. Finally, the “Boss” released his audience in the most romantic way – with a solo version of “I’ll See You in My Dreams”.
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