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Last Updated: 12:01am BST 26/05/2008
David Cheal reviews Bruce Springsteen in Dublin
There are bands, there are stars, there are singers, there are songwriters. And there's Bruce Springsteen.
Epic: Bruce Springsteen
This tireless bundle of feverish energy is still head and shoulders above anyone else in the world of popular music.
Whenever I see him on stage, everyone else fades into the background; all those so-called globe-conquering acts are thrown into sharp relief by the glorious wall of sound and waves of emotion that pulse from the man and his band.
He has a heart as big as a planet, he makes music that's pure joy, and he does it for hour after hour.
Here in Dublin, on the Irish leg of his first world tour with the E Street Band since 2003 - he comes to Britain this week - Springsteen started as he meant to go on.
Wearing a black shirt, sleeves rolled up in a lets-get-to-work manner, he put a harmonica to his lips, blew a sweet refrain, and threw down his arm to launch the opening song, "Promised Land", which encapsulated everything that's great about him as a live performer.
His face was twisted with passion, and the band rolled along like an express train. It was epic, it was glorious, and it had only just begun. "Radio Nowhere", from last year's Magic album, swiftly followed, and we were well and truly on the way.
And the thing about Bruce Springsteen concerts, as I began to remember as this one unfolded, is that just when you think a peak has been reached, it gets better.
With each song, as Springsteen shouted: "One, two, three, four!", the sound became warmer and richer, the crowd of 35,000 threw away their inhibitions, and Springsteen summoned up hidden reserves of energy and emotion.
Perhaps he doesn't throw himself around quite as vigorously as he used to. Perhaps his voice is losing a bit of range, becoming rougher. But hell - the man is 58 years old.
And it wasn't all about joy. "Darkness on the Edge of Town" tapped into the despairing streak in Springsteen's music, but even then, it was a glorious sort of desperation.
Then another peak was reached with "Because the Night", the song co-written by Springsteen and Patti Smith, and illuminated here by a sensational guitar solo from Nils Lofgren. Brilliant.
So it went on, as a dull Dublin sky turned dark and the drama intensified with "The River", "The Rising", "Born to Run", and finally a riotously received rendition of the traditional Irish song "American Land". He's still the Boss. No question.
May 25 /Dublin, IRE / RDS Arena
Setlist:
No Surrender
Radio Nowhere
The Ties That Bind
Spirit in the Night
Gypsy Biker
Atlantic City
Reason to Believe
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Growin' Up
Because the Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
Mary's Place
The Promised Land
Racing in the Street
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Born to Run
Rosalita
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
Ramrod
Glory Days
May 23 /Dublin, IRE / RDS Arena
Setlist:
Night
Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Lonesome Day
The Promised Land
Magic
Trapped
Murder Incorporated
Darlington County
Prove It All Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
Mary's Place
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Jungleland
Born to Run
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
May 22 /Dublin, IRE / RDS Arena
Setlist:
The Promised Land
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Out in the Street
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Candy's Room
Prove It All Night
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Because the Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
Mary's Place
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The River
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (w/ Southside Johnny)
American Land
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