Night In Padova

Tracklist

1-1	The Promised Land
1-2	Growin' Up
1-3	The Ghost Of Tom Joad (Acoustic)
1-4	Long Walk Home
1-5	My Love Won't Let You Down
1-6	Two Hearts
1-7	Boom Boom
1-8	Something In The Night
1-9	The Ties That Bind
1-10	We Take Care Of Our Own
1-11	Wrecking Ball
1-12	Death To My Hometwon
2-1	Spirit In The Night
2-2	Thunder Road
2-3	10th Avenue Freeze Out
2-4	Night
2-5	Backstreets
2-6	Born To Run
2-7	She's The One
2-8	Meeting Across The River
2-9	Jungleland
3-1	Shackled And Drawn
3-2	Waitin' On A Sunny Day
3-3	The Rising
3-4	Badlands
3-5	Pay Me My Money Down
3-6	Born In The Usa
3-7	Dancing In The Dark
3-8	Twist And Shout

Notes

The Boss strikes in Padova
Location: Stadio Euganeo, Padova, Italy
Date: May 31, 2013

There is a reason why they call him The Boss. A very good one. Bruce Springsteen doesn't just come onstage, do his job of playing an hour and a half and leave for two fake encores to inflate his ego as many other artists do these days. Bruce Springsteen is 63 years old and can run up and down the stage, singing, dancing, taking requests and making wildest dreams of fans come true for three hours. Why am I pointing this out before I even get to the show? Because there are many bands and artists half his age, who have disappointed me with an hour of their performance, ignoring requests for more and barely saying a word to the audience who paid good money to see them. Bruce, however, more than delivers.

The weather forecast was grim, especially given the fact that it was on the brink of June. The Italian organisers have outdone themselves by providing visitors with many parking lots around the city and free bus transfers (that failed a little bit after the concert but by then everyone was happy and humming, so it wasn't a big deal) to the stadium, setting up info points and many info-girls who were more than happy to help and give answers to any kinds of questions.

Bruce first came out for soundcheck at 6 pm, something almost no one does these days, and he didn't just try out his guitar but played two songs for all those people already waiting for him in the venue. He stepped onstage like he came to greet early guests at his party. And the two songs he played were not repeated in the main setlist.

He made damn sure to let everyone in that stadium know how much he appreciated their presence and that started by taking the stage only ten minutes after the announced beginning (8.30 pm). Note: Bruce Springsteen has no opening acts so it's pure Bruce show. Not only that there is no need cause his show is long enough to take over the entire evening but also because – let’s face it, who could possibly introduce The Boss?

And just as he needs no introduction he needs no fireworks and no big opening. Just as the sun was setting on Padova and painting the sky with incredible colors, Bruce took the stage with nothing but his guitar and proved that even one of his darkest songs The Ghost of Tom Joad can thrill his audience. When the song was over and the sky turned an amazing purple color, the fantastic E Street Band joined him on stage and set the mood in stone with Long Walk Home and got the crowd jumping and dancing to My Love Will Not Let You Down. Although Two Hearts wasn’t a request, one of the cameras caught a sign with it in the audience and at the right moment too because with only four songs into the setlist Bruce decided it was time for requests. As is now customary at his shows, he walked around until he found the first one he decided to grant. The request time started with a bang. Or should we say a boom, since it was John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom. It seemed to amuse The Boss himself. For me the biggest gem of the night happened right afterwards in the shape of Something In The Night which is not played very often but is such an overlooked gem. The third request, The Ties That Bind got the crowd dancing again, which continued through We Take Care of Our Own, Wrecking Ball and even Death To My Hometown. Springsteen never shies away from heavy subjects and he even dared getting preachy with Spirit In The Night.

He learned some Italian words and with some help of a cheat sheet informed the audience that it would be a full album show. As the rain started coming down on the dancing fans that were filling up the stadium, he was clearly touched by a sign “Born To Run changed my life”. He picked it up and said: “Mine too!” And thus started the full Born To Run album feature, which is just packed with favorites. Thunder Road kicked off the album and there was nothing but powerful music in there all the way to She’s The One and the always moving Jungleland. His voice is enchanting and it is a voice of a true storyteller. There is passion in his voice, pure force and emotion and when he wails with wordless singing, I am almost willing to bet my life on the fact that there is no other who could deliver something so spectacular. He has the power of making you angry, picking you up when you’re down or breaking your heart when you least expect it.

He moved on with something only he can successfully muster. Grave lyrics, wrapped up in skipping, joyful music. Shackled And Drawn for which Bruce took inspiration from his own father's story of being emasculated by losing his job in the 70s, was followed by a bright fan favorite Waiting On A Sunny Day. The violins of this song always get you dancing, no matter what. And this time we again witnessed the diversity of age among his fans. There were elderly ladies dancing and bumping at their husbands, old rockers, groups of middle-aged women hopping tirelessly and many children, singing along to every song. As usual he again picked a boy in the audience and made him sing by himself and even invite The E Street Band to join in. The kid impressed Bruce himself with his wonderful singing.

The Rising and Badlands prolongued the joy until Bruce and the band gathered and took a bow. What then followed is by some people recognized as the encore but Bruce didn't leave the stage so I guess it doesn't really count. Instead he got into an interesting conversation during which (due to the silence from the stage) the whole stadium started singing melodies to his songs. Then Bruce pulled the guy he was talking to onto the stage and the man introduced himself to the people as a big fan whose cover band Fireplaces plays Bruce's songs, including Pay Me My Money Down. Here's a twist: he plays it with spoons and a washboard. So The Boss and the band made his dream come true and allowed him to play with them the entire song.

That wasn't the only request he granted that evening that wasn't a song request. He danced with a mother in law and pulled a young girl on stage and handed her an acoustic guitar so she could play with him. The concert was wrapped up with Born in the USA, Dancing In The Dark and Twist And Shout. The tireless audience was dancing happily all across the lawn and the tribunes of the stadium. It was three amazing hours of love being shared through music because that's what Bruce feels towards his fans. And he's anything but shy about showing it. He is aware of what his music does to the people who come to his shows and he honors their dedication by showing them his. Bruce and The E Street Band are not just on tour together. They are a family that is generous enough to invite their admirers to join them at their »private« parties they hold in the evenings, changing cities and venues. Something people usually call a tour is just a very long celebration for them. They don't look like they came to do a job, they came to have fun and make sure you do the same. Which is why it isn't surprising that Big Man Clarence Clemons was replaced by his nephew Jake. But perhaps the most telling moment occurred when the show was over. The Boss himself greeted, shook hands, thanked and patted on the back each member of the huge E Street Band as they were leaving the stage, before turning once again to wave at the audience and disappear into the night. Leaving behind several thousands of happier people, once again.

Setlist:
Pre-show
The Promised Land
Growing Up
1. The Ghost of Tom Joad (acoustic), 2. Long Walk Home, 3. My Love Will Not Let You Down, 4. Two Hearts, 5. Boom Boom (request), 6. Something in the Night (request), 7. The Ties That Bind (request), 8. We Take Care of our Own, 9. Wrecking Ball, 10. Death to my Hometown, 11. Spirit in the Night

Full Born To Run Album
12. Thunder Road, 13. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, 14. Night, 15. Backstreets, 16. Born To Run, 17. She’s the One, 18. Meeting Across the River, 19. Jungleland, 20. Shackled and Drawn, 21. Waiting On A Sunny Day, 22. The Rising, 23. Badlands, 24. Pay Me My Money Down, 25. Born In The U.S.A., 26. Dancing In The Dark, 27. Twist And Shout