Bruce earned the name Boss after his show in Ottawa on Friday night! He showed us all how it’s done.
The evening started out sampling some fine beers over at Andre and Karilee’s place along with some excellent dinner. Trish showed up after work and we hit the road around 6:30, thinking we would avoid all the traffic.
While it was a little busy on the Queensway, it was nothing compared to the time spent at the exit of the highway to the venue where we spent a solid hour inching 5 kilometers. Horrible traffic! Andre was losing it! Turns out that the show was sold out with 19,000 people so I can understand the delays!
We managed to arrive before the show started and made it to the floor which was more packed than I have ever witnessed. We ended up back near the sound booth which was fine by us. We settled in but ended up in some high traffic areas (especially when they managed to put a barrier up near us which diverted traffic) which resulted in Andre and Karilee headed back and Trish and I heading forward until we found a spot near some Born in the USA-era teenagers…sleeveless jean jackets (from the LCBO!) and red bandanas abound! Amazing!
Preface: I don’t know much Springsteen. I have listened to his first five albums in preparation for the concert but I’m definitely not a connoisseur. While that may bother some people, I am not bothered by hearing some excellent tunes being played by a solid band.
The show started out with the house lights on (I’m always a fave of that move) and it didn’t let up for the rest of the night.
- The Promised Land
- The Ties That Bind
- No Surrender – Andre got his wish and heard his favourite song.
- Hungry Heart – So let’s put this in perspective. Bruce Springsteen is the same age as my Dad. He proceeds to go crowd-surfing while singing Hungry Heart. This guy is amazing!
- We Take Care Of Our Own
- Wrecking Ball
- Death To My Hometown
- My City Of Ruins
- Spirit In The Night
- E Street Shuffle
- Jack Of All Trades
- Prove It All Night (1978 intro)
- Candy’s Room
- Darlington County
- Shackled and Drawn
- Waiting on a Sunny Day – I’m not sure if this is a classic move on their part, but they brought up two kids on stage who sang along with the chorus. It was awesome. I also loved how one kid hogged the mic from his little brother! Ha ha. At one point, Bruce whispers into the kids ear and then the kid yells out “Come on E Street Band! Is that all you got?!” (or something to that effect!).
- Drive All Night
- The Rising
- Badlands
- Thunder Road
Encore:
- Queen of the Supermakert – A request from the crowd from a girl who works at Sobey’s.
- We Are Alive
- Born To Run
- Glory Days
- Dancing In The Dark
- Tenth Avenue Freeze-out – With a nice homage to Clarence at the end which drew cheers from the crowd forever.
A three hour show ending with these solid four tunes was amazing and the crowd was loving it. The band has some hardcore fans who knew every word to every song and I was loving every moment of it. I can see why he has such an amazing fanbase…they take requests, they interact with the audience a lot, they change up the setlist every night.
A killer show put on by the Boss and the E Street Band. If you want to see a great show, it’s due time you check this talented band out!