Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park BST with the E Street Band [Dave Hogan]
THERE was a glorious moment when the heavens opened, and rock legend Bruce Springsteen defiantly roared: “Let it rain, let it rain!” during Mary’s Place. Whilst the British summer did its best to dampen spirits, the clouds parted, and the audience partied.
This was The Boss’s second gig at the festival and the 73-year-old defied his age, delivering a relentless, cavalcade of back-to-back hits, hardly pausing for breath. As well as guitar solos and his full-throated singing style, Springsteen thrilled fans with harmonica solos in Promised Land and She’s The One.
He wowed the crowd by shaking hands, handing out plectrums and praising their passion for waving wildly for the big screen cameras. No doubt he was having a blast: in Darlington County he sprayed beer all over himself. He ripped open his popper shirt at the climax of Dancing In The Dark, panting theatrically, a wink to his supposed geriatric body.
Following Glory Days he hollered: “I think it’s time to go home.”
The crowd refused and he replied: “I don’t wanna go home either!”
Guitarist ‘Little Steve’ (Steven Van Zandt,) then proceeded to hi-jack the camera wiggling it in direction of The Boss’s backside.
It was clear the E Street Band, having supported Springsteen for 50 years, were family. They provided a wall of sound and wonderful solos during Out On The Street; Jake Clemons had a starring role as saxophonist having replaced the band’s original saxophonist, following the death of his uncle Clarence Clemons; and Nils Lofgren gracefully span around during his guitar solo in Because the Night.
Perhaps controversially, Born in the USA (played on the Thursday) was jettisoned for a hearty rendition of Twist and Shout, a sassy reminder of the song cut short by authorities when he was last in Hyde Park in 2012.
But the most memorable moments were when The Boss was reflective. Before singing Last Man Standing, he recounted how he was the last member of a band, The Castiles, formed by George Theiss in 1965 who only lasted three years (“a lifetime for a teenager”).
Fifty years later he described how he visited Theiss’ deathbed: “Death gives you pause to think. A clarity of thought. A gift to living an expanded vision of this life.”
Springsteen was a man living his best life and reminding everyone younger than him – pretty much the entire audience – (there was a girl with a banner saying “This is my First Ever Gig!” – one she’ll never forget) to live each moment.
Whilst the crowd were left pondering how many more times would they see their hero play this way, he ended the three-hour marathon, alone, singing “Death is not the end, see you in my dreams.”
A poignant plea from The Boss to believe in hope.
