Bruce Springsteen live in the city of light

In my previous post, I wrote all about how my first Bruce concert was in Paris and what this particular date meant to me. Still, I didn't expect such a thrilling concert especially after what I had already experienced in Italy.

The difference this time was that we didn't just buy arena tickets, we bought pit tickets. And the pit was huge.

Still, some people decided to follow the roll call procedure in order to get as close as possible to the stage (and Bruce). 

Those of us who did not follow the roll calls and just gathered outside our corresponding gates actually got pretty close since this is the crowd we encountered as we got in.

The only problem we encountered, and indeed this is our only, but quite big complaint from the French organizers is that a lot of request signs (some of which took an enormous amount of time an effort to create) were confiscated, like this one of one of our own.

 What did they think we were going to do? Club Bruce in the head if he didn't play our favourite song?

Anyway, just as were settling in our places, Bruce comes out for a pre-show acoustic set, starting with "This Hard Land".

Just as we were expecting him to follow it up with "Growin' Up" like he had done on previous occasions he announces "We'll get some requests"! He picked several from the crowd and of those he chose to play "Burning Love"!!!

After that it was "Growin' Up" as usual. (But is there anything usual during a Bruce Springsteen concert?)

And that was the end of this miniset, giving us a small taste of what was going to come...

...And when the time came, the whole band came on stage and started, typically, with "Badlands".

 After this was followed by "Out In The Street", Bruce looks at the request signs again. He picks up one, looks at it and announces "It seems like someone is trying to stump The E Street Band" It was "Lucille" and they proceed to play it without a moment's hesitation!

After a couple of songs from "Wrecking Ball", it was time for my personal best moment of the night: "Cadillac Ranch". One of my favourite songs from the "Live/1975-85" album (because that's where I heard it first)

After the customary for this tour "Spirit In The Night" it was album time! So, what was it going to be this time? Well, it was "Born In The USA" once again. Personally, I didn't mind one little bit. In Milano I was far away, now I was going to enjoy it from the pit. For others, who got to know Bruce Springsteen's music in the 80's with this very album, it was a chance for them to enjoy and sing along with "the hits"

And after the album was over it was time for more favourites like "Pay Me My Money Down" (one of The Seeger Sessions tracks apart from "American Land" that seems to have found a semi-regular spot on the setlists, "Waiting On A Sunny Day", "The Rising" and "Land Of Hope And Dreams"

It was then time for the encore, starting with "We Are Alive" followed by the customary "Born To Run"

This, was in turned followed by my second personal favourite of the whole concert: "Ramrod". Next came "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out", which sometimes means the end of the concert. 

But it wasn't to be. The last song of the night was going to be "American Land" just like 5 years ago at Parc Des Princes. Or maybe not? Because just like Milano, Bruce stayed for a second encore, a solo acoustic performance of "Thunder Road". What more could we ask for?

Setlist
Pre-Show:
01. This Hard Land 
02. Burning Love 
03. Growin' Up
Main Set:
01. Badlands 
02. Out In The Street 
03. Lucille
04. Wrecking Ball
05. Death To My Hometown
06. Cadillac Ranch
07. Spirit In The Night
Born In The USA full album:
08. Born in the USA
09. Cover Me
10. Darlington County
11. Working On The Highway
12. Downbound Train
13. I'm on Fire
14. No Surrender
15. Bobby Jean
16. I'm Goin' Down
17. Glory Days
18. Dancing In The Dark
19. My Hometown
:
20. Pay Me My Money Down
21. Shackled And Drawn
22. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
23. The Rising
24. Land Of Hope And Dreams
Encore:
25. We Are Alive
26. Born To Run
27. Ramrod
28. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
29. American Land
30. Thunder Road (Solo acoustic)