BST Hyde Park 2023 - Bruce Springsteen (again)

Another day, another concert date at Hyde Park. Once again, it was Bruce Springsteen! This was my 15th Bruce concert. The weather was a little bit different this time though. After two days of sunshine and heat it was time for the proverbial English rain. I had already taken my poncho with me but it didn't really start to rain until I had reached Hyde Park. But I wasn't going to go in immediately. First I met a Facebook Bruce friend and we decided to go over to the nearby Pret-A-Manger to have a snack. Apart from Bruce we had a lot in common since our mothers had been born on the exact same date! While we were talking about all of this, the rain had not only started, but it had become really strong. At some point, it relented a bit so I went into the park. With no merchandise to buy this time I headed straight in search of a good spot. This time I did something different. I got a place at the barrier between the golden circle and the general admission area, but I chose one that was close to the sound console. It didn't block my view but I guessed that no one inside the golden circle would want to stand there because it would block their view. I was proven right: Third time lucky! Not only that, but inside I also met another Facebook friend who is not only a Bruce fan but also an Arsenal fan like me!

The first artist to appear was Brittney Spencer. I had not heard of her before but the music she was playing was not country rock. It seemed that the organizers did go for a bit of variety this time. And she did a very nice cover of "Yesterday".

 

Next was someone I was already familiar with. James Bay. Exactly one week before I had seen him at Terra Vibe Park in Greece. Now, he was at Hyde Park in the UK. At Terra Vibe he was supporting Robbie Williams. Here he was of course supporting Bruce Springsteen. I don't know to which artist he's more suited, but his set was enjoyable since I was now familiar with some of his songs from the previous week.

Then it was time for one more familiar act. The Chicks who had already played before Bruce two days before. The set was almost identical, but the songs were now familiar, plus the weather was much cooler now, making the whole experience once again more enjoyable.

 

And finally, Bruce! Again! And this time he showed us that his critics who complain that he doesn't change his set on this tour were simply wrong! Sure he kept the basic structure of the set as I have already described it on my previous post about Thursday night's appearance the same, but he changed several of the songs focusing the set a lot on "Born In The USA". This time he started with "My Love Will Not Let You Down" and went on to play "Death To My Hometown". Its intro broke back memories of his 2012 appearance in Hyde Park. Songs from "Wrecking Ball" are always welcome for me because it is one of my favourite albums and reminds me of 2012 and 2013 when I saw him six times during that two year period. "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" was a pleasant surprise for I had wanted to hear this live for years and never got the chance. "Kitty's Back" and "Mary's Place" were there in their usual slots on this tour (although this time we were not singing "let it rain" so enthusiastically as on Thursday), but there was another surprise as well: "The E Street Shuffle"! After all, his second album (as well as his first) celebrates its 50th anniversary this year! And then came the encore with the usual bits with him opening his shirt and showing us his torso (I'm sure the women in the audience enjoyed this) and his usual chat with Stevie about breaking the curfew although with no explicit language this time.

 

 

When it was finished and we exited Hyde Park, I managed to find the unofficial t-shirt I was after with only the Hyde Park dates, somewhere on Park Lane. I was not surprised to see that even some of the bike taxis outside the park were playing Bruce music. 

Satisfied I continued walking towards my hotel. It was over, but it was not over. There was one more date in Monza, in Italy. And this time I would be with my best friend...

SETLISTS:
JAMES BAY
01. Best Fake Smile
02. Just For Tonight
03. If You Ever Want To Be In Love
04. Wanderlust
05. Goodbye Never Felt So Bad
06. All My Broken Pieces
07. Get Out While You Can
08. Let It Go
09. Endless Summer Nights
10. Hold Back The River

THE CHICKS
01. Sin Wagon
02. Gaslighter
03. Julianna Calm Down
04. Landslide
05. The Long Way Around
06. Wide Open Spaces
07. Cowboy Take Me Away
08. Travelin' Soldier
09. White Trash Wedding
10. Daddy Lessons/Long Time Gone (Medley)
11. March March
12. Not Ready To Make Nice
13. Goodbye Earl

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
01. My Love Will Not Let You Down
02. Death To My Hometown
03. No Surrender
04. Ghosts
05. Prove It All Night
06. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
07. The Promised Land
08. Out In The Street
09. Darlington County
10. Working On The Highway
11. Kitty's Back
12. Nightshift
13. Mary's Place
14. The E Street Shuffle
15. Last Man Standing
16. Backstreets
17. Because The Night
18. She's The One
19. Wrecking Ball
20. The Rising
21. Badlands
Encore:
22. Born To Run
23. Bobby Jean
24. Glory Days
25. Dancing In The Dark
26. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
27. Twist And Shout / La Bamba
Encore 2:
28. I'll See You In My Dreams