Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band live in Milano June 2025

 

When, last year, the tickets of this year's tour went on sale, I didn't have any money. But even if I had, it would be very difficult to get a ticket, because this tour basically was a series of rescheduled shows that were cancelled last year when Bruce got sick and had problems with his voice. Which meant that most tickets were already sold and only the tickets of those who had requested their money back would be available. However, i have never since 2008 not attended at least one show each time Bruce was touring Europe. I thought to myself "maybe later I will try to find a second-hand ticket for Milano". Why Milano? Probably because it was the closest - and easiest - destination and I had done this several times in the past.

And so it happened, that during the Christmas holidays I saw a post on a Facebook group of someone selling a ticket fro Milano. After making several enquiries about it (I was mainly concerned about the name printed on the ticket and whether the Italians were going to check ID's), I grabbed it. It was quite a rare specimen because it was a proper printed ticket. Not a computer printout, a proper old-fashioned ticket. A couple of months later I booked my hotel and during the Easter holidays I booked my flight.

When the day finally came, I got on the plane, got to Milano and then went straight to the stadium because my hotel room wasn't ready yet. My usual hotel in the city had been renovated during the pandemic and had now raised its prices to unaffordable levels, but thankfully I found a new affordable one which is also close to the train station. I met an Italian friend outside the stadium and I was able to get my customary tour t-shirt in peace before the crowds arrived. Then I finally made my way to the hotel where after a quick shower (there was a heatwave in Milano during that period) and buying some supplies from the supermarket I headed back to San Siro full of anxiety and doubts on whether the ticket would be recognized when scanned because it was from last year or that I would not be allowed entry because of the wrong ID. Of course nothing of the sort happened and within minutes I was in San Siro for the first time in almost nine years!

Once I was in, I headed for my seat. Thus situation was different this time. Although I wasn't in the arena, I didn't have to climb all the way to the 3rd tier. My seat was at ground level on the first row, just beside the arena. One of the best seats in the house you could say. All around me were people of different nationalities. In fact, beside me there was a Scottish mother and daughter. And while we were waiting there was another thing to worry about: Would Steve make it to the concert? He had undergone surgery a few days before while on tour in Spain and had not performed in the last couple of concerts, the second one at San Sebastian and the one at Gelsenlkirchner. He had said that he hoped to make it for the second one in Milano. However, this was the first Milano concert...

So when Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band appeared on stage starting with "No Surrender" we were both surprised and relieved that Steve was with them. They then continued with "My Love Will Not Let You Down". Naturally, I have loved that song ever since I first heard it on "Tracks", but now it always brings to my mind the version performed by Meryl Streep (yes, you've read that right, Meryl Streep) and her backing band which included Rick Springfield (who many people back in the day confused with Bruce) in the film "Ricki And The Flash". They followed that with "Land Of Hope And Dreams" which you would of course expect them to play since it's the song that lends its name to this year's European leg of the tour, but it has a special significance for me and San Siro, because it was  this song that opened the 2013 concert in that stadium and the next one that I attended which was the first 2016 one once again in San Siro! 

As they went on I realized how different - and happier - this year's setlists were compared to the ones from 2024 and 2023. Bruce hasn't forgotten his "Letter To You" album, but each year he focuses on different tracks from it. In 2023 and 2024 he was performing the title track and "Ghosts", but also, in acoustic versions, "Last Man Standing" and "I'll See You In My Dreams" which along with "Backstreets" and the story that he was telling us before this song gave the whole setlist a sad feel, remembering friends who had gone. I went along with it because I had then also experienced a loss in my family. Last year he also added "If I Was The Priest", my favourite from that album. Yes, I know that it was one of his old songs that he had reworked for "Letter To You" but that doesn't change the fact that it is a masterpiece and I was glad that I got to hear it both in Cardiff and Belfast. This year however Bruce has decided to celebrate life. So both "Last Man Standing" and "I'll See You In My Dreams" were gone, but he chose two different tracks from "Letter To You". One was a special acoustic version of "House Of A Thousand Guitars" (another favourite, but I prefer the full band version) and the other one was "Rainmaker" which fit into another theme that he was exploring this year: protest (mainly having to do with the situation in the States). 

Which is why he also plays "Death To My Hometown", "Youngstown", "Murder Incorporated" and closes each concert with "Chimes Of Freedom" which is another song that I was first eager to hear when I realized that it was a regular this year, and then glad that I finally got to experience it. Along with "Death To My Hometown" he also played the title track from "Wrecking Ball" which goes to show that he still holds that album in high regard. Now, there are several people who say that all Bruce albums after "The Rising" aren't that good, but I strongly disagree. "Magic" was a great album, and "Wrecking Ball" was of course, not just a great album but also very relevant to the time when it was released and I argued about that 10 years after it had come out. Of course most people agree that "Working On A Dream" and "High Hopes" are not that exceptional because they were written and recorded while on tour, but I have a special connection with the former because i had attended four concerts from that tour in which "Outlaw Pete" and the title track were regulars. As if to prove my point about "Magic" (I attended my first Bruce concert on that tour) he also brought back "Long Walk Home". Most of the regular tracks were also performed especially during the encore (from which "Glory Days" was strangely missing) in addition to a full band version of "Thunder Road". 

As I left the stadium and headed to the San Siro underground station (with the by now familiar counters showing how many people can enter each time) I had a smile on my face and a satisfaction that even with those difficulties, I managed to attend at least one Bruce concert this year. As I was saying to a friend of mine during the Hooters concert a few days before, Bruce is my therapist. And a week later, from the comfort of my own home I had the chance to somehow relive the experience when a friend of mine who had attended the second Milano concert (which was a lot similar but had a few differences) played the whole setlist on his radio show...

SETLIST:

01. No Surrender

02. My Love Will Not Let You Down

03. Land Of Hope And Dreams

04. Death To My Hometown

05. Lonesome Day

06. Rainmaker

07. Atlantic City

08. The Promised Land

09. Hungry Heart

10. The River

11. Youngstown

12. Murder Incorporated

13. Long Walk Home

14. House Of A Thousand Guitars

15. My City Of Ruins

16. I'm On Fire

17. Because The Night

18. Wrecking Ball

19. The Rising

20. Badlands

21. Thunder Road

Encore:

22. Born In The U.S.A.

23. Born To Run

24. Bobby Jean

25. Dancing In The Dark

26. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

27. Twist And Shout

28. Chimes Of Freedom

Summer in Terni

There's no better time to remember the summer than in the heart of winter. So, on this, the coldest day of the winter I am writing about the week I spent in Terni as a guest in my friend's house after we had seen Bruce live in Monza. That particular concert was such a tiring and exhausting experience, what with all the kilometres we had to walk, that we needed to spend a week doing absolutely nothing. And that's exactly what we did.

So, the day after the concert we left Milano and took the train down to Rome. From Rome, Terni is only about an hour away. You have to be careful, though. Trains for Terni leave from the very last platform of Rome's Stazione Termini, which is a fair distance away from the entrance, So there was a lot more walking to do, what with carrying our luggage and all. Terni is on the same line as Ancona, so I had passed through it in 2015 on my way to the Belle And Sebastian concert that year and I knew about that particular platform.

When we arrived there I noticed a strange monument just opposite the station.

The plaque at its base informed us that it was a hydraulic press from the Terni Steel Works, in use until 1993.

The next thing to do was find the house. While doing that we noticed the trademark of the city. A very tall fountain dominating a big square. When we arrived we had to rest and then find something to eat. This is not an easy thing to do in Italy since most restaurants close early. Luckily, there was a McDonald's near the house. So, no healthy food on the first night.

The following day was spent resting (again). We had stocked up on food, but decided not to cook as we discovered that there was a lovely pizzeria opposite the house.

 

The third day was spent with trips to the local supermarkets for food and a sports store for clothes. All these were opposite the house. So no sightseeing again on that day as well.

We then decided to go out. But where? Again, we noticed that there was a bar near the house so we went there where I finally had the chance to try out an Aperol Spritz the drink everyone was drinking that summer even at the Bruce concerts!

And as it turned out, that night was a Karaoke night!

On the following day, we finally went into town. To get to the center we had to walk through a park. The nature is amazing there. If you look towards the horizon you'll see mountains full of trees in any direction.

 

On one of the cafes, I ate the best Tiramisu I have ever tasted, with coffee to pour over it. (Apparently, this is the proper way it is served in Italy).

All in all, a very productive day!

Terni looks even better at night as I discovered on the following day.

Unfortunately, the Tiramisu served at night was much smaller!

These are not ice cream cones, they are stools in an ice cream bar:

On the last day of July, it was time to go...

From the train station, back to Rome (not forgetting that long walk along the platform), and from then on to the airport to catch flights to our respective countries.