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

2016 Lemons later...

A lemon. Having travelled all the way from Athens, Greece, it finally came to rest under one of the seats of Manchester's Etihad Stadium, having seen its favourite band, The Stone Roses live...
Several years ago, I was warned by a fellow blogger, to avoid writing a "Year In Review" post at the end of the year. So I'll try not to do that. (And I hope that she'll probably be reading this from somewhere in Poland). I won't mention every gig I went to in 2016, but I will instead stop at some key moments that happened this year which I have been waiting for for several years. (As Bruce would say, they've been a lot time coming). These were the "lemons" that I was expecting 2016 to give me on my very first post of the year.
Well, obviously, I finally saw The Stone Roses live this year. And not just anywhere, but in Manchester. And they played the full first album, including, most importantly for me "This Is The One". But what other key moments were there for me in 2016? Bruce? Well, it was only the 12th (and 13th) time that I saw him live. But... I didn't know if I could make it, if I would be able to see him this year. However, I was really looking forward to hear the full River album live, having already heard the full Born To Run in Padova and the full Born In The U.S.A. twice in Milano and in Paris. So, when Bruce announced that after the end of the US tour he would stop playing the full River I was somewhat disappointed. Now what would I get? Another one (or two) of the "Greatest Hits" shows? Was that worth waiting for? My question was answered when Bruce came up on the San Siro stage on the evening of the 3rd of July starting once again with "Land Of Hope And Dreams" exactly as he had done 3 years before in the same stadium. Because once he comes up on stage, no matter what he's playing (even "Pony Boy" I guess), you forget all your doubts, enjoy the show, and wonder why on earth did you ever doubt that you were going to have a good time (again). And he did play most of The River (at least on the first night). Now one of the reasons I was looking forward to a complete performance of The River was that I would be guaranteed to hear one of my favourite songs, "Sherry Darling", which up until then I had experienced only once, in Udine in 2009 (my last concert with Clarence). Bruce did not disappoint me and he played it both nights and I got to hear it for the 2nd and 3rd time. The 2nd time I got to sing along with it at the top of my lungs with no people pushing me. The 3rd time though, i got to dance to it with my girlfriend. So, thanks Bruce!

Another key moment was when I realized I was going to hear "Drive All Night" for only the second time, after my first time in Torino in 2009. And whereas back then, it was just a sign request (albeit a very clever one) we weren't sure if he was going to play it. This year in Milano, there was no warning. The lights were already off and suddenly the piano intro was heard, courtesy of Professor Roy Bittan as a chill went through all over my body. Which left only one thing... "Point Blank"... for the first time ever. I knew when it was supposed to come in the setlist. And the lights went off. And then there was silence for several seconds. And then there was Roy Bittan's piano and I knew that was it.
Yes, there were a lot of important moments for me in 2016, which I realize that was not a very good year for music. But these few ones from Manchester and Milano were the most important for me. I guess that paraphrasing The Stone Roses you could say that "these were the ones I was waiting for"...

The best audience in the world - Bruce Springsteen @ San Siro Part 2

The 4th of July was one day of complete rest between the two Springsteen concerts in San Siro. A well earned rest after the magnificent first night there. I spent the day picking up my girlfriend who was joining me for the following day's concert and walking around Milano like tourists with her while preparing her for her first ever Bruce experience. The little streak of "bad luck" I mentioned among other things on my previous post was that she found out that she had to take an exam on Sunday so she could not join me on Sunday night so we ended up getting tickets for the second night as well, which if you consider it was a streak of good luck. And since all's well that ends well, she got a very good mark on her exam, 9 out of a possible maximum of 10.

We arrived much earlier at the stadium this time and this enabled us to hang around outside for a while and experience the various promotions taking place, the most prominent of which was of a mosquito repellent product, which could prove to be quite useful as we found out - the hard way - on our outing the previous night at Naviglio Grande. Oh, and I should not forget to mention the alcoholic drink samples which did actually prove useful during the concert while Bruce - and us - were giving it our all

We got to our seats early, so we had more time to move around mostly for drinks at the bar. For some strange reason both beer and water were exactly 1 euro cheaper compared to Sunday's concert.

We were expecting quite a different setlist tonight, not based too much on "The River" since we heard most of it on Sunday night. And this time when Bruce came on stage, he started as he did on every concert of the US leg of the tour with "Meet Me In The City". This song is one of The River outtakes featured in "The Ties That Bind" box set. We've had promises of River outtakes on this tour, but so far it was mostly "Meet Me In The City" that was played. Tonight however, it was its European premiere.

 

It can be said that Bruce covered that aspect on this concert because he also played "Roulette", another River outtake. After which he went on proper River mode with "The Ties That Bind" followed by, as I was hoping, "Sherry Darling" which is always welcome at least by me. A perfect summer song, a perfect stadium song, a perfect party song.

However, from that point on he continued with mostly sign requests like "Spirit In The Night" and "Rosalita" before returning to "The River" with the obligatory "Hungry Heart" on which again, as usual the audience sang the complete first verse and chorus, and "Out In The Street".

"Mary's Place" was another sign request, (recently played in Oslo if I remember correctly). This was followed by "Death To My Hometown". It's nice to see a song from "Wrecking Ball" securing a regular spot on subsequent tours. While I'm not expecting to hear any songs from "Working On A Dream", it would be nice to hear something from "Magic" once in a while. "The River" once again had the audience illuminating the stadium with their mobiles, while this time the Italians had an extra effect planned. (Some mobiles were used to illuminate an "I Love ESB" sign apparently).

Following in the same mood, while on Sunday night we had "Jungleland", this time we had "Racing In The Street". And then he proceeded to complete our River experience. He played the only up-tempo song from "The River" that was missing from Sunday's set: "Cadillac Ranch"! How could he not? "I'm A Rocker" was another River song that was played again tonight.

This was followed by "Lonesome Day" and "Darlington County" and while we were probably expecting to follow the latter with "Working On The Highway" as he has done a few times in this tour (or maybe something else off "Born In The U.S.A.") he surprised us by coming back to "The River" for one last time with one of the best tracks on the album "The Price You Pay".

I was content. During the course of these two nights I had heard almost the full River album, minus a few ballads and certainly all the songs from it that I wanted to hear, proving again that these two nights at San Siro was actually a wise choice for this tour.

But that's not all. There was another surprise in store for us in the form of "Streets Of Fire", a tour premiere. And what several people consider the main set was concluded with "Badlands". And yes, dear Bruce, that's the proper place in the set to play "Badlands" and not as the opening song as you quite often do. It's a fan favourite. Make us wait for it. You wouldn't start a set with "Born To Run" or "Dancing In The Dark" now, would you? "Badlands" is followed by "Backstreets" (my two favourite Springsteen songs with one word in the title starting with B) and then we get into party mode with "Born To Run" when the stadium lights are turned on and we know that we have reached the concluding part of the concert (A concluding part which is often quite long, so you shouldn't think about going home yet). There's no "Born In The U.S.A." tonight though, instead we get more rock 'n' roll with "Seven Nights To Rock". Once again, there's the obligatory "Dancing In The Dark" with people coming up on stage, followed by "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and finally(?) "Shout" so that we get the feeling that "San Siro Night 2" is coming to an end... 

But no! There's also "Bobby Jean" and congrats to Bruce who in this tour has turned this song into an "end of the night" anthem, usually a bonus even after "Shout". At the end of the song Bruce had had enough! He can't take it any more! So the paramedics come to take him away with a stretcher! But showing more strength at 66 than Cristiano Ronaldo at 31 he dismisses them and gets up again on his own!

And still it's not the end! After escorting the E Street Band members off the stage, we get another acoustic performance to finish off the night.  In this tour Bruce usually chooses "Thunder Road" or "This Hard Land" as a final solo performance. And since we got "Thunder Road" on Sunday night, tonight it's time for "This Hard Land".

And with that, Bruce says goodbye, to us, to San Siro, "the best audience in the world" as he called it. As we expected it was a lot different than  the first one. Not too much of River, a bit more of "hits" and a few rare tracks (and more response to sign requests). For me, the second show complements the first one (as it almost "completes" The River, adding some songs left out of the first one). For my girlfriend, and I guess for other people like her who were on their first Springsteen show, it was a chance to hear "the hits" they already know ("Born To Run", "Hungry Heart", "Dancing In The Dark") and maybe discover some new ones (I noticed that my girlfriend particularly enjoyed "Rosalita"). And now she wants to see him again...
...In San Siro of course. I guess that in the future, if all goes well, I will always choose San Siro, even if the only seat I can get a ticket to is in one of the San Siro restrooms!

Setlist
01. Meet Me In The City
02. Prove It All Night
03. Roulette
04. The Ties That Bind
05. Sherry Darling
06. Spirit In The Night
07. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
08. Fire
09. Something In The Night
10. Hungry Heart
11. Out In The Street
12. Mary's Place
13. Death To My Hometown
14. The River
15. Racing In The Street
16. Cadillac Ranch
17. The Promised Land
18. I'm A Rocker
19. Lonesome Day
20. Darlington County
21. The Price You Pay
22. Because The Night
23. Streets Of Fire
24. The Rising
25. Badlands
26. Backstreets
27. Born To Run
28. Seven Nights To Rock
29. Dancing In The Dark
30. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
31. Shout
32. Bobby Jean
33. This Hard Land