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

Hooters live in Athens June 2025

I had only bought three records by the Hooters: My three favourite singles of theirs, "All You Zombies", "Johnny B". and "Satellite". I thought these were big hits (at least "Johnny B" was a big hit in Greece), but as I found out while researching them in the run up to this gig, they weren't. Not in America where some of them peaked just below the top 40. As a result, their record company would not promote them and they had to disband after a few years. As it usually happens they reformed in the 21st century. And since I loved these songs so much combined with the fact that they also played ska and Irish sounding music made me consider going to see them. What finally convinced me to go was that a friend of mine also wanted to see them which meant that I bought the ticket on the very morning of the day of the gig.

This was supposed to be an outdoor gig taking place at Technopolis. But when Blind Guardian who were due to appear at Lycabettus Theatre were moved to Technopolis, Hooters were bumped into good old Gagarin which is of course an indoor venue. Thankfully, it was air-conditioned unlike Peace And Friendship Stadium during last years's Smashing Pumpkins concert.

There was no support act, so once we got there we were just waiting for Hooters to appear. And when they did, they were introduced by one of their crew. Apparently, this gig was the opening date on their current 45th anniversary tour.

They began with their early ska stuff, added in a few new songs as they said, continued with what I call their Irish sounding ones and somewhere in the midst of all these the hits came. "Johnny B", being their biggest hit in Greece received the warmest welcome, but what I found impressive was the introduction to, and in fact the whole presentation of "All You Zombies" with the big gong behind the synthesizers. And as expected, there was a big celebration, a big party, with "Satellite", owing to its rousing chorus, a party which culminated with "And We Danced".

 

But what stood out, what made this gig memorable and what we'll look back on in years to come when we remember it, was what I call the 'unexpected covers" (which of course might have been totally expected by those who had followed the Hooters' progress through their years and check out their setlists). The first one was the much beloved "The Boys Of Summer", originally by Don Henley. Later on, it was The Beatles' "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", Joan Osborne's "One Of Us", and at almost the very end it was Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time". And somewhere among all these they even played us a bit of "Zorba's Dance".

And so, our time in the well air conditioned Gagarin came to an end even if we had to go to an indoor venue at the end of June. Now it was time go outdoors... and abroad!

SETLIST:

01. I'm Alive

02. Silver Lining

03. Hanging On A Heartbeat

04. Day By Day

05. Why Won't You Call Me Back

06. Brother, Don't You Walk Away

07. Engine 999

08. The Boys Of Summer

09. 500 Miles

10. South Ferry Road

11. Johnny B

12. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

13. All You Zombies

14. Boys Will Be Boys

15. Karla With A K

16. Twenty-Five Hours A Day / Jigs & Reels

17. Drum Solo

18. Satellite

19. And We Danced

Encore:

20. Pendulum

21. One of Us
22. Time After Time

Film live in Athens February 2011

Film were one of the names of the Greek scene of the 2000's decade who were quite popular at the time (another one from the same era were Mikro for example). I hadn't bought any of their CD's back then. So when they played at Gagarin (with a ticket costing only 12 Euros) in 2011 it was a good chance for me to get to know them better.

Their singer was Etten, who had just released a solo album.

The gig was opened by Nalyssa Green and here we had one of those occasions where the support act almost steals the show from the headliners. The last occasion of this happening that comes to mind was when Marsheaux supported OMD in June 2007.

One of the instruments that Nalyssa played was the - guess what - theremin! It seemed that this instrument was following me wherever I went. When I grow up, I want to learn to play the theremin.

Finally it was time for Film to come on stage. They appeared wearing rain macs and head torches during the first song but then continued with more conventional attire.

 

One of the highlights was their song with Icelandic lyrics (Harmur Fuglsins). They played for just over 2 hours. Great value for money.

Basketball Euroleague Final Four Paris 2010

 

With the recent basketball Euroleague Final Four having just taken place (and where both Greek teams have managed to fail miserably) I remembered the one I had attended 15 years ago. We started experiencing this competition back in the late 80's when another Greek team, Aris from Salonica, would take part for several consecutive years. They never got past the semi final though and they usually even lost at the 3rd place play-off game, ending up in 4th place. Then, in 1993, it took place in Athens, with another team from Salonica qualifying, PAOK. They were eliminated in the semi final as well. And that was the year when I noticed how difficult it was to get tickets for that competition, even though it was taking place in my own country. In 1994, it took place in Tel Aviv and that's when we knew that a Greek team would finally make it to the final. Two Greek teams, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos qualified and they would play in the semi final. Olympiacos won, but then lost in the final. The exact same thing happened the following year, in 1995 in Saragossa. It seemed that for a Greek team to win this trophy they would have to qualify alone. And that's what happened the following two years when Panathinaikos won in 1996 in Paris and Olympiacos won in 1997 in Rome. AEK qualified in 1998 but lost in the final. Panathinaikos would go on to win several of these trophies in the next decace (starting with 2000 in Salonica), while Olympiacos would win two back-to-back tournaments in 2012 and 2013 in Istanbul and London respectively.

The main reason I wanted to attend one of these tournaments was its format: With one ticket you get to watch 4 games over a period of three days. Two semi finals on the first day, then a day off and on the third day, the 3rd place play off and the final. But it was always so difficult to get tickets. So, in 2010, in Paris, I applied for tickets before I knew which teams would qualify. As it happened, Olympiacos qualified. I received the tickets via courier and was surprised to see that had I received 4 instead of the one I had ordered. I didn't take any notice though at that time.

When the day came I got on my first of two flights. I would go via Rome because it was even difficult to find a flight on that day. What's more, the second flight from Rome to Paris was delayed and there was a lot of traffic on the runway both in Rome and in Paris delaying us even further. So I was a bit late for the first semi final between Barcelona and CSKA Moscow. And even more late when they wouldn't let me in. They sent me to the box office where my 4 original tickets were exchanged with the correct one. So I finally got in and watched Barcelona beat CSKA 64-54. 

 

 

From that very first game it seemed that one of the main features of the tournament were the cheerleaders. I had posted several videos of them on YouTube and didn't receive many favourable moments. They were characterized as naked pole dancers.

During the break between the two semi finals I decided to wander inside Palais Omnisports De Bercy. The organizers had made sure that we could not mingle with fans from the other three teams. (I was placed with the Olympiacos supporters even though I had applied for a ticket as an independent). I headed to the bar where I realized that the cheapest thing I could buy was 5 euros and all other prices were divisible by 5. The reason for this was that we would not be given any coins which we weren't allowed to have with us anyway. This is because of a habit mainly Greek fans have: throwing coins at the referee and the players of their opponents.

The second semi final between Partizan and Olympiacos seemed to be going Partizan's way for most of the game, but Olympiacos won literally at the last minute 80-83 and qualified for the final. 

    

The following day was a day off. I spent it by visiting the only major Paris attraction I gad yet to see: Disneyland. This visit is documented in one of my early posts, written in Greek here. I hope I will soon translate it in English.

Then came Sunday, the day of the finals. By this time many of the fans whose team has lost prefer to sell their tickets to the winning teams. I would not have done the same even if Olympiacos had lost. I love basketball and would not have missed a European final, no matter who was playing!

The first match was the 3rd place play off where CSKA beat Partizan 90-88. It was disrupted for a while when Russian fans erected a sign about an incident that had taken place 15 years earlier in 1995 when the water given to the Russian players at a match between hosts Olympiacos and CSKA wewre allegedly poisoned.

   

 

And then it was time for the final. Barcelona played Olympiacos. Even though Olympiacos had won their first European trophy back in 1997 against Barcelona with the widest margin at that time, this time there was no contest. Barcelona won 86-68.

That was the end of a wonderful weekend. Two more flights were waiting for me. For the hurney back, I would go via Munich. This gave me a chance to eat Pretzels and Weisswurst for breakfast. Before I left however, I took a photo of my seat, which was my home for these two days. 

And as I got out I took a photo of the venue which listed the concerts that were going to take place there.

I would see Eric Clapton (with Steve Winwood) in Insatnbul the following month, and a week after that I would see Aerosmith in Athens. I would see Bon Jovi in Athens as well, the following year. Lady GaGa would have to wait until 2014...

I would be back at Palais Omnisports De Bercy though, three years later to see The Who (after having seen Bruce Springsteen in the same city...)

RESULTS;
Semi Finals:
Barcelona - CSKA 64-54
Partizan - Olympiacos 80-83
3rd Place Play Off:
CSKA - Partizan 90-88
Final:
Barcelona - Olympiacos 86-68

FINAL STANDINGS:

1. Barcelona
2. Olympiacos
3. CSKA
4. Partizan