A couple of bucket list events collided, resulting in yours truly making a trip across the pond to see Bruce Springsteen perform Sunday, May 7th at RDS arena in Dublin, Ireland.
Event #1 - My fellow Boss fanatics Biggie and Renz suggested we should attempt to see Bruce in a different country. As big as he is in the States, it’s a whole different beast overseas. He isn’t just seen as a Western pop star, but as an American force for social justice, equality and good stuff like that. He is a phenomenon in Europe. Just watch Springsteen live in Barcelona, London, or Dublin to get the idea.
Event #2 - My wife suggested we should really try to take our son overseas after he finishes his freshman year at college. We weren’t sure about the where or when, but we were serious enough to freshen up our passports and vacation fund just in case the right opportunity presented itself.
So as luck would have it, Bruce scheduled three shows in Dublin the week after Ohio State finals were finished. Grace, get Delta on the phone.
This was only my second trip overseas. Some folks seem surprised by this fact. I suppose most mid-level rock n roll bands such as Watershed have at some point attempted to blaze a trail of glory through Japan or Luxembourg or wherever. However, our pragmatic, Midwestern logic was, “Why go across the ocean to play for 50 people when we can play for 50 people in Dayton, OH.?” And besides, why rush it. Surely one day the right opportunity will fall into our laps and we will do it then. Maybe we could tour Spain opening for The Insane Clown Posse? Or maybe Biggie was just nervous to drive the van on “The wrong side of the road.”**
No matter what the reason it was a mistake. We probably could have skipped a couple of gigs in Wichita or Mexican Hat to make time for a European tour but we didn’t. We were just too busy playing gigs in the States to get away. Ah yes; “Youth is Confusion.” Ooh La La.
The first and only time I went overseas was my honeymoon where we visited France and Switzerland. Predictably, it was an eye opener. I soon learned that “Land of Bullshit Rules” was a more accurate USA slogan than “Land of the Free.” “You mean to tell me, I can buy a beer right here in the park, and drink it on this bench and I won’t get hassled by the cops? Amazing!”
My wife, being better cultured than myself (she traveled abroad when she was in college) insisted we needed to expose our son to a foreign experience sooner than later so he could appreciate cultures different than our own. People living with universal health care but without universal assault rifles. You know, crazy Euro shit like that.
So after a two-day excursion to Galway, Inishmore and a quick stop at Sean’s, the oldest bar in Ireland, we were in Dublin counting the hours until the E Street Band hit the stage. Being the Watershed tour manager he is, Biggie did manage to put a guitar in my hands and I played solo in a pub the night before the show. I was looking around the room when they said a very special guest from America would be coming up to play. I thought, “This is exciting, maybe it’s Nils Lofgren.” Turns out it was me. Whoa; here we go. I’m glad I got the opportunity. Put me on that board. Thanks Biggie. Now Tim Easton and I can talk about all the countries we have played. Two troubadours.
So anyway, it was a great vacation. Thanks for reading.
Oh shoot, you are probably curious about the Bruce show, eh?
First off, the venue, RSD Arena was not an arena but an outdoor rugby/horse facility. The grandstands on either side of the track looked like Churchill Downs and the standing-only infield held 90% of the crowd. Sitting up on the side, it was the most impressive crowd I had ever laid eyes on. The gate said 38,000 but if someone told me 200,000 I might have believed it. At any rate, it was a much bigger crowd than the 3 Doors Down performance at Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2018. And they said that was 3 million people. Numbers; so tricky.
We took a train to the venue (!) and outside the gates it was a complete madhouse with lines snaking 100 deep outside each pub. However, once inside the venue there were two gigantic beer gardens with grass and trees and all the food & beverage your heart could desire. My personal outdoor rock show experiences in the states trend slightly more fan friendly than Woodstock 99. No full blown riots but always a challenge to get a beer or find a bathroom. Not this day. I never waited more than 5 minutes for anything. Everyone was cool. If there was security they were completely non-obtrusive. By 7 pm I was ready to rock.
I had been stalking Boss setlists for months in advance and I knew the previous show in Dublin (it was a three-night run, we were attending the middle show) he came on at 7:25 and opened with “No Surrender” which has been the main set opener this tour.
Even though by Bruce standards the setlist for this tour has remained amazingly static, I just knew he couldn’t do the same opening song two nights in a row. My hunch proved correct when he came on at 7:10 with “My Love Will Not Let You Down” (a studio outtake!) and “Death to My Hometown” which my pal Renz was extremely excited about because Wrecking Ball is his second favorite Bruce record. The band then settled into “No Surrender” and the standard set until he threw in “Darkness on the Edge of Town” for the first time on the tour. One of my personal favorites. I was thrilled.
I won’t run through the entire set for you, click here for that, but here are some general thoughts on the show.
- Bruce and everyone in the band were in tip-top physical shape. Most notably Little Steven who has dropped weight and looked like the Miami Steve we knew from pre-Sopranos.
- Max Weinberg is a miracle. Is he the best rock n roll drummer ever? Maybe. He is certainly the best rock n roll drummer over 70 years old playing three-hour shows. God rest Charlie Watts but some of these songs require Keith Moon like energy and somehow Mighty Max can still get it done. He is more than a miracle, whatever that is.
- Bruce’s wife Patti was not part of the band for this show. Don’t get me wrong, Patti is an amazing artist in her own right and I am a fan, but without her helping on backing vocals, Bruce and Little Steven have to really lock in and sing together. It is hard to overstate how important Steven’s harmonizing talents are to the E Street sound.
- Bruce BLEW through this set. The first 9 songs came undivided. He only spoke three times the entire show and those were brief. It was obviously a conscious choice. Maybe he was burned out on all those Springsteen on Broadway shows where he told stories, but it was one song into the next with nary a second of downtime in between. It was noticeable and it was awesome. Not that Bruce ever wasted much time on stage but this was a different commitment to a Ramones-style barrage.
- Bruce is a master at pacing, so instead of any of his trademark verbal monologues, he used “Kitty’s Back” and “Mary’s Room” as musical interludes providing a brief “intermission” allowing folks to freshen up before the next blast of can’t miss songs began.
- “Born in the USA” is played sparingly in the States but it is always played overseas and it is a jaw dropper. I was talking to a smart young man in the coffee shop recently and he thought “Born in the USA” was a right-wing pro-American anthem. Hmmm. May want give those lyrics another listen. And check out “41 Shots” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad” while you are at it.
- My personal highlights in no order were: “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Ghosts,” “Pay Me My Money Down,” “The Rising,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Born in the USA,” “Bobby Jean” and “Backstreets.”
- Closing the entire show with a solo version of “I’ll See You in My Dreams” from his latest record Letter to You was a master stroke.
What can one say about a Springsteen show that hasn’t already been said? Expectations are always sky high, and expectations are always met or exceeded. This show in Dublin was no exception. He is coming back stateside later this summer. Miss at your own risk.
** Speaking of risk, while walking in Galway, I briefly jumped into the street to pass folks on the sidewalk and got side-swiped by a car from behind. I totally spaced on cars moving in the opposite direction than USA. One more foot and my leg is broken, two more feet and I am dead. As it was, I was fine, but definitely used up one of my nine lives. Not sure how many I have left. #lucky
Colin Gawel founded Pencilstorm and wrote this at Colin’s Coffee. He plays music solo and in the band Watershed.
He once almost got run over by a car in Galway, Ireland.
Above: The view from our seats. Blimey!
Renz, Owen, Colin and Biggie outside RDS Arena in Dublin, Ireland.