To Wembley Arena (never a fun phrase to type, but it was pretty painless this evening) to see Bruce Springsteen. Now I’ve got to admit that I’m not a “Bruce” fan. In his heyday he was selling out Wembley Stadium, but we’re now in the somewhat smaller Arena – not that the stadium’s available of course, since it’s a year behind schedule for completion.
But this tour is not about old-skool stadium rock. It’s about Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions band who are alongside him on his fabulous recent CD. The sound is very much bluegrass/folk/country, and Springsteen is accompanied by sixteen other musicians and singers on stage for the whole concert.
All in all we got 22 songs (according to the set list on the official site) over about two and a half hours.
Springsteen told us on a couple of occasions that he was pleased that “some semblance of sanity” had returned to the States, and performed a brand new song – Long Walk Home – which was very much pointed towards the current state of affairs with American troops.
The band was just wonderful, being completely acoustic, and the whole thing had the feel of a really good night in some slightly larger than normal pub.
I had a great time, like probably everyone else in the arena, and Springsteen and gang really put on a great show with perhaps the highlight being Pay Me My Money Down.
As I returned to Wembley Park station, I was amused to see a woman attempting to sell what I can only describe as headscarves in the colours of the stars and stripes. Even if that might have been Springsteen of old, can you imagine anyone wearing such a garment now?