Setlist: Bruce Springsteen at Citizens Bank Park, Night Two
Here's a set list from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's second of two shows at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia on Monday. Great show, a superbly focused Labor Day special honing on on the twin themes of "ghosts" and "work."
Setlist: Bruce Springsteen at Citizens Bank Park, Night Two
Dan DeLuca, Inquirer Music Critic
Here's a set list from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's second of two shows at Citizens Bank Park in South Philadelphia on Monday. Great show, a superbly focused Labor Day special honing on on the twin themes of "ghosts" and "work."
To answer the questions posed by my early deadline review: No, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who was reportedly watching the show from a Citizens Bank suite, did not come on with Springsteen. And no, "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" was not performed, nor were any of the numerous covers the Boss did the night before.
This was a much more serious affair. There were no covers whatsoever, other than a snippet of the Bo Diddley's "Mona," which usually precedes "She's The One" but here led into "Shackled and Drawn," the Wrecking Ball song in which Springsteen sings "I always love the feel of sweat on my shirt / Stand back, son, and let a man work / Let a man work, is that so wrong?"
The Boss was eloquent and loquacious on Monday, joking about how being in a rock and roll band doesn't amount to a real job, and adding "that's what why we call what we do on stage playing. But we're happy to be here working for you on Labor Day." Before "We Are Alive," he told a lovely story about his mother taking he and his sister out to play in a neighborhood graveyard at twilight when they were kids, and the voices they could hear beneath them if they listened hard.
That ghostly theme was expanded in the intro to "My City Of Ruins," a song which he explained is about not only his adopted hometown of Asbury Park and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, but also the ghosts that we live with every day, whether they're people, like his late band mates Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons, or "old buildings, old guitars, old neighborhoods," and "all the things we draw from in our memories in creating our own life."
He also talked about a house his grandparents lived in that was eventually knocked down when the land was bought by the Catholic church. "Another reason to hate Catholicism," he said with a hoarse laugh. "But you're stuck, man! Once you're in, you're in."
All in all, it was a fascinating, self-defining show, with lots of core songs from either the pivotal Darkness On The Edge Of Town or Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., the album that introduced him to the world, plus a lot of other crucial ones, often creatively re-arranged, like "The River," replete with a ghostly (there's that word again) wordless vocal, an emphatic, electric "Atlantic City" and the operatic crowd pleaser "Jungleland." It was a show about who he is, and how the work you do, and the people you love - and lose - make you who you are.
Here's the set list. My review from Tuesday's Inquirer is here.
Factory / Adam Raised A Cain / Streets of Fire / Prove It All Night / Something In The Night / We Take Care Of Our Own / Wrecking Ball / Death To My Hometown / My City Of Ruins / Spirit in the Night / Does This Bus Stop At 82d Street? / It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City / Frankie / Jack Of All Trades / Atlantic City / Darlington County / Mona > Shackled and Drawn / Waiting On A Sunny Day / The River / Lonesome Day / Badlands / Thunder Road / We Are Alive / Born To Run / Dancing In The Dark / Jungleland / Tenth Avenue Freeze Out / American Land
Previously: Made In America: Run-DMC Follow In The Mix on Twitter
I still am in complete shock that my wife's sign was chosen tonight for Bruce to play The River! Thank you Bruce and an even bigger thank you to my wife!— Navyhockey- Thank you for your service. Near the end of the song, the cameras zoomed in on your wife. She had tears in her eyes and we could see her mouth the words "thank you" to Bruce for playing it for her. It was very moving. — Captain Awesome
- Navyhockey,
We were right in front of your wife in the GA lineup. In fact, my broter helped her put clear packing tape over her sign so it wouldn't melt in the rain. We lost track of her when they let us down into the PIT and were thrilled when we saw Bruce bring her sign up on stage. They showed her up on the screen and I cried with her listening to the song. My boyfriend is also in the Navy. I have been in her shoes with deployments and have felt her pain. Thank you for your service and we pray that you stay safe !— jerseygirlinPA - That was one of the true highlights of Monday's show. Her eyes on the big screen just added so much more meaning to an already powerful song. Stay safe, man. You've got a true beauty waiting for you at home. — pdziewisz
- To the above poster, thank you for your service! That was a very moving part of the evening.— iladelph
- Thank as well to the wife who got Bruce to play 'The River'. It was moving to see her and the emotion coming from Bruce was captured by his wordless vocal of the beauty still to found in a life, lived and remembered despite disillusion. A great rendition!
— Fernando08 - The highlight of an awesome concert...— Barbara Kraus-Blackney
- A great moment.— JusWonderin
- We sat up in 310 on Sunday. The sound wasn't that great. Didn't matter, great time, still. What was the official set length for Monday? We got our money's worth for show #1.
Comment removed.- Been going to see Bruce live for about 30 years and caught both shows this weekend. Generally prefer stadium shows, and Sunday night the guys hit it out of the park; one of the truly inspired shows ever with a near-perfect set list. Monday night reflected the weather--eh, and too much of the solemn stuff; not a real rockin'set. Plus Bruce himself had to be a bit spent after giving it all for nearly four hours the night before.— jakegibbs
- Agree with sharky. Love to listen to all of his music, but when it comes to the concerts, you see a definite difference in the energy depending on his choices. The guy puts on an incredible performance regardless (3 and a half hours every freakin' concert - are you kidding me!), but last night he was more than two thirds in before he started cranking it up for the masses. In addition to just going crazy myself, I love watching the crowd join in and there's a significant difference between the experience of a Monday night setlist vs. Sunday night. That said, he will still forever be the best in my lifetime - not even close - and I will still shoot for tickets any time he comes around.— pfes
- Last night was the first time I ever saw Springsteen live - and it was awesome. I won't wait 60 years until the next time ;)— CrotchetyOldMan
- Although both concerts were great, I agree that they were vastly different. The first night, Bruce was much more animated, and was significantly more interactive with and within the crowd. He remained up on the stage much more of the time during the second show. After seeing how spent he appeared to be at the end of the show Sunday night, it's no wonder that he was more restrained on Monday. I enjoyed both shows, and found it refreshing that the song mix was significantly different on the two nights. Bruce's magic was evident not just in the music, but also in holding off the rain both nights. It was well worth driving from Baltimore to catch the boss for two stellar shows. Thumbs up to Bruce, the E Street Band, and to Philadelphia.— baltovet
- Sunday show was a monster from the pit. No one touches, moves, and inspires like Bruce . 30,000 people and he speaks to us one on one. It is an amazing 3 1/2 + hours. Pro athletes needs to see him leave it all on the field every time and love doing it.— martyk928
- Aquarium Drunkard
- Arts & Letters Daily
- Bag Of Songs
- Beer Leaguer
- Blender
- Brooklyn Vegan
- Daytrotter
- Deadspin
- Fluxblog
- Free Darko
- Glorious Noise
- I Am Fuel, You Are Friends
- Joe Sixpack
- Large Hearted Boy
- Little Steven's Underground Garage
- Magnet
- Metacritic
- Mojo
- Monitor Mix
- My Old Kentucky Blog
- Nick Hornby
- Passion Of The Weiss
