Springsteen Magic Tour 06/18/2008 Amsterdam: Is The Magic Gone?
I love the opener, the covers are nice, but it’s time we face some hard, hard facts: these European set lists have largely blown.
Now I should clarify for all you Springsteen sycophants out there: I love Bruce and I love many of the 28 songs played in Amsterdam. That said, there are some songs that simply pale in comparison to others played frequently on this tour and I’m not going to say otherwise. “Mary’s Place” and “I’m On Fire” back to back is brutal. Well, it is.
The end of the spring US dates were filled with fantastic set lists and a real sense that anything could happen any night. That sense seems to be gone with these set lists. The sets feel formulaic. I’m sure the performances are strong, but the sets aren’t. Here’s the full rundown.
1- Out in the Street
2- Radio Nowhere
3- Lonesome Day
4- Promised Land
5- Spirit in the Night
6- The River
7- Gypsy Biker
8- Prove it all Night
9- Darkness on the Edge of Town
10- Darlington County
11- Because the Night
12- She’s the One
13- Living in the Future
14- Mary’s Place
15- I’m on Fire
16- Backstreets
17- The Rising
18- Last to Die
19- Long Walk Home
20- Badlands
21- Girls in their Summer Clothes
22 - Summertime Blues
23 - Stand On It
24 - Seven Nights to Rock
25- Born to Run
26- Bobby Jean
27- Dancing in the Dark
28 - American Land
Filed under: Tags: Bruce Springsteen, Springsteen Magic Tour Setlists
Two things to consider are that (1) those fantastic setlists at the end of the N. American leg were largely inspired by Danny’s passing (and the nostalgia it summoned) and (2) Europeans are seeing this tour for the first time, so it’s not predictable to them yet.
I’m not a huge fan of “Lonesome Day,” “Darlington County,” or “Mary’s Place,” but I’d take “I’m On Fire” in a heartbeat. To me, that’s one of the best tracks on BITUSA.
And any show that includes “The River,” “Because The Night,” “Backstreets,” and “Spirit In the Night” is something special.
Summertime Blues, Stand On It, and Seven Nights to Rock in the encores??? I mean, are you freaking kidding me? Nothing to complain about there. No, sir.
-Glen
At 28 songs, wouldn’t this also qualify as one of the longest shows of the tour? Just an observation…
-Glen
Yeah, 28 songs is a long show. When you take out the non-Bruce Springsteen songs you’re back to a standard length show. When you look at the Bruce Springsteen songs played, you’re still stuck with “I’m On Fire,” “Lonesome Day,” “Mary’s Place,” and “Bobby Jean.” Sorry, but I’m not plussed. No “Reason to Believe?” I’d demand my money back; that’s how good this new arrangement is.
You know who needs to do three covers in the encore? Guys not named Bruce Springsteen who don’t have one of the Top 5 catalogs in the history of rock music.
This isn’t the worst set of the tour and it’s not the worst set in Europe (”Working on the Highway” would have sealed the deal) but it wasn’t special.
Your gonna like last nights setlist…one of the best of the Europe shows. “Held Up Without A Gun,” “Sherry Darlin,’ “Something In the Night,” and “Incident” for starters. Yeah, “Marys Place” is still in there, but with songs like those I just mentioned, hell I’ll take the bathroom break. After hearing all that, I would’ve needed to take a smoke by about that time anyway…
-Glen