Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – Stockholms Stadion, Stockholm – June 5th, 2009

Tonight must have been my best Springsteen show ever! everything fit. The song selection, the atmosphere, the people around me, my own mood, my spot and Bruce coming over to us frequently. I held him when he stood on the barrier right next to me. He shook my hand, he played the song I’ve wanted to hear for as long as I remember. How much better can it get?

Woke up at 6:20 in the morning and really did not want to get out of bed, but knew m alarm would be ringing in 10 minutes anyway because I was supposed to meet my friend T. at the stadium between 8 and 8:30. My eyes hurt because I was way too tired and the weather didn’t look great either. I was just finishing my breakfast when I got a text message from T. saying he was on his way so I left as well. Arrived at the stadium shortly after 8 and was #237 in line. Next roll call was not until 10:00 so we went out for breakfast. It turned out to be the longest time either of us sat down all day.

The next hours were mostly spent standing in line with short breaks for food and the toilet. It was just too friggin’ cold to sit down for long. I still find it unbelievable how the weather could turn from 27 degrees and sunshine to 7 degrees and rain in just a few days. Anyway, I was freezing for most of the day and repeatedly asked myself why I was doing this anyway. Still, it was relaxed and we had a nice chat most of the day.

They gave out wristbands for the pit around four, one last roll call and then soundcheck till about five. Interesting song selection as well. They let us in shortly after and rather than opting for the middle we saw our chance at the outer right platform where only one woman was standing. Thus we got our spots front row and decided not to move. It was still relaxed for a while until a few girls tried to push in and it got a bit ugly. They did not manage though and later they relaxed and all was well.

A guy behind us had a request for “Hungry Heart” which is the one song that I really despise. I teased him about it and told him to go away because I did not want to hear the song. Little did I know….

The setlist was beyond awesome. Aftre the traditional Swedish ‘Ida Somervisa’, he started with ‘Downbound Train’, a favorite of mine, played ‘Candy’s Room’ and ‘Youngstown’ and as a request chose ‘Growing up’. For a moment he made us believe he was going to play ‘E Street Shuffle’, but then opted for ‘Thunder Road’ instead which I love as well. ‘Queen of he Supermarket’, my second favorite off the current album, was played for the first time this tour to my great delight. It was also a great treat for T. who had been hoping to hear it.

And then, just when I thought it could not possibly get any better, Bruce picked up somebody’s sign that read “How many shows must a man walk to to hear Lost in the Flood”. This is the one song I though I was never going to hear, because he rarely plays it and if then not at the shows I was at. That was just too much for me to bear and I cried during the entire song. T. turned to me and  smiled, knowing how much I had been waiting for this and hugged me when he saw my tears. It was a beautiful rendition of the song too. I could have died happily then and there, but the show was far from over yet.

We were lucky about Bruce coming to our side. He stood in front of me frequently and when he played ‘Hungry Hear’t he first shook my hand, smiling and the stepped on the railing right next to me and leaned out to the people so I (and lots of others) had to hold him so he would not fall. I cannot possibly get any better than this.

The rest of the show was fantastic too. I laughed and cried, screamed and clapped and jumped and was totally, genuinely happy. Bruce does all these things to me and right then and there I knew why I am doing all this. There is nothing that compares to this, nothing.

I am totally exhausted now, emotionally as well as physically. Will go to bed now, dreaming of a wonderful show.

Setlist

Idas Sommarvisa
Downbound Train
Badlands
My Lucky Day
Candy’s Room
Outlaw Pete
Darlington County
Working On A Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Youngstown
Good Lovin’
Hungry Heart
Growin’ Up
Thunder Road
Queen of the Supermarket
Waitin’ On A Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Lost in the Flood
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born To Run

Encore

Hard Times
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Land Of Hope And Dreams
American Land
Glory Days
Detroit Medley
Dancing In The Dark