Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band – Ullevi, Gothenburg; June 24th, 2023

So this was it, my final Springsteen show of this tour and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel sentimental about it. It was a great final show with a wonderful setlist and a band that clearly enjoyed being on stage. Bruce was in a great mood too and gave me a brilliant send off until the next tour.

Going to Gothenburg meant getting up early – I had a 6 am flight and had to go via Copenhagen. Therefore I was tired when I finally arrived, got a tea and a cinnamon bun for breakfast and was very surprised my hotel already let me check in around 11 am. Nice! I’d just thought about getting some more sleep, when my friend C. wrote and said they were going for a city walk. So I joined them. It was lovely weather and we ended our walk with lunch. Afterwards there was still enough time to relax at my hotel before the show.

i arrived around 6:30, spend some time looking for the right entrance and, once inside, some more finding my seat. I had a good view of the stage and the people around me were nice so it was all set for the night. I watched as the stadium filled and wondered what the setlist was going to be. Around 8 the crew came out with a new one and taped it t the stage. Always a sign for the show not starting on time. I felt really grateful for getting one more show.

I didn’t check my watch, but it was maybe 8.15 when the show started and the band walked on stage. They all looked like they really wanted to play and after a two day break they must have been well rested too. Excited, I waited for the first song to start. So far it had been a different one at each show, but this time it was the same as in Düsseldorf: ‘The Ties that bind’. What a great start! 🙂

‘No Surrender’ moved me. I was happy and sad at the same time – grateful to get to see one more show, yet sentimental about this being the last one. Then song has always been a  favorite, so I’m glad it is part of the base setlist. Bruce is telling a story here and he has crafted a great show to do so. 🙂 With ‘Ghosts’ he ventured out to the crowd, urging us to sing along. “Let me see you!” he demanded and everyone raised their arms to clap along – it looked amazing. I loved watching Jake and Steve play and share the mic with Bruce.

We got a nice view of all the band members, whenever they had a solo in a song. We got a lot of shots of the audience too and I saw only happy faces on the screens. In the seats quite a few people stood. We alternated all night between standing up and then sitting down again for the slower songs. It worked well. I spent so much time smiling that I often forgot to sing along. When there was a cue from the stage though, I followed along like everyone else and enjoyed every moment. ‘Prove it all night’ was a killer. I really admired Bruce’s solo, playing with his eyes closed, look of concentration on his face.

Like every night, ‘Letter to you’ was translated on the screens to make sure everyone understood the message they were sending us. <3 For ‘The promised Land’ everyone was waving along with Bruce. It looked great from the back and I wondered how the view must be from the stage. Towards the end of the song he walked out to the audience, pointed at one young woman and threw her his harmonica. The look on her face was priceless. She could not believe her luck. 😀

As always, ‘Out in the street’ was a big party with everyone singing along and Bruce trading lines with the band. It might have been during that song, when Bruce walked to one of the platforms on the side and someone handed him a request sign and a pen. He leaned down and autographed it. <3 The audience got to sing the “o-oh” part in the end. 😀 Then they made me really happy with playing ‘Lucky Town’ and I found myself thinking how that song alone had made the whole trip worthwhile. “I wanna lose this blues I found, down in lucky town” – it was the perfect song for the night, summing up my feelings. <3

The band and especially Roy and the E-Street Horns delivered a brilliant version of ‘Kitty’s back’. I still can’t get over this song making a regular appearance this tour. At one point, Bruce stood there, smoothing his hair back with a grin, like getting ready for a night out. 😀 ‘Nightshift’ started with Anthony Almonte on percussion, only later supported by Max. The choir of Ada Dyer, Michelle Moore, Lisa Lowell and Curtis King did a fabulous job and the song and made Bruce sound so much better. While Curt Ramm played a trumpet solo, we watched Bruce and Curt dancing – it made me smile. A one point he was laughing so hard, he could not continue singing, but I can’t remember why. 😀

With ‘Mary’s Place’ we got more clapping along and Bruce was not successful in shushing us, but when he said “Listen” people got calmer. “Max!” he shouted and gestured so he beat the drum once, but when he said “twice” Max didn’t stop and Bruce grinned “that was seven times, that wasn’t two times. Two times is” and he gestured again and Max hit the drums twice, then they repeated this with “seven times is” and Bruce concluded, laughing, “I can’t show you 8 times”. I remember him shaking his butt to indicate the drum beats, but I think this time he gestured with his arm. It wasn’t on the screens, so I can’t be sure. Either way, it was fun!

‘My Hometown’ was on the setlist again and for the first time I noticed an echo at the stadium with Bruce’s vice coming back again from the opposite direction moments after he had sung the lines. It made me especially happy that we got ‘The River’ again – the sing along was beautiful, with the audience singing about half the lines. <3 That song is always a winner!

The moment he started sharing the story of George Theiss and the Castilles, everyone was silent. We heard every word twice, because his voice kept echoing back. Somehow that was an interesting effect. The first big cheers came when he mentioned he joined his first rock ‘n’ roll band. Every time I am moved by this speech. I can really relate to the feeling of getting older and being at the point where it’s more yesterdays and goodbyes. I am not yet the last woman standing, but every word rings true to me, especially what Bruce says about the things death teaches us. ‘Last Man Standing’ is the song that has brought me to tears every time. ‘Backstreets’ was the perfect follow up, bringing back the band and continuing the story of loss and memories and the people we hold in our hearts.

Roy’s piano signaled the start of ‘Because the Night’ and I was lost in the music. Then song never fails to capture me. “Because the night belongs to lovers…” with the chorus, everyone was singing along. Nils’ solo was amazing , I wasn’t the only one watching him in awe. ‘She’s the one’ is the perfect fit after that, with the audience clapping that characteristic drum beat. it’s such a perfect song. ‘Wrecking Ball’ was wonderful. That mixture of defiance and hope is just right and I felt it as I raised my fist, singing “hard time come and hard time go.” Once again I noticed just how well these songs are selected, with ‘The Rising’ following right after. Like he did on the Rising tour 20 years ago, Bruce still stands there with his right hand raised in the air, singing about the sky of mercy and fear, memory and shadow and it still gets me just like it did back then.

‘Badlands’ is and always will be a hymn for me, sung at the top of my lungs with my fist pumping the air and, preferably, while jumping up and down, which I definitely did. A choirs of thousands of voices singing “ohohohoho” brought goosebumps. The next song I did not recognize immediately, but when I did, it made me all the happier. It was ‘Land of hope and Dreams’ – that was certainly unexpected. I loved everything about it, but especially the horns. <3 ‘Thunder Road’ was another song that echoed back through the stadium, but it wasn’t only Bruce’s voice, it was everyone singing along too. He walked out along the audience again, shaking hands with his fans. It was such a lovely gesture.

The band walked to the front and took a bow to great cheers, then the stage went dark for what felt like a second and they were right back for ‘Born in the USA’. It was still bright outside, but the stadium was no longer in the sun by now, so the stage lights looked a bit more impressive. The band powered through the song, then went straight into ‘Born to run’, the song for all the fans, because “tramps like us, baby we were born to run”. Everyone in the stadium raised their hands and shook them before the final verse. I don’t really know how to describe this move otherwise. It looked good with all the arms up in the air.

‘Bobby Jean’ then, had us all waving. It made me smile to see that, but it’s still the one song I could do without. During ‘Glory Days’ Bruce was having some fun banter with Steve, apparently having a great time. They even moved in close to the camera that was filming them until it was pretty much right in their faces. It was also established that “We’re not fucking going home”, after asking the people in the stands twice, because “they didn’t sound sure” 😀 ‘Dancing in the dark’ was pure happiness and a lot of dancing. Bruce and Steve were even jumping up and down, before he threw his guitar to Kevin in the end and then went and ripped open his shirt. I finally noticed it has snap fasteners. that explains why the buttons never come off. 😉 He introduced the band liked “Professor, 88 keys ain’t enough. Roy Bittan” and then we got and extended “You’ve just witnessed the… E Street Band” rant which included “death defying, justifying, … Make adult men crying?” Hell yeah!

Like every night. ‘Tenth avenue freeze-out’ was the song of memories. It is such a powerful tune that I can’t really feel sad while hearing it and yet it is the perfect song to commemorate Clarence and Danny. Their images on the screen say everything and seeing the current band still perform with them in mind is a beautiful tribute. Lost, but not forgotten. In the end, the band stood together for final goodbyes and walked off one by one with handshakes, a pat on the back or hugs from Bruce. Then he grabbed his guitar again and played ‘I’ll see you in my dreams’ solo. Around the stadium, phone lights went up and as we all sang along, it felt like being home, being a part of something bigger than myself. Thank you Bruce, thank you e Street Band. It was beautiful!

On the way out I stopped at the merch stands and at the second one I found C. and E. – we agreed it had been a wonderful show and chatted for a while, until they had to go and catch a tram and I had a long walk back to my hotel. it was a great night and I am thoroughly happy I got to be there.

Setlist

The Ties That Bind
No Surrender
Ghosts
Prove It All Night
Letter to You
The Promised Land
Out in the Street
Lucky Town
Kitty’s Back
Nightshift (Commodores cover)
Mary’s Place
My Hometown
The River
Last Man Standing (acoustic with Barry Danielian on trumpet)
Backstreets
Because the Night
She’s the One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands
Land of Hope and Dreams
Thunder Road

Encore:
Born in the U.S.A.
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
I’ll See You in My Dreams (solo acoustic)