My 49th live Springsteen concert was in Barcelona in 2002. Having seen him that many times since the first time at Constitution Hall in Washington, DC in March 1975 — before “Born To Run” was released — I thought I would be approaching at least my 75th concert by now.
However, I basically stopped going to concerts — any concerts — for some reason. I probably have seen half a dozen the past 20 years, where I used to see at least that many a year. So, that Barcelona concert was the last time I saw him live until last Friday night, April 28, 2023, here in Barcelona, where we now live.
It was worth the wait!
It was an amazing concert. After reading that he had contracted Covid and had missed an awards show in New Jersey earlier this month, I was worried that the two Barcelona shows might be postponed or cancelled. Fortunately, they weren’t.
It’s fitting that he opened the European leg of his tour in Barcelona. He probably would never admit to having a favorite, but I think this is it. These were the first stadium shows that he has done in seven years, and I think he chose the venue to give as many people as possible the chance to see him. The Estadio Olympico is smaller than the Camp Nou, but he played the Camp Nou once and the acoustics are terrible. Much better acoustics here. Of course, 200 meters away was the arena he played in 2002, which has sensational acoustics. In 2002, the initial plan was to make a video “Live in Europe.” It ended up being “Live in Barcelona” because they had so many great recordings here.
In 2002, he opened with “Thunder Road.” He walked on the stage with the same greeting he used on Friday: “Hola Barcelona!” “Hola Catalunya!” He was very careful to use the Catalán pronunciation of this semi-autonomous region and not the Spanish “Catalonia.” That just made the Catalán audience love him a little more.
He is 73 years old now. His concerts still run between 2.5 and 3 hours. Friday night was 2:53, as always without an intermission. He still has incredible energy. And, of course, a catalog of great songs unmatched by any other rocker.
He doesn’t dance around the stage as much as he did in the 70s and 80s, but he still is in almost constant motion for most of the show. There isn’t as much interaction with the audience because of Covid. But, he still knows how to make his guitar “sing.”
What made the show most memorable for me was the audience. We got to our seats about 40 minutes before the show started and our section already was half full. I might have been the oldest person in our section at 76, but not by much. The youngest were two teens with their parents. They clearly hadn’t been dragged to the concert by their parents either. Both clearly were Springsteen fans. As is always the case with his concerts, the crowd spanned 70-plus years and was not dominated by any one generation. His appeal is universal. (I was watching a Red Hot Chili Peppers clip of “California” in concert, and was struck by how one generational their crowd was. Not Bruce.)
In our section, there were four 50ish guys from Aarhus, Denmark, who had driven to Barcelona in 4 days for the concert and then were going to spend the weekend sightseeing. Amazingly, we ran into them Sunday afternoon at a pintxos (Basque tapas) restaurant. We greeted each other like old friends. Our apartment is only a few hundred yards away from the Barcelona Cathedral which is maybe 30 yards from the restaurant, and they said they had seen a Ukrainian flag flying from the balcony of an apartment when they walked from the Metro to the Cathedral, and had wondered if it was ours. It was.
There was a 30-something couple from Amsterdam and another 30-something same-sex couple from Switzerland; and 8 Brits, a combination of ex-pats who live in Barcelona and friends who flew in for the concert even though he will be playing in England and Ireland later on the tour. And, there were 25 or 30 Spaniards and Catalans near us as well. As is relatively typical in Europe when people from multiple countries are involved, the multi-nation conversations were in English.
Masha was wearing our 3’ x 5’ Ukrainian flag, the one they later saw on our balcony, as a cape, and all of the people we talked to paid at least lip service to supporting Ukraine. She is not a big Springsteen fan, and I had told her that if and when he sang “No Surrender” I would nudge her and she should wave it. Fittingly, it was his opening number. When it started, she waved it proudly for the entire song.
About 10 minutes before the concert started, someone in our section noticed the Obamas and Spielbergs in a “celebrity” tent to the right of the stage. I assume the tent was there per the Obamas’ Secret Service detail. I guess one big story coming out of the concert was Michelle Obama and Kate Capshaw joining in the backup vocals in “Glory Days.” For me, it wasn’t that big a deal. But, Bruce’s wife, Patti Scialfa, joining them was a big deal. She hasn’t been part of the E Street band since the opening few concerts on this tour.
In 2002, when Bruce opened with “Thunder Road,” when he started singing after the harmonica opening. 10,000 Catalans started singing along with him. After the first line or two, he stopped singing and just held the microphone high while they sang the first verse. I thought at the time that he was surprised they knew the words. He clearly loved it, and I thought it was one of the reasons he gave such an inspired performance that night.
Friday night, it was the last song he did before the encore. This time, there was no surprise. He finished the harmonica opening and just held the microphone high and let the crowd sing. This time there probably were 45,000 people singing the words. It was incredible. However, he did do a shorter version of the song than he had done in 2002.
I got the feeling that this might be his farewell tour. Almost nothing from his new albums; lots of the hits from the great early albums. Of course, 27 or 28 songs doesn’t come close to his catalog of hits and he missed a lot of songs I love: “The River,” “Cadillac Ranch,” “Sherry Darling,” “Darkness at the Edge of Town” and many others. But, he can’t possibly cram everything everyone wants to hear into one concert. Or two.
We were in the first tier of seats to the center r left of the stage. I have had seats on the floor once in my life and hated it. If you aren’t in the first 10 rows you can’t really see anything. (Don Henley once told me that even with the way his drum kit was raised on a platform on the stage, he never could see beyond the first 10 rows at an “Eagles” concert.) While we stood for the majority of the concert, the entire section sat down for some portions. It was a very cooperative effort.
We stayed about 25 minutes after the concert ended. Not to miss the traffic. That was not possible. But, just to soak in a little more of the atmosphere. Probably for the last time.
Although, I’m thinking that if we possibly can get concert tickets, a trip to Dublin might be nice. 😀
If you have a chance to see him during the second North American leg of the tour, don’t miss it!
However, I basically stopped going to concerts — any concerts — for some reason. I probably have seen half a dozen the past 20 years, where I used to see at least that many a year. So, that Barcelona concert was the last time I saw him live until last Friday night, April 28, 2023, here in Barcelona, where we now live.
It was worth the wait!
It was an amazing concert. After reading that he had contracted Covid and had missed an awards show in New Jersey earlier this month, I was worried that the two Barcelona shows might be postponed or cancelled. Fortunately, they weren’t.
It’s fitting that he opened the European leg of his tour in Barcelona. He probably would never admit to having a favorite, but I think this is it. These were the first stadium shows that he has done in seven years, and I think he chose the venue to give as many people as possible the chance to see him. The Estadio Olympico is smaller than the Camp Nou, but he played the Camp Nou once and the acoustics are terrible. Much better acoustics here. Of course, 200 meters away was the arena he played in 2002, which has sensational acoustics. In 2002, the initial plan was to make a video “Live in Europe.” It ended up being “Live in Barcelona” because they had so many great recordings here.
In 2002, he opened with “Thunder Road.” He walked on the stage with the same greeting he used on Friday: “Hola Barcelona!” “Hola Catalunya!” He was very careful to use the Catalán pronunciation of this semi-autonomous region and not the Spanish “Catalonia.” That just made the Catalán audience love him a little more.
He is 73 years old now. His concerts still run between 2.5 and 3 hours. Friday night was 2:53, as always without an intermission. He still has incredible energy. And, of course, a catalog of great songs unmatched by any other rocker.
He doesn’t dance around the stage as much as he did in the 70s and 80s, but he still is in almost constant motion for most of the show. There isn’t as much interaction with the audience because of Covid. But, he still knows how to make his guitar “sing.”
What made the show most memorable for me was the audience. We got to our seats about 40 minutes before the show started and our section already was half full. I might have been the oldest person in our section at 76, but not by much. The youngest were two teens with their parents. They clearly hadn’t been dragged to the concert by their parents either. Both clearly were Springsteen fans. As is always the case with his concerts, the crowd spanned 70-plus years and was not dominated by any one generation. His appeal is universal. (I was watching a Red Hot Chili Peppers clip of “California” in concert, and was struck by how one generational their crowd was. Not Bruce.)
In our section, there were four 50ish guys from Aarhus, Denmark, who had driven to Barcelona in 4 days for the concert and then were going to spend the weekend sightseeing. Amazingly, we ran into them Sunday afternoon at a pintxos (Basque tapas) restaurant. We greeted each other like old friends. Our apartment is only a few hundred yards away from the Barcelona Cathedral which is maybe 30 yards from the restaurant, and they said they had seen a Ukrainian flag flying from the balcony of an apartment when they walked from the Metro to the Cathedral, and had wondered if it was ours. It was.
There was a 30-something couple from Amsterdam and another 30-something same-sex couple from Switzerland; and 8 Brits, a combination of ex-pats who live in Barcelona and friends who flew in for the concert even though he will be playing in England and Ireland later on the tour. And, there were 25 or 30 Spaniards and Catalans near us as well. As is relatively typical in Europe when people from multiple countries are involved, the multi-nation conversations were in English.
Masha was wearing our 3’ x 5’ Ukrainian flag, the one they later saw on our balcony, as a cape, and all of the people we talked to paid at least lip service to supporting Ukraine. She is not a big Springsteen fan, and I had told her that if and when he sang “No Surrender” I would nudge her and she should wave it. Fittingly, it was his opening number. When it started, she waved it proudly for the entire song.
About 10 minutes before the concert started, someone in our section noticed the Obamas and Spielbergs in a “celebrity” tent to the right of the stage. I assume the tent was there per the Obamas’ Secret Service detail. I guess one big story coming out of the concert was Michelle Obama and Kate Capshaw joining in the backup vocals in “Glory Days.” For me, it wasn’t that big a deal. But, Bruce’s wife, Patti Scialfa, joining them was a big deal. She hasn’t been part of the E Street band since the opening few concerts on this tour.
In 2002, when Bruce opened with “Thunder Road,” when he started singing after the harmonica opening. 10,000 Catalans started singing along with him. After the first line or two, he stopped singing and just held the microphone high while they sang the first verse. I thought at the time that he was surprised they knew the words. He clearly loved it, and I thought it was one of the reasons he gave such an inspired performance that night.
Friday night, it was the last song he did before the encore. This time, there was no surprise. He finished the harmonica opening and just held the microphone high and let the crowd sing. This time there probably were 45,000 people singing the words. It was incredible. However, he did do a shorter version of the song than he had done in 2002.
I got the feeling that this might be his farewell tour. Almost nothing from his new albums; lots of the hits from the great early albums. Of course, 27 or 28 songs doesn’t come close to his catalog of hits and he missed a lot of songs I love: “The River,” “Cadillac Ranch,” “Sherry Darling,” “Darkness at the Edge of Town” and many others. But, he can’t possibly cram everything everyone wants to hear into one concert. Or two.
We were in the first tier of seats to the center r left of the stage. I have had seats on the floor once in my life and hated it. If you aren’t in the first 10 rows you can’t really see anything. (Don Henley once told me that even with the way his drum kit was raised on a platform on the stage, he never could see beyond the first 10 rows at an “Eagles” concert.) While we stood for the majority of the concert, the entire section sat down for some portions. It was a very cooperative effort.
We stayed about 25 minutes after the concert ended. Not to miss the traffic. That was not possible. But, just to soak in a little more of the atmosphere. Probably for the last time.
Although, I’m thinking that if we possibly can get concert tickets, a trip to Dublin might be nice. 😀
If you have a chance to see him during the second North American leg of the tour, don’t miss it!
