Bruce Springsteen, Pyramid Stage, Glastonbury, June 27th
Bruce Springsteen played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury on June 27th
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Sunday, 28, Jun 2009 05:14
By Lewis Bazley.
My memories of seeing the Boss for the first time will forever be tinged by an oddly anticlimactic feeling, akin to satisfying baser instincts with a KFC binge only to discover a loved one's sneakily booked you in for a 12-course marathon at The Fat Duck. New Jersey's finest was without doubt on fine fist-pumping form in his maiden appearance at Worthy Farm but the excitement that had been surging through me since the climax of Neil Young's bar-raising Friday set all came pouring out in a lachrymose rush as Springsteen graced the John Peel Stage for a brief guest spot with his sonic offspring the Gaslight Anthem. So unexpected, joyous and hair-raising was his duet with Brian Fallon on The '59 Sound that all the anticipation that had steadily grown since Springsteen's name was added to the Glastonbury bill tumbled out of me in a desperate rush to secure a better view.
By the time the Boss took to the main stage and paid tribute to Joe Strummer, with a merciful majority of the awful and loutish Kasabian fanbase having dragged their knuckles out of the Pyramid arena, my senses were frazzled but my heart was no longer hungry.
This is not to demean the exhaustive and impassioned performance from this rejuvenated elder statesmen of rock, however. Having emerged from the stonewash cliché of Dancing in the Dark and Ronald Reagan's jingoistic misunderstanding of the destruction of the mythos of the 'American Dream' that is Born in the USA, the Boss wrote one of the finest politically-minded albums of the century with The Rising and saw the likes of Arcade Fire, the Killers and, of course, the Gaslight Anthem have a crack at 'doing Bruce'. Though he might have had to receive a briefing from 'his people' on everything Glastonbury represents and the realisation of the enormity of this festival is initially clear on his face during Coma Girl and Badlands, his power to command and entrance a crowd, even while saving his best-known cuts for last, is undeniable.
You find yourself swept away with the working class romanticism of cries of "We're not just here to rock the house, we're here to build a house of hope!" and though there's a weirdly empty vibe for much of the show as the setlist plays to Springsteen completists rather than casuals, a majestic The Ghost of Tom Joad and a euphoric No Surrender with Brian Fallon guesting on vocals leaves a field of thousands in rapt admiration.
Were it not for the huge emotional rush of Springsteen's ceremonial passing of the torch earlier that evening in the cool breeze of the John Peel Tent, this triumphant exercise in holding an audience's attention would have been one of the greatest experiences of my Glastonbury-going life. But even though my night peaked too early, few moments can surpass dancing in the dark at the best festival on the planet.
Lewis Bazley
Bruce Springsteen's Glastonbury set-list was:
1. Coma Girl
2. Badlands
3. Prove It All Night
4. My Lucky Day
5. Outlaw Pete
6. Out In The Street
7. Working On A Dream
8. Seeds
9. Johnny 99
10. The Ghost Of Tom Joad
11. Raise Your Hand
12. Because The Night
13. No Surrender (with the Gaslight Anthem)
14. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
15. The Promised Land
16. The River
17. Radio Nowhere
18. Lonesome Day
19. The Rising
20. Born To Run
Encore:
21. Hard Times
22. Thunder Road
23. Land Of Hope And Dreams
24. American Land
25. Glory Days
26. Dancing In The Dark