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Bruce Springsteen – ‘Birmingham, Villa Park’ live review & setlist

The law of Rock ‘n’ Roll is one of diminishing returns with age. The Rolling Stones, Kiss, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith are all touring bands with singers who are not really able to hit the heights of their previous 70s and 80s glories and bands whose studio output is way past their best. Not Bruce Springsteen. At 73 years old his live shows are still a thing of legend and his last original studio album, ‘Letter To You’ contained all the hallmarks of everything Springsteen fans have come to expect from him over the past 50 years.

Walking on stage at around 7.15pm on a sunny, hot night in Birmingham, UK, Springsteen and the E Street Band launched into ‘Born in the USA’ deep-cut fan-favourite “No Surrender.’ He left around 10.15pm after bringing a sizeable chunk of this football stadium crowd to tears with the emotional, heartfelt ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams’ which he played solo on an acoustic guitar, serving as a kind of soft goodbye to his fans should circumstance mean we never get to see this iconic, authentic artist again.

In-between those two songs, Springsteen rocked this soulless football ground in the only way he can. A see of arms greeted almost every song and multiple cries of ‘Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce’ resounded around the stands as song after song came in fiery blasts and heartfelt hammer-blows. The elephant in the room, when you are playing a stadium show in the middle of June in the UK, is that it is going to be light until at least 9.30pm so performers can’t rely on lights, bells and whistles to augment their songs but Springsteen is one of a rare breed of artists that don’t need that, as was proven by the seven song encore which was largely played under the full glare of the stadium lights and little else.

Early songs, like ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Prove it All Night’ had to stand or fall on the strength of Springsteen’s performance alone and, by god, he nailed it. The church of Rock ‘n’ Roll is still alive and well in the hands of this unique artist. ‘Out in the Street’ saw him prowling the front rows like a man possessed, imploring the crowd to join him on this musical journey. The way Springsteen connects with his fans, from the hard core fan right down at the front who had been queueing at the venue since midday, to the bloke in the top corner of the Holte End stand who only came because he is an Aston Villa supporter who bought ‘Born in the USA’ on cassette back in the 80’s out for a good time on a Friday night, is amazing and something I’ve rarely seen in all my 30+ years of concert going.

When you go and see a band like Bon Jovi the setlist is often pitched to please the casual fan. I’ve read numerous interviews with Jon Bon Jovi over the years in which he states his job is to please the person attending their first Bon Jovi gig. For any artist with a sizeable back catalogue, this is a crime, ignoring the hard core fans that got you to where you are now. Springsteen refuses to do that, so “Candy’s Room’ and the seven minute Jazz-Rock epic, ‘Kitty’s Back’ were played for the long time fans leaving a good portion of the crowd a little confused as to what they were listening too although the power of the individual performances on display were fascinating to watch even if you hadn’t heard those particular songs before. Similarly, songs like ‘Last Man Standing’, which was beautifully introduced by The Boss with a touching speech about him being the last man alive from his original band that he joined back in school in 1965, and ‘Wrecking Ball’, a gaelic-tinged romp from the 2012 album of the same name, might have been unfamiliar to some but were performed with such style and verve that it didn’t really matter whether this was the first or the four hundredth time you’ve heard them.

Springsteen’s iconic ‘Born in the USA’ album was well served in Birmingham with six songs being pulled from it. Another highlight was the tour debut of ‘The River’, delivered beautifully, as always. ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’ is also an emotional cornerstone of the set these days since the passing of E Street legends Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici. Images of them were broadcast on the video screens, serving as a wonderful tribute to their time, impact and talent. They say time is a cruel mistress and the older Springsteen has got the more it has crept, naturally, into his writing. Both ‘Last Man Standing’ and ‘Ill See You in My Dreams’ deal with loss explicitly but a large portion of this show hints towards goodbyes, gratitude and gratefulness with Springsteen, always front and centre. The conductor of a Rock ‘n’ Roll orchestra, old father time himself, content with his life’s work but still cradling the burning flame of creative passion deep inside, as was proved by his recent outstanding stint on Broadway and the ‘Only the Strong Survive’ covers album.

At 73, Bruce Springsteen has lost none of the fire or the passion that he had in 1983 and neither has his fans. This show in Birmingham was a triumph: an inclusive stadium gathering for hard core fans and casuals alike, all gathered to worship at the altar of the high priest of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Three hours of the finest showmanship and skilled, musical talent that has gone unrivalled now for nearly 50 years. Times change, fads come and go and even Springsteen himself has gone through multiple eras (to borrow a term and a mindset from Taylor Swift) but through it all the flame endures.

Setlist: 1. No Surrender 2. Ghosts 3. Prove it All Night 4. Letter to You 5. The Promised Land 6. Out in the Street 7. Candy’s Room 8. Kitty’s Back 9. Nightshift 10. Mary’s Place 11. The E Street Shuffle 12. My Hometown 13. The River 14. Last Man Standing 15. Backstreets 16. Because the Night 17. She’s the One 18. Wrecking Ball 19. The Rising 20. Badlands 21. Thunder Road 22. Born in the USA 23. Born to Run 24. Bobby Jean 25. Glory Days 26. Dancing in the Dark 27. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out 28. I’ll See You in My Dreams Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham Date: Friday 16th June

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Bruce Springsteen at Villa Park

Bruce springsteen returns to villa park.

Bruce Springsteen Villa Park, Birmingham, England Jun 16, 2023

• 1. No Surrender 411 3 2 34 0 0
• 2. Ghosts 44 3 2 39 0 0
• 3. Prove It All Night 711 3 2 35 0 0
• 4. Letter To You 43 3 5 33 0 1
• 5. The Promised Land 1115 3 2 40 0 0
• 6. Out in the Street 731 3 2 21 0 0
• 7. Candy's Room 293 5 2 7 1 0
• 8. Kitty's Back 214 3 2 23 0 0
• 9. Nightshift 42 3 2 40 0 0 (by Commodores )
• 10. Mary's Place 203 3 2 23 0 0
• 11. The E Street Shuffle 178 5 2 8 1 0
• 12. My Hometown 283 3 2 7 0 0
• 13. The River 670 2302 2 16 45 0
• 14. Last Man Standing 43 3 2 40 0 0
• 15. Backstreets 529 3 2 40 0 0
• 16. Because the Night 520 3 2 40 0 0
• 17. She's the One 657 3 2 39 0 0
• 18. Wrecking Ball 233 3 2 40 0 0
• 19. The Rising 641 3 2 40 0 0
• 20. Badlands 1232 3 2 40 0 0
• 21. Thunder Road 1151 3 2 33 0 0
• 22. Born in the U.S.A. 738 3 2 9 0 0
• 23. Born to Run 1488 3 2 40 0 0
• 24. Bobby Jean 673 3 2 27 0 0
• 25. Glory Days 545 3 2 30 0 0
• 26. Dancing in the Dark 791 3 2 40 0 0
• 27. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out 846 3 2 40 0 0
• 28. I'll See You In My Dreams 44 3 2 37 0 0

Concert number 1935 out of 2009.

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Bruce Springsteen 2023 Tour

The American singer, songwriter and musician - one of the world’s best-selling music artists - will be making his return to B6 having previously performed at Villa Park in June 1988.

Bruce Springsteen 2023 Tour info

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Villa Park show for Bruce Springsteen

American rock superstar Bruce Springsteen is to play a stadium show in the West Midlands in 2023.

The singer-songwriter and guitarist will appear with the E Street Band in four stadium shows, with one at Aston Villa's Villa Park on June 16.

Tickets go on sale at 9am on Thursday, July 21.

The other UK shows include two at Hyde Park, and one at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium.

The tour will be Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s first UK tour since 2016 with The River tour.

They previously performed at Villa Park in 1988 on the Tunnel of Love tour.

Springsteen, aged 72, made a surprise appearance at the recent Glastonbury Festival with old friend Paul McCartney.

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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E ST BAND @ VILLA PARK, BIRMINGHAM 16/06/23

The encore has just started. The first beat of “Born In The USA” has rung out. And something happens. It always happens at Springsteen gigs. The lights go on. And in that moment, right there, it stops being a “stadium” gig and becomes a shared experience. What follows for the next 40 minutes or so will not be bettered anywhere in the world, on any stage. Not just this year. Perhaps ever. That sounds like the worst sort of hyperbole, but it’s two and a half hours after the show ends and it seems right. The E St Band follow that up with “Born To Run, then “Glory Days”, “Bobby Jean” and “Dancing In The Dark” and if that, on paper, is just a list of songs, then in practice, on stage, it was special. It was sprinkled with gold dust. The very sound of bombast, if you like. The sort of thing I’ve loved since hearing the latter in 1984 when I was nine years old. The sort of thing, actually, that I haven’t listened to in ages, but which you don’t need to. These are songs that are with you, that are as easy company as old friends. That’s the gift of this man, this band (and my goodness there’s enough of them). At 7.15 they’d all walked on stage, with their boss and our “The Boss” last. He doesn’t look 73. He’s a force of nature. A freak. A genius. The greatest singer-songwriter ever? Please, there’s no debate. They’d begun with “No Surrender” before “Ghosts” – one of the newer songs – and it’s apt because the spectre of old friends, old bandmates, and old times, is never far away. “Prove It All Night” screeches to life, and if another one of the more recent songs “Letter To You” gives way to a classic in “Promised Land” then it does so with considerable skill. There’s a stunning, jazz-infused take on “Kitty’s Back” (sounding like it should have been on “The Seegar Sessions”) and the considerable soul this band has is underlined by the brilliant cover of “Nightshift”.

There’s a palpable hope in the air as “Mary’s Place” plays and a more modern version of “E St Shuffle” is fun. “The River” makes its tour debut, people in front of me hug and hi-five at this, before a moving “Last Man Standing” with a poignant speech before, cleverly segues into “Backstreets”. And its around about then that you – and when I say “you” I mean “I” – realised this wasn’t a gig anymore, this was an experience, Nils Lofgren’s solo on “Because The Night” takes you there. Tonight, they are the hip shaking etc etc legendary E St Band. Songs that are really good on record become something else live, “Wrecking Ball” isn’t this good, surely? It is here and it serves as your reminder that hard times come and go. “The Rising” is its chest-beating best, while “Badlands” and “Thunder Road” close the set like the anthems they are. Which is sort of where this review started, except, we haven’t discussed how Springsteen does it yet. No gimmicks, no Pyro, no giant inflatables. Stadium gigs can’t just be about songs, can they? Yes. They can. By the end of the show Preacher Bruce could have led his 35,000-strong flock to war and they’d have followed. And yes they ham it up when they need – asking if it’s time to go home and all the rest – but this by and large is about songs. Lots of them. Played incredibly. After “….Dark” comes “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”, glorious, fun, but also to celebrate Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons (his nephew Jake is wonderful throughout) who are ingrained in the DNA and that’s it, sort of. Because after thanking each member of the band as they walk off, Bruce is a solo folk singer, the lights go off too, for “See You In My Dreams” and it feels intimate. It’s a neat trick. And you can psycho- analyse all you like but it feels like a goodbye like these massive rock shows might be over, whether they are only Bruce Springsteen knows. What I’ll say for absolutely certain is there’s a very real chance that tonight we saw the greatest live performer there is. Still.

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Take That to Bruce Springsteen - legendary concerts at Villa Park

Some of the biggest names have performed in the stadium

• 05:52, 24 SEP 2023

Some of the biggest names in the music business have performed at Villa Park . This year we have seen Pink perform her acrobatic show at the stadium on 13 June, with Bruce Springsteen on the stage only a few days later on June 16. This was not the first visit of 'The Boss' as he has made a number of trips before to the venue.

Other classic artist include Duran Duran who made a visit in July 1983. Bon Jovi being another in June 2013. Take That wowed the crowd in June in 2011, when Robbie Williams rejoined the band for a brief period with the bands Progress Live tour. Pouring rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd or the performers in Birmingham’s biggest ever pop show. Robbie Williams, who took the full force of the rain like a man, called the 48,000-strong audience “absolutely magnificent”, and “the best yet of the tour – I think you’ve even beaten the Scots.”

Duran Duran in Concert at Villa Park, Birmingham, Saturday 23rd July 1983.

Duran Duran in concert at Villa Park, Birmingham, on Saturday, July 23, 1983.

Bon Jovi in concert at Villa Park, June 2013.

Thousands of Bon Jovi fans were at Villa Park for the concert.

Bon Jovi, at Villa Park.

Fans queue at Villa Park before the Bon Jovi concert.

The huge stage for Bon Jovi, at Villa Park.

Bruce Springsteen performing at Villa Park in June 1988.

Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in Concert, Villa Park, Birmingham, Tuesday 21st June 1988.

Take That performing at Villa Park on their Progress Tour 2011.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on stage in concert at Villa Park, 16 June 2023.

Pink on stage in concert at Villa Park, 13 June 2023.

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Villa Park Birmingham Concert Setlists

Bruce springsteen at villa park, birmingham, england.

• No Surrender
• Prove It All Night
• Letter to You
• The Promised Land
• Out in the Street
• Candy's Room
• Kitty's Back
• Mary's Place
• The E Street Shuffle
• My Hometown
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Pnk at villa park, birmingham, england.

• Intro Montage
• Get the Party Started
• Raise Your Glass
• Just Like a Pill
• What About Us
• Beautiful Trauma
• Make You Feel My Love
• Just Give Me a Reason

The Script at Villa Park, Birmingham, England

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• The Man Who Can't Be Moved
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• If You Could See Me Now
• For the First Time
• Hall of Fame

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• Gimme the Sign
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Bon Jovi at Villa Park, Birmingham, England

• That's What the Water Made Me
• You Give Love a Bad Name
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• Raise Your Hands
• Lost Highway
• It's My Life
• Because We Can
• What About Now
• We Got It Goin' On
• Keep the Faith

The Heavy at Villa Park, Birmingham, England

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Villa Park Birmingham, UK

Bruce Springsteen  - Lead vocal, electric and acoustic guitars, harmonica;  Roy Bittan  - Piano, keyboards;  Nils Lofgren  - Electric and acoustic guitars, banjo, lap steel, backing vocal;  Garry Tallent  - Bass;  Stevie Van Zandt  - Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocal;  Max Weinberg  - Drums;  Jake Clemons  - Tenor saxophone, percussion, backing vocal;  Charlie Giordano  - Organ, keyboards, accordion;  Soozie Tyrell  - Violin, acoustic guitar, percussion,  Anthony Almonte  - Percussion, backing vocal;  Ada Dyer  - Backing vocal;  Curtis King  - Backing vocal;  Lisa Lowell  - Backing vocal;  Michelle Moore  - Backing vocal;  Barry Danielian  - Trumpet;  Ed Manion  - Baritone and tenor saxophone;  Ozzie Melendez  - Trombone;  Curt Ramm  - Trumpet

Recorded by John Cooper

Mixed by Jon Altschiller; additional engineering by Danielle Warman, Nic Coolidge, Allison Leah and Alex Bonyata

Mix Advisor: Rob Lebret

Post Production by Brad Serling and Arya Jha

Art Design by Michelle Holme

Cover Photo by Rob DeMartin

Tour Director: George Travis

Manager: Jon Landau

HD files are 24 bit / 96 kHz; DSD Files are DSD64

28-song set

Tour premiere of “The River”; “My Hometown” makes its second straight appearance

Four songs from 2020’s Letter To You: “Ghosts,” “Letter To You,” “Last Man Standing” and “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” “Last Man Standing” features a new arrangement

“I’ll See You In My Dreams” is performed solo acoustic to end the show

One song from 2022’s Only the Strong Survive: “Nightshift” (written by Franne Golde, Dennis Lambert and Walter Orange, popularized by The Commodores)

Concert stalwarts like “Because The Night,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” are performed in tighter, shorter versions