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Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band

by 75 Comments

Venue:

Co-Op Live, Manchester

Date: 14/05/2025

Over the past few tours we’ve got used to seeing Bruce Springsteen in a reflective mood; reflecting back on times past and on lost friends. This has led to some wonderful, life affirming shows, especially that Saturday show at Hyde Park in 2023 and last year’s wonderful shows at Wembley Stadium. He became Playful Bruce; Cuddly Bruce; Uncle Bruce.

Well, last night, at the opening of his 2025 Land of Hope and Dreams European tour, we got Angry Bruce.

The chance to see The E Street Band in an indoor setting in the U.K is as rare as spotting a Cadillac on the M6 motorway, (the O2 Arena in 2007 is the most recent I can find,) so I grabbed a ticket for Manchester’s American-owned Co-Op Live Arena with both hands. The advantages over a stadium gig?

Better sound, (I could hear the immaculate bass playing of Garry W Tallent last night, for the first time in years,) and a more intimate setting; I hardly looked at a screen last night, whereas you rely on them in a stadium setting.

On the stroke of the advertised 7.45pm start time, the lights went down and the 17 musicians of The E Street Band assembled on the stage; shadowy figures, many of whom are still recognisable by their silhouettes. Finally a single spotlight picked out Bruce, guitar in hand, as he came up the central staircase and stood at the microphone.

He greeted us and thanked us, and then delivered an excoriating condemnation of the current U.S administration and its ridiculous leader, (it’s all over the internet so you can easily find it.) The transition from the speech to his song Land of Hope and Dreams was breathtaking and his anger was palpable.

We got plenty of his heavyweight, political songs up front; Death to My Hometown; Lonesome Day; Rainmaker, (dedicated to ‘our dear leader’ – he’ll hate that;) Darkness On the Edge of Town and The Promised Land; all delivered with no rest, no place to draw breath by a band at the absolute peak it it’s powers.

Hungry Heart signalled the first let-up of the pressure of the message coming over loud and clear; and the first smiles from Bruce and Steven Van Zandt. Then, we were back into My Hometown; Youngstown; Murder Incorporated and, for my first tears of the night, the wonderful Long Walk Home. It was at that point that my voice went and my dignity went out of the window; and I couldn’t have cared less.

We were not even halfway.

The pressure finally let up with Because the Night, which has become a live-epic, building and building until the roof comes off. Of course we got The Rising and Badlands and Thunder Road and Born in the USA and Born to Run and Bobby Jean and Dancing in the Dark and Tenth Avenue Freeze Out; of course we did.

And the night ended with huge thanks from him to us and the mass singalong of Bob Dylan’s Chimes of Freedom, bookending the setlist perfectly.

It was a magnificent night, one of the best.

I like Angry Bruce.

The audience:

My kinda people.

It made me think..

He’s still the best, still The Boss.

27

Comments

  2. Saw him last November in Ottawa (indoors), just after election results but he was relatively restrained that night, although Long Walk Home was probably the highlight. Sounds like you had a great night, he’s changed up the setlist a bit, I think for the better. First (only?) time Iheard him do Chinese of Freedom was in 1988. Wonderful

      • Even more reason to wish I’d been there but I’m not sure I like arenas either. I like places like the Hammersmith Odeon. I’m not sure what the relative sizes are but (eg) the O2 or Earl’s Court are just awful.

        • I think the newish Manchester one is the biggest indoor arena in the country. Haven’t been there. Never a fan of Earls Court, been once to O2, it was ok but I had a good seat. I wouldn’t want to be in the nosebleed section, apparenrltly seriously steep.

          Actually I don’t mind stadiums if I am in a front standing pit. Can be an amazing experience

          • I was in the steep bit for Steely Dan and with the endless stream of people going backwards and forwards to the bar I was sure someone was going to fall off.

            I don’t like standing for gigs and I won’t go if that’s the only option, mind you I think I’m a bit claustrophobic and the thought of being trapped in a large body of people gives me the horrors.

            • Gigs at Earls Court were always like being in an aircraft hangar. It was big and spacious but the accoustics were very poor. Not many mourned when they pulled the place down a few years back.

              • I saw Springsteen twice: Wembley Stadium in 85 and Earls Court late 90s. Earls Court sound was fucking awful. I hope it sounded better in the monitors. The band clearly enjoyed it but it was a massive disappointment and put me off large venues. Sound at The O2 is generally pretty good but I’ve never been in the nose bleeds.

                • The top tier at the 02 feels frankly a bit scary, very high and steeply banked. I’ve been at floor level for Prince’s extended run there, and it was perfectly fine.

                  • I’ve been in the cheap seats at the O2, and they are steep but I’ve experienced worse at The Hippodrome and Theatre Royal Haymarket, to give just two examples of the grand old west end theatres.

                    • I was up in the cheap seats for Macca last December at O2. I was terrified I’d tip headfirst down rows of seats and end up on the floor, miles below. Amazed it hasn’t happened yet.

                    • I have a memory from my youth like Slotbadger’s fear.
                      Kings Theatre in Glasgow – my mum used to take my sister and I (pre-teen) to see opera and we always sat in what was euphemistically called “The Gods”, ie, the “can’t get any higher or steeper” circle. I think its official title was The Gallery.

                      I was fine once we sat down – but can remember palpable fear that I’d trip and fall vertically downward while we were arriving and leaving…

                  • A few years ago we were at Wembley Stadium to see Muse, and we were right at the top – after walking all the way up, Mrs. T turned to sit down and had an attack of vertigo, which she had never experienced before. She was petrified.

                    I guess a lot of this is in the head as they must have done risk analysis or whatever and it be deemed safe.

                    It didn’t help when I pointed out that if she fell forwards the chances were that she would only probably fall a couple of rows.

                    • Symphony Hall, up near the ceiling, had a similar effect on my then wife, at a David Gray show some 15 years or so back. Having shuddered through the support, a word with a steward had us down in the disabled bay. Which was nice.

                    • And has Mrs T’s vertigo reoccured since? I’d never been afraid of heights until I had my very first attack of vertigo at the top of a pyramid in Mexico when I was in my mid-40s. While young kids were running up and down the steps without a care, I felt frozen to the spot, unable to move. Ever since then I’ve had that same feeling every time I’m up high somewhere. All in the mind I’d definitely say. Even in situations where I’m obviously completely safe, my heart beats fast and I just freeze and there’s nothing I can do about it.

                    • Can’t speak for Mrs T, but Mrs Path 2 left me shortly afterwards, for someone shorter.
                      But, to try and answer whether vertigo is learnt, sort of might be the answer. I was always useless at heights, getting the heebie jeebies if inflicted on them, with particular horrors being slow high rides, like the Pirate’s Ship or a Big Wheel. However, I can relish a swift drop if not hanging too high for too long, qv Nemesis at Alton Towers, albeit if I take my glasses off. Which is, I guess, more around unlearning vertigo, and/or getting used.
                      As most cite, it isn’t so much the height, more the fear that it wil draw you to hurl outward and forward into the unknown….

                    • My humble apologies but I must confess your comment on the subject of vertigo that “Mrs Path 2 left me shortly afterwards, for someone shorter” made me genuinely lol!

                    • To answer @Gary – it has certainly made her more aware of heights and fearful of being anywhere similar, and she often repeats the story to people when the subject comes up.

  4. Was there behind the stage – closest I’ve been to Bruce since I saw him at Manchester Apollo almost 44 years ago (almost to the day)

    Can’t improve on Niallb’s splendid review up above so will limit myself to a few observations and try to avoid duplications.

    While the first half was a total overhaul of the 2023/24 tour dates, the second half was pretty much the same. Like they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and once BS and the boys start off Wrecking Ball, it’s just banger after banger after banger

    No songs from the crowd last night. Not sure if this will continue when he does the stadiums after his Manchester run. Could be that advancing years or the huge 17-piece ESB behind him might mean it’s easier for him to stick to a fixed setlist (he was also using a monitor with the lyrics scrolling down the screen most of the evening,

    While no big fan of enornodomes, the Co Op is pretty bloody good – a million times better than the 02. Guy Dunstan (the guy behind the arena) was on TV yesterday morning saying how he’d got Bruce to open the Staples Center (which he also operates) in LA for him. B hated the sound so much he never played there again.

    GD said that before designing the new venue, he spoke to BS who advised him that he liked “big sweaty rooms” and that he ensured his people got the acoustics as close to perfect as possible.

    BS certainly seems to like the place. He’s doing three nights there rather than one night at the Etihad.

    Started off the night by absolutely tearing Into Trump not once but twice. While doubt if Orangey will lose much sleep over it, his evisceration of the Pussygrabber in Chief is certainly going to get read and talked about in every country he plays these next few weeks.

    Loads of twats with phones out last night. Three of Fallowfield Fellinis near me were standing up the whole concert and blocking out everyone else’s view. Not funny when you’ve paid the best part of UK£150 for a ticket.

    Surely it’s time acts now followed Bob D’s lead and started insisting that phones go in those farraday cage jiffy bag things

    • Hi first post on the esteemed AW.

      I wasn’t at the show plenty of reasons given below as to why I don’t go anymore. I’ve seen all the people I admire including Bruce who I’ve seen many times.

      The reason I’ve posted is the great man’s admonishment of the Orange one and his circus. Not many artists of his stature have spoken out against that criminal why who knows? Fear of reprisals or maybe they agree with the twisted values of the narcissistic deranged idiot.

      So thanks Bruce. That’s it.

  5. I was there last night. Three day trip down from Shetland and back. Fair took the breath away at the start with his condemnation of Trump and powerful launch into Land of Hope and Dreams.

    As to phones, there was a guy in the row in front of me who was zoomed in on the stage and on Facebook live for the whole concert. He could not have have had much enjoyment out of the concert, but guess he get’s his kicks from ‘likes’.

    Concert was a little shorter than previous, but we are all getting a little older.

    Compliments as well to the tram system that got folks back into the city very efficiently.

    • I don’t go to concerts anymore, but if I did, people holding up their phones to film them would be enough to make me stop doing so. It’d annoy me way too much. You concertgoers must be much more tolerant than me.

      • No it massively pisses me off. I had an especially bad one at the Tubular Bells Experience (which wasn’t great anyway) and the bit with the bells was viewed peeping through a wall of phones of the clowns in front of me. A few weeks later I saw Glenn Hughes and the moment the bloke next to me held his phone up (in front of me, not him of course) I nicely said “would you mind moving that” which he did and didn’t do it again.

        Thankfully the Richard Thompson audience a couple of weeks ago were much more considerate.

        • Fair enough if it’s to fire off a couple of snaps when the act arrives on stage, during between-song chats or right at the end when every one is up on their feet and no one gives a fucks, but the three idiots to the front and just to the side of me were gawking at their phones all night.

          Worst of all, was the fact that while in rows one and two of the balcony and enjoying unobstructed views, all three felt it necessary to stand up while they shot videos they would probably never look at again.

  6. Great review, based on the photo, I must have been somewhere to your left.

    Angry Bruce appears to be good Bruce in so far as the show’s concerned. The setlist tells a story even without the explicit statements he made; he must really want to ensure that no-one misses the point.

    It’ll be interesting to see how fixed the setlist is and whether he changes it when he goes to the stadiums. I’ll admit I’m going to Manchester nights 2 and 3 so hoping for some variation though not expecting as much as say 9 years ago when AI tells me they “played 64 unique songs at their three MetLife Stadium dates in 2016”. That must have been something!

    Oh and if you are going, take your co-op card / app with you, there was a photo stall set up inside with the born in the USA paraphernalia, flag, guitar, baseball cap taking photos and giving free printed coasters with the photo on for co-op members. They probably do similar for all show’s. I know this isn’t why we go to gigs but as we’re spending £45 on t-shirts it’s nice to get something for free even if its only a coaster.

    • Great review @niallb. Given the choice of Manchester or Liverpool I opted for Liverpool.
      Can’t abide driving through Manchester.
      Will be seeing him on 7th June at Anfield and hugely looking forward to it – 3rd time in three years and hope it matches last years gig in Swansea.

      • Couldn’t help but notice that coming attractions at the CoOp included the Doobie Bros and Santana.

        While a double-header of both acts might go some way to filling the arena’s 23,000 seats, hard to see either coming anywhere near those figures on their own.

        Anyone know if the venue has plans to curtainvclose off areas for acts whose audiences are more selective?

        • I saw Santana in about 1989 at the NEC in Birmingham of all places. It sold poorly, really bad. It was curtained off to about 25% and even so was very empty. At the start, Carlos came on and said something like ‘I want you to know, just before we start… there are angels dancing up above us.’ – sure, whatever…

          …and then went on to deliver an absolutely blinding set.

          This was before his reinvention as ‘man playing guitar over special guests’.

          • @Leffe-Gin

            Fair play to Carlos.

            Seen a couple of bands faced with near empty houses do that, too.

            Red Beans and Rice at Manchester Poly in 1981 and Mud in Bahrain in 1984 were the two that stick in my mind

            • I’m always interested in badly attended gigs in enormodomes, and whether the act finds some excuse to bail, or sucks up the slap of reality and magnanimously keeps on. Kiss couldn’t handle their appeal being more selective in Plymouth (WHY?), and I believe Robbie Williams is now selling tickets for Murrayfield (Edinburgh) in a few weeks for 20% of what they were to start with.

              • Not an enormodome – but I recall a gig in the McLellan Galleries in Glasgow, near Christmas 1986 or 1987. Rows and rows of trestle chairs had been set out in front of a stage – the gig was poorly advertised, but was a kind of tribute gig for Alex Campbell; with Danny Kyle playing in his own right and EmCeeing; and special guests Hamish Imlach and John Martyn.

                The weather was awful – and only about 30 people turned up, scattering themselves around the hall, keeping their coats on. I assumed they would send us home – but they didn’t. Danny encouraged everyone to move down to the front two or three rows, and the performers abandoned the stage and played on the floor level. It ended up being one of the friendliest, happiest, saddest and most poignant gigs I’d ever attended. At one point, they opened up some bottles of white wine they’d got for after the show and handed them around the audience in paper cups.

        • @Jaygee I looked at Santana and the ticket prices were a joke – so too Stevie Wonder whose ticket prices started at £240. He can fuck off at that price – I ain’t finding his pension. When was the last time he did anything worthwhile?

          • Spot on, chap. Both have stellar pasts, and dismal past 45 years’s. I’m sure an evening with them could be entertaining, but not £240 entertaining, plus all the scalping at the venue for a drink, parking, merch, mediocre food, and twats talking and phone-filming, or deciding they have to show how great they are not at dancing straight in front of you, and treating the place as a horrendously overpriced pub.

              • Wish i was. That as a double bill might be OK if they were still creative entities, rather than phoning in the cabaret turn. Starting to not enjoy gigs because of all of this. My ageing hips also make standing gigs and not having a bit of wall to lean on (all the other old farts also needing one) hard work.

                • I had the opposite problem last night at The Star in Guildford, a really good tiny venue in the back of the pub. We sat on slightly knackered chairs, the kind hotels use. Very uncomfortable on my hips and back.
                  If anyone’s interested, we went to see the excellent Rob Clamp and the Ashmen. One to watch I think and he’s supporting Richard Thompson in July, probably without the band but still worth turning up early for.

      • Was sorely tempted by the opportunity to see Bruce do his first ever concert in Liverpool. But all for the reasons Niall mentions in his review, seeing him an arena rather than a stadium won out. Still Bruce in Liverpool could be special. Hope the National Trust are geared up for a private visit to the Lennon and McCartney childhood homes…

  7. Introduction to Land of Hope and Dreams

    Good Evening!

    It’s great to be in Manchester and back in the U.K. Welcome to the Land of Hope & Dreams Tour! The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times.

    In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.

    Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!

    Introduction to House of a Thousand Guitars

    The last check, the last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other.

    Introduction to My City of Ruins

    There’s some very weird, strange and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.

    In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.

    In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.

    They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society.

    They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands.

    They are removing residents off American streets and, without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now.

    A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.

    The America l’ve sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people. So we’ll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said. He said, “In this world, there isn’t as much humanity as one would like, but there’s enough.” Let’s pray.

  8. I’ve just noticed that the thread discussing this show over on the Steve Homman forum has been locked due to political in-fighting. Nice to see that we can take in the political and then move onto Santana and the Doobies, far more civilised.

  10. Guess who tweeted yesterday:

    “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?’”

    Clue: He is in charge of the world’s most dominant economic and military power.

  11. I like to know as little as possible about the setlist and content of a gig before I go. For three days I’ve been like the Likely Lads trying to avoid knowing the England score so they can watch the highlights later on TV – I’ve avoided social media, scrolled quickly past The Guardian’s review, noted that @niallb had posted a review here so steered clear. But having seen the 2nd Manchester gig last night I am now catching up and endorse every word of Niall’s superb review.

    This did indeed feel like a carefully crafted setlist and show with a purpose. So far as I can see there were just two changes of song last night compared to the first gig. The core content, down to the script of his speeches, was unchanged and the whole thing constructed to make a very clear statement. And I agree – it genuinely was moving and felt very real. Of course Bruce is on safe ground with his audience, and we know he’s anti- Trump, but even so to be so explicit, and to go for the jugular so clearly, will bring him plenty of grief, not least from El Presidente himself (though Trump calling anyone ‘a dried up prune’ is particularly funny in its lack of self awareness).

    So some of the spontaneity of past shows and in between song chat may have gone, and quite possibly that’s partly age as well. One of the other things that made it moving was the awareness of the age of these guys. God knows, they’re in great shape. How Max Weinberg can still play the drums like that for almost three hours is beyond me. Bruce is clearly careful with his scheduling (one show every three days) and takes care of himself, and his voice remains incredible as does his stamina. But they won’t go on for ever and that knowledge just gave added poignancy to renditions not only of songs such as Long Walk Home and Land of Hope and Dreams, but also the warhorses like Thunder Road, The River and Badlands.

    As always, it was magnificent.

  12. And regarding the venue, I also hate stadium and arena gigs but was impressed by our first visit to the Coop Live. As such venues go it is one of the better ones. We were on the top tier towards the back but the sound and view were excellent. It is indeed steep up there but the great advantage of that was that you were well above the height of the people in from of you which meant that the idiot couple directly in from of us taking pointless shaky videos (passim) were much easier to disregard than in most venues, and didn’t spoil my enjoyment. But seriously, what is wrong with these people? They shell out £250 or so for two tickets, proceed to spend most of the night talking to each other, filming and Facebooking, or going the bar several times mid song to buy I don’t know how many criminally priced drinks, and then leaving ten minutes before the end. It’s truly baffling.

    And I was wrong above – I think there were four changes of song from the first night.

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