A night to remember with The Boss
We might have had to wait an extra 30 minutes for The Boss, but no-one in the 30,000 strong crowd cared a jot. Everyone was sure he would be worth it.
It always had the promise to be both a joyous and cathartic night for Christchurch and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band – on their first visit to ‘‘our hometown’’ – delivered exactly what the city wanted and needed on the eve of the sixth anniversary of that terrible day in our history and in the immediate wake of the frightening events last week. From the first strains of No
Surrender, it was clear that Springsteen and his band mates were keen to entertain and engage. Within moments, the singer was pressing the flesh with the front row and collecting their signs so he could show them off to everyone else in the audience.
With a near permanent smile and a willingness to roam the full length of the front of the stage and then some, Springsteen drew the gathered community cross-section in like an old-time evangelist – never more so than during Spirit of the Night.
That was quickly followed by 1980 hit Hungry Heart, which had Christchurch in full voice, before he unleashed potentially the emotional part of the night – his 2002 song My City of Ruins, which Springsteen dedicated not only to those who lost their lives on February 22, 2011, but also the emergency service workers during both that time and in the Port Hills fires last week. I saw many tearstained faces during the marathon 10-minute version.
But this wasn’t just a concert to bring back thoughts of what we’ve been through and how far we’ve come.
It was also a reminder of great afternoons and nights past.
This will surely rank alongside Dire Straits in the 1980s, U2 in the 1990s and Crowded House’s Summertimes concert in Hagley Park as a musical memory to be cherished by those who were there, as they kept on dancing into the dark.
Earlier, Aussie noughties band Jet got the crowd rocking, after humble local hero Marlon Williams had thoroughly entertained with a short set of his brand of sweet, soulful countrified tunes.
In fact, he even kicked off the gig a little early, catching out some who had taken to relaxing under the shadow of the main stands to escape a sweltering early Christchurch summer’s evening.
It was a mood set on the way to stadium, as the Lincoln Rd bars got their slice of the Springsteen action, with punters in no real hurry to make their way towards the stadium.
Although queues for beer and food were long once people got inside, there were no reports of any issues getting in.
This time, The Boss was the only one late to the party and he more than made up for it.