Bruce Springsteen, Coop Live. 20th May 2025

It’s clear as I step into Coop Live tonight, that this crowd is excited. Springsteen fans are known to be fanatical, so this shouldn’t be a surprise. I am not a big Springsteen fan. In fact am I a fan at all? Why am I here? Well I like Nebraska and I’ve a soft spot for Born in the USA. I’m here though out of curiosity. Springsteen has a reputation as a live legend and I’ll admit that I’ve a slight feeling of, okay, come on then, impress me! What’s a Springsteen gig like for the casual listener? This is the third sold out night and it is chocker. It’s also very civilised, enhanced perhaps by me opting for a seat (although there’s only the front half of the floor space given to standing). I’m in the lower tier in the back corner, but I don’t feel far from the stage at all. I’ve had this sense every time I’ve been to this venue, it might be the largest indoor arena in the country, but it doesn’t swallow you up. Bruce takes to the stage and the adulation sweeps through the room. The seats are abandoned and everyone stands for ‘No Surrender’, which is as rousing as his introduction taking a pop at Trump. It’s a big band production. Bruce is obviously the focus, but he’s one of 16 up there, including Jake Clemons with the saxophone, who gets to break from the back of the stage pack, swaying in time, to solo at the front on ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’. He’s pretty damn impressive. ‘Death to My Hometown’ then goes full Irish roots, with a foot stomping fire in its belly and tub thumping drums added, not that the extra percussion is needed with the crowd clapping in unison. Honestly I think this would leave me cold on record, but live it’s fun. ‘Seeds’ is much more my thing with its dirty riffs and classic blue collar blues. Bruce can play! Soloing with a gorgeous squall as the horns keep pace. ‘Something in the Night’ and ‘Rainmaker’ revert to the formula though, of quieter sensitive verses, followed by loud bombast. Rinse and repeat. Am I the only one that’s finding some of this a touch pedestrian? Everyone having sat down again, ‘The Promised Land’ gets them back up. I’m not sure what the difference is between this and the last few songs that the crowd respond to, but they do and it certainly helps the atmosphere. Maybe it’s Bruce with his harmonica, for a 75 year old he’s still got some impressive lung capacity and the Scottish lady next to me bloody loves it. The rock and rolling ‘Reason to Believe’ fairs much better, even if it does round the hard edges off. It’s got a little more venom, that so far has been lacking. It’s the first song to get my head bobbing and ‘The River’ is the first to get everyone singing, but again I’m not so keen. I’m being harsh I know. None of this is bad and it’s an old band, you can’t expect them to be running around the stage. No one’s stock still either. They are putting a shift in and Bruce is working the crowd like a performer completely at ease as you’d expect after doing it for more than 50 years. The sound in here is great too and the songs certainly have heart. With ‘Youngstown’ though, I’m spotting a theme, I much prefer the songs with a bit of bite and this has it. There’s some edge, it’s got some working class rawness and there’s more space in the sound too as Nils Lofgren goes full Slash. ‘Murder Incorporated’ is fucking great too. The guitars, sax and organ battling it out, as the drums pound and the veins on Bruce’s temple bulge. More of this sort of sound and I’d be writing a much more positive review. It’s back to the safer ground with ‘Long Walk Home’ though. The backing singers come down to the front and half the people around me go to the bar. Those standing at the lip of the stage do jump around though and it gets a rousing applause, so I’m in the minority. ‘House of a Thousand Guitars’ pokes fun at Trump again as the “clown on the thrown”. He really doesn’t like the fella. With just Bruce and an acoustic… and harmonica, it’s pretty spine tingling with him bathed in a single spotlight. You can hear a pin drop… and quite a few (very expensive) seats folding back into place as more people head to the bar. On the expensive seats. This venue is not cheap, I know that, but nearly £200 for where I’m sat is an absolute disgrace. I know this government are fucking up the music industry and American artists are struggling to make the economics work post Brexit, but there’s nothing about this stage set up that justifies the extortionate prices being charged. Even if there’s 16 mouths to feed. For an artist who’s built a career on being for the people, maybe knock a few quid off so the working classes you sing about, can come and hear the songs. Shall I carry on? or have I already burnt my bridges with Bruce fans? ‘My City of Ruins’ is a soulful gospel prayer with thousands of arms in the air as Bruce calls “rise up”. The response I suspect suggests that anyone here tonight reading this will think I’ve lost the plot. ‘Because the Night’ wakes me up. It’s route one rock n roll and a great song. It’s not theirs, it’s Patti Smith, but they do it justice. After ‘Ghosts’ (I had to look this one up), it’s ‘Wrecking Ball’. It whips the masses into a fervour as we reach the two hour mark. Famed for his lengthy sets, we’re getting to the business end as ‘The Rising’ and ‘Badlands’ raise the roof. I’ve never really liked ‘Thunder Road’ but the crowd lap it up as it takes us into the break and my beloved City secure a vital three points across the tram tracks. It turns out, probably predictably, that the encore is what I’m here for. Kicking off with ‘Born in the USA’, it sounds massive as you’d expect. Every bit the anthem. All the lights are up and everyone’s in the moment. The older crowd meaning it’s not a sea of phones. ‘Born to Run’ follows and is met with equal rapture. It’s like a cult. Is this the thing though with Bruce Springsteen, there’s a few hits that he’s built career on… and a lot of padding. As ‘Glory Days’ rings out, I’m inclined to think yes. The contrast is stark between the songs from the two ‘Born…’ albums and the rest of the catalogue. It still feels like it’s been a good set, but the hits loaded encore blows the previous two hours away. There’s an irony in the lights still being up for ‘Dancing in the Dark’, but it is lovely to see everyone enjoying it as much as me. This is probably my favourite song, cheesy as it is. It reminds me of being a kid, my aunty and mum both playing it full volume. Fond memories and I’ve got to admit, it’s a joy to hear it live. Bruce, who’s been going for getting on three hours, is now in the crowd for ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out’ lapping up the adulation. He’s on a platform, but looks like he could be waking on water. It’s hard not to wonder if he’d be better halving the run time and getting a support band to join him. I’m sure he could curate a killer 90 minutes from these songs that would work much better and give an opportunity to another band to play to a big arena crowd. As I’m thinking this, the hits run out as they close with Dylan’s ‘Chimes of Freedom’. I suspect if I declared this whilst still inside the arena I’d get lynced, but it’s a 50/50 gig at best, although I’m with him on Trump. Maybe my expectations were unfair, I wanted to be impressed, truthfully I wanted to be blown away and I wasn’t. So what’s a Springsteen gig like for the casual listener? It’s good, it’s okay, but this was probably a gamble that didn’t pay off.