Jon could learn a thing or two!

Review from Daily Record on the Sprinsteen gig

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN gave a masterclass in arena rock last night in front of a packed-out Hampden Stadium.

Backed by a phenomenal 16-piece E-Street Band, The Boss was on electrifying form throughout a show that easily broke the three-hour barrier but was absolutely riveting from start to finish.

With the front rows crowded with fans requesting songs via homemade banners, the New Jersey legend improvised much of the epic setlist, pulling tracks out of the air so fast that even his band occasionally couldn’t keep up.

Powerful anthems like The Rising and Wrecking Ball were slotted in alongside irresistible party numbers like the funky brass-led Murder Inc and Johnny 99’s rolling country shuffle.

Songs like Atlantic City and Death To My Hometown brought Irish melodies into the mix, while Spirit In The Night and Land Of Hope And Dreams took in elements of soul and gospel to incredible effect.

Making a connection with the crowd that was second to none, Springsteen, 63, was nothing short of incredible.

Everyone else, this is how it’s done.

How awesome would that be if JBJ "improvised much of the epic setlist"? I saw Bruce a year or 2 ago in St. Paul, it was night 2 of a 2 night stand and he played a total of 60 some songs over the 2 nights, only 8 were repeats the 2nd night. That is kick ass! (although I'm not a huge Bruce fan and had no idea what he was playing, my buddy is a die hard and was loving it)

If Jon improvised the setlist I could just see him whipping out lots of Lost Highway

It would be amazing if Jovi set lists differed as much as Bruce's do. Though I see many complaints from the die hards on the backstreets forum as well, so I guess Bruce can't win either. I've talked to some casuals after the shows I attented, they all said he was great, but should play more hits. Or how dare he not play that one song they assumed he'd play (when in fact it's not one of the staples).

I loved that Bon Jovi changed their set lists and it made me want to see them again and again. Always getting something new... Then Bruce 'came along'.
I've been to 7 Jovi shows over a 12 year period and heard 57 different songs (not counting acoustic and electric versions as different though).
I've been to 3 Springsteen shows during the last year and got 59 different songs.

Bruce's die hards may complain, but he's trying. And he's doing great, if you ask me. I didn't care that I didn't know all the songs at either of my shows. It's my problem, not his. He should play whatever the f*** he feels like playing. I know there are many one timers at those shows, but it's not like he completely ignores the hits, so I wouldn't complain if I were them.

Even if we got different set lists, I don't think that Jon would choose the songs we (or maybe I should just speak for myself) want to hear. I mean, the guy chooses Captain Confetti as a staple, while These Days or Always fall into the category of treats... Can't really say rarities, because they are anything but rare anymore. But I have a feeling that Jon still considers them as rarities.

If there is one thing Jon should take from Bruce, it's the way he interacts with the crowd. Jon can work his crowd as a whole very well but is lacking in the 1-1 interactions. Why have the steps down to the front of the crowd and never use them? And the walkway? So underused it's hard to argue that it has any other purpose than adding another price tier.

I saw Bruce at Wembley on Saturday and he was amazing. 3 and half hours non stop - 1 boy in stage to sing woth him, 2 ladies on stage he gave one his guitar to play...he goes along the walkway right into the crowd and not a mile high up on the stage. Also collecting the banners for requests too is amazing.

Also at Hampden (not sure about other set ups) there was a gold circle but instead of ripping fans off they let the first 3000 q'ing up with standard tickets in which is really the way ot should be not charging £££ for the privilege. And even more amazing the first 1000 fans got in early to see soundcheck!!!

So yes Jon really does need to take a leaf out of Bruce's book amd think of the true fans

I only partially agree with this idea.
Back when I was single I'd have wholeheartedly agreed, but as a married man, with children I think there has to be an option to buy tickets for that area.
15 years ago I'd have just booked the day off work and got up nice and early and probably have been front of the queue.
My wife and I can't just start queuing first thing in the morning (or the night before) because we have parental responsibilities. It doesn't make us any less of a fan than the singletons or those who can palm their kids of to someone in order to get there that early.
We can however just about afford the Diamond Circle tickets once per tour, so it means we don't have to worry about what time we need to queue etc.

We'd all love Bon Jovi to rotate the setlists to the standards of Bruce but i can understand why Jon doesn't to be honest. I saw my first Bruce concert on Saturday at Wembley and loved every minute but i couldn't help noticing a lot of the crowd sitting down and going for a bathroom/bar break everytime they didn't know the song bruce was playing. I'm sure Jon would much rather have a crowd that stays in its spot for the majority of the concert than constant bathroom breaks.

This is why I can't wait to see bruce. Legend.

Even in Melbourne this year, I saw the three concerts and so many of my non-Bruce fans couldn't understand why I wanted to see all three, I think 72 different songs were played over three nights.

I happily told them!

The one thing about Bruce I took away from those shows was the fan interaction and he has SO much fun, I mean crowd surfing and the way he lets the fans play his guitar in some songs - seriously I still struggle to explain it to people who haven't been but Bruce makes me feel right at home.

I get sad comparing the two - I tried not to for so long as they are two very different types of musicians, but it's really hard not to feel ripped off LOL