After a vocally weathered show in Belfast, a banger in Kilkenny, and a rain driven stormer in Cork that became Christmas in May, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2024 jaunt on the Emerald Isle concluded in Dublin, with a long awaited return to Croke Park. The three shows inside the RDS Arena last year spotlighted the very special connection between Springsteen and his Dublin audience, and the strength of his bond with Ireland was very clear in those three shows mentioned above. As to whether they’d take it a little bit higher on this night to see out this stand on the European leg would be confirmed after three hours of music, but as Bruce stepped onstage and reaffirmed the promise he’d been making in social media promos – “We have come to rock you! Into the ground!” – it seemed like he was laying a personal marker to try and go one better in this Irish finale.
With Dublin joining in on the count for the opening “Lonesome Day,” there was an additional sign of connection and community to start the night off, and that seemed to be very important for those onstage who delivered a powerful performance of this cleansing anthem. Surprisingly, Bruce’s vocal was solid given the wear and tear in Belfast, Kilkenny and Cork, and that meant for quality declarations of “it’s alright!” that thundered around Croke Park, complementing the stirring and stellar efforts of the E Street Band, particularly Soozie Tyrell, Nils Lofgren and Jake Clemons. It was then into a Jake-inspired “Night” that maintained a liberating tone while serving as a different kind of song about life. Interestingly, as this opening portion went on it strongly resembled that of the 2024 tour’s opening night in Phoenix with “No Surrender,” “Two Hearts,” “Ghosts” and “Darlington County” following, and of course that gives us a fantastic opportunity to go back and compare the quality of playing then and now. Whatever major vocal and musical contrasts can be found, however, what was the same on March 19th and May 19th was the dedication and the joy of playing this music. From Bruce’s vivid delivery of “finger that fretboard” during “Ghosts” to the hearty harmonies at the start of “Darlington County,” there was an evident passion and thrill from Bruce that was undoubtedly infectious for Dublin, and infectious for us listening to this recording, too.
Then came a striking contrast to six songs that also shaped the start of the Phoenix setlist. Where a somewhat erratic “Prove It All Night” followed on March 19th, the Darkness track was absent on this night and instead was a very welcomed and very, very rare “Reason to Believe,” which had been soundchecked out of the blue earlier in the day. Last played in Paris in July 2016, the rearranged Nebraska closer was not to be taken for granted, and with the strength of this performance, I’m sure that wasn’t the case in Croke Park. With its bubbling, sizzling “Spirit in the Sky”-esque riff anchored by Little Steven Van Zandt and Bruce’s roaring harmonica and chants, Dublin’s excitement built and built before Bruce’s ardently read opening verse concluded and – with much help from Max Weinberg and Nils Lofgren – the music erupted. So did Croke Park. A performance nobody could stand or sit still for, although its studio version has been known to give many listeners an existential crisis, this was pure joy. Even more joyous was “The Promised Land” next. A fantastic, thematic pairing, the Darkness track’s shift in tone was brilliant – regardless of the upbeat arrangement papering over the despairing lyrics of the song prior – and it surely succeeded in establishing a life-affirming atmosphere.
The show continued its strong start with more breezy anthems in “Spirit in the Night” and “Hungry Heart,” the former really highlighting the high level that everyone in the house was on, no matter where they were in Croke Park. This one was particularly riveting during the final verse, as Jake’s saxophone, Bruce’s amusing “ooo!”, and his connection with Dublin for the communal “we closed our eyes and said…” line took the song to its summit. For the River rouser to then kick-in simply made for another eruption.
The end of “Hungry Heart” saw the start of a very emotional six-pack, and although this could be a challenge for any stadium audience wanting to be “rocked into the ground,” I sense Bruce knew his Dublin audience could handle them. Of course, it helped greatly that five of these six called on Dublin to singalong. The first, “My Hometown,” saw Bruce precede it by commenting that the Mayor of Freehold was in attendance – “we’ve got relatives from Rathangan and they’re gonna twin the two towns together! This is for my homies!” – and then came a lovely performance of a song long anticipated in Dublin on this ongoing tour. Some fans may recall how Bruce led the locals in a singalong of the Born in the U.S.A. closer’s first verse in The Burrow prior to night one in the city last year. It was surprising to see the song not feature in any of the three shows in the RDS Arena after that, but here it was now, and it was undeniably glorious for Dublin to get the full experience of a special song. Following it was “The River,” and while this one was a touch imperfect by way of a messy harmonica intro, that didn’t matter much to the audience who revelled in the chance to see and singalong to one of the great songs in Springsteen’s catalogue. Two emotional songs for certain, but two that brought that much elation. A strongly sung “Nightshift” alongside Curtis King Jr. and the E Street Choir ensured another joyful reflection afterward, and then it was time for a towering reading of “My City of Ruins.” Magnifying the reflective themes of “Nightshift” with direct tributes paid to Clarence Clemons, Dan Federici and the missing friends and family of those in the audience, a powerful song performance was with much extra weight on this night. There were some moments of levity, of course, such as Bruce reiterating his promise to rock Dublin into the ground and taking a fan’s interruption of a quiet moment in good nature where other musicians might be a little more snappy – laughing after saying “Ssh!… There’s always one…” – but the song shone brightest in its catharsis, and the way all in Croke Park felt that together by singing as one. There was less elation to this one than the three songs prior, but it no doubt succeeded in doing what Bruce wanted: shake, wake and take Dublin to higher ground.
From communal anthems came a respectful quiet as Bruce was left alone at the front of the stage for “Last Man Standing,” one half of the show’s central performances. As it has done nightly, the tribute song to George Theiss and The Castiles perfectly conveyed the significance of living life well and loving those who walk alongside you, whether they’re doing so in the flesh or in spirit. Its themes of friendship and handling loss were then heightened by “Backstreets,” which soared thanks to the clarity in Bruce’s vocal, and oh yes because of the striking efforts from Little Steven, Max, Garry Tallent on bass, Roy Bittan on piano and Charlie Giordano on organ. This pairing has yet to falter emotionally and each performance sees Springsteen and the E Street Band dare to play better than the last.
No changes could be found in the usual six-song sequence that shaped the rest of the main set, and while that may be a shame for setlist watchers or even some of us following these recordings, I have no doubt that these performances – “Because the Night,” “She’s the One,” “Wrecking Ball,” “The Rising,” “Badlands” and “Thunder Road” – were received as well as any other on the night. After all, when we hear these versions through our headsets and speakers, we can’t help but feel and singalong to the music wherever we are, so in the actual moment Dublin were surely in a frenzy for the pulsating power of “She’s the One” and “Badlands” and swept away by the emotion of “Wrecking Ball” and “Thunder Road.”
That power and emotion blended for the sole change of this half after Cork, as “Land of Hope and Dreams” returned to the set for a hair raising start to the home stretch. With songs of immense passion and emotion such as “Born to Run,” “Bobby Jean” and a final outing for now of “A Rainy Night in Soho” to follow, this invigorating anthem set the tone for the last half hour. A joyful “Twist and Shout” would follow bouncing versions of “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” with its brilliant banter between Bruce and Max about soreness and it being Dublin(!) serving as the stand out moment of the song, but of this encore it was really the Pogues cover that will be best remembered. Earlier on I mentioned Bruce’s rendition of “My Hometown” in The Burrow on May 4th, 2023, and that was also the day he visited Shane MacGowan. So for Bruce to be back in Dublin just over a year later, playing this song with Shane no longer with us was certainly a profound moment for him. This performance was as powerful as it was when it opened the Kilkenny show and closed Cork, and once again the emotion in Bruce’s voice was very clear, if not greater than in the other two readings, and alongside the stunning efforts of his horns, Roy and Soozie especially, it made for a beautiful conclusion to a very memorable run of shows on the Emerald Isle. With a “We’ll be seeing ya!” to send Dublin on their way, too, it seems like Bruce wasn’t dreaming of these shows as the last!
Next up for Springsteen and the E Street Band was, of course, that torrential night in Sunderland’s Stadium of Light – you can read my E Street Review of that special show here – but as mentioned in my Cork review and as you’ll all know by now, it wasn’t smooth sailing on the 2024 World Tour following May 22nd. Shows in Marseille, Prague and even Milan were postponed to summer 2025 as Bruce followed doctor’s orders to rest his vocal cords. I have no doubt there’ll be something very special in store those of you in France, Czech Republic and Italy next year, and next up we’ll be seeing how Bruce bounced back in Madrid on June 12th for the first of five shows in Spain. ¡Vamos!
Kieran’s recommended listening from May 19th, 2024 – Cork, IE:
“Night,” “Two Hearts,” “Ghosts,” “Darlington County,” “Reason to Believe,” “The Promised Land,” “Spirit in the Night” “My Hometown,” “My City of Ruins,” “Last Man Standing,” “Backstreets,” “Because the Night,” “She’s the One,” “Wrecking Ball,” “The Rising,” “Badlands,” “Thunder Road,” “Land of Hope and Dreams,” “Twist and Shout” and “A Rainy Night in Soho.”
You can download the final night in Ireland on Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2024 World Tour here.
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