E Street Review: Live from the Sunderland Stadium of Light, May 22nd, 2024, or: How Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rocked my rainy hometown into the ground

Last time out on this site I covered Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s fantastic show in Kilkenny, the second of four shows on the Emerald Isle. Before we get to the Live Download releases of Cork and Dublin, however, we’re going to move ahead slightly to last night, May 22nd, and their return to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light after a rainy night on June 21st, 2012. I was in the house that night on the Wrecking Ball World Tour for my first show, and as I commented in my review of May 13th, 2023 in Paris, I’ve been prone to talk about that night to many people over the last decade – and then some. That show isn’t remembered by all fans as one of the best on the European leg of the 2012 tour, and to some it’s on the opposite side of that scale, but to me it will always be one of the seminal nights of my life, and ever since I’d been waiting for Springsteen and the E Street Band to return to my hometown. Then came the 2024 European leg announcement on Halloween morning last year. 

The seven months of waiting for this one were interesting. Announced while Bruce was recovering from his peptic ulcer disease that postponed the fall shows of the 2023 International Tour, I was all the more fearful that this show might be postponed or called off than I was in the build up to Paris last May. That concern complemented a great excitement that only grew as the 2024 World Tour developed. Since March 19th I’ve watched Bruce play with the setlist in a way he wasn’t last year and that made the possibilities for May 22nd really endless. More so than this song or that song, however, what really excited me as I recalled my first show and listened to the shows from the first North American leg and opening stages of this European one, was the thought of Bruce shouting my city’s name again. There’s a moment in one of my favourite Archive Series releases, September 27th, 1985, where he talks about cities visited that tour and states “when you mention the name of place people always cheer… I figured well people cheer when they hear the name of their town because they gotta be proud where they come from.” I can affirm that hearing your musical icon shout out the name of your hometown makes for a very proud feeling. 

So that brings us to last night, the moment myself and so many had long been waiting for, and of course it was raining again. This wasn’t a light drizzle, though, this was a torrential downpour. Its impact was so great that it delayed the show by at least half an hour as Kevin Buell and his crew made great efforts to replace broken lights, clear the stage of rain, and tune instruments that had been covered with tarp for hours. Springsteen and the E Street Band’s soundchecks have been of great interest this year, but on this night the soundcheck was very different. I still think back to the pre-show experience of 2012, which I experienced in the seats much further back in the Stadium, watching techs climb the lighting rigs like they were Spider-Man, but the work of the road crew this time around was a lot more intense. As my brother and I found our spot in the pit just before 5pm, it made for a fascinating two and a half hour wait, with those in front of us waiting even longer. It was difficult, I must say, trying to balance eagerness for the show to start and relish the moment that passes quicker than you expect, but every minute in that rain felt like five and here we are now after the show has ended. It was all worth it in the end. 

When Springsteen and the E Street Band finally stepped onstage, Bruce greeted us with a shout of “Sunderland!” I’ve been anticipating for a long, long time, and an interrogative of “Is it raining?” to warm us up. With an acoustic in hand, the show got rolling with an apt tour debut. Now, on paper “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day” mightn’t be seen as a particularly exciting addition to the setlist (for many the opposite), but in this moment it was the only song that could have opened the show. I’ve always loved the song and was thrilled to see it return after a seven year absence, and it perfectly buoyed an audience of which some had become a little restless waiting in the rain longer than expected. It instantly brought everyone in the house together and effectively made the weather a character in this show, suggesting that a very special night may be ahead. 

The songs that followed early on were ones typical for the tour, starting with “Lonesome Day,” which I was happy to experience live for the first time, and having listened to the song so many times since it came into the setlist last August, it immediately struck me again how listening to an audio recording and seeing the show in person are two very different things. Where Bruce’s voice breaking may dominate a live recording, here it was secondary to the experience of watching him and the E Street Band play so ardently and the feeling of singing “it’s alright!” alongside them. Upon the end of this late blooming 2023-24 setlist staple came songs that have been more or less consistent from the moment those onstage hit the road last February: “Prove It All Night,” “No Surrender,” “Ghosts,” “Letter To You” and “The Promised Land” amplified the communal experience in the Stadium of Light, and it was an absolute joy to witness Bruce’s incredible guitar playing in “Prove It” again after it floored me last May. This solo complemented his endearing chemistry with Little Steven Van Zandt and Jake Clemons in particular, and it served as a prime example of his ability to captivate those of us in attendance. Where it concerns the latter, there was much more of that to come, and “Hungry Heart” was a damn good example of it. When this one was played here in 2012 I was, shockingly, unfamiliar with it and unable to fully singalong, so this was a moment for me to savour, and a moment for Bruce to gauge what those of us in the audience were willing to bring to the show. I’d dare say Bruce equated one plus one to equalling three upon its conclusion. 

Then came a trio of songs that aren’t to be expected every night, and a trio I was very happy to see played live for the first time. I was initially perplexed when Bruce called on Max Weinberg for the opening of “Light of Day” as in the moment I couldn’t place what was to come. When Bruce began to shred on the Fender I was delighted as this is a song I’ve been fond of for many years, and one I’d never expected to hear in person. A rocking, liberating experience. My reaction to the next song was then even greater as I’ve been wanting to feel the power of “Atlantic City” in the flesh for so long now. It was everything I wanted, with its ultimate “meet me tonight…” so incredibly profound, and while this special night was never about the setlist, in this moment I knew I’d be buzzing regardless of what followed it. After the rearranged Nebraska track was “Darlington County,” a song that I’m not a great lover of, but a song of great importance on the night, as it exemplified the feeling of enjoying yourself. It’s no surprise why this is such a common feature in setlists, as it’s a lot of fun to sing those “sha la la” harmonies and it was even more enjoyable to watch Bruce wander the Stadium of Light, greeting the audience and even posing with a small, Simpsons-style toy of him handed to him by a fan. Also notable during this one was Jake walking to the centerstage for his sax solo with so much confidence while Bruce was with the audience. You’d have thought the stage belonged to him!

The joyous Born in the U.S.A. track led into an emotional sequence starting with “Nightshift,” and while the lighting wasn’t as powerful in the Stadium of Light as it was inside the Paris La Défense Arena, when necessary its impact was exceptional – certain aspects of it were also tough for any of us wearing rain-stained glasses! The magnitude of this important song in the grand scope of the tour’s overarching themes of life and loss was definitely heightened by the stage being cast in purple, and it was a pleasure to watch the effort put into it by Bruce, whose voice wasn’t at its strongest, the E Street Choir and Soozie Tyrell as well as Curt Ramm. The expressivity of Bruce and Curtis King Jr. has only gotten greater since last May – I loved how Curtis teased falling as he walked down the steps – and their sense of brotherhood was lovely. There was another small contrast to last year after the Commodores cover finished, as while the locked-in setlist of 2023 saw Springsteen and the E Street Band move swiftly from one song to the next, there was a pause in the action as they readied themselves for “The River.” Mind you, this had nothing to do with setlist structure, rather it seemed like a technical difficulty for Little Steven (it felt like he was to the side of the stage often) and Bruce simply wasn’t sure how to improvise. He teased making a joke, but immediately said “I’m not gonna go there…”. Then came the song that in June 2012 made for the loudest ovation I’ve ever heard in any setting, and while I can’t say for certain those of us in the house were louder on this occasion, the response to the song starting, and to the moments that called on us to sing along, was immense. For me, though, the highlight came at the end when Bruce sang those ghostly harmonies and brought the Stadium of Light to absolute silence with everyone in awe of his performance. A song fitting for this city with the River Wear in spitting distance of where we were all standing or seated, this was a reading that will be equally as remembered as the one eleven+ years ago. 

As “The River” came to an end I quickly pondered what song would follow. The dark lighting was retained, and the E Street Band didn’t disperse from the stage, so I sensed it wasn’t time for “Last Man Standing.” Then Bruce was handed the Fender, and Roy Bittan began to play the opening of “Racing in the Street.” My favourite song. This was something I’d dreamt about, but I never truly anticipated it becoming a reality, and I’m still overwhelmed by the fact it happened. As we neared the midpoint of the show I was aware that I hadn’t been as emotionally overcome by the music as I had been in Paris last year, but this one brought it out of me. Truth be told, I can’t help but find myself emotional as I think back to it now! To hear Bruce’s heartfelt vocal and experience that Roy, Max, Garry Tallent and Charlie Giordano driven coda in person, in my hometown, inside the stadium of my football team that has brought me enough pleasure and pain to last a lifetime, was a life-affirming moment, the kind that makes everything worth it. 

“Racing in the Street” was undoubtedly my emotional highpoint on the night, but more emotions followed with the pairing of “Last Man Standing” and “Backstreets,” Bruce’s nightly tribute to the memories of George Theiss and The Castilles, his very first school of rock. My second time seeing this pairing, for the former I was equal parts impressed and pleased by the way Bruce commanded the audience during its quiet. Where I was standing I heard very few people talking here, which can always be a concern for fans in stadium shows, and that allowed his words and his solo reading to hit even more powerfully. As the E Street Band returned for “Backstreets” and the song kicked in with the greatest force, I couldn’t help but smile. Here was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing “Backstreets” in the Sunderland Stadium of Light. Wow! And then, as I looked to the stage and saw the core E Street Band spotlighted beneath bright blue light, I was struck more than ever of how this is the song of the 2023 and 2024 tours. A defining tour de force of what this man and his band are all about, and it was complete with one of the more profound interludes in tribute to Theiss, as Bruce added “Sad Eyes”-esque harmonies before looking out to us with an expression on his face that brought Sunderland from respectfully silent to rousingly passionate. Simply amazing.

Earlier on, I mentioned the contrast between listening to a show and being at a show. The post-“Backstreets” sequence that took us to the end of the main set was the best example of that. It was incredible! So, this is a sequence that Bruce wants to keep locked-in in contrast to the first portion of the show which he is now playing around with. If you’re listening to every recording or following every setlist online, this may seem repetitive and maybe even boring, but if you’re in the house when these are getting played, you’re going to realise why Bruce doesn’t want to make any major changes. Each song engages the audience so much that the communal atmosphere rises to even greater heights, and while you may be wanting to hear an additional special song on the night, there’s a significance to each song that blows you away and makes these already special songs all the more so. “Because the Night” was such a thrill to singalong with that I actually forgot in the moment that Nils Lofgren had a guitar solo to play. He wasn’t spinning around as intently as he did for his birthday “Youngstown” solo on June 21st, 2012, but he gave us a couple for good measure, and it was even more impressive considering he was somewhat blindfolded on account of his pedals being covered up. He had to make decisions that mightn’t have paid off, but in the end all worked out fine. “She’s the One” was an absolute marvel next, an extraordinary display of the E Street Band with Bruce well on his way to emptying the tank vocally; and after a riot of a “Wrecking Ball” that I’m sure was received by the audience with a gasp of excitement, Bruce highlighted “The Rising” was stunning pronunciation during the “sky of…” verse. To hear him sing these lyrics with added weight on recordings is one thing, but this was even greater. As “The Rising” was wrapping up I felt a great excitement sensing the eruption that was about to happen, and “Badlands” absolutely sent Sunderland into a frenzy. This was the song Bruce opened with in June 2012 and I can recall watching the golden circle go wild on that night, and to now be in that pit going wild myself was a full circle moment. It was a titanic performance that saw three reprises as it was clear nobody wanted the song to end, and where Bruce sought to set the tone with it all those years ago, the joy of the audience and the thundering intensity of the E Street Band – Max was manic! – seemed to have a great impact on the energy he would bring to the rest of the show. “Badlands” did eventually come to an end, sadly, but all was okay as “Thunder Road” followed. The sight of Bruce bathed in a golden spotlight as he played the opening harmonica is a vision that won’t be leaving me anytime soon, and the experience of finally being able to sing all the words to this song inside the Stadium of Light after nigh on twelve years of regret served as both an exorcism and a rock and roll baptism. 

With “woah-oh-oh” chants serenading, Bruce proclaimed “Sunderland! You’ve got soul!”, and that led into “Born to Run” for a shortened encore, but one in which every minute mattered. It was a home stretch where the communal atmosphere was arguably at its greatest, as it saw everyone in the house singing along and enjoying the music that made us fans before any of us discovered those deep cuts. “Glory Days” featured hilarious banter between Bruce and Little Steven, the two of them making eccentric utterances as they assured each other they weren’t stopping, before turning around and approaching the camera so we could all get a close up view. A joyous version of “Dancing in the Dark” followed, and the energy of the audience combined with the persistence of the rain then made for a very interesting moment afterwards. With “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” on this tour we’re used to Bruce either ripping his shirt open or removing his waistcoat, but here he went a step further. Showing great defiance to the weather, his waistcoat went, then his tie, and then his shirt, it was like we’d stepped back in time to the Wrecking Ball Tour. He even teased taking his white t-shirt off! A torso reveal that no doubt kept the ladies invested. I was howling at this when it happened, and I’m laughing as I write about it now, a wild man moment for the ages. “Tenth” allowed for more great audience interaction and a tribute to the memories of Clarence Clemons and Dan Federici, and where this song ended the show back in June 2012, here Bruce declared “one more for Sunderland!”. Bursting into a “Twist and Shout” that ensured my voice would be gone the next day, for as cathartic as it was to hear Bruce shout my city’s name each time, and for as fun as every reference to the rain was, this one had the line of the night – and maybe tour outright – as Max kept us onstage despite Bruce’s objections, declaring, “My ass is numb, but I have to drum!”. That’s a man who didn’t want to go home! 

A fantastic finale from the E Street Band, after leading them offstage and sharing a lovely moment with Jake, Bruce sent us home with “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” which returned after being absent in Cork and Dublin for “A Rainy Night in Soho.” A different kind of community anchored this one, a delicate, intimate farewell in which those of us with any voice left did our best to sing along with him, this was a perfect culmination of a show I’d waited a long time for since he told us “we’ll be seein’ ya!” on that rainy June night over a decade ago. The sight of him walking down the stairs may be the last time we see him in Sunderland, even if he did say those four words once again… but to have seen him and the E Street Band here twice has been a blessing, and to leave us remembering a show of this quality is something I’ll always be very, very grateful for. 

You’ll can download this night in Sunderland from the 2024 World Tour here.

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