REVIEW: Bruce Springsteen, O2 Arena, London, Wednesday 19th December

Last night a bit of Americana descended on London's East End in the shape of Bruce Springsteen, who back together again with the E-Street Band after a five-year break, took to the stage to what to the uninitiated sounds like a chorus of boos! Of cause it's not boos but the sound of 20,00 people all screaming the name 'Bruuuuuuuce'. This is after all a Bruce Springsteen audience and you'd be hard pushed to find a more partisan crowd for any artist recording at this time.

With the E-Street behind him, including such talents as Nils Lofgren, Steve Van Zandt and crowd-favourite Clarence Clemons, Springsteen tore through track after track, barely stopping long enough to exchange guitars between tracks with a busy roadie and for the next two and a half hours Springsteen delved through a a back catalogue spanning some 35 years interspersing crowd favourites like 'Because the Night' and 'Racing in the Street' with many tracks taken from his latest album 'Magic'. In fact, it was five tracks in before he really stopped to address the crowd and introduce the title track to his latest album, 'Magic', with a not so subtle swipe at George Bush and his administration explaining the song was '…not about magic but tricks'.

These new tracks such as set opener 'Radio Nowhere' and 'Gypsy Biker' seemed to be made for the arenas and stadiums that this tour will take in over the coming year. Each greeted as warmly as an old friend and sat comfortably with many of the older crowd pleasers.

By the time the set-closing 'Badlands' faded away and the band took a bow it was 'job done' and they left the arena crowd baying as one for their heroes to return. Which of cause they promptly did, to play a further six tracks (a total of 25 across the evening).

The encore including such crowd-pleasers as 'Jungleland', 'Born to Run' and 'Dancing in the Dark' had everyone to a man on their feet, singing every word, and more than a few dancing like a drunk uncle at a wedding!

The evening came to a seasonal finale with the track 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' and as the house lights were raised to many it felt like Christmas had come early this year and as they drifted into the night and the frost descended they began counting down the days until the 'Magic' tour returns to these shores next summer.

Set List
Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Night
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason To Believe
Because The Night
She's The One
Livin' In The Future
The Promised Land
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Working On The Highway
Racing In The Street
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Jungleland
Born To Run
Dancing In The Dark
American Land
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Normski, Live Music Correspondent, ShowbizSpy.com.