MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Bossing it
WILL STONE falls for the charms and back catalogue of a 73 year old
TWINKLE TWINKLE: Bruce Springsteen and lead guitarist Steven Van Zandt in Hyde Park
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Hyde Park, London
BRUUUUUUCE! A sea of adoring fans bellowing Springsteen’s name, which sounds a lot like boos, never ceases to amuse. Particularly after a three-hour epic set so seamlessly electrifying that the very idea of so much as a disgruntled heckle would be laughable.
The Boss, a well-earned moniker, is a force of nature on stage — even at 73 — who defies anyone hitherto indifferent to his brand of all-American heartland rock by the sheer vibrancy, passion and showmanship of his live performances.
Tunes about the life of blue collar workers, including Working On The Highway, Badlands and Out In The Street, transform into extended singalong anthems, while the Boss assumes the role of a quasi-conductor to his E Street Band as they jam out on Kitty’s Back.
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