I've had the pleasure of seeing Springsteen on two occasions before and these two shows would appear at either end of any list of best gigs that I've been to.
Dealing with the poor one first - you may have seen a portion of this. It was at the SECC in Glasgow and the performance of Lucky Town was broadcast live on Top Of The Pops (and is available on the DVD version of the Video Anthology).
The venue is typical of the multi-purpose halls that are built these days, and which seldom make any allowance for such niceties as sound quality. We were in the largest hall and it was all standing meaning that there were no stands to at least absorb some of the sound. I was stuck fairly near the back of the hall and, sonically, the whole thing was a mess.
Of course, this was the tour that Springsteen did without the E-Streeters and a more anonymous bunch you'd be hard pressed to meet. Despite making every effort (and you did feel he was overdoing it to compensate for the paucity of inspiration from the others on the stage) Springsteen simply failed to project any of his usual passion and warmth and it was a hugely disappointing evening. All the moreso, because I knew precisely what The Boss was capable of......
Indeed I did, having witnessed him on the Born In The USA tour at Roundhay Park in Leeds (some clips of which appear on the live Born To Run video - it's the venue that looks like a natural amphitheatre). Pristine sound, and a performer and band that connected with every single member of the audience. The crowd was about 80,000 that day and I recall vividly turning round at one point to look back across the multitudes to see everyone dancing, jumping up and down or participating in some way or other right to the very back. Simply awesome.
I know which Bruce I'm wanting and hoping to see tomorrow night!
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