2008-05-31 Emirates Stadium, London, England

Scheduled: 19:30 Local Start Time ??:?? / End Time ??:??

Info & Setlist | Venue

A shorter, 24-song set, but two premieres - "Downbound Train" and "I'm On Fire". "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" features the waitress lyrics. "Mary's Place" includes "The Monkey Time". "Downbound Train" and "Backstreets" are played by sign request. Patti Scialfa is not present.

Intro to “Out in the Street”
“Lord bless our endeavors that we give our best for the fine citizens of London tonight…”

Intro to “Sandy”
“Good evening! (crowd cheers) how we doing? (crowd cheers) hello!…hello up there!…that’s right…how we doing over there? (crowd cheers)(?) alright, what do we got down here tonight? Let’s check it out…gonna pick a few, let me see, maybe that one…maybe this one…let me see that one…it’s request time…we don’t know that one, give me that damn thing (chuckles)…ah, ok, give me that one …give me that thing, alright, what else we got?…that’s too hard (chuckles) this one (chuckles)…I know, I’ve been seeing that every night, bring that up, I’ll try it…send that one up…yeah, get, get, get up, get it up here…what else we got?…I see what we can do…that’s a good one but, uh, I don’t know if we know that one (chuckles) alright, that one, that, maybe that one tonight, bring that one up… well, see what else you got there…there’s a good one, we’ll get that one (chuckles)…yeah…yeah…alright…oh, here comes one (chuckles) yes…alright, let me put these in my file…alright, we’re gonna do this one, say “Hi, Rob,” “Thunder Road,” that, there we go, we’re gonna do this one for you, my friend, alright…there we go…we’ll send this one out to Danny, we appreciate, uh, all of your cards and letters and (crowd cheers) your condolences…here we go…”

Intro to “Growin’ Up”
“Oh yeah…two short stories about Danny…Danny was a, uh…like a kleptomaniac (chuckles) I used to, uh, play, I remember we played one night in a little club and I noticed that the jukebox was ajar and I saw Danny running out with these two big, huge jukebox speakers to put in his van…then I was coming down the hallway of the hotel and I see Danny with a screwdriver unscrewing the lights out of the elevator to put on his organ…and uh…Danny had this huge marijuana plant (laughs from the crowd) and he was driving it around in the front seat of his car and he parked his car in the tow-away zone…so the cops towed it away…and he came over and said “Bruce, you know, uh…they towed my car and it had this huge marijuana plant on the front seat…I’m gonna go down to the police and tell ‘em that it’s stolen” (laughs from the crowd) not a bad idea (laughs from the crowd) he goes down and reports the car stolen – straight into the slammer (chuckles)(laughs from the crowd and applause)…
(…) So a few weeks later…my neighbor was a cop…and he was a gardener on the side…and there in amongst all the tomatoes and the lettuce was this huge marijuana plant…”

Intro to “Downbound Train”
“This man obviously has no job and no pride…”

Intro to “I’m on Fire”
“Here’s one we ain’t played…”

Intro to “Livin’ in the Future”
“Yeah…alright now…how we doing up there? (crowd cheers) that’s good…how we doing back there? (crowd cheers)…alright…this is a song called “Livin’ in the Future”…but it’s about what’s happening now, right now…how along with all the things that we love…about where we come from, over the past eight years we’ve had to add things like rendition and illegal wiretapping, the rolling-back of… civil liberties…no Habeas Corpus, the right to defend yourself against charges in court – these are all things that when I was a little kid, your parents always told you happened someplace far away and that they could never happen here…so this is a song about sleeping through things that could never happen…in your hometown that have happened…Max, help me tell the story…”

Intro to “Mary’s Place”
“That’s right…are you ready for a house party? (crowd cheers) if you wanna have a party…the music has got to be raucous…oh, that’s right…I’ve got just one question I wanna ask you…come on, Max…(goes into the “Are you ready?”-call-and-response-routine)… because I’m feeling so sad and lonely, Clarence…sometimes I feel so…alienated…that’s when I need a little help…that’s when I need a little help…when I’m feeling sad and lonely…that’s when I need a little help…Max…that’s right…here’s my story…”

Intro to “Backstreets”
“The smallest request out there…this is for (Dan?)…”

Intro to “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”
“Thank you (crowd cheers)…oh, I wanna thank everybody for coming out to the shows the last two nights (crowd cheers) thank you, London (crowd cheers) we’ve been coming here a long time, I just wanna thank, thank all our, our British fans for the long-time support of our music (crowd cheers) and here’s to all the London girls! (crowd cheers) the London girls! (crowd cheers) the London girls! (crowd cheers) give me a thrill, I’m an old man, London girls! (crowd cheers)…”

After “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”
“London girls! (crowd cheers)…”

Intro to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”
“I’ve got one last story I gotta tell you…”

Intro to “American Land”
“We thank you London (crowd cheers) for two fabulous shows… have a great summer…God bless you…
(…) Garry W. Tallent (crowd cheers) Little Steven (crowd cheers) Sister Soozie Tyrell (crowd cheers) the Mighty Max (crowd cheers) Professor Roy Bittan (crowd cheers) Charlie Giordano (crowd cheers) Nils Lofgren (crowd cheers) and the biggest man you’ve ever seen, Clarence “Big Man” Clemons (crowd cheers) London! (crowd cheers) London! (crowd cheers) London! (crowd cheers) London! (crowd cheers) you’ve just seen the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, hard-rocking, earth-shocking, booty-shaking, love-making, Viagra-taking, history-making, legendary (crowd: “E Street Band”)…”

^{Compiled by : Johanna Pirttijärvi.}

Dave	Night one at London set a high stand for the second night, Bruce and the band had to come onto the stage and do something special. AND THAT THEY DID!!! Slightly shorter show than the previous night but who needs quantity when you got quality, two tour premieres of Downbound Train and I'm On Fire. Then a very similar tribute to the final night in Dublin with Sandy and Danny's story goin' into Growin' Up. It didn't stop there fans favorites came out with a requested backstreets, then into the encores with Jungleland and 10th Avenue Freeze Out. The Atmosphere in tonights crowd was ten times better than the previous night and Bruce rewarded us with a lot of crowd interaction, requests and an awesome setlist. Had to be there to witness this one I'm afraid.
Gareth Barnes	23 years since I saw Bruce Springsteen in a stadium setting; Wembley 1985 was an experience I shall never forget. Then I was down on the pitch and the drums and bass hit you in the stomach. In the upper tier at the Emirates stadium last night the drums and bass were a distant rumble but the words and guitars were so clear as were the two giant screens which I watched for most of the concert. The house lights in the roof were left on and it wasn't until it got dark around 9.30 that the party really started. 4 songs shorter than the previous night due I think to having to finish at 10.30 [!?] he did play all my favourites. I had to get up and 'boogie' with my girlfriend while most of the older more distant crowd members sat around us and tapped their feet. Born to Run did it for them of course and the place came alive and became one… My two teenage daughters, Emma and Malia, who saw him at the Honda Centre in California in April noted the same thing! The guy [with his band] is a genius never to be replaced. One of the many highlights was Clarence's sax solo in Jungleland. I hope they can all carry on for yet another tour!!
Jeff	He nailed it on the night. Lot of audible, the setlist was very LOOOse BrOOOce, but fantastic for it. Great singalong on Because the Night. Loved the "No Job No Girl - Downbound Train" request. It was karaoke Bruce heaven. What a great atmosphere. Keep it coming. PS When is he coming back to Scotland? We miss him.
Mick Mutlow	Again an amazing show. I was leaning against the barrier behind the pit so I had a top spot. The great man slightly slowed things down tonight compared to last night but the set list made up for it. Opening with Out In The Streets was pure genius, but listening to Downbound Train…….wow, Lord have mercy. Great to hear I'm On Fire again, and watching Nils on Because The Night was worth the entrance fee itself.
MusicMart	Oh how many more ways are there to express the absolute magnificence of a Bruce event. Have you ever seen a band having such a good time? I know it's only Rock & Roll as a musical event in all its wonderfulness but on a human level it's one huge party of spiritual proportions.More live, live Bruce, more live T.V Bruce & more live C.D Bruce pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze
Trina Beanbag	Quite simply the best show of my life so far an experience I won't ever forget (being second row in the pit sure helped).
Steff C.	I had not seen Bruce since his last Glasgow show so I was looking forward to this big time. The show was great I could have stood there all night listening to that kind of performance. The big question is will they do it again?
Steve Watt	Stunning weekend. Collectively the two shows were just about perfect; the first one for the length and the jaw-dropping encores; the second for the impromptu feel especially at the start. I'm sure the band were not sure what Bruce would call next and at one time Nils was wondering which guitar he needed. The band played on and Bruce shouted out 'Come on Nils' as he eventually emerged from the back of the stage and frantically picked up the song. Outstanding two shows and if Cardiff - the ticket arrived today - is only half as good it will be excellent. We had a Spanish couple in front of us and although their English was a bit basic they amazingly knew every word of every song, even the less well known ones such as 4th July, Asbury Park, Sandy. Summed up the universality of Bruce and the band.

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