Berlin 30th May 2012 - show 28

So it's Berlin - the capital of Germany.

Picture from brucespringsteen.net

What better way to start than with this piece from brucespringsteen.net

Last night was Bruce and E Street’s second biggest show ever in Germany with 55,000 fans in attendance.  The biggest, however, was in 1988 and is described in today’s Reuters article by Erik Kirschbaum:

“Berlin, largely a working class city, has been a special place for Springsteen since his July 1988 concert behind the old Iron Curtain in East Berlin.

Watched by 160,000 people, or about 1 percent of then Communist East Germany’s population, it was the biggest rock show in East German history, and The Boss boldly spoke out against the ‘barriers’ keeping East Germans in their portion of the city.

Some historians have said the concert fed into a movement gaining moment at the time that contributed to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall 16 months later in November 1989.

‘Once in a while you play a place, a show that ends up staying inside of you, living with you for the rest of your life,’ he told the crowd on Wednesday after being handed a poster from a fan thanking him for the 1988 concert. ‘East Berlin in 1988 was certainly one of them.‘”

Hence, the emotional reasons for last night’s special premiere performance of the song “When I Leave Berlin” by British folk musician Wizz Jones from his 1973 album of the same name.

Except for that unforgettable 1988 show, which was the band’s largest concert ever, this has been Bruce and E Street’s best and most inspiring tour of Germany.  Bruce ended last night by thanking the great audiences in Frankfurt, Cologne, and Berlin and telling them, “We love you, and we’ll be seeing you.”

Who knew that Bruce was influential in bringing down the Berlin Wall?  Well not the Conservative Crusader anyway! The political views of the writers are, I assume, the absolute opposite of Bruce's. The article is a few years old but the anti-Springsteen stance is quite funny.

This concert seems to have excited more interest than any other European gig so far.  The Telegraph has also mentioned the significance of the 1988 gig :-

Springsteen has been a significant figure in the city since his 1988 concert in East Berlin, when he spoke out against the Berlin Wall in front of 160,000 people. 

Anyway to the set list and another cover I don't know. Great to see Save My Love though.

Back to a three hour set after the trimmed show for the festival. I wonder whether the Hyde Park gig will be shortened?

	Pink Pop 28/05/12 Time 8.42 to 11.00	Berlin 30/05/12 Time 7.51 to 10.53
1	We Take Care Of Out Own (27)	When I Leave Berlin (1)
2	Wrecking Ball (27)	We Take Care Of Our Own (28)
3	Badlands (21)	Wrecking Ball (28)
4	Death To My Hometown (27)	Badlands (22)
5	My City Of Ruins (27)	Death To My Hometown (28)
6	Spirit In The Night (5)	My City Of Ruins (28)
7	Because The Night (9)	Spirit In The Night (6)
8	Radio Nowhere (3)	Hungry Heart (4)
9	I’m On Fire (1)	Trapped (9)
10	Shackled And Drawn (15)	Jack Of All Trades (28)
11	Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (27)	Youngstown (6)
12	The Promised Land (24)	Johnny 99 (7)
13	The River (5)	Working On The Highway (5)
14	The Rising (27)	Shackled And Drawn (16)
15	We Are Alive (27)	Waitin’ On A Sunny Day (28)
16	Thunder Road(17)	Save My Love (1)
17	96 Tears (1)	The River (5)
18	Born In The USA (6)	The Rising (28)
19	Born To Run (27)	Lonesome Day (14)
20	Hungry Heart (3)	We Are Alive (28)
21	Dancing In The Dark (27)	Thunder Road (18)
22	American Land (3)	Rocky Ground (25)
23	Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (27)	Born In The USA (7)
24		Born To Run (28)
25		Glory Days (3)
26		Seven Nights To Rock (2)
27		Dancing In The Dark (28)
28		Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (28)
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