Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - September 2, 2012 - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA

While my favorite band, Pearl Jam, was playing a few miles away on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at the first Made In America Festival, I was at Citizens Bank Park listening to Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen. It was a show filled with covers, requests, and hits that have made Springsteen one of the most successful live rock acts of all time. The setlist consisted of 33 songs, the most songs played in a concert by Bruce and the E Street Band in Philadelphia since back to back shows on December 8th and 9th in 1980 at The Spectrum on The River tour when they played 34 songs. Also, with the concert at Citizens Bank Park, Springsteen became the first and only act to play every major live music venue in the city of Philadelphia. It was fascinating to see the E Street Band show their musical talents throughout the show with all of the sign requests that Bruce pulled out from the crowd. You know you are a professional musician when you can remember and play on the fly without knowing or rehearsing the songs. It was also great to see Bruce's compassionate side and big heart first hand when he grabbed a little girl from the crowd and brought her on stage to sing Waitin' on a Sunny Day. In that moment, Bruce made a fan for life. During the encore, the stadium lights came on and I've never seen so many people out of their seats dancing at a concert. They had every reason to dance with songs 27-31 in a row. It was truly a sight to see. Because Pearl Jam was in town, the following night singer Eddie Vedder was in attendance to watch the second show of back to back nights from a luxury box.

Setlist:

1.  Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran cover)
2.  Out in the Street
3.  Sherry Darling
4.  Hungry Heart
5.  We Take Care of Our Own
6.  Wrecking Ball
7.  Death to My Hometown
8.  Lost in the Flood
9.  My City of Ruins
10. Spirit in the Night
11. Green Onions (Booker T cover, sign request)
12. Good Rocking Tonight (Roy Brown cover, sign request)
13. Cadillac Ranch (sign request)
14. I'm on Fire (sign request)
15. Candy's Room
16. She's the One
17. Jack of All Trades
18. Human Touch
19. Working on the Highway
20. Shackled and Drawn
21. Waitin' on a Sunny Day (Brought child on stage to sing)
22. Jersey Girl (Tom Waits cover, sign request)
23. The Rising
24. Badlands
25. Land of Hope and Dreams

Encore:
26. We Are Alive
27. Thunder Road
28. Born to Run
29. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (Bruce crowd surfing)
30. Dancing in the Dark
31. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Encore 2:
32. You Can't Sit Down (Phil Upchurch Combe cover)
33. Twist and Shout (Top Notes cover)