Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: London Calling - Live in Hyde Park

Three times I've seen the Boss live and those are the three best concerts I've seen. First time on the Reunion tour in '99-'00, the second time on the Rising Tour '02-'03 and finally on the Magic tour '07-'08. On the Magic tour, like in Hyde Park here, the show I saw started in broad daylight and continued well into the evening. It's a different way of experiencing the band and, on the whole, more preferable than the indoor setting. The Boss's latest DVD showcases the band in that way and it's a terrific show...scratch that...it's a bloody perfect show.

Along with some standard classics there are a few great rarities present here; like the great "Trapped", "Seeds" and a fantastic rendition of his Nebraska classic "Johnny 99". A true Springsteen fanatic can always mention songs he'd loved to have had but what's here is really good. At last we get the E-Street magic on "Rosalita", "Glory Days", "No Surrender" (with a solid guest performance from Gaslight Anthem's lead singer), "Bobby Jean" and some others. Some standards are MIA, such as "Darkness on the Edge of Town", "Prove it All Night" and "Thunder Road" but those are available on previous DVD's, so I can't complain there. It was particularly nice to see the band perform "Racing in the Street", Bruce obviously still feeling the power of his great lyrics on that tragic masterpiece.

And I swear!, the guy defies age. Looking incredibly fit, energetic and full of obvious joy; Bruce is as captivating on stage as he looks on his 70's marathon concerts that can be viewed on Youtube. It's a funny moment when, after climbing the stairs up and down from the stage to his audience, Bruce screams he should have "a f...... elevator" 'cause "I'm 60 years old, dammit". Well, he doesn't look it, and after countless more runs up and down, it's clear he doesn't need an elevator. Maybe just a relaxing soak in the tub after the show :)

And it's a testament to the Boss's musical legacy that he's still making great music this late in the game. One of the definite highlights of the Hyde Park Show is his incredible performance of the new song "Outlaw Pete". An eight minute epic; the crowd already knows all the words and the tragic (yet somehow quite comical) tale of this outlaw is performed flawlessly by the ever-perfect E-Street Band and the master storyteller. Outlaw Pete (Bruce) continually yells "Can you hear Me!"; the answer is short and sweet; Hell Yeah we can!

There's nothing quite like experiencing a Springsteen show - but this DVD is great proof of the magic Bruce and his Band have. During his performance of "Working on a Dream" Bruce says something like "We're building a house of love, taking in all the bad news from out there and all the good news from in here". The house may still be in construction but Bruce and his Band have done their bit.

This being filmed in HD was great! It looked crisper and had better sound than the other recorded concerts of Bruce's I've watched (it's a very LOUD bluray, too).

Makes me miss going to live concerts, also. The parts where he interacted with the crowd and you can see how happy they all are (during songs like Out in the Street and Waiting on a Sunny Day) are actually really moving during these times of lockdown. I teared up when he got the kid to sing along, Bruce leaning on the other crowd members so he could reach the kid with the mic. It was just a really sweet moment, and something that just can't happen at the moment.

I was lucky enough to see Springsteen live in 2017, and I truly hope he comes to Australia again before he retires, as I heard he had wanted to do a world tour in 2020/2021 before COVID messed up the world.

I liked hearing some fan favourite classics that weren't singles and don't always get played on the radio or played live, like Racing in the Street and Bobby Jean. There were a chunk of songs near the start that didn't do a lot for me (mostly ones that were newer that I'm less familiar with) but most of it was really enjoyable, Bruce and his band have that reliably entertaining chemistry, and the scale of the concert itself (giant stage plus a giant crowd) was always a sight to see.

Also loved whenever Bruce tossed his guitar and the backstage crew had to catch it lol.