Here are my impressions and memories of the epic Bruce Springsteen show from September 3, 2012 at Citizens Bank Park in Philly:
• Lights dim, Bruce walks on stage alone, guitar in hand with harmonica and sings “Factory” in honor of Labor Day to open the show.
• “Adam Raised a Cain” ROCKED as the second song with the entire band. It was powerful!
• First four songs from “Darkness”. Wow!
• And it kept going at a high intensity with “We Take Care of Our Own”.
• Bruce was non-stop for the first hour or so. The pace slowed a little with “Death to My Hometown” and “My City of Ruins”.
• He excited the crowd with, “have you got the spirit” leading into a trifecta from “Greetings”: “Spirit in the Night”, “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” and “It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City”
• “Atlantic City” was wild! Crowd singing along.
• “Darlington County” was an uplifting song and really picked up the party atmosphere.
• I am amazed how many songs proved to be outstanding live – “Shackled and Drawn” was certainly one of them.
• “Waitin’ on a Sunny Day” kept the dance party going strong.
• An emotional “The River” as a sign request for a woman whose husband is in Afghanistan.
• The two that ended the show before the encore really sent the crowd into hysterics: “Badlands” and “Thunder Road”.
• The encore was immediate and was highlighted by “Born to Run”, “Dancing in the Dark”, “Jungleland” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”.

The show was simply epic! Bruce had the audience in the palm of his hand throughout the evening and, at will, would ratchet up the fun and intensity throughout the night. Jake Clemons did a really fine job on the tenor sax, creating the sound of Clarence in sometimes a haunting way.

For me, the few highlights that will stay with me for a long time were the power of “Adam Raised a Cain”, the trifecta from “Greetings”, a personal favorite recording, “Badlands” and “Thunder Road” back-to-back – incredible! Jungleland was larger-than-life in it’s presentation. But the most touching and significant moment was in after the signing, “and the Big Man joined the band” in “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”, expecting to hear the familiar sound of Clarence wailing on his tenor, the ballpark went silent and on the behind stage screen appeared 30-60 seconds of video of “the Big Man” performing and interacting with the E Street Band, but all in silence, no sound from Clarence’s horn, for it is forever silenced for “Freeze-Out”. Beautiful, touching & meaningful. Bruce and Clarence were brothers in arms literally and figuratively on the screen.

September 3, 2012 is a night and show I will long remember. Thanks to our wonderful son, Mike, for the tickets! The Boss certainly puts on a show that attacks many emotions and he is getting better as the years go by. Simply Epic!

(Professional cameras were not allowed, here are some photos with my Canon G11.)