Review: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s legendary Dublin performance

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band put on an impressive three-hour show at Dublin’s RDS Main Arena, filled with energy, humor, and invention. Despite the poignancy of Springsteen’s remembrances of lost friends, the band played lively reworks of songs from the past 50 years of his career. The audience’s fevered fidelity created an electric atmosphere, and Springsteen responded in kind, making the local universal. Springsteen’s mastery of stagecraft resulted in a concert that maintained momentum throughout, highlighting his version of the soul classic Nightshift and thrilling New Orleans-style version of Johnny 99. The encore of six songs, including Land of Hopes and Dreams and a somber solo performance of See You in My Dreams, inspired by the death of a friend, closed with a sweet memory. Catch Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Dublin’s RDS Main Arena on May 7th and 9th.