Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - Emirates Stadium

Two shows back to back for Bruce & the E Street Band - the first concerts at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. The band seem much tighter than the O2 and Paris shows last December - and clearly the ongoing tour has shaken up the setlist a lot more, so they were far less reliant on the newer material from 'Magic'.

Two nights in the same city also means you're in for some surprises and Bruce didn't disappoint - mixing up the show incredibly between Friday and Saturday so only a dozen songs were repeated over both nights. In the end it seemed like rather than 2 separate shows, it was actually one long 6 hour show (with a very long interval).

I had standing tickets for the Friday night, and by getting down early managed to get into the front "pit" section which was unbelievable. At first I pushed forward with a few "bruce buddies" so I was super-close for the first couple of songs. After a while I moved to the back of the pit crowd - but was still only 20 meters from the stage. I also ended up standing next to actor Benecio del Toro who seemed to be really enjoying the show - got particular excited by the 'Darknes' double of "Candy's Room" into "Prove It All Night".

Saturday night I had seats for Kimbo and I in the Club Level - which was great, directly in front of the stage, but a long way back compared to being in the front few rows.

Of the two nights - I think Friday was the slightly better of the two. A much longer show - 28 songs - making it one of the longest shows Bruce has done in a few years. Opener "10th Avenue Freez-out" was a surprise. And I really enjoyed the double-shot from 'Nebraska' of "Atlantic City" straight into a blues-boogie heavy "Reason To Believe". Nils solo in "Because The Night' is still a real highlight. It was also a treat to here "Point Blank" which I don't think I've heard Bruce do live before.

Saturday night was a much different show - Bruce opening with 4 songs not played the night before, then going into "traditional" show opener 'Radio Nowhere'. Early on Bruce made a sweep through the front of the crowd and grabbed a bunch of signs people had made for their favorite songs - "request night" he called it as he flicked through the pile, and called for the band to go into a great (and not often played) "Downbound Train", which lead into a 'Born In The USA' double-shot as it was followed by the tour premiere of "I'm On Fire".

Other stand-outs: "The Rising" which is just a fantastic song and really stands up with the best of Bruce's back catalog. I've never been much of a fan of "Mary's Place" but it does seem to suit the big stadium shows, with Bruce using the chants ("turn it up, turn it up") to work the crowd up into a bit of a frenzy. It also gives Bruce a chance for the famous knee-slide across the stage - which he is surely getting too old for, but is still fun to watch.

So a very different couple of shows from the sole London show last December - and it just seems like the band is going from strength to strength so I eagerly await more shows next year.