Bruce Springsteen shows have always been a bit of a marathon. Often starting an hour late, once they get going, there is no stopping for a minimum of three hours and, often, much longer.
Internationally, his record is a four hour and six-minute show in Helsinki, Finland during the Wrecking Ball Tour.
Thursday night, Bruce Springsteen set the mark for U.S. shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ with a concert that came in at exactly four hours. The new record broke one that had only stood for two nights since Tuesdays opening show at MetLife Stadium.
Saturday, the band is off to the United Center in Chicago but, next Tuesday night, they are back at MetLife, giving them a chance to not only break a U.S. record but go the extra six minutes to overtake their international mark.
These shows are not part of The River tour which Bruce has been doing all year, but a full-on Bruce Springsteen tour de force with music from throughout his career. Along with the band’s regular performance, there was a special string section playing on two songs, the opening number New York Serenade and Jack of All Trades. Tom Morello was also on hand for four songs throughout the evening and three off-the-cuff sign requests.
Bruce Springsteen set list
Main Set New York City Serenade (from The Wild, The Innocent & the E-Street Shuffle, 1973) Prove it All Night (from Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978) Night (from Born to Run, 1975) No Surrender (from Born in the U.S.A., 1984) Wrecking Ball (from Wrecking Ball, 2012) Sherry Darling (from The River, 1980) Spirit in the Night (from Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, 1973) My City of Ruins (sign request for Italian earthquake victims) (from The Rising, 2002) Waitin’ on a Sunny Day (from The Rising, 2002) Darkness on the Edge of Town (sign request) (from Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978) Lost in the Flood (sign request) (from Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, 1973) Hungry Heart (from The River, 1980) Out in the Street (from The River, 1980) Death to My Hometown (with Tom Morello) (from Wrecking Ball, 2012) Youngstown (from The Ghost of Tom Joad, 1995) Jack of All Trades (from Wrecking Ball, 2012) American Skin (41 Shots) (with Tom Morello) (from Live in New York City, 2001, High Hopes, 2014) The Promised Land (from Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978) Cadillac Ranch (from The River, 1980) I’m a Rocker (from The River, 1980) Tougher Than the Rest (from Tunnel of Love, 1987) Because the Night (from Live/1975-85, 1986) The Rising (from The Rising, 2002) The Ghost of Tom Joad (with Tom Morello) (from The Ghost of Tom Joad, 1995) Badlands (with Tom Morello) (from Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978)
Encore Backstreets (from Born to Run, 1975) Born to Run (from Born to Run, 1975) Dancing in the Dark (from Born in the U.S.A., 1984) Rosalita (Come out Tonight) (from The Wild, The Innocent & the E-Street Shuffle, 1973) Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (from Born to Run, 1975) Shout (Isley Brothers cover) Thunder Road (from Born to Run, 1975) Jersey Girl (from Live/1975-85, 1986)
