Nashville Music Blog

Steve Cross

For more photos, check out the slideshow.

Between all the drugs, lack of sleep and blisters on our feet we were taxed far beyond exhaustion by the time Bruce Springsteen's Saturday night set rolled around. Operating purely on adrenalin, we plowed ahead anyway and braved a crush to get in a What Stage pit that was downright scary. Luckily, it was all worth it, as from the count-off into a rousing version of "Badlands" that opened the set all the way through the closing run of "Rosalita," "Glory Days" and "Dancing in the Dark," Springsteen was out for blood, working every inch of the stage and beyond with more determination to win hearts and minds than any up-and-coming act we saw throughout the weekend.

Onstage, Springsteen mentioned that this was only the second festival appearance the band has ever done--the first was only a mere two weeks ago in Holland--and out of the comfort zone of being in front of his cult audience he showed the Bonnaroo crowd why he's known as The Boss. In fact, the energy of this audience--made up mostly of Springsteen virgins--blew away that of the crowd at last summer's Sommet Center show. Their excitement wasn't lost on Bruce, who looked like he was having the time of his life for the three hours he was onstage.

Steve Cross

The set itself was a mix of hits, fan favorites and a couple songs from his latest release Working on a Dream. He rolled through "Growing Up," "Out in the Street" (which he spent the majority of out in the crowd), "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (during which he was joined by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog), a by-request rendition "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" to help cool down the crowd and a host of songs dealing with the current economic climate, including "Johnny 99," "Youngstown," "The River," and Stephen Foster's "Hard Times." While the crowd responded best to the classics and the hits--the sing-along during "Thunder Road" gave us goosebumps--Springsteen worked hard to get them participating in each song.

This show was also a family affair for the E Street Band, as it featured both Max Weinberg and his 18-year-old son Jay splitting drumming duties. Springsteen's wife Patti Scialfa also joined the band onstage tonight along with their teenage son Evan, whom we spotted Bruce taking to watch MGMT less than an hour after coming offstage. Springsteen was also spotted watching Neko Case and Band of Horses before joining Phish onstage Sunday. After that he refilled all of the empty ketchup bottles at all the food vending stations, cleaned up all the trash left over after the festival and then mopped the floors backstage. We mean he was really scrubbin'.

Setlist:

Badlands
No Surrender
My Lucky Day
Outlaw Pete
Out in the Street
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Youngstown
Raise Your Hand
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
Growin' Up
Thunder Road
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
The River
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run
* * *
Hard Times
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land
Rosalita
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark