Gig review: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND – Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND- Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

This side of the pond, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band gigs in arenas rather than stadia are as rare as hen’s teeth. My only previous one was at the 02 Arena soon after it opened back in 2007, so despite having seen them in the past two years in London and Dublin, when he announced dates at the Co-Op Live in Manchester (alongside others at Liverpool FC, but no London show) I decided to hang the expense and pay £500 for a pair of tickets and make an overnight trip from the capital.

It was my first time at this new venue and, other than the bad luck of gig crowds being swelled by a rearranged Man City game next door the same night, I was very impressed. It was more angular than the bowl shaped 02 and unusually had tiered seating behind the stage, yet appeared surprisingly compact considering it is the country’s largest indoor arena and the sound was excellent.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND- Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

When the ‘Land Of Hope And Dreams’ tour was announced, Bruce Springsteen had no new product to promote for once, but in the meantime last year’s US Presidential election and subsequent political developments in his home country gave him a fresh focus for the tour, which became big news when he revealed it at the first of the three Manchester shows.

A week on, after the E Street Band made their usual low key entry and their bandleader came on last, he launched straight into that much publicised broadside against the American administration but this time it led into opener ‘No Surrender’- I wonder if this was a riposte to President Trump’s public baiting in the meanwhile?
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND- Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

Relegated to second in the batting order, ‘Land Of Hope And Dreams’ was a prime example of how the expansion of the E Street Band, now numbering 18, results in a full sound, with fiddle and sax solos from Soozie Tyrell and Jake Clemons respectively and the horns and backing singers adding to the gospel feel. ‘Death To My Hometown’ had an equally huge sound as Jake and percussionist Antony Almonte beat out giant Irish marching drums, complemented by fiddle and Charlie Giordano’s accordion.

‘Seeds’ was more basic, initially with just a trio and Bruce playing one of many lead guitar solos, though I found ‘Somewhere In The Night’ a little too downbeat. Bringing things more up to date, ‘Rainmaker’, with Bruce again on lead guitar, was another picked for its allegorical political message, though things became more lively on ‘Promised Land’, Bruce taking his first trip round the edge of the crowd while the combination of his harmonica and Roy Bittan’s piano created the quintessential heartland rock sound. On ‘Reason To Believe’ Bruce cranked out a riff that sounded very similar to ‘Spirit In The Sky’ and it eventually involved the whole band in the closest they have ever come to blues rock.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND- Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

As Bruce began ‘The River’ its story was matched by a suitably sombre musical backing with the band playing in restrained fashion before he sang in falsetto in a vocal coda, then ‘Youngstown’ began in a similar musical and lyrical theme but developed in intensity with a feedback strewn solo from Nils Lofgren, leading intro a full on rock out with the surprise inclusion of ‘Murder Incorporated’, Bruce again playing the solo then jamming with Steve Van Zandt.

In contrast the final political statements of the evening preceded  ‘Long Walk Home’ which had a gospel feel with the backing singers and sax, ‘House Of A Thousand Guitars’ delivered solo by Bruce and ‘My City Of Ruins’, again given a revivalist theme as Bruce shouted ‘rise up’ and ‘with these hands’ to a horn backing.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND- Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

These speeches were well received, not least since his social activism is well known and the only surprise could be the venom with which they were expressed. Moreover, I always sense in this country that liberal ‘Guardianista’ types are his core constituency- how this would have played out in Middle America is a moot point!

A music site like GRTR! is not the place to discuss political right and wrong: suffice to say that my thought in the moment was that, had the Democrats made the case for democracy and accountability with the vigour and eloquence that Bruce did, we might be looking at a different course of history.

It was now time to lighten the mood for the rest of the set, starting with ‘Because The Night’, complete with Nils’ pirouetting party piece, though I thought vocally and musically it felt somewhat  ragged, and Bruce going into the crowd during ‘Ghosts’, for me the best up-tempo anthem he has written in many years.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND- Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

Ever the masters of pacing, the atmosphere grew and the sound became somehow bigger with each passing song, from ‘Wrecking Ball’ to ‘The Rising’ complete with its ‘na na na’ chant and reached fever pitch with a storming as usual ‘Badlands’ with the riff ringing out around the crowd. There was time though for a very special coda to the main set as Bruce whipped out his harmonica to begin ‘Thunder Road’ with Roy’s backing, with the crowd roaring the lyrics even above the band and an emotional closing sax and horn break.

The encores were firmly in crowd pleasing territory, with a strong emphasis on the ‘Born In The USA’ album, beginning with the title track featuring a closing flurry from Max Weinberg on the drums, then the anthem to end them all on ‘Born To Run’, though his voice seemed a little hoarse from sheer exuberance. ‘Glory Days’ saw Steve join him, sharing the mike for some banter and led straight into a joyful ‘Dancing In The Dark’, the horn section now balancing out those eighties style synths.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND- Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

After his usual introductions and rap about the E Street Band, the brassy ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’ kept up the atmosphere, with Bruce going deep into the middle of a delighted crowd, while remembering to point to the video screen for the line ‘when the big man joined the band’. He returned to the stage, sporting a green baseball cap as a souvenir of his trip, for one final song. His cover of Dylan’s ‘Chimes Of Freedom’ palled with what had gone before but made sense in the overall context.

The longest of the three Manchester shows at 2 hours and 50 minutes, by the very highest standards it wasn’t the greatest show of theirs I’ve seen, being too restrained for that. But if the first half of the show highlighted his political voice, the second proved that for musical escapism, no one does it more joyously than the E Street Band.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND- Co-Op Live, Manchester, 20 May 2025

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan 


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