Bruce Springsteen is 74 and Still Rocking Us Into the Ground

15 Year Old Steve8/26/2024 2:30 PM

Lisa Lake. Getty Images.

This past Wednesday and Friday I was at both of Bruce Springsteen’s shows in Philadelphia. I’m no Kirk Minihane, but I like to think of myself as a pretty big fan. I saw my first show in March of 2023 and ran into him in the hotel lobby after the show.

He was 73 at the time, had just performed for 3 hours, and was still the absolute MAN to my brother and I in that lobby. Talked to us about the show, then dropped a “Let’s get a selfie fellas, I’m a pro at these”. Grabbed the phone, and snapped the pic himself.

After that he walked off into the sunset. Or at least I thought he did…until he walked into my hotel room like 30 minutes later, but that’s a story for another day. From that point on I was hooked.

Last week marked my 12th and 13th shows on this tour and they were undoubtedly some of the best I’ve seen. Bruce opened the first show with Atlantic City and from that point on over the two nights the crowd was completely up for it. A tour premiere of Streets of Philadelphia night 1, and multiple songs were played in the U.S. for the first time this tour over the two nights. It was perfect. The only thing missing was a Jungleland appearance and I think the whole crowd felt like it was coming during night 2.

Night 1 Set

Night 2 Set

People mention this a lot about Bruce but it’s something I don’t think can ever be mentioned enough…he’s 74 years old (75 this September) and still performing at a level that virtually no other performer in the game is touching at the moment. Both shows were over 3 hours long, each with 30 songs (10 different songs were played from night 1 to night 2). All gas, no breaks the whole time. The only time he pauses for a second is during Last Man Standing, which featured a GREAT line from Bruce saying that the E Street Band “ain’t doing no farewell tour bullshit”. The show goes on baby!

All of Saturday I thought I sprained my ACL for standing on it weird in the pit for too long, and this guy is 74, getting on his knees during the show, jumping on stage, then doing it all over again a couple nights later. He’s incredible and it should be talked about as such because we don’t know how much longer we’ll have legends like him around performing for us. Cherish it!

I’m getting strapped up and ready for his show in a few weeks time on the beach in Asbury park, “the beaches I used to sleep on” as he puts it. I don’t want to set my expectations too high for it but I think it could be one of the best shows of his career. Just thinking about that potential setlist does things to me.