Springsteen in Sydney, night 1, 7 Feb 2017

From my report on Backstreets from the first of two nights at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena:

A commonly held perception of Australia's two largest cities — by Aussie blokes, at least — is that Sydney's the girl you'd take to Vegas, Melbourne's the one you'd take home to momma. Following a torrid show in Melbourne Saturday, Tuesday's first of two in Sydney had Bruce and the band seemingly poised to sweep Australia's glamour capitol off its feet with a grand gesture or two.

Nope. What we got were three hours of steel and smoke, heart and bone. Another fat-free extravaganza included one Aussie tour premier — Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" — and 27 tried-and-true scorchers. Sydney was soaked by massive rainstorms throughout the day, so temperatures were manageable outside, but by the time Bruce swung the "Wrecking Ball" the pit radiated with bouncing, perspiring bodies. It may not have been the most youthful of crowds, but tonight's energy was intense on the floor and in scattered chunks throughout the 21,000-capacity arena.

Pro photographer Rene van Diemen took the photos that appear with my report. Here are some I took myself.

New York City Serenade.

American Land.

Out in the Street.

My Love Will Not Let You Down.

Hungry Heart.

Hungry Heart.

American Skin (41 Shots).

The Promised Land.

Mary's Place.

She's the One.

Thunder Road.

Thunder Road.

Jungleland.

A Melbourne scorcher, a Richmond riot ...

My report and photos on a heartstopping second Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show in Melbourne Saturday night may be found on Backstreets here. Here's the first two paragraphs:

I am drinking blessedly cold beer in a noisy venue called the Corner Hotel down the road from AAMI Park. It’s a little past midnight, 90 minutes after Bruce Springsteen and Jake Clemons took their final bows together, the last two E Street Band members to leave AAMI’s stage. The Corner is ripe with good-looking men and women in summer clothes and boozy grins. A DJ is spinning a mix of hip-hop and obscurities, typical hipster soundtrack. A space for dancing before the DJ is vacant. Suddenly, like wolves howling at the scent of blood, a ‘Whoa – oh – oh – oh – oh’ ‘Badlands’ chant arises. The DJ, aware of a need to appease the howlers, drops the needle on ‘Hungry Heart’, Max’s drums popping like the fireworks that ended this second and final Melbourne show. People in River Tour 2017 t-shirts converge on the dance floor from every corner of the bar, a full-throated “Got a wife in kids in Baltimore, Jack …” obliterating all other sounds.

Before joining the throng I snapped this photo of the maelstrom.

The DJ wisely follows with “Dancing in the Dark” before setting loose a force he clearly doesn’t understand: “Born to Run”. I join the writhing, jubilant throng and behave in a manner better suited to a Misfits mosh pit. My cohorts and I scream words of longing and desperation like we’re possessed by the Jersey Devil itself. We smash into one another, screaming to the ceiling, laughing with joy. We’re not drunk. We’re not seeking attention. We’re at the mercy of a lingering force too raw to be tamed. A young blonde I’ve never seen before throws her arms around me, a temporary Wendy holding on for dear life, both of us charged by nearly three hours of a superhuman Springsteen. “Tramps like us!” we shout, free and wild, wanderers in a blast zone searching for survivors of the E Street apocalypse, “Baby we were born to run!” Temporary Wendy kisses me as we part, the DJ fades the song, and our wolfpack disbands. The whole experience surreal, a dream, a possession. But it happened, and none of us will ever forget it.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, 22 Jan 2017 Perth Arena

Didn't think I'd find myself here in Perth for the opening shows of Springsteen's Summer Tour 2017 of Australia yet here I am, writing from the hills overlooking Western Australia's capitol city in the spectacular home of friends Heather and Peter.

Sunday night was the tour opener. My review on the Backstreets magazine site may be found here. Here's the intro paragraph:

And on this night in a city either protected or cursed by the tyranny of distance, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band took the Perth Arena stage at 7:55 pm and went to battle. A great shadow had passed over the world since they'd last gathered under New England stars in September. Over the course of a herculean media blitz for his Born to Run autobiography, Bruce had let fly with wilting opinions about the man now ensconced in the Oval Office, had performed acoustically in support of the Hillary Clinton campaign and farewelled President Obama and his staff with a private show at the White House. All of this however, had been done on someone else's stage. Tonight, from the mighty bastion of E Street, the cannons were aimed squarely at the forces of hate and division back in the States. The bombardment lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes, victory declared on the jubilant faces of Aussies who'd come for a River show but got gobsmacked instead by a rock 'n' roll reckoning.

I had a good seat just 6 rows from the GA but the lack of a telephoto lens meant no close-up photography. Here's a few I salvaged. Should have better ones tomorrow night when I'm in the pit.