Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed last Thursday at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, where they had previously played in 2000. Like then, the show opened with «Lion’s Den«, in honor of the PSU team the Nittany Lions. Highlights of this strong performance included a long set of songs from 1973, with «Spirit in the Night», «Seaside Bar Song», «It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City» and «Sandy«, jumping them to a set of songs off 1984’s Born in the USA: «Darlington County», «Working on the Highway» and «Cover Me».
After «Waitin’ on a Sunny Day» came a rare «Raise Your Hand«, which included the walk around the pit, but, surprisingly, no crowdsurfing as it could be expected. Instead Bruce went back to the main stage to end the show with powerful versions of «Backstreets», «Badlands» and «Land of Hope and Dreams».
A sign request brought «Jersey Girl«, which opened a strong set of encores with an explosive versión of «Rosalita» after «Born to Run», and the tour debut of the Isley Brother’s «Shout» as show closer.