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A fantastic performance brought a lot of unexpected changes and surprises to the second show in Brisbane. Bruce Springsteen changed 12 songs and even left aside standards such as «We Take Care Of Our Own», «Hungry Heart», «Jack of All Trades» or «Thunder Road». The show started with Bruce and Everett in the front of the stage playing the first notes of The Havalinas’ «High Hopes», a world premiere, then joined by the whole E Street Band. The song had previously been recorded at the Greatest Hits sessions in 1995, and is available in the documentary DVD Blood Brothers and on the very rare CD-EP that was sold together with the VHS video of the film.

Next was «The Promised Land» followed by «Wrecking Ball» (thus skipping «We Take Care of Our Own» for the first time on the tour).

«Out in the Street» featured the amazing, and crowd-pleasing, crowdsurfing. One of the highlights of the show was the first version in Australia of «Incident on 57th Street» which sure pleased a lot of veteran fans, followed by «The River» and a double dose off Nebraska with the swing version of «Open All Night» and «Atlantic City».

The main set’s ending featured an epic «Racing in the Street», then «Badlands», then a killer «The Ghost of Tom Joad» (with Tom Morello shining again) and «Land of Hope and Dreams». Bruce held another surprise for the encores, when he sat down at the front of the stage to perform an acoustic version of «Blinded By The Light» before going with the band into the usual encores, which today also included «Bobby Jean».

The tour party travels now to Sydney, where there’ll be three shows next week. The australians, with 8 shows left, are in for a real treat if we judge by these first two shows.

See complete set list.

See photo gallery.

Concert photos courtesy of @patricklion (1) and Michelle Anderson (2)

Bruce Springsteen is back on the road. The Wrecking Ball 2013 tour has started today with a 3-hour & 10-minute show in Brisbane, Australia. For the first time since the first E Street Band reunion in 1995, Steve Van Zandt is not in the band due to his commitment with the Lilyhammer series, currently being filmed in Norway. His substitute during the Australian tour is Tom Morello (The Night Watchman, ex-Rage Against the Machine).

Springsteen, band and crew arrived in Australia last Sunday, and rehearsed behind closed doors during Tuesday and Wednesday. Nils Lofgren has been very active on Twitter these days, uploading photos of his guitar collection. Today the press was invited to the soundcheck and had an informal Q&A with Bruce afterwards. The soundcheck featured interesting covers of Australian band The Saints, The Havalinas («High Hopes») and, according to some Twitter reports, even some riffs from AC/DC‘s «Whole Lotta Rosie».

The show at the Entertainment Center, for 12,000 people, has been a classic Wrecking Ball tour concert, opening with «We Take Care of Our Own» and closing with «Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out», featuring all the tour standards such as «Wrecking Ball», «My City of Ruins», «Spirit in the Night», «Jack of All Trades», «Shackled and Drawn», «Waitin’ on a Sunny Day», «Apollo Medley», «The Rising» or «We Are Alive», plus hot rock shots like «Badlands», «Murder Incorporated», «Johnny 99», «Because the Night» and «She’s the One», along with the hyperelectric «The Ghost of Tom Joad», featuring the classic Tom Morello solo. Tom showed his skills on «Murder Inc» too. The biggest surprise of the night was the addition of «Just Like Fire Would», a cover of the revered, local punk-rock band The Saints.

A second show at the Brisbane Entertainment Center is scheduled for this Saturday.

See complete set list and video of the original «Just Like Fire Would» by The Saints.

Read the Courier Mail review

All concert photos courtesy of @patricklion

See complete photo gallery.

The Rock in Rio festival, to be held in September in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has announced a change in dates: both Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer will perform on September 21st (not on the 15th as originally planned).

If you bought tickets for the Sept. 15th show, don’t worry, they can be exchanged. Read further details at the Rock in Rio website.

Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen are guests of record producer David Geffen in the Virgin Islands. His yatch, The Rising Sun, was spotted at the Hansen Bay in St.John on March 3rd.

Source: Islandia Real State