'Magic' in the air as the Boss returns

Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band perform at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on Saturday night: the US singer, who plays three concerts in Dublin next year, played politically-charged songs from his new album, Magic, as well as classics like Born to Run, The River and Badlands to the 10,000-strong capacity crowd.
Photograph: Alan Lewis/Photopress Belfast

Some people were willing to sacrifice anything to catch Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band's return to Ireland on Saturday night.

That became obvious when the big screen flashed up the sight of a bride still wearing her wedding dress. If they had skipped their own reception, it was clearly worth it for the married couple when the Boss dedicated a song to them.

Tickets for the show sold out in five minutes, and with 20 per cent of them sold in the Republic, there was an abundance of southern accents among the 10,000-strong audience. With Ikea newly opened in Belfast, a couple of cars in the Odyssey Arena's car park might even have been bursting with flatpack furniture.

The Boss will play to more than 100,000 people when he returns for three Dublin shows in May, so this show was a rare opportunity to see him in a relatively small indoor venue. Playing songs from his new album, Magic, he emphasised their political message by berating the US government's "twisting of truth" and attitude to civil rights.

But in lighter moments, he complimented an impressive new addition to Belfast's skyline. "I like the new Ferris wheel. A town with a Ferris wheel is always a good thing."

Alongside the new songs, a set of more than two hours included classics like Born to Run, The River and Badlands, while the raucous and trad-imbued American Land was a crowd pleaser. He rounded off the night with a joyful Santa Claus is Comin' To Town .

Judging by the reaction, the audience must have felt as if all their Christmases had come at once.

© 2007 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times