that the same thing occurred to me while watching their Glastonbury appearance.

On seeing the claim 'We were connected to the street' on the cover of some second division music publication recently, I thought to myself that at least the operative word was in the correct tense.

I guess it's inevitable that it should be thus. Disappointing maybe, but understandable.

to many other legends, in that time has taken its toll.

If you haven't seen him or any of his contemporaries before then sure, go, but just set your expectations at a reasonable level, because they're old men. If you saw them when they were in their 30s then save your money.

its an age thing. The Seeger Sessions thing - only a couple of years ago - was vibrant and fresh - different - and he seemed to be enjoying himself a whole lot more than he was in Hyde Park.

aren't supposed to be analysed in the sterile environment of your front room on DVD. There everything looks stupid.

But on a warm summers day in London with 100,000 others singing those singalong anthems he insists on playing - it was fucking tremendous.

and the indoor Springsteen experience is preferable

But there are many highlights on the DVD, and Nils Lofgren's guitar work is pretty prominent I thought

And let's face it, not many acts can command attention like this :-

I know I am on this subject - see my posts since time immemorial - but the greatest live performer of his generation has not been well served by his manager over the years and, as has been pointed out by David often, is a slave to maintaining his image at the expense of his art. So the steady decline into the role of The Beloved Entertainer has been inexorable. Dylan's shows or Neil Young's can be thoroughly unrewarding, but there is little doubt they are following their muse. Bruce left his behind somewhere around Tunnel of Love.

I know I am on this subject - see my posts since time immemorial - but the greatest live performer of his generation has not been well served by his manager over the years and, as has been pointed out by David often, is a slave to maintaining his image at the expense of his art. So the steady decline into the role of The Beloved Entertainer has been inexorable. Dylan's shows or Neil Young's can be thoroughly unrewarding, but there is little doubt they are following their muse. Bruce left his behind somewhere around Tunnel of Love.

Saw him on his last tour of uk and Nils Lofgrens solo in Because the night was transcendental. Radio Nowhere which is a much more recent song is the best opener you could wish for at a stadium gig and The Rising is his best album at the tail end of a long career.
If you want to see something different check out his performance with Costello on Radio Radio/Radio Nowhere/Radio Silence on Youtube. The guy still has relevance and the arguments are the same old cliches about not equalling your former glories that are routinely applied to Bowie/Stones/Dylan/Neil Young etc.

One is to treat it as an Event of Great Sociocultural Import, with stage sets that resemble something that previously would have been assembled over many months on Clydeside, and ideally featuring live hook-ups to real astronauts so that they can tell you from outer space how utterly awesome you are.

The other is to put on a big silly hat, behave like a five-year-old showing off at a wedding, and do your damndest to ensure that even the people for whom you're only a speck on the horizon have smiles on their faces for two or three hours.

There is no middle ground.

..the Belfast gig was one of the most celebratory nights of music I've experienced!!

Compared to that the E Street Band seems like a dull matey cabaret - anyone over the age of forty might be into it for nostalgia reasons but for someone in their twenties like me they just sound really cheesy - all that irony-free gurning and posturing and the showbiz "it's quittin' time" schtick.

I love Bruce but..really, time to ditch that backing band they've had their day. The Rising really rocked though.

I have seen Springsteen several times, once at Manchester arena, twice at Dublin RDS & at Hyde park last year.

In my honest, though admittedy uncritical, adoring opinion, they were at the time, & remain the best concerts I have ever seen.

I think he is a genius.

I went to Hyde park on a local travel agent package deal, (I live way up north), & I lay on my bed in a massive London hotel, watching him at Glastonbury knowing I was going to see him the next day. I couldnt wait.

I was just like a 53 year old kid on christmas eve, & him, & the band were fantastic.

I have bought every other official Springsteen release and have a number of er import items too.

I saw them on the last 2 tours about 5 or 6 times. It was an amazing evening on each occasion, but I just can't build any enthusiasm for yet another late period DVD release. There's already Live in NYC, Barcelona and indeed the Seeger Sessions from the last decade.

He also was not in the best voice at Hyde Park, it's a strange release when much better material was available with the full album shows they did in the USA. All albums from Greetings ... to Born in the USA (excepting Nebraska) were performed in full. These would have made a wonderful box set.

What is also needed are official DVD releases from the Darkness, River and Born in the USA tour. A Darkness box set is supposedly forthcoming, but not yet officially announced.

The band between 78 and 85 were simply awesome and there is no significant record of this on an official video release.