Bruce Springsteen: London Calling

I've never been that much of fan of Springsteen's music, but I've often heard how impressive he was as a performer, so I wanted to see him in full concert action. I wasn't disappointed.

The first thing that impressed me was the immediate intensity of the entire band's performance from the beginning of the opening song. No easing into the set here! Band members weren't necessarily jumping around; they were just obviously fully engaged in what they were doing. They all looked as though they were having the time of their lives. Bruce himself was soaked in sweat by the third or fourth song.

The other thing that struck me was how he moved the spotlight around to the other band members. Springsteen makes sure that every band member who wants spotlight time gets it. The only band member who didn't seem to get front time was the bass player, and judging by his persona, he was just as happy to stay in back of everyone else. The shifting focus kept the show from getting dull, and meant that Bruce didn't have to try to carry 100% of the audience's attention every moment. And yet there was no question of who the band leader was, even if you'd never seen or heard of Springsteen before. He moved the spotlight around, but it was always clearly his spotlight to move.

Downtime between songs was rare. As soon as one finished, he was already counting out the beginning of the next. And every band member knew exactly what was happening next at all times.

I suspect that Springsteen's role model for stagecraft is evangelist preachers, and I believe this was a very conscious choice. Bruce plays the working man part well, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he is actually a whole lot more intelligent than his stage persona reflects.

Would-be professional musicians should watch this concert and take notes. There are good reasons this man is called the Boss.