Jun 28 - Sunday: I decided to get to the venue slightly earlier, at 12pm. The queues were much longer this time. I reckon many people had started queuing up early in the morning. Saw A LOT of fans wearing Bruce Springsteen t-shirts from all the different tours, including the current one of course. Even saw one dude who printed all the shows he attended at the back! I felt right at home. As soon as the gates opened, people started sprinting right for the front. Those are your hardcore Springsteen fans, the ones who obviously brought their own sign requests. We managed to get a good spot, directly facing the left stack of speakers, but closer to the stage this time.The opening band was much better than Saturday's. Not too sure of their name though, but it comprised of two black dudes (looked like that infamous Milli lip-synching duo) playing classic rock, AC/DC-esque tunes, including one face-melting cover of Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child (Slight Return).
At about 3pm, The Gaslight Anthem, hailing from New Jersey, came onstage to surprisingly rapturous applause. I've heard good stuff about their live shows, and they didn't disappoint at all. Despite only playing for about 30mins, they still managed to fuckin' rock the house. It is quite obvious that Brian Fallon, the lead singer, is really inspired by Bruce, and at the same time, he manages to inject a youthful passion and enthusiasm to his performances. The band opened with a strong version of High Lonesome and kept a high energy throughout their entire set. Halfway through, Brian asked the crowd who they were here for. Obviously all of us started "Bruuuuccing"very loudly. All of a sudden, he replied "Ask and ye shall receive." And surprise surprise, Bruce Springsteen walks out on stage with his Fender telecaster strapped on. I couldn't believe what I was seeing!! They played The '59 Sound with Bruce taking the solo. I wasn't paying too much attention to the song, and it took me a while to register the fact that I actually finally seen The Boss in the flesh, from a mere 100metres away!! I knew that Bruce did the same thing with Gaslight on Saturday at Glastonbury, but I never expected it to happen again. But the day was only getting better...
James Morrison--can't say much about this bloke, cause I've never heard his stuff before. I wasn't expecting much from him. But I have to give him credit for putting on a pretty good performance. He was really trying to get the crowd moving, which he did manage eventually, but with little success. It was a pity many people around me wasn't really into him.
Dave Matthews Band comes on just after 5pm. By then, the sky had cleared already. This was the second time I was seeing them. Just on Friday, they played a 2.5hr show at the Brixton Academy. That was one of the best (and loudest) concerts I've seen, and it was fucking amazing to finally hear them play #41 live, for almost 30mins!
This time at Hyde Park, they only played close to 1.5 hrs. Most of the songs (from Friday night) were repeated, but I managed to get Ants Marching and Two Step (with a fantastic drum solo from Carter Beauford), and it was great to hear Tim Reynolds belting out the Stairway To Heaven solo (and Dave doing his best Robert Plant voice) during the final song, All Along The Watchtower :D
Here's the DMB setlist for Friday night and Sunday:
Jun 26 -- Friday, O2 Academy Brixton
1. Don’t Drink The Water
2. Squirm
3. So Damn Lucky
4. Shake Me Like A Monkey
5. Crash Into Me
6. Funny The Way It Is
7. So Much To Say
8. Anyone Seen The Bridge
9. Too Much (Fake)
10. Lie In Our Graves
11. Seven
12. Why I Am
13. #41
14. You & Me
15. I'll Be There (tribute to Michael Jackson)
16. Lying In The Hands Of God
17. All Along The Watchtower
18. Gravedigger
19. Alligator Pie
20. Tripping Billies
Jun 28 -- Sunday, Hyde Park
1. Pantala Naga Pampa
2. Rapunzel
3. Don’t Drink The Water
4. Why I Am
5. Funny The Way It Is
6. Crash Into Me
7. You Might Die Trying
8. Alligator Pie
9. Two Step
10. Ants Marching
11. All Along The Watchtower
