Tour: The Rising Tour
Date: Monday May 12, 2003
Venue: Koning Boudewijn Stadium
City: Brussels, Belgium

Set List:

1. The River (acoustic)
2. The Rising
3. Lonesome Day
4. Darlington County
5. Something In The Night
6. Empty Sky
7. You're Missing
8. Waitin' On A Sunny Day
9. Two Hearts
10. No Surrender
11. Worlds Apart
12. Badlands
13. Out In The Street
14. Mary's Place
15. The Promised Land
16. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
17. Into The Fire
    
18. Night
19. Bobby Jean
20. Ramrod
21. Born To Run
22. Detroit Medley
    
23. My City Of Ruins
24. Land Of Hope And Dreams
25. Dancing In The Dark

My Review / Notes: My second Bruce show. The show was probably as close to my hometown as it will ever get. Thanks to my friends who let me stand in front of them I was able to get to the second row in the pit. As soon as Bruce came on stage and started The River I knew it was going to be a special night. When Something started I couldn't help but look behind me at my friend. We both knew that we were witnessing someone, something, great.



The following is my review which I posted on "The Lake". Please don't use my review without my written permission.

Pit, snot rockets, GREAT setlist…Brussels May 12th
I had fun writing up what happened during the Rotterdam May 8th concert, so I figured I’d try and do the same for the Brussels (Belgium) May 12th concert.

Again, this is a little long, so sorry. I have not read any other reviews yet, except the setlist thread. I only got back home a few hours ago (how I managed to take a plane, two trains, a bus and get home safely, I don’t know lol). I hope I’m not repeating too much.

I had agreed to meet Madman Drummer, his brother and a friend of them at the stadium at 9.30am and when I got there, there were already about 25 people there, some of them even spend the night. Maybe this is obvious to some of you, but if you’re ever planning on camping out in front of a stadium, do yourself a favor and take something with you to sit on. A chair, a blanket, a pillow, anything… After sitting on the pavement for nearly 7 hours I can assure you, that anything will do. Time goes by so slowly, but in the end, it was a lot of fun as this was only my second Bruce concert, first time in the pit. Everything seemed to go great and the whole day I kept thinking that maybe, just maybe we’d get in the front row... We had a good position (we didn’t get a number, but our little group was with the first 10 in front of a gate. There were 8 or so gates were we stood) and the weather was okay. Then at 4pm some security guys totally messed up. They thought it’d be fun to come over to the gates and act like something was going to happen which resulted in everybody jumping up and storming towards the gates. In the end, we stood there for nearly 2 hours, till the gates opened at 6. I ran as fast as I could when I got through those gates lol. In the end, thanks to Madman and co. who are all much taller than me and let me stand in front of them, I ended up in the second row right in front of Roy and those stairs Bruce uses to get to the lower half of the stage. It wasn’t center stage, but it was still a great spot! I didn’t fully realize I was at my first show in Rotterdam till Bruce came on and started playing and then I was still amazed I was actually there… Just imagine how long it took me to realize that I was actually second row at a Bruce Springsteen concert…

Eventually 8.25pm came, lights went off, music stopped and there he was…

Bruce Springsteen

For the second time in 4 days…

As soon as Bruce came on stage and greeted us in Flemish, French and English, I knew it was all gonna be alright…

The River (acoustic). During the sound check (of which I heard nearly nothing cause of the wind) we’d heard a bit of The River, but I didn’t think Bruce would play it and definitely not to open up the show! Bruce was so close. He looked fabulous. I don’t know if it was the fact that he was so damn close or that he was playing The River, but the tears came… Somebody replied to my Rotterdam “review” saying I should just let if flow… well that’s exactly what I did.

I quickly recovered during The Rising and Lonesome Day though. I know there’s been a lot of comments about Bruce opening up the shows with an acoustic number and that it supposedly slows down the whole thing, but I like it. I don’t know what it is, but imo the acoustic number followed by The Rising and Lonesome Day, really works.

By the time Darlington County started, I fully realized that I was in the pit and second row. (yes it took me 3 songs to realize that). There’s something bout Bruce being so close all of a sudden, that made me think it was all not real. Sure I wouldn’t be able to grope or touch the guitar during Born To Run (there was a gap between the pit and the stage), but I was a whole lot closer than during Rotterdam. During the song, Bruce stepped down and walked on the lower ramp.

Before the show, we talked bout the songs which we really wanted to hear, and I had, amongst many others, mentioned Something In The Night ... and I got to hear it… I could feel the tears coming again. Those lyrics always get to me, no matter what version I hear and last night’s version was great. It’s got some of my favorite lines. I’ll never get tired of this.

Before Empty Sky Bruce told us that Patti couldn’t make it but that she’ll be joining them soon. I personally think that it’s great she’ll be joining the band again in the near future.

You’re Missing sounded great, but imo, it could’ve been even better if Patti had been there to do the intro with Bruce. Even though Clarence was on the other side of the stage of where I was standing, I could see he was having a hard time during this song. I too, found it hard. It’s such a sad song and always gives me goose bumps. 53000 people who are (for the most part) quiet during these two songs…you don’t forget something like that.

In a way I was glad Waitin’ on a Sunny Day was next, because I needed to jump up and down a little and laugh after those previous three songs and once again, Bruce managed to lift my spirit. Just like in Rotterdam, he hung upside down on his mic. (a big “OMG is he really doing this” moment.) I took a picture, but it came out too dark. If I remember correctly, he also did a slide and ended up on Clarence’s side.

I had heard Two Hearts in Rotterdam, but now up close, it was a lot more fun. Stevie chewing gum like his life depends on it and then trying to harmonize with Bruce on the It Takes Two part, priceless.

Before the show, I had said I wanted to hear No Surrender acoustic, but a full band version would do too and just like with Something In The Night, I got to hear it. I’ve always liked this. The way Bruce nearly shouts out some of those lyrics makes this a great song imo.

I don’t know if it’s from the plane this morning or from the guitars during Worlds Apart and Badlands, but my ears are still ringing and I can’t hear half of what’s being said. There were a few fake endings to Badlands and I must say that we, the crowd, did a great job with the whoo wooo whoo’s (or however you wanna spell them) There’s something about all those people singing like that…

After the concert, I managed to get a hold of a setlist, I think it’s Gary’s, I’m not sure as I was too busy trying to get the security guy to throw it to me and it says She’s The One in this slot. A few minutes before the concert started, Kevin Buell came back on stage and changed something on the setlist. I don’t know if this is what he changed, but now we know that they played Out In The Street. Best part was seeing Clarence, Nils, Stevie and Bruce standing round Bruce’s mic waiting for Gary to come and sing a line.

Mary’s Place definitely works a lot better during concert than it does on the cd. This is a song that needs the participation of the crowd (just like Waitin’) and I don’t know bout the rest of the stadium, but I think the pit did all right. Judging from the way Bruce was acting tho, saying it was time for a “Belgian Ass Rising” I’m guessing that a lot of people were sitting down which is a shame. He did the same “routine” as in Rotterdam saying there’s two things they need…the music has got to be righteous and people have got to get off their asses. Brussels needed to stand up and so on. The introductions of the band were a lot fun. It’s obvious they (and Bruce) all have a great time on stage and that their hearts are with the music. Stevie was introduced by saying the “for where art thou” bit and the crowd got to yell out “Television” during Max’ introduction (star on late night…). Again, after Danny’s intro, Bruce started to introduce Patti, said he missed his baby and started to kiss a mic stand saying he missed Patti and wanted her to come back! Clarence’s intro was as powerful as always. I know he’s got a chair on stage and that he needs help getting down the stairs, but I really hope he continues to play for a long time. The whole song just seemed to go on and on. It’s great.

The Promised Land is always great. When Bruce plays the harmonica, I can’t help but really believe in a Promised Land.

After The Promised Land, I could see Bruce telling Stevie “we’ll do that now. We’ll play it now” or something like that. He had to repeat himself a few times. Before the show, I’d seen two girls, who were standing to my left, with a small banner which said Sandy on it and I remember thinking “yeah right, like that’s gonna happen…” A few hours later we got to hear it. Bruce said he was gonna play a song from the second album. The two girls started shouting Sandy, I was still in denial. Bruce continued saying they hadn’t played it live in a really long time and he hoped they’d get it right and that it was a request made by a few people outside his hotel earlier that day. The crowd must’ve been too quiet for Bruce’s liking cause he asked for a little encouragement. A few Broooce shouts later and I was listening to an (imo) great version of 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).

My shoulders are killing me today, and Into The Fire is partly to blame. When Bruce sings “may your strength give us strength, may your faith give us faith…” there’s no way you can just stand there, the hands have got to go in the air. This is a prayer. Live this is so powerful. I forgot everything and everybody and the only thing I concentrated on were the guitars, the drums and Bruce’s singing. That’s the only thing that counted at that point…may your faith give us faith…

First encores…

Night and Bobby Jean. Probably the last two songs I expected to hear as he first encores, but they absolutely rocked. I can’t help but smile whenever I hear the line “and the boss man’s giving you hell”. Clarence was definitely ready for Bobby Jean!

Ramrod ROCKED! I laughed my ass off during this song. After Bruce and the band left the stage and Roy was left playing, I could see a few people round the piano trying to set something up. Not in a million years, did I expected to see “Manneke Pis” the little statue symbolizing a little boy peeing!! It was hilarious. Bruce came back on stage, gave Roy a hat and he himself had a real funky looking hat on (looked great). When they took the cover off of Manneke Pis, I couldn’t believe it and then it actually started to pee! The crowd went crazy. It was great! It was sooo much fun!

Born To Run is exactly that…Born To Run… ‘nuff said. No words can describe the adrenaline that goes through your body when Bruce is singing this. It started to rain during this song and strangely enough, it added to the whole experience.

Detroit Medley I don’t know if it’s cause I was so much closer than in Rotterdam, but I preferred this Detroit Medley to the one in Rotterdam. Everybody around me, jumping up and down. It’s such a great thing. I wanted it to never end lol!

No matter how many times I hear My City of Ruins and the “come on rise up” part, it always gets to me, especially last night.

When Land of Hope and Dreams started, I knew the concert would be over soon, but somehow, I forgot all about that. LOHAD is so powerful that all I could do was sing along. I was ready to pack my bags and get on that train!

I don’t know where Bruce gets the energy. After such an amazing show, he still finds the strength to jump up and down during Dancing in the Dark. I was out of breath, but somehow, you can’t just stand there, so I just kept jumping up and down. And that was the end to a great evening...

And oh, snot rockets… ya know you’re really close to the stage, when you can actually see the snot rockets flying cross the stage. I counted 5 last night…anybody count 6 or more?

Bruce looked great! The sideburns, the soul patch, the shirt…

I just feel like shouting out BROOOCE every few minutes. I can't stop smiling. I don’t know what we did to deserve such an amazing setlist and a great great show last night in Brussels, but damn am I glad I went!!! Not bad for such a small country. I thought Rotterdam was amazing cause it was the first Bruce concert I was at and it will always be special, but Brussels was awesome. The setlist I managed to get will definitely get framed.

The River, Sandy, Something in the Night, No Surrender, Devil… Anybody wanna bet how long it’s gonna take me to get off cloud 9?

I...need...more...concerts...