Bruce Springsteen

There are artists you love. And then there is Bruce Springsteen, whom you revere. On May 13 and 15, 2023, the Boss and the E Street Band took over Plenitude Arena for two sold-out evenings. Six years after his last Paris concerts, the 73-year-old returned — and delivered what will likely stand as one of the finest performances of his recent career.

Two nights. 45,000 spectators. 2h45 of pure rock, living legend and friendship on stage.

7:00 PM exactly. The lights went out. With an almost religious solemnity, each of the seventeen E Street Band members walked on stage one by one to thunderous applause. Bruce Springsteen brought up the rear. The room detonated. Not enthusiasm, devotion.

The show opened with No Surrender and established immediately what the next two hours and forty-five minutes would look like: no dead time, no concessions, no letting up. A relentless machine, driven by a man who turned rock and roll into something resembling a popular religion.

© Apolline Cornuet

The setlist was a fifty-year journey

From 1973 to 2023, every corner of an immense discography was visited. Ghosts, Prove It All Night, The Promised Land, Because The Night, with Nils Lofgren on guitar, dazzling in his freedom: Badlands flowing into a gorgeous Thunder Road. The soul covers from Only The Strong Survive gave the horns and backing singers their moments in the spotlight. And the final volley: Born In The USA, Born To Run with its “oh oh” chorus picked up by 45,000 voices, Bobby Jean, Glory Days, Dancing In The Dark, swept away the last reservations and had even the most reluctant on their feet.

What sets this show apart from all others is love

Not the word, the feeling. Visible, palpable, undeniable. The chemistry between Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt, spiritual brother and guardian of the faith, read in every glance exchanged. Roy Bittan at the piano, Nils Lofgren on guitar, the horns, the backing singers, seventeen musicians who have played together for, in some cases, half a century, and for whom the stage remains evidently the most beautiful place in the world.

There were the tributes too. Clarence Clemons, the lost saxophonist. Danny Federici, on keyboards since the beginning. George Theiss, childhood friend and founding bandmate. These solemn moments suspended time mid-concert, melancholic pauses inside an electric show. They reminded everyone that this music doesn’t just document a career, it documents entire lives.

The Boss earns his title. That night at Plenitude Arena, he proved it once more.

The ending was devastating in the best possible way

© Apolline Cornuet

After a rapturous encore, the lights came back up. Then went dark again. Bruce Springsteen walked back on stage alone, acoustic guitar in hand. He sang I’ll See You In My Dreams — French translations of the lyrics rolling across the screens. 40,000 people held their breath. Then the room slowly emptied, carrying that rare feeling of having witnessed something unlike anything else.