On Wednesday night, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band brought down the house at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park for a long-awaited staging. Following a series of postponements, local fans rejoiced when The Boss broke out “Streets of Philadelphia” in their city, marking the track’s first live performance since 2016.
Originally shared as part of the soundtrack for the 2003 Tom Hanks film Philadelphia, “Streets of Philadelphia” was met with an outpouring of acclaim, including four Grammys and an Academy Award. Despite the song’s success, the Aug. 21 break-out was only its ninth performance since 2000. Wednesday’s return also caught fans off guard with its setlist placement, skirting expectations for an encore appearance–established by its last renditions in The City of Brotherly Love–by introducing the crowd pleaser at the show’s midpoint and capping off the night with other hits.
Other highlights of the evening included a surprising show kick-off performance of “Atlantic City,” marking its first opening-slot appearance since 2016. This might be attributed to the storied track’s opening lyrics: “Well, they blew up the Chicken Man in Philly last night / Now they blew up his house, too.” The night continued with setlist staples like “No Surrender,” “Thunder Road” and “Born in the U.S.A.,” with a typical lengthy encore including “Born To Run,” “Glory Days,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams” to close out the night. The ensemble also peppered in rarer tracks like “Night,” “Youngstown,” “The E Street Shuffle” and “Long Walk Home,” now a frequent flier after a ten-year period of absence.
Springsteen is set to return to Citizens Bank Park tomorrow evening, Aug. 23.
Read on for the complete setlist from Wednesday night.
Bruce Springsteen
Citizens Bank Park
8/21/24
Set: Atlantic City, Lonesome Day, Night, No Surrender, Ghosts, Working on the Highway, The Promised Land, Spirit in the Night, Hungry Heart, Youngstown, Long Walk Home, The E Street Shuffle, Nightshift, Streets of Philadelphia+, Racing in the Street, Last Man Standing*, Backstreets, Because the Night, She’s the One, Wrecking Ball, The Rising, Badlands, Thunder Road
Encore: Born to Run, Rosalita (Come Out Tonight), Bobby Jean, Dancing in the Dark, Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Twist and Shout
Encore 2: I’ll See You in My Dreams
Notes:
+ FTP since 2016
