Hard Rock Calling 2012 (Day Two)

It’s no secret that this July hasn’t been particularly summery. In fact, judging by the Saturday we spend in Hyde Park, it could probably be any season but summer. However, we trudge on, unnaturally donning wellies for our second visit to Hard Rock Calling.

Spending our day in the central London park, we’re greeted with grey clouds and damp wood chippings, thanks to the downpour yesterday evening. However, our spirits are quickly lifted by the sounds of both Tom Morello, who compassionately showcases his self-proclaimed brand of “acoustic rap rock folk punk,” and John Fogerty, who looks much better than you’d expect. Dancing us through a set primarily comprised of Creedance Clearwater Revival tracks – with the occasional classic (read: ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ and ‘Rockin’ All Over The World’) - it is exactly what you could hope for from the living rock and roll legend.

However, to try and justify that today is about anyone other than this evening’s headliners would be completely futile. In fact, it takes mere moments following Fogerty’s exit for the delirious chants of “Bruuuuce!” to echo through the crowd. Granted, it’s stirred along by the fact The Boss joined Fogerty for his last track, but the excitement echoing around the park is tangible in the build up to the main event.

With a scheduled stage time of 7pm, it’s unsurprising that with a half hour delay, the crowd begin to get a little antsy. However, as the sun finally breaks through the clouds, and Springsteen himself emerges with just his harmonica to hand, he approaches the mic and begins to speak. The crowd go silent with baited breath.

“This was the first thing we played when my feet first touched British soil,” he starts, “This is a little love letter for you.” He begins the evening with a stripped back, piano rendition of ‘Thunder Road’ and never have the words, ‘Show a little faith, there’s magic in the night’ been more relevant, because already, you know it’s the God’s honest truth.

Then, when the full E Street Band join the man himself on stage, we brace ourselves for a three hour journey through his entire back catalogue. Plummeting straight into ‘Badlands’ before carrying us ruthlessly into a full force rendition of three tracks from latest offering ‘Wrecking Ball’, the whole thing is insatiable. Springsteen is instantly all over the stage and he’s in the crowd, he’s shaking hands and making jokes.

There are even moments when the choice of song doesn’t even necessarily matter, like when Bruce spots a Spanish fan, planted firmly at the barrier clasping a sign which reads both his song request and a list of the shows he’s already attended this tour. Calling out for the sign to be passed to him, Springsteen enlightens the remaining 80,000 of us with his story, before declaring “This is your song, buddy,” and bursts into ‘Take ‘em As They Come’; a fairly “obsolete” outtake from ‘The River’, which last saw life in the live circuit of 2003.

Truth be told, the entire thing verges on euphoric; everything from his call and reply chants, to the moments dedicated to those of the E Street who no longer grace the stage. There are instances where the experience feels closer to a religious ceremony than a concert – ‘Spirit In The Night’ being the finest example – and it might all be a little over the top, but its whole lack of cynicism is refreshing.

And Springsteen himself is the king of frontmen. Entirely personable, he seems relaxed and at ease with his audience. He repeatedly jokes about the stage set-up, lounging casually on the stairs that stretch their way in front of the stage. He winks and quips, and dances constantly, a spark still burning brightly inside of the performer. He’s constantly inviting members of his band to play with him front and centre, showcasing an unspoken appreciation for the people he shares a stage with. He even takes young saxophonist Jake Clemons down into the crowd itself; a perfect inauguration for such a remarkable new talent within the E Street Band.

Even by the time the sky darkens and the rain drops slowly begin to fall, the whole evening seems perfectly orchestrated; an intense rendition of ‘Because The Night’ bursting into the setlist. It follows on from the fragile ‘Empty Sky’, which is quiet and solemn, but still bears as much poignancy a decade on as when it was released in 2002.

Throughout the set, he invites guests back onstage – John Fogerty joins in for ‘The Promised Land’, whilst Tom Morello almost becomes an honorary E Street member for the evening. There’s even the frankly mindblowing moment when – in celebration of what would have been Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday – The Boss performs a tumultuous rendition of ‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’, complete with added Rage Against The Machine guitar solo.

Even with the sound issues that all Hyde Park shows seem to suffer from, there’s a feeling of true joy radiating through everyone in attendance, and a strange sense of unquestionable equality and timelessness; from the small boy who joins Springsteen on stage to sing an adorably out of time chorus of ‘Waitin’ On A Sunny Day’, to the families who are sharing a real musical experience together.

And as for the performance itself, it’s all gut and sweat and heart and soul. There’s a compassion that’s unmatched, from the lyrics themselves to the whole of the singer’s stage presence. Even two and a half hours in, when we enter the home stretch and are treated to some of the man’s biggest hits - ‘Born In The USA’, ‘Born To Run’, ‘Glory Days’ and ‘Dancing In The Dark’ – the pace doesn’t slow; the evening just intensifies. There’s a girl pulled up from the crowd to re-enact that infamous Courtney Cox dance routine, and then that one final guest performer is introduced.

Casually, Paul McCartney strolls from side of stage to join the man himself. The crowd goes wild, and it’s with two final songs – Beatles’ classic ‘I Saw Her Standing There’, before an explosive ‘Twist & Shout’ – that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band draw to a final close. And yes, the manner in which the show ended was both controversial and disappointing, but there’s no denying that all 80,000 of us were just witness to something extraordinary. So, whilst maybe we don’t hear Springsteen’s final address, it doesn’t take a sentence to tell us that, sometimes, there really is magic in the night, and tonight was the finest of examples.