Bruce Springsteen in Padua: report and setlist

Bruce Springsteen in Padua: report and setlist
You could tell it would have been an epic night right from the beginning. Not from the acoustic pre-show, an early one, almost three hours before the actual show, and with a nice pair of “The Promised Land” and “Growing Up” .
You could tell that from the “real” opening, that took off exactly where the last italian date ended. In Naples Bruce closed the show with a wonderful acoustic version of “Thunder road”, all by himself in the Plebiscito Square. And in Padua, in a fully crowded stadium, he came out all by himself. No E Street Band, just an acoustic guitar, and “The ghost of Tom Joad”, played in raucous version, with full chords rather than the delicate arpeggios of the original version.
At that point you could already feel the energy - that erupted fully with the arrival of the band: “Long walk home” - once again in opening spot, followed by a “My Love Will Not Let You Down” that got the stadium jumping. Bruce felt good, his voice much better than Napoli, and you could tell that from his face, too. 
Just after “Two hearts”, it was already request time. And what a choice, too: John Lee Hooker’s “Boom boom”, a wonderful “The ties that bind” and “Something in the night” played as the sky turned dark. The setlist was litterally kicked off by its place near the mic stand as the show went into the standard sequence, ended with a wonderful “Spirit in the night” with a coda with just Bruce and Jake, singing and playing delicately.
Bruce then announced that Padua was a full album show - a “Born to run” one, just as some drops of rain started to pour down. But the rain was easily forgotten with a wonderful “Backstreets” with the “Sad eyes” interlude, a lights on “Born to run”, a powerful “She’s the one” and the touching finale of “Jungleland”. At that point, the show didn’t have any more setlist surprises - just pure energy. And some fun moments too: “Pay me my money down” saw a new member joining the E Street Band - a first row italian fan that introduced himself as a member of a cover band (“The fireplaces”), who played nicely his spoons thorough the song, giving it a new rhythmic touch. And then, on “Dancing in the dark”, Bruce saw a sign “Please dance with my mother in law” - which he actually did, bringing up the lady on stage.
The show closed just under three hours, with a nice version of “Twist and shout” with people happily dancing all over the lawn and tribunes of the stadium. 
Bruce played in the north east of Italy last year as well, in Trieste. But he felt Padua had to be a different show, hence probably the choice of playing a full “Born to run”.
One can only wonder what to expect next monday in Milan’s San Siro, one of Bruce’s favourite’s venues,  four wild shows in 1985, 2003, 2008 and last year’s one, a 3’40” gig. Another full album show? Tour premieres? Sure as hell it will be as fun as Padua: Italian audiences kickstart Bruce like few other.

SETLIST:
Pre-show
The Promised Land
Growing Up

The Ghost of Tom Joad (acoustic)
Long Walk Home
My Love Will Not Let You Down
Two Hearts
Boom Boom
Something in the Night
The Ties That Bind
We Take Care of our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to my Hometown
Spirit in the Night
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Night
Backstreets
Born To Run
She’s the One
Meeting Across the River
Jungleland
Shackled and Drawn
Waiting On A Sunny Day
The Rising
Badlands
Pay Me My Money Down
Born In The U.S.A.
Dancing In The Dark
Twist And Shout