Of the dozen or so Springsteen shows I’ve witnessed over the years, this was without doubt the most memorable, and certainly the most emotionally intense of them all. Shorn of the formidable might of the E-Street Band, the man-they-still-call-The-Boss arguably had to work harder than ever. That he pulled it off so successfully in the acoustically-unfriendly environs of The Point was a testament not only to his talent and experience but to his willingness to experiment.
But the opening pair of songs certainly threw some curveballs towards those who might have expected an unplugged Greatest Hits set. Sitting behind a pump organ/harmonium, he opened with the churchy, hymn-like ‘My Beautiful Reward’, following it with a barely recognisable reading of Nebraska’s ‘Reason To Believe’, during which he stomped his foot like a demented preacher and sang through a distorted microphone, making for one of his most visceral performances ever. The set-list drew heavily from Devils & Dust,with supremely atmospheric numbers like ‘Metamoras Banks’, ‘Reno’ and ‘Silver Palomino’ enhanced by Springsteen's often-hilarious between-song storytelling. He joked about Catholic guilt, arguing with his son (“I can hardly tell him to turn the music down – can I?") – and even managed to work in a reference to the “homosexual undertones” between Fred Flintstone and his pal Barney.
A passionate, heartfelt delivery of ‘The River’ was a definite highlight as was the rarely-heard Darkness classic, ‘Racing In The Street’ (featuring surprisingly nimble ivory work) which had grown men wiping their eyes, while the underrated ‘Real World’ took on a whole new meaning. Yet another highlight came right at the end on a surprise cover of Suicide’s ‘Dream Baby Dream’ where he seemed to rediscover his old voice – it could have been 1975 all over gain.

Photograph by Mick Quinn