After his last trip to Indianapolis in 2008, and only drawing 12,000 or so fans to his show at Conseco Fieldhouse on his “Magic” tour, it was pretty clear Bruce Springsteen would not be making a return appearance in Indy.

And that has, sadly, been the case.

While he’s playing nearby Midwest cities (Chicago, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Detroit, Omaha, Neb.) on the current tour promoting the Wrecking Ball album, Indiana fans of the Boss found Louisville to be the closest stop.

On Saturday night, he brought his 17-piece E Street Band to Kentucky’s largest city, and was met by a full house, and gave back with a 26-song, three-hour performance equal parts gospel music, bone-crunching rock and loose-limbed rock and soul. In his first six songs, he and the band played four songs from the new album, including an explosive “Shackled and Drawn” as the opener.

Making his first appearance at the new downtown KFC Yum Center, Bruce was greeted by a boisterous, ready-to-participate crowd.  He and the band rewarded them with no less than five tunes not on the printed setlist, and invited fans on four different occasions to jump, sing, dance on stage and bask in the once-in-a-lifetime thrill of being under the lights with the band. Continue reading “Review – Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Louisville”