Showtime! Concert #8-Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Setlist Included
Wednesday, August 9, 2023 Entry #156
There is a trade-off when it comes to attending outside concerts in stadiums as opposed to indoor concerts in arenas. Inside shows are smaller, more intimate and immediate, and the focus is almost exclusively on what’s happening on the stage. On the other hand, concerts in the open air on a nice evening are a feast for the senses. Yes, there is the music (often way out there in the distance), but when the weather cooperates, you also get sunshine, sunsets, starry skies (or a bright full moon), warm breezes, beach balls, and a festive block party-like atmosphere.
The Wrigley Field show tonight was my first outdoor concert on the current Springsteen tour, and I felt all the disadvantages and advantages of outside venues. I was further away from the action than I’d been all tour, and there were plenty of distractions. However, Springsteen was in fine form, the crowd was into it, and it was a gorgeous day and night. The setlist remained largely the same from the spring, and Springsteen did not even play his quintessential open-air song, “Waiting On A Sunny Day.” However, I did hear my first “Mary’s Place,” complete with Springsteen joyfully asking the crowd, “Is there anybody alive out there?” The answer was a resounding “yes!”
At one point I looked up into the stands and saw former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie enjoying the concert. Christie is well-known as a huge Springsteen fan (a smart thing for a New Jersey politician to be), though their respective political leanings are quite different. Springsteen has studiously ignored Christie’s presence at his shows even as sometimes calls out other public figures from the stage. Christie, who was a Trump opponent before he became a Trump ally, has emerged once again as a Trump antagonist. Perhaps this change will move Springsteen to acknowledge Christie at a future concert, but not tonight.
At the previous concerts, five of which I saw from the pit, I hardly ever glanced up at the big screens. But, at Wrigley, much further away from the action, I did check them out once in a while. I loved the times when Springsteen was captured by the cameras in the bleachers behind him because they provided cool images of The Boss playing to the fans in the Wrigley stands.
That got me scouring the web the next day for photos that feature the Friendly Confines as much as they do Springsteen. Here are some of the best that I found from various angles and perspectives.
I only recorded one video snippet at the Wrigley concert but it was a poignant one. As usual, Springsteen closed the show by playing “I’ll See You In My Dreams” on an acoustic guitar. Springsteen dedicated the song tonight to Robbie Robertson of The Band who had died earlier that day. This was the first time I had heard Springsteen sing it since my mom passed away in June. I sang “I’ll See You In My Dreams” at mom’s funeral (See Entry #119), and so I was flooded with memories and reflections of her as Bruce performed it tonight. In my dreams at that moment, I imagined my mom at Wrigley, excitedly experiencing Springsteen as we had planned.
All in all, it was a beautiful and exciting Bruce Springsteen night at Wrigley Field. Maybe the “magic in the night” mojo from the concert will help give a boost to the Cubs when they get back in town!
Finally, here is tonight’s setlist.
