Bruce

Sunday was a day of blistering wind and rain in Dublin — but that was outside the venue. Inside, Springsteen and the Seeger Sessions Band heated things right up, for what was clearly the best of these three nights at The Point. “Your mama’s gonna get mad at me if you get sick,” said Bruce. “All of you that survived the elements out there, this will get you warm… this is for you.” Or should that read “This is ‘For You’”? Yes, it was the tour premiere of another early classic, up there with the effective Seeger Sessions reinventions of “Blinded” (also played tonight) and “Growin’ Up.” Cameras were still rolling, but perhaps with two nights of solid filming under his belt, that left Springsteen more free to connect — and it was a magical night in terms of crowd/performer interaction. Ticket-holders were let in early to get out of the cold (and to catch “Mansion on the Hill” being soundchecked); one show-goer tells us that from the early entry on, the crowd was “just out of control — it was beautiful, and scary too. A sea of humanity.” The band’s energy and performance escalated to match, and this night found them particularly sharp, as musicians and as showmen. Er, showpeople. Patti in particular was a hit with the Dubliners, receiving tremendous applause. Still not much talk from the man himself, but a nice segue between “Long Time Comin’” and “Jesus Was an Only Son”: “Another song about parenthood. Kids go their own way… Just not too fast, but they will one of these days.” He dedicated the song to his “fabulous son Evan… love, Daddy.” “The Ghost of Tom Joad” was a duet with Frank Bruno, with Bruce and Frank trading verses, and some beautiful horns over harmonica at the end. The encore opened with “the song that got us started,” “We Shall Overcome,” last played at the very beginning of this leg. And a final goodbye: “Thank you, Dublin, it’s been a great three days!”