Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band brought their tour to Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday and played two songs that were clearly chosen for the location they were in.
According to setlist.fm, Bruce and the band kicked off the show with the Nebraska track “Atlantic City,” likely chosen because of Philly’s close proximity to the New Jersey beach town and the opening line, “Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night.”
Later in the show Springsteen performed his Oscar- and Grammy-winning track “Streets of Philadelphia,” which was a tour debut and the first time he performed it in concert since 2018.
But not every song in the set pandered to the Philly crowd. He also played the track “Wrecking Ball,” which garnered a strong reaction from the audience.
Fan-shot footage posted to social media shows Bruce getting booed as he sang one of the verses that includes a reference to the New York Giants football team, a huge rival to the Philadelphia Eagles.
As Bruce began the verse that starts, “Now, my home’s here in these Meadowlands,” the crowd started booing, prompting Bruce to break out into laughter and take a few seconds before returning to the song. He then continued, “Where mosquitoes grow big as airplanes. Here where the blood is spilled. The arena’s filled. And giants played their games,” which prompted even more boos.
As the boos continued, Bruce asked the crowd “Eagles?,” which garnered an even bigger laugh from the rocker.
Wednesday night’s show was the first of two concerts Bruce is playing in Philly. The second is happening Friday. Both are shows that were rescheduled from 2023.
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