The 29 Songs I Want Bruce Springsteen to Play When I See Him in 2022

And I WILL see him in 2022

Because I have an undying love for Bruce Springsteen (some would call it an unnatural love), I follow the New Jersey-centric website NJ.com. Yesterday, the site published a story with an intriguing title: “Springsteen’s Perfect 2022 Concert Setlist: The 34 Songs He Should Play, In Order.” This is in response to his recent announcement that the E Street Band will definitely be back on the road in 2022, which thrilled fans everywhere; he has not toured with the full band since 2016.

The author of the article presents a solid setlist, which is easy to do with Bruce. After pondering it for a while, though, I realized I would replace at least 10 of his picks, if not more. This clearly meant I needed to publish my own list, not that I ever need an excuse to do that.

Given the gravity of such an undertaking, it could not be approached haphazardly. The first thing I did was find the setlists from the four times I have seen Bruce live (1984, 1985, 2008, and 2016). I did this both for a walk down musical memory lane and to help determine what favorites I had not seen him play. Some of those would have to be included, because while Bruce will live forever I certainly will not, and I never know which show of his will be my last.

You will note from the title that I chose 29 songs rather than the 34 the NJ.com author picked. I did this because over the four shows I have seen, the number of songs he played averaged out to exactly 29, and I believe in sticking with tradition. I have also not included any cover songs; though at my shows he has covered everything from “Twist and Shout” to “Travelin’ Band” to “Shout,” you never know what he might throw in, so hoping for a specific one is futile.

You also never know who might show up to make a guest appearance, though this happens most often in cities like New York and Los Angeles. At the 2005 show I attended, Jon Bon Jovi was playing Dallas the next night, and he joined Bruce for one of my least-favorite songs, “Glory Days.” The ladies seemed pleased though, rushing the stage and tossing bras like it was 1985 the minute Jon appeared. If I could wish for one guest on one song, it would be Eddie Vedder and “No Surrender.”

That long intro out of the way, these are the 29 songs I want to see Bruce play when he hits the Lone Star State next year, in roughly the order my unworthy self would suggest. As a nod to the fact that he is touring in support of a new record, I included two from the Letter to You album. The comments for each song are either brief or absent; most will be quite obvious.

For the accompanying playlist, I have used live versions of the songs where available to heighten your listening experience. And if a six-song encore seems excessive, you’ve never seen the man play live.

1. “Letter to You” (Kicking things off with a new one; the man has records to sell.)

2. “Badlands”

3. “Sherry Darling” (Party noises!)

4. “Be True” (From The River outtakes.)

5. “Johnny 99” (With the whole band like the Hyde Park show in 2009, though solo acoustic is fine as well.)

6. “This Hard Land” (An outtake that should have replaced “Glory Days” on the Born in the USA album.)

7. “Night” (The only song from Born to Run I have not seen live.)

8. “The Price You Pay”

9. “Ghosts” (Another gem from the new album.)

10. “The River” (The playlist has a version from when he would tell long stories to introduce the song.)

11. “I’ll Work For Your Love”

12. “Roll of the Dice”

13. “Brilliant Disguise”

14. “The Promise”

15. “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” (Roy on accordion, Garry on Tuba, sheer bliss)

16. “Prove It All Night”

17. “Roulette”

18. “Out in the Street”

19. “Darkness on the Edge of Town”

20. “Lost in the Flood” (Easily the best song in his debut album.)

21. “Hungry Heart” (Will he crowd surf at 72 years old like he did in 2016? Bet on it.)

22. “Dancing in the Dark”

23. “Rosalita”

Encore:

24. “Bobby Jean” (My oldest daughter’s favorite song of his, after “Born to Run.” I raised her right.)

25. “Jungleland” (Jake will be playing the legendary sax solo, but in my heart, I will still hear the Big Man.)

26. “Backstreets”

27. “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” (With band introduction.)

28. “Thunder Road”

29. “Born to Run” (He never plays this last, but it’s my wish list and if I get hit by a bus outside the arena I want this to be the last thing I heard.)

Did I really take the last five songs from the Greatest Album Ever? I did indeed, and you should have expected it. Tramps like us…