July 5 / Ernst Happel Stadion / Vienna, AUT
Notes: During his previous four stops in Vienna, Bruce had always treated his Austrian audiences to a fair share of special moments (a rare duet with Patti on "Two Hearts" in 1997, the only known live performance to date of "Dollhouse" in 1999, and both a full-band "Incident" and cover of Chuck Berry’s "Roll Over Beethoven" in 2003). But tonight's surprises turned out to be even more jaw-droppin'/heart-stoppin'/earth-shakin'/history-makin', and were totally worth the six-year dry period since he last visited our beautiful city by the Danube.Speaking of the Danube, Nils opened with an accordion version of Johann Strauss' classic waltz "An der schoenen blauen Donau," before the band ripped into an unusual "Jackson Cage" kicking off the show, followed by "Badlands" and a relatively rare "Cover Me"—not a bad start at all. During the sign collecting, the Big Man held up a sign of his own, asking for The Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go," which Bruce unfortunately rejected. But who was complaining when we got "Growin' Up," "Rendezvous," and the tour premiere of "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"—certainly one of the show's definitive highlights—instead? Appearing later in the set, "Into The Fire" was another (very much unexpected) tour debut, and a truly fine performance at that.Even the new material, in particular "Outlaw Pete," went over really well with the Viennese crowd, who are normally notorious for their somewhat reserved attitude at outdoor rock concerts, but not tonight. By the time the ladies and gentlemen of E Street had finished their stomping rendition of CCR's "Proud Mary" (another sign request), Springsteen pretty much owned the place. And come the encores, everybody up to the stadium's nosebleeds were off their butts, raising their hands and dancing in the dark.The real "holy shit" moment of the evening, however, occurred during the band's pre-encore bows. The screen camera zoomed into the pit, and there was a young woman sitting on someone's shoulders, wearing an orange "Jersey Girl" logo t-shirt. It appears that Bruce motioned the camera operator to keep the focus on her, and eventually, the shirt came off (she was wearing a bra underneath). Bruce had the shirt handed over to him onstage, showed it to the crowd and said, "Well, I guess we'll have to play that one now, right?" The whole place went totally ape, and then followed what was one of the most awe-inspiring, goosebump-inducing moments I have ever witnessed at a Springsteen show: What else but an absolutely beautiful rendition of "Jersey Girl," performed for the first time ever outside the U.S.

Previous show reports had already suggested that these guys are seriously on fire on this European leg of the tour, and after witnessing tonight's concert, I can only confirm that. They just keep getting better and better and are continuously raising the bar, it seems. Another unforgettable night even the most casual Austrian concert-goer most certainly will remember for a long, long time

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