Bruce Springsteen Comments On Being Shut Down At Hard Rock Calling Festival
Posted by Joseph Lee on 07.19.2012
Only the Boss decides when the concert is over...
BBC News reports that Bruce Springsteen has commented on his performance at the Hard Rock Calling festival in London being shut down over the weekend.
Before a concert in Dublin, he flipped a switch on a prop power generator and said: "Before we were so rudely interrupted..." He then began performing the last minute of "Twist and Shout", the Beatles song that was cut short at the Hyde Park show.
The concert in Dublin ran for three and a half hours, and Springsteen took a number of shots at the incident in London. At the Hard Rock Calling, he had went past the time limit set by organizers who then canceled his set. He brought on Paul McCartney for versions of The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Twist and Shout" before their microphones were shut off before they could thank the crowd. There have been mixed reactions to the shut down.
Springsteen told fans at the Dublin concert that there was no curfew, which caused "wild applause". After the Beatles cover, he then covered "I Fought The Law". He then held up a sign that read "Only the Boss says when to pull the plug", playing with a huge on/off switch and then going into a performance of "Dancing in the Dark". Near the end of the show, a man dressed as a London police officer tried to arrest Springsteen.
One fan, Chris Donaghue, tweeted: "Played up the curfew thing all night. Great gig!!!"
Another, Matt Cooper, said: "The Boss was awesome. Did he milk the Hyde Park debacle!"
Even the Dublin City Council couldn't avoid shots, since the band was fined $61,270 for going past curfew at two shows in July 2009. He mentioned the 11pm cut-off point agreed upon by promoters and the Dublin City Council Planning. He said: "We're not sure when the curfew is tonight. Do you really have curfews in Ireland?"
Other songs played include "The River", "Dancing In The Dark" and "My Hometown", dedicated to Bono. Even with the jokes, Springsteen and his band ended before 11:00, which was within the rules.
