Article on the 2014 Bruce Springsteen concert, featuring supporting act Hunters and Collectors.

Author: Kathy McCabe, News Limited Network.

Date: 16 August 2013.

Original URL: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/bruce-springsteen-to-tour-australia-in-february-2014/story-e6frfn09-1226698086536

Article Text

BRUCE Springsteen has made good on the handshake deal he made at the end of his Wrecking Ball tour to return to Australia in 2014.

His promoter Michael Gudinski said he couldn’t believe The Boss had honoured his promise to tour here twice within a year after the wildly successful shows in March.

“I am seriously knocked out to get him back, I didn’t expect it to happen even though they were so excited after the shows in March but it all came together last month,” Gudinski said.

“To me he is the ultimate rock performer of all time.”

Springsteen’s Australian tour biggest revenue raiser

PICTURES: SPRINGSTEEN IN SYDNEY 2013

Bruce Springsteen will kick off his Australian tour in February 2014.

Bruce Springsteen will kick off his Australian tour in February 2014.

Springsteen has also kept his word to his fans in Australia’s west and will kick off the tour by playing his first concert ever in Perth on February 7.

As well as shows in the capital cities, Springsteen will swap his Hanging Rock moment for an open air gig at Hunter Valley’s Hope Estate on February 22.

Australian fans will be given the added bonus of the return of Steve Van Zandt to the E Street Band – and the inclusion of Rage Against The Machine’s master axeman Tom Morello who filled in for Van Zandt in March.

Tom Morello’s evil eye on Springsteen fans’ song signs

The 11-year-old boy who upstaged Springsteen in Brisbane

Melbourne fans score yet another surprise with a reunited Hunters And Collectors opening the AAMI Park show on February 15 with Dan Sultan.

He will also join The Rubens as the support acts on the Hope Estate show but the indoor gigs will not feature an opener with Springsteen putting in his usual three hour marathons.

Springsteen’s return to Australia leaked yesterday but his ardent legion of fans have been speculating about the impending announcement for weeks after Gudinski was spotted at a concert in Italy last month.

Bruce Springsteen performs in a concert at Rod Laver Arena on March 24, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia.

Bruce Springsteen performs in a concert at Rod Laver Arena on March 24, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia.

PICTURE SPECIAL: Bruce Springsteen’s Life on the Road

The shows in February will not be a continuation of the Wrecking Ball tour but special concerts for his patient Australian fans who had not seen him for a decade before his triumphant run this year.

The rocker’s long-time manager and producer Jon Landau said the March shows during which Springsteen played 78 songs from his catalogue, were one of the highlights of the Wrecking Ball tour.

“Our shows in Australia earlier this year were among the very best and most satisfying of our whole 128-show tour,” Landau said.

“The crowds were tremendous, the fans as warm, friendly, and welcoming as we could ever hope for, and the quality of the performances, as virtually every reviewer commented, were spectacularly high.

“From the moment we finished the second show at Hanging Rock on March 31, we have been working on a plan to return next year.”

Gudinski could be spearheading one of the biggest years in live rock music next year as he continues negotiations to bring the Rolling Stones and Foo Fighters to our stadiums.

“Oh look, dreams come true, don’t they?” Gudisnki said about the rumoured tours.

Frontier Touring pre-sale kicks off on August 21 with general on-sale from August 26.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at Perth Arena on February 7, Adelaide Entertainment Centre on February 11, AAMI Park, Melbourne on February 15, Allphones Arena, Sydney on February 19, Hope Estate, Hunter Valley on February 22 and Brisbane Entertainment Centre on February 26.

Comments

N/A