Bruce Rocks 1st Mariner

Friday night marked Bruce Springsteen's return to Baltimore after a 36-year absence. He didn't disappoint.

Even before the show, downtown was buzzing in a way it seldom does after the sun goes down. Bruce fans were everywhere. Those with tickets packed bars along Pratt Street, where E Street classics fired from stereos, and people without tickets were pacing up and down the streets, deciding just how much to bankrupt themselves for the privilege of getting inside 1st Mariner Arena.

Anyone who made it into the old arena was treated to one hell of a show. For nearly 3 1/2 straight hours, the 60+ year old Springsteen and his E Street Band played with astounding energy, performing an assortment of new and old songs. Toward the beginning, the group played the entire "Born to Run" album, delighting the crowd with classics like "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run."

If you've never seen Springsteen live and you get the chance to - take it. Even if you're not the biggest Bruce fan, the level of energy, intensity, and passion with which he plays and sings makes for a remarkable concert.

Here's the setlist from Friday's show:

Wrecking Ball (with Curt Ramm)
Prove It All Night
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (with Curt Ramm)
Night
Backstreets
Born to Run
She's the One
Meeting Across the River (with Curt Ramm)
Jungleland
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Spirit in the Night
Green Onions
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
The E Street Shuffle
For You
Radio Nowhere
My Love Will Not Let You Down
Long Walk Home
The Rising
Badlands
* * *
Ramrod
Hard Times
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land (with Curt Ramm and Ali Weinberg)
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita (with Curt Ramm)
Higher and Higher (with Curt Ramm)
Glory Days

Photo: Bruce Springsteen's Friday night show in Baltimore was spectacular. (Roger Kisby/Getty Images)