What’s great craic and takes an average of three hours to do?

No, not that, (don’t flatter yourself) – Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band, unfamiliar with the concept of time, are now renowned for their curfew-breaking gigs. Night one of their Croke Park residency is no exception, playing for a staggering three and a half hours.

Opening with Darkness On The Edge of Town, The Boss is barely audible due to sound issues that frequently rear their ugly head throughout the night. With that said, it’s a struggle to name another artist who would have a stadium on their feet with the first riff.

Springsteen is like a giddy teen on stage, pulling the strangest faces  and fist-pumping wildly in every direction. It is clear that he gives a lot on stage, but he expects just as much back from his audience. The Boss does not tolerate half-hearted shout backs, and if you’re not loud enough, he will make you repeat yourself.

Badlands sees Bruce visibly smug at the crowd’s reverence. Roulette, requested via cardboard sign, leads in with a fairly shattering drum intro.

Considering the fact that some fans queued from as early as 10am to ensure they got to the barrier, the pitch crowd go wild for his every move.

“Let’s hear some party voices!” he asks, before launching into Sherry Darling, and then launching himself into the crowd.

The intensity is there from the off, but it’s obvious Bruce is pacing the show to ensure he doesn’t run out of steam. Two Hearts is full of loud, gravelly harmonies and gorgeous piano chords. He and his band mates scramble over the one mic, in what is a performance full of sheer joy.

His back catalogue is held so highly in peoples’ esteems that it isn’t necessary for Bruce and co to dress it up. None of the emotion has been lost over the years either. Back In Your Arms makes its tour debut, finely showcasing Bruce’s vocal credentials. It’s an emotional rendition, with an extensive, indulgent piano solo, and people are visibly moved by the song.

Hungry Heart satisfies cranky fans in the Hogan stand who are demanding “stuff that we know”. However, despite the track’s popularity, it loses velocity in the middle due to Bruce’s frequent crowd interactions. Lost In The Flood is affected by sound quality once again, but he quickly brings it back with his signature sharp vocal play.

The dilemma with outdoor gigs of this stature means that what you gain in atmosphere, you lose in sound quality. The sheer volume of Croke Park and its surroundings only ails Springsteen’s tech issues further, gobbling up his output. But the feeling in the stadium is a positive one – a festival atmosphere is generated for one man and his friends.

Set highlights include The River, which sees Springsteen give another rare glimpse at his stunning vocal clarity. Working On The Highway begins acoustically, before transitioning into a full-throttle rock’n’roll suckerpunch. Bruce brings a young fan on stage for Waitin’ On Sunny Day, an uplifting moment as the sun set on the wedged stadium. Because The Night‘s instantly recognisable piano intro is the exemplary performance for how to build tension. Shout! – a cover of The Isley Brothers hit – sees The Boss’ obsessed audience have absolute conniptions in the stands and beyond.

Bruce Springsteen’s first night at Croke Park suffered as the result of poor tech in places, and will no doubt be unfairly compared to his Irish performances of past. However, for many, the issues will be long forgotten as a Boss gig is less a demonstration of incredibly artistry and perfect instrumentation, and more a once-in-a-lifetime experience of a man, a myth and his legendary band.