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The sign in Brisbane, Australia told the fans which "highway is alive tonight."

(Tomo@LittleBrooce via Twitter)

Incredible. Just incredible.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played a show Wednesday at the Brisbane Entertainment Center in Brisbane, Australia that is already an "instant classic."

Out of the thouands of performances Bruce Springsteen has given, this one is going to go down as one of the best. It was the final of Bruce's 11 shows in Australia and the fans at the 14,500 seat indoor arena now have bragging rights to say they were there for this legendary night.

"Tonight's show was beyond belief.." my friend Paul White messaged me.



Where to start. How bout Bruce opening with the Bee Gees' 1977 hit "Stayin' Alive." Bruce Springsteen doing a Bee Gees song? Really?

Then there's four songs from the "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." album: Tour premieres of "It's Hard to be a Saint in the City" and "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street," followed by "Growin' Up" and "Spirit in the Night."

You have to see it to believe it. Bruce and the E Street Band performing "Stayin' Alive" (note the string section in the back):

Later there are four sign requests: the tour premiere of "You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch). "Sherry Darling," "Save My Love," and the tour premiere of the vastly underplayed "Fade Away."

"Bruce asked the crowd if he should continue with sign requests or play a full album and we overwhelmingly chose the album," my friend Mitch from Manalapan texted me.

And that album was "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle" played in its entirety for only the second time ever. The other time was on Nov. 7, 2009 at Madison Squre Garden.

That brought out three more tour premieres "Wild Billy's Circus Story," "Incident on 57th Street" and "New York City Serenade" played with a strings section, just like at the July 11, 2013 show in Rome.



Here's "New York City Serenade" with the eight-piece strings section. No words to describe how great this is:

And to top off the evening, Eddie Vedder came out to join Bruce and the band on "Highway to Hell" in the encores.

"The world knows where Brisbane is now!" another friend Robin Beaver messaged me. "What a show! It felt triumphant, somehow, a culmination of all the love that's been pouring in Bruce's direction for the past weeks here in Australia. It was like a reward. But I reckon there were a few people scratching their heads about the inclusion of 'Stayin Alive.' I think it was genius, a fitting tribute to the Gibb brothers.

"I'm not sure that many people in the stands realized just how fortunate they were to have witnessed a show of that nature, though."

Well Robin, here in the United States we do realize how fortunate you were to be there for this 30-song, three-hour-and-43 minute performance.

Here's "Highway to Hell" with Eddie Vedder:

"Bruce was in a loose, fun mood," White added. "The full album was done with perfection. Strings were flown in for the occasion. The crowd was amazing! Bruce was in fine form. It's unanimous amongst the fans that tonight's show was the best of the tour."

Paul, I agree. And this show is going to go down as one of the best of any Springsteen tour.

Show begant at 8:09 p.m. (15 hours ahead of New Jersey)

Set list:



1. Stayin' Alive (Bee Gees cover, tour premiere)

2. It''s Hard to Be A Saint in the City (tour premiere)

3. Does ThiS Bus Stop at 82nd Street

4. Growin' Up

5. Spirit in the Night

6. High Hopes

7. Just Like Fire Would

8. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch) (tour premiere, sign request)

9. Sherry Darling (sign request)

10. Save My Love (sign request)

11. Fade Away (tour premiere, sign request)

The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle full album

12. The E Street Shuffle

13. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

14. Kitty's Back

15. Wild Billy's Circus Story (tour premiere)

16. Incident on 57th Street (tour premiere)

17. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

18. New York City Serenade (with strings, tour premiere)

19. Darlington County

20. Waitin' on a Sunny Day

21. The Rising

22. The Ghost of Tom Joad

23. Badlands

Encore

24. Glory Days

25. Born to Run

26. Bobby Jean

27. Dancing in the Dark

28. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

29. Highway to Hell (w/ Eddie Vedder)

30. Thunder Road (solo acoustic)

Over at 11:52 p.m. for a 3:43 show.

Next show: Saturday at Mt. Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand