Bruce Springsteen: Super Bowl Halftime (Video)

Home » Mp3s and Videos » Bruce Springsteen » Super Bowl Halftime (Video)

Bruce Springsteen

Super Bowl Halftime (Video)

February 2, 2009 12:19 p.m. by Andrew Winistorfer

Average Rating: 5.50

I was forced to watch the Super Bowl on ESPN.com last night, so I wasn't able to catch the Boss' half time show. But I got an IM from a friend a few minutes into the performance that promised some greatness—"Dude, the boss just tea-bagged a camera." Oh Bruce, they got you so nothing vaguely sexual would happen, then you go and slide into a camera crotch first. The video proof is here for your Monday morning giggles.

Otherwise, Springsteen gave a pretty rousing performance that included energetic takes of "10th Avenue Freeze-Out," "Born to Run," "Glory Days," and "Working On A Dream." The Boss worked the crowd at the beginning unlike any recent Super Bowl entertainment (I just dropped a chicken finger on my keyboard), and the fireworks display was pretty out of hand (seriously, did every song need a firework climax?).

Now that the Boss is off the board, there aren't many Boomer-friendly music acts left to do the half time show, so I'm curious whom they'll have next year.

Bruce Spingsteen - Superbowl 43 (XLIII) - Video (Part 1 of 2)

Bruce Springsteen - Hits Camera at Superbowl 43 (XLIII) - Video

Bruce Spingsteen - Superbowl 43 (XLIII) - Video (Part 2 of 2)

MTV Recap Video:

Pre-Super Bowl Press Conference - Video (January 29, 2009):

Posted in: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN , VIDEO

26 Responses

February 2, 2009 at 10:38 a.m.

bcs32

Americana at its best!

February 2, 2009 at 12:56 p.m.

commentor1

ok, i am not a kid i am 38. watched the game with my kids and family, the half time show sucked. the old dude was weird and screamed. we could understand but one song and the kids thought he was a freak sliding on stage and looked like he humped the micro. to weird. sorry i would not buy a ticket to watch this old dude. looked like he needed to use harrisons oxygen! loved the game best ever! the girls rocked it with there singing. commercials way to weird as well.

February 2, 2009 at 2:40 p.m.

Hadley

..As someone who's followed Springteen since '75, I was really dissappointed by his performance...The guy sounded like he was "OUT OF BREATH" half the time...

February 2, 2009 at 5:13 p.m.

Chelsea

It was terrible. These guys need to realize that if you're screwing up your own music by not being able to get through a line without gasping, it's time to retire. No matter how awesome they may have been during the height of their careers, they aren't now. Acts for the half-time show should be chosen by how an artist performs now, not by what they sounded like when they put out that multi-platinum hit in the 70's.
Then again, this superbowl was disappointing overall. The much hyped commercials fell considerably short of the mark and the officiating was marginal.

February 2, 2009 at 5:13 p.m.

commentator2

Ok, I am not a kid, I am 39. Watched the game with my kids and family, the stuff before and after the half time show sucked. The fat dudes were weird and screamed. We couldn't understand why they frequently stopped playing and the kids thought they were freaks bumping into each other and looked like they hugged each other. Too weird. Sorry I would not buy a ticket to watch those fat guys. Looked like they needed Bruce's energy levels. Loved the show the best ever. Bruce rocked it with his singing. No commercials in Europe.

February 2, 2009 at 5:59 p.m.

Sam33

Watched the half-time show. I thought Bruce was terrible, voice is gone and sounded like he was extremely winded. There comes a time when you should stick to your old recordings and just "appear and wave".

February 2, 2009 at 7:34 p.m.

tjcrashie

Obviously those with negative comments haven't been to any Springsteen concert recently. I have been to every concert since 1984 and he rocks out so hard, still great shape for the moves on stage, for at least 3 hours. His concerts and albums have gotten rave reviews over the years. I doubt he changed that much since my last concert in Aug. 2008. You are either a fan or you dislike him. Their is no in between and his fans are true real fans, who still love his work. Can't wait for the 2009 tour. I would to see other bands play and move so intensely for that long of a period. He still has it.

February 2, 2009 at 8:16 p.m.

Greg

Springsteen an indie hero - um okay - we fought a revolution to get rid of fat, out-of-breath entitled rockstars and now here we are, heaping praise on one of the worst the baby boomers have to offer. Well if that halftime show doesn't prove how awful he is, then I'll relocate to New Jersey and sing songs of fast cars and babes and laugh all the way to the bank just like him. I was there in 84 when Glory Days was blasted out of every Reagan-ite frat-boy jock party on campus... I thought it was a joke how he tried to say he was "misunderstood" - hard to be taken too seriously when you're ROLLING IN MONEY. Seriously, if not for Nebraska (half of which is crap anyway) none of you would even care about him - why the indieworld deifies this slob is beyond me - now we have the Gaslight Anthem and a hundred other Bruce wanna-bees... I cannot believe we are even sitting here defending this guy - he's old, he sounds like Led Zeppelin at Live Aid, decrepit, voice shot, excuse me for pointing this out but he's the poster boy for Reagan 80's pseudo-Americana - back in '84 we laughed at him, listening to him in '08 is beyond ironic, beyond stupid, and his music is beyond bad- GO AWAY PLEASE.

February 2, 2009 at 9:21 p.m.

nitro

I hope I can run around and feel that good at 59.You have no idea until you go see him live. Best concert I have ever been to. Rock on Boss man.

February 2, 2009 at 9:48 p.m.

angelss2b

thank you so much for this video. my DVR messed up and stopped recording so I missed the halftime show while i was at church. I have been all over the web looking for a video and this was the first one that hadnt been removed already by NFL folks. It looked like a gr8 show, gr8 entertainment and fireworks. Wish I could have seen it live!

February 2, 2009 at 10:22 p.m.

stu benedict

thanks for the spingsteen!

February 2, 2009 at 10:22 p.m.

Greg

Nitro - I did see him live - in 1984 - it was the world's largest pep rally for Reagan America featuring 75,000 frat boys with popped collars (pre-Emo.Incorporated) and their trophy girlfriends who did devil horn signals to Dancing In the Dark and held their lighters up at all the prescribed times - it was bad then, by now there are no words for this - it is just sick to think that there is a whole generation who have forgotten D. Boon and Henry and Ian Curtis and Joe Strummer and a generation of REBELS whose soul went deeper than the phony rolled-up flannel sleeves and their million-dollar concert deals - and this is a guy who sings about the working man while he's on the exclusive shelf at (my god) WAL MART - we're not even talking some punk sellout, we're talking about the SOLE representation of everything punk was against from day one, hour one, and minute zero - and no one can see how bad it is. I'm lost - clue me in - but this guy is not even on my radar and I am proud to say it - irony be dammed. Good night Brooooooce - ha gitalong gitalong -

February 2, 2009 at 11:07 p.m.

dukkookim

4.5 out of 10

That was the worst halftime show ever

February 3, 2009 at 12:03 a.m.

miket

that was the same old springsteen as 1984. u have not a clue.

that was as good as it gets. go see him on this tour and u will change your mind. voice is better now then ever, band is better now than ever.

February 3, 2009 at 12:27 a.m.

tfox

Missed show, but wish I had seen it live
I think hes still got it and good for him
All you jealous people out there - wish you could be him!

February 3, 2009 at 1:31 a.m.

Nykarleby

He was awesome - you children would be out of breath doing what he did.

February 3, 2009 at 8:14 p.m.

Rockadamus

Haters can eat a dick. Bruce rocked out like only Bruce knows how.

February 3, 2009 at 10:53 p.m.

Greg

No not the uninformed other greg that posted above. He obviously has no idea what he's talking about when he laughingly claims that Born in the USA was somehow pro-Reagan. I would recommend that he actually read and or listen to the words to Born in the USA, but it would be wasted on him.
Seriously as most knowledgeable reviewers have stated Bruce Rocked! His performance was very riveting and engaging, very impressive especially given his age. I would doubt that any of the critics above could match his energy much less improve on it.

I'm guessing the critics above prefer the canned lip-sync performances of previous years, too bad Britney wasn't available for them...

February 4, 2009 at 10:13 a.m.

Steve

To Greg #2 -- The confusion regarding Reagan and Born in the USA stems from Reagan's attempt to use the song during his 1984 campaign. As you mentioned, the words in no way reflected the Republican platform. Springsteen requested that Reagan stop using the song, and he did. But by that time, Born in the USA was intrinsically linked to Reagan. And as the comments above reflect, the rumor persists even today.

February 4, 2009 at 5:54 p.m.

mike

any man who can move like that at 59 is living proof that with hard work, you can stay in shape!

loved the show! even the crotchy knee-slide...i doubt anyone saw that coming, especially springsteen! I saw him 3 times on the last tour and he did the slide 2 out of the 3 times and he never hit anything.

he sings about the simple things in life and i happen to love it!

his raspy out of breath voice (which has been present for as long as I've ever heard him) adds to the IN YOUR FACE, EDGY quality of his music!

truly amazing!

February 4, 2009 at 7:56 p.m.

Mike

Greg #1 is so completely full of it, i am astounded.

Bruce Springsteen a corporate sellout? Do you have ANY idea what you are talking about?

February 5, 2009 at 4:10 p.m.

James

Springsteen is a legend and he has earned that status - what is most impressive and telling is the fact that he is more admired and respected by other musicians than anyone else in the industry because they understand the level of his talent - and are amazed at his performances - anyone who didn't like the halftime show likely would never have been a Springsteen fan at any point in his career - I am a musician and I am always amazed by his performances - and this is Springsteen at his best - but hey it is not for everybody - as they say to each their own

February 5, 2009 at 6:02 p.m.

gary

ok guys. Bruce has always had a raspy voice, his voice is not the issue, his lyrics are. Joe stummer didn't exactly have a great voice either. Sure he's rich now, but he spent many years singing for the common blue collar guy when few were, and like Reagon, his meaning was often misunderstood. Who else would talk to the widows of firemen killed on 9/11 to understand their feelings about their and our country's loss and write the rising about it. Maybe neil young, can't think of anyone else. Certainly the country artists don't. He's basically a folk singer who uses rock as his medium.

By the way, I totally dislike O'Brien's production of his last 3 albums. Some ideas were good, but as a musician, the digital compression on bruce's new one is ridiculous. There are parts that are so distorted, they are unlistenable. Now I know what the Mettalica fans are complaining about.

The music industry should be embarassed to think that we want distorted loudness that sounds lousy on every medium from MP3 to CD. Geez, maybe this is why vinyl is having a resurgence among people who care about music and sound quality.

February 18, 2009 at 3:08 a.m.

Scott B.

I have never been a Bruce Springsteen fan. He never was a good singer, even in his "prime." Ask any random male to sing, and he'll probably have more range and natural talent than Bruce Springsteen ever had.

I kept checking back because I wanted to see the Super Bowl commercials, so I inadvertently watched little pieces of the Bruce Springsteen halftime show. I was embarrassed for him. His "singing" was incredibly bad. I'm glad I missed the crotch shot or whatever it was.

February 22, 2009 at 6:53 p.m.

Naypo

If you didn't like it so much then why did you bother to come to this page and watch the video? Obviously you have nothing better to do with your sad, insignificant life! I hope you play at the superbowl halftime show one day so we can all laugh at you!

Maybe, just maybe, Bruce was out of breath because he was putting so much energy into the performance! if you were a performer, or at least a good one, you would know what it is like! even I get out of breath and i'm only 23!

March 3, 2009 at 9:03 a.m.

Nell

I don't know what you guys watched but you are all crazy, that was the best half time show in NFL HISTORY!!!! I am sure none of you cry babies have seen the BOSS in concert. He puts on a kick ass show and doesn't have to stop for intermission like half these bands do now a days. He plays for hours and gives his all.. maybe you better rewatch what you think you saw!!

Name:
Email:
Comment: