Bruce Springsteen at Giants Stadium

Outside Giants Stadium before the first show

September 30, 2009

It was the end of an era: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing the five final concerts ever to be held at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., which is scheduled to be demolished at the end of the football season. Each of the five shows featured a classic Springsteen album played in its entirety: "Born to Run" on Sept. 30 and Oct. 8, "Darkness on the Edge of Town" on Oct. 2, and "Born in the U.S.A." on Oct. 3 and the final night, Oct. 9. Springsteen also opened each show with a new song, "Wrecking Ball," written in tribute to the old stadium, where Springsteen performed a total of 24 times.

Metromix associate producer Alex Biese was in attendance at the Sept. 30 show and wrote of that night's rendition of "Born to Run": "The title track, 'She's the One' and 'Night' rocked, 'Backstreets' and 'Thunder Road' have lost none of their power and 'Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out' was a rollicking good time. But for me, the highlight of the 'Born to Run' set, and the entire night, was the timeless pairing of 'Meeting Across the River' and 'Jungleland,' sister songs that deserve to always be played back-to-back. 'Meeting' was haunting, and 'Jungleland' was a knock-out, featuring an elegant performance by saxophone player Clarence Clemons on the song's signature solo."

The Boss' final song at Giants Stadium? His definitive version of Tom Waits' "Jersey Girl."

Photos by Thomas P. Costello (Asbury Park Press) are from the Sept. 30 show. Photos by Kevin Mazur (WireImage) are from the Oct. 8 show.