Bruce Springsteen vs Rufus Wainwright

Bruce: RDS, Dublin Tues/Wed 6pm €96/€86; Rufus: Iveagh Gardens, Dublin Wed 7pm €44.05

In the blue-collar corner we have Bruce Springsteen, the working man, the songwriter whose finger is on the pulse of the American nation, and whose songs boom out of the beatbox whenever we need to be reminded – if not convinced – that sincerity, honesty, passion and anger still have a place in contemporary rock music.

In the pink-shirt corner we have Rufus Wainwright, the sophisticated, self-professed master of cultivated camp, the songwriter whose sensibilities directly reference romantic concerns in grandiose pop music terms, yet whose music we rarely hear seeping out over the airwaves.

There appear to be no obvious similarities between rugged Bruce and ruffled Rufus, but look deeper than the superficial and you’ll notice that each holds up a mirror to varying aspects of very different lives. The very obvious similarity? They are each, in their own way, masters of their craft – although we’ll hazard a guess that the air will be punched so much more at the RDS than at Iveagh Gardens.

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The Fall Thurs, Dublin