Live Nation presents Bruce Cockburn
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
3301 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94123 USA
8:00 PM, Friday, April 25, 2025

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2025 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2025 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[8:08 PM] {lights down}
[8:09 PM] {BC out; greetings; begins on acoustic resonator guitar; pause to check tuning}

1. [8:10 PM] The Blues Got the World…
   [8:12 PM] {more tuning; BC: 'Someone's excited because I put a garter on the guitar'}
2. [8:12 PM] Soul of a Man (Blind Willie Johnson)
   [8:17 PM] {still more tuning}
3. [8:17 PM] The Whole Night Sky
   [8:21 PM] {BC: 'Thanks very much'; swap to dreadnought acoustic guitar. BC: 'How do you like my Taylor Swift costume change?' Pause for tuning the new guitar.}
4. [8:23 PM] When You Give It Away
   [8:27 PM] {BC tuning again; BC: 'Gonna do a couple more recent songs'; still more tuning}
5. [8:28 PM] King of the Bolero
   [8:33 PM] {tuning; back announcement}
6. [8:34 PM] Push Come to Shove
   [8:38 PM] {tuning; BC: 'this is another old song'}
7. [8:38 PM] Berlin Tonight
   [8:46 PM] {BC spills his drinking water; introduction to the next song}
8. [8:46 PM] Café Society
   [8:51 PM] {BC: 'Gonna do one more song and then take a break'; more tuning}
9. [8:51 PM] All the Diamonds in the World
   [8:55 PM] {applause at set end}

[9:25 PM] {BC out again; begins on the green acoustic guitar}

1. [9:27 PM] Last Night of the World
   [9:32 PM] {BC: 'Here's a Canadian song'; Al Purdy songwriting story}
2. [9:36 PM] 3 Al Purdys
   [9:42 PM] {BC briefly alludes to writing the next tune while in Nepal}
3. [9:42 PM] Understanding Nothing
   [9:48 PM] {BC swaps to dulcimer; jokes about getting his steps in; tells about writing the next tune with Susan Aglukark}
4. [9:49 PM] To Keep The World We Know
   [9:53 PM] {BC swaps back to the green acoustic}
5. [9:56 PM] Lovers in a Dangerous Time
   [10:00 PM] {BC encourages us to sing along in the next one – if we know when and how!}
6. [10:01 PM] Wondering Where the Lions Are
   [10:05 PM] {BC compliments the audience; swaps to 12-string guitar}
7. [10:07 PM] Call It Democracy
   [10:10 PM] {BC: 'Thank you'; more tuning!; 'this is a little song about fame'}
8. [10:11 PM] Tie Me at the Crossroads
   [10:14 PM] {BC swaps back to the green acoustic; 'this is another good one to sing to'}
9. [10:16 PM] When You Arrive
   [10:19 PM] {applause at set end}
   
   Encore
   [10:22 PM] {BC back onstage; TYVM; Encore requests; BC explains that he doesn't play Rocket Launcher anymore}
10. [10:22 PM] Pacing the Cage
    [10:27 PM] {BC needles the boor: 'some of you have been drinkin''}
11. [10:28 PM] Into the Now
    [10:32 PM] {BC: TYVM … 'gonna leave you with this one'}
12. [10:33 PM] When the Spirit Walks in the Room
    [10:37 PM] {final applause}
    [10:37 PM] {BC heads offstage; show ends}

• Bruce Cockburn: acoustic resonator guitar, acoustic guitar, dulcimer, acoustic 12-string guitar, vox;

Seeing Bruce Cockburn briefly last year must have got me back onto his email announce list, because we ended up getting great seats to tonight's show through his fan presale… thanks Bruce!

Bruce did a good job filling the hall – maybe 70-80%? – and the turnout was overwhelmingly grey longhairs like us, with a smattering of young 'uns (family members of older fans?). Happily, most folks were well behaved and kept their mid-show thoughts mostly to themselves. A couple of times people shouted something stupid or funny – and most of the time Bruce ignored them, but every now and then he responded with a good zinger.

His arthritis might be slowing him down a bit – witness the walking sticks and hand wringing – but IMHO he's doing a great job at keeping true to himself despite the travails of old age: I really like his latest album, O Sun O Moon – give it a spin!

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2025 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2025 event list! ☸ On to the next event!