Bruce Springsteen's first arena show in eight years in Music City on Thursday night drew such Nashville royalty as Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, Amy Grant, Martina McBride, dobro player extraordinaire Jerry Douglas and Kim Carnes of 'Bette Davis Eyes' fame. But it was the ghosts whose true presence was felt.

Performing at the Sommet Center, Springsteen conjured up Spirits in the Night as he first evoked that of Elvis with the jump blues classic 'Good Rocking Tonight,' a tour premiere and a song Springsteen recalled the band had played at the now legendary Passaic, N.J.-Capital Theater shows in 1978. The song, which he played as a request from an audience member's sign, required a "short conference" called by Springsteen for the band to go over the chords before they launched into a sloppy, but high-spirited version. A few tunes later, accompanied only by guitarist Nils Lofgren, Springsteen rendered a beautifully soulful short take on Johnny Cash's 'I Walk the Line,' introducing it by saying, "This man cut a few of my songs. His voice is deeply missed."
During the encore, prompted by another sign in the audience, Springsteen -- clearly relishing the interaction with the crowd -- acknowledged that the night before, Aug. 21, was Joe Strummer's birthday. Calling the Clash guitarist "one of the greatest rockers of all time," Springsteen delved into another rock classic, 'I Fought the Law,' featured on the Clash's 1979 self-titled American debut.

With only three more dates to go before the 'Magic' tour's end, the Nashville concert was a dream for longtime fans with Springsteen bringing out such rarely-played deep cuts as 'Loose Ends,' 'Youngstown,' 'Held Up Without a Gun,' 'I'm Goin' Down' and -- for the true aficionados -- 'She's the One' paired with the adored, seldom-performed 'Mona' intro.