Bruce Springsteen opens Australia-NZ tour

Bruce Springsteen, pictured here at an earlier show in South Africa last week, has opened his Australian-NZ tour in Perth.(AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam)

There was plenty of sexy hip shaking and dancing, some crowd surfing and even some beer sculling - not bad for a 64-year-old rock star.

Bruce Springsteen certainly knows how to put on a good show and he had the sold-out crowd at Perth Arena in the palm of his hand as he opened his Australian tour in the city on Wednesday night - his first ever show on the west coast.

He may have been half an hour late, but The Boss can do that without any of his fans feeling disgruntled - especially because he played an energetic three-hour set.

There was a loud roar as the New Jersey rocker hit the stage and as he joked that he had eaten his vegemite sandwich, the concert began in full swing.

"It's great to be in the most remotest place on earth," he quipped.

But towards the end of the show - after many standing ovations - he said it was not so far to travel to Perth after all.

Springsteen played a raft of new songs and beloved classics including High Hopes, Death To My Home Town and Badlands, which really got the crowd pumped.

When he and the E Street Band played Hungry Heart, the audience sang most of the lyrics as The Boss ran past fans and then surfed the crowd back to the stage.

Each band member was also given their moment to shine, but some of the solos went a little too long.

During Wrecking Ball, Springsteen urged everyone to sing along and cheer louder, telling them, "We're on the edge of the world! You've got to shout louder than that!" So they did.

It was during that song, however, that problems began with projected images on the main stage screen, with only the side screens displaying any footage, and that happened several more times during the concert, to the annoyance of fans sitting at the back.

There were also a few minor sound issues during the show.

At one point, Springsteen laughed at himself for forgetting the lyrics to one song, but everyone soon moved on as he sculled a cup of beer while getting a massage from women in the crowd.

Other hits included The River, during which one lucky fan got to keep Springsteen's harmonica, while Shackled and Drawn got everyone dancing.

Several fans were invited on stage.

One young girl helped him sing Waiting On A Sunny Day, while a woman also danced with Springsteen and got to sing and play guitar, and another group of girls also took to the stage later in the evening.

The veteran rocker also took requests including For You, which he performed on the piano and everyone was on their feet and swaying for Born To Run and Dancing In The Dark.

The show ended with Shout, before Springsteen added one more hit - Thunder Road.

Perth fans have been waiting a long time to see The Boss.

He was clearly worth the wait.

After three sold-out Perth shows, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band head to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Hunter Valley, Brisbane then on to Auckland for shows at Mt Smart Stadium on March 1 and 2).