Wow.
Bruce Springsteen never puts on a bad show, but last night there was some kind of lightning magic in the air at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Even though Springsteen didn’t sing “I’m on Fire,” he was. All revved up and hearkening a Bruce of a decade ago even though he’s 76 and had a few health issues — all gone now — in recent years.
Donald Trump has called Springsteen “a dried up old prune” but the lardass in the White House should only look half as good.
Bruce was so catalyzed by the murders in Minneapolis by ICE of Renee Good and Alex Pretti this winter that he sat down, wrote a song, recorded and released it over a 48 hour period. That’s the incredibly tuneful and angry “Streets of Minneapolis.” The experience caused this tour, called “No Kings: Land of Hope and Dreams,” to be assembled overnight.
The first stop, naturally, was in Minneapolis, where Bruce and the E Street Band were welcomed as heroes.
Last night, the band arrived on their home turf, in New Jersey, for another heroes’ welcome. There’s nothing like seeing the E Street Band in the Garden State. The completely sold out audience in the Prudential Center was wild, not so innocent, singing loudly all the lyrics to every song, knowing every word. The Pru is smaller than Madison Square Garden, so the effect is even more intimate.
This show is three hours long, which is an hour shorter than usual. The set list is the same every night, a a digression from the four hour shows where Bruce keeps changing it up. The result is a much tighter, disciplined performance of well chosen songs, all hits in their own way. The list is so well thought out, there isn’t a dud among them.
Because of that, every single band member — there may be 15 people on stage including five spectacular horns and at least two backup singers — gets to shine. The solos — particularly insane guitar work from axe men Little Steven, Nils Lofgren, and special guest Tom Morello — are religious experiences.
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And then there’s Bruce, trim, fit, no “dried up prune” as Trump — so jealous — refers to him. Maybe because there are two or three day breaks between shows, Bruce’s voice sounds like it’s been de-aged 10 years. He’s got all his power back. He leads this massive band, with overtones of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, like a general in a charge.
After his first heartfelt political speech about the state of the country, the show begins with the roar of Edwin Starr’s Motown hit, “War (What Is it Good For?)” and the pulse quickening never lets up: there’s the “Nebraska” version of “Born in the USA,” followed by “My Hometown.”
And then this group of men (and women) in their 70s ramp up like a cyclone of punk rock for a cover of The Clash’s anti-establishment anthem, “Welcome to the Clampdown.” It was a frenzy. I was watching Max Weinberg pound it out, thinking ‘I hope he lives through this.’ But he does, and it’s a warm up for 25 more songs!
Everyone has favorite moments, but mine last night were Bruce and Stevie turning their old single, “Two Hearts,” into a soul stirrer (they finish it up with the Marvin Gaye-Kim Weston classic, “It Takes Two”). You think about how fresh it all sounds, not 45 years old! “Streets of Minneapolis” — very moving but also cleverly written to beb memorable and catchy, digs grooves that we hear now that the surprise release has passed.The gospel of “My City of Ruins” and “The Rising” was like going to church, the utter rock out joy of “Because the Night,” Morello’s star turn on “Badlands,” and the Curtis Mayfield slam of “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
Through it all, Little Steven, Stevie van Zandt, brings the soul on his guitar like he was 25, and Nils Lofgren is the group’s hitman. They are poetry in motion.
I read about people paying $5,000 to see Justin Bieber at Coachella. Are they joking? Do they think that’s music? Bruce and the E Street Band, 55 years in, would make Coachella audiences’ heads explode. The encore was like an H bomb, particularly the great segue from “Born to Run” into “Dancing in the Dark,” and the story of we got here in “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out.” Bruce ends the show with a song by his forerunner, Bob Dylan, “Chimes of Freedom,” which sums up the whole night.
There’s a mosh pit, of course, if you can stand for three hours. The floor section is next, behind what looks like a low metal divider. But it’s a ramp. and toward the end of the show Bruce arrives, fighting a jungle of fans down an aisle and then up onto it like a teenager or Elvis at a rock and roll show. What’s he on? Adrenalin and cornflakes. I’ll have what he’s having, please, he’s so engaged and vibrant at 76. When his back is turned, the image is like the cover of “Born in the USA.” Me? I’m ready for a nap!
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