![]() For others, it was the tour debut of "Jungleland," "Special for NYC," he said. Everybody brings their own memories, their own nostalgia, family and friends, into the arena with them.Īnd over the course of three flawless hours Springsteen and the greatest band of musicians in rock history, I said and I stand by it (and I have seen everyone), deliver moments that tap into whatever you are feeling.įor me, who was mourning on this night, the highlight was an absolutely epic "Backstreets," one alive with emotion, with pain, with beauty. What makes a Springsteen show so special is that for all nearly 21,000 people who stood on their feet delivering thunderous ovations for three hours, they have their own back story as to why it is so meaningful. Or maybe it's with all the losses we're all aware of our mortality and that this incredible run won't last forever. Maybe it's that in a post COVID lockdown world we weren't sure if or when we would see Springsteen and the E Street Band again. (Notably absent was Springsteen’s wife, E Street guitarist Patti Scialfa.So maybe it was with that expanded vision we all took in the transcendent performance, or maybe watching a show with the expanded vision that came from having just lost my dad I saw the show in a different light,īut I will say this, my sixtieth Springsteen show was arguably the best I have ever seen (and actor Jeff Garlin, seated the row in front of me, concurred, on this his, fifteenth or twentieth show). Backed by longtime drummer Max Weinberg, Springsteen regularly led little expeditions during songs to engage fans at the stage’s edge, or out onto a low catwalk – often joined by saxophonist Jake Clemons, nephew of longtime E-Streeter, the late Clarence “Big Man” Clemons – before falling back into the ranks, flanked by guitarists Nils Lofgren and “Little” Steven van Zandt. Heavy on Born To Run and Darkness At The Edge Of Town, they mixed in a few deeper cuts too, as well as covers of Commodores, Jimmy Cliff, and Patti Smith classics. ![]() When I was looking for a voice to mix with my voice, I put on my father’s work clothes and I went to work.”Īt their first Philly appearance in almost seven years, the ensemble opened with Born In The U.S.A.’s “No Surrender,” and continued on to deliver a nearly three-hour set of some twenty-five songs curated from their prolific back catalog. Which is a little ironic because that was personally never exactly really me – I think I created my particular stage persona out of my dad’s life, and perhaps I even built it to suit him to some degree. “If you just looked at the outside,” noted the singer introspectively in a 2016 interview with NPR’s Terry Gross, “it’s pretty alpha-male, you know. Springsteen paused in the spotlight before a cheering sold-out arena, right arm raised in silent salutation, left hand cradling the neck of his iconic battle-worn butterscotch 1950s Fender Esquire.Īt 73 now, the Jersey rocker appeared vibrant as ever, in a partially unbuttoned black dress shirt, short-sleeve cuffs rolled up some over his upper arms in a sort of signature ‘50s-era look, with nearly full head of hair, now gray but styled youthfully with back and sides buzzed. Bruce Springsteen emerged onstage last night at South Philly’s Wells Fargo Center, trailing a formidable parade of his musical family from the E Street Band, whose membership ultimately climbed to 18, including backup and horns.
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