Bruce Springsteen at Verizon Center
Around this time last week, Bruce Springsteen found himself surrounded by the old guard. As one of the marquee AARP-approved acts at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’s 25th anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden, Springsteen belted out feel-good oldies with Billy Joel, hammed it up with Bono, got serious with Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, and emoted on a rendition of “Because The Night” with Patti Smith. All of these collaborations, however dubious, demonstrate the masterful interloping skills Springsteen still exercises even into his golden years. Whether it’s positioning himself within the American folk tradition on 2006’s We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions or a much ballyhooed appropriation of The Magnetic Fields droll electro-pop on 2007’s Magic, Springsteen has managed to avoid the stagnant inertia that plagues many of his contemporaries.
His latest novelty is performing classic albums in their entirety—a now popular conceit that guarantees audiences won’t be subjected to unwanted new material by their favorite artists. The ploy has worked for everyone from Van Morrison to the Pixies, but it’s a somewhat unusual choice for Springsteen, whose marathon shows with his E Street Band are cherished for their spontaneity and unpredictable set lists. The three albums he’s chosen for this tour—Born To Run (1975), Darkness On The Edge of Town (1978), and Born In The USA (1984)—all conjure different moods, but each falls within Springsteen’s infallible epoch. For Monday night’s show at the Verizon Center, the band performed Born to Run, a record Springsteen eloquently described as an important album “that began a lifelong conversation between the audience and us.” Many of the record’s songs are featured during the band’s regular sets, but rarely performed cathartic tearjerkers “Backstreets” and “Jungleland” ranked among the evening’s highlights.
Springsteen seamlessly inhabits each genre he touches upon. He was at times silly and over-the-top (“Outlaw Pete,” “Pink Cadillac”), pensive and anguished (“Hard Times”), or hopeful and messianic (“Lonesome Day,” “The Rising”). Somewhere within the almost three-hour, 25-song-set, he even found the time to play a political rabble-rouser, but his politicking was kept to a minimum despite reports that White House Chief Of Staff Rahm Emanuel was in attendance.
The Baptist preacher, another of Springsteen’s cultivated personas, also gave numerous sermons throughout the evening on the magnificent healing power of music. Being saved by brother Springsteen requires a slight suspension of disbelief but anyone that can do justice to Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher,” has already proven he’s fully capable of minor miracles.
Though most of The E Street Band might not look quite as fetching as Bruce in a tight pair of blue jeans, they have hardly lost their luster. Guitarist "Little" Steven Van Zandt’s puffy, bulldog-like face might not do him any favors on the JumboTron, but his off-key harmonies retain their weary charm. Even Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons, who has struggled recently after multiple joint replacements, looked sprightly at points.
It goes without saying that Springsteen’s stamina borderlines on mythological—a 60-year-old dynamo that plays sets longer than most of his audience wants to stand is truly the stuff of legend. Other than an unfortunate penchant for Viagra jokes, his youthful workman-like presentation complements the hard-earned wisdom of the songs. When Springsteen plays up his oversized man-of-the-people shtick—literally immersing himself in the crowd during “Hungry Heart”—he can electrify an entire stadium. But the most telling moments came when the raised house lights during “Born To Run” and “Dancing In The Dark” illuminated the audiences’ fervent, personal reactions to songs they’ve already heard countless times.
