Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Bounce Back Near Boston: Recap, Photos & Video

After postponing two shows in Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band continued their late-summer U.S. stadium tour on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, just outside Boston.

It’s been a busy year for them, already having completed a run of U.S. arena shows in the spring and taking over Europe for most of the summer. With a busy rest of the year to come, E Street is as bustling as could be.

Whether hardcore fans like it or not, the current setlist is the show Bruce wants to give the audience, at least this year. Gone for the most part art the spontaneous moments, special treats, and marathon shows. There are some songs swaps here and there from show to show, but like his pre-lockdown Broadway production, Bruce has put together a group of songs that he is proud to do a show behind.

There are certain moments in this current show that are absolutely beautiful. “Kitty’s Back” continues to be a treat, letting the entire E Street Band stretch their legs and show off how talented they are. Bruce conducts the band like it’s an orchestra, pointing to many of the band members to solo, bringing the whole band back in with a wave of his hands, and having them all drop out as he rips a brilliant solo.

“E Street Shuffle” gives the only two musicians who don’t get to shine on “Kitty’s Back” a moment in the sun, Max Weinberg and Anthony Almonte, who respectively have a drum and percussion battle toward the end of the song, much to the crowd’s delight.

The only song that continues to be played from Only the Strong Survive, “Nightshift,” also continues to be a highlight, vocalist Curtis King Jr. joins Bruce downstage to solo alongside him, as the other members of the E Street Choir help out from the main stage. Bruce really seems to enjoy singing this song and gives it his all. His voice was a little rough in Foxborough all night, but he powered through and sang every song with as much conviction and power as he could.

The centerpiece to the show is “Last Man Standing” into “Backstreets.” Bruce has been perfecting his speech about his friendship with George Theiss, The Castiles, time passing, how to live your life, what death means, and how every moment counts. The stadium was attentive as he is gave the speech and sang “Last Man Standing,” like he’s giving a sermon. Once it transitions into “Backstreets” the crowd cheered and sang along at the top of their lungs in a full on release of the pent up energy of life. For anyone who has lost a loved one these past few years, this moment in the middle of the show will probably get to you.

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The last hour of the show is also pretty perfect, if you just want hit after hit after hit. Much like Paul McCartney or The Rolling Stones, the ending of this show is just letting those there sing all the songs they love, at the top of their lungs, with thousands of your closest friends. Closing out the set with “Badlands” and “Thunder Road” would be it for any other band, but then after a quick bow it was back to work with “Born to Run” and the house lights go up — something he has done for a long time at this point and it never gets old.

There’s the silliness of “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” and “Glory Days” followed by “Dancing in the Dark,” still with the house lights up. Bruce then conducted the band for a moment and told the story of the band with “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.”

To close the show, Bruce was alone onstage bringing home the theme of the night — remembering those no longer with us — with “I’ll See You in My Dreams.” After the highs of all the hits, closing with this slower acoustic song might seem like the wrong move to a lot of people, but it tied the entire night together.

There are far less shows that are going to be played by Bruce and the band going forward and every single one should be cherished, whether it’s the ideal setlist or not. One day they won’t be playing anymore and the only way you’ll be able to see them is through your memories and dreams. If you’ve never had the chance to see the heart stopping legendary E Street Band, make sure you go before the calendar turns to 2024.

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Photos by Bryan Lasky

https://www.instagram.com/p/CwXzwfaOcbr/

Setlist

Source: JamBase.com