Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band delivered one of the most politically charged performances of their tour to date at a sold-out Nationals Park in Washington DC on Wednesday night, with the Boss urging thousands of rain-soaked fans to make their voices heard all the way to the White House. The performance was planned as the final date of Springsteen’s ‘Land of Hope and Dreams US Tour’, billed as ‘Minneapolis to Washington’, although the tour’s final show will be Saturday in Philadelphia after rescheduling.According to a concert review by The Hollywood Reporter, the night had an unmistakable energy from the moment Springsteen took the stage in his trademark vest, shirt and tie, with his hair neatly trimmed.
The most talked about moment of the night
The most shocking moment of the evening came in ‘Streets of Minneapolis’, Springsteen’s ICE-related death of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and Minneapolis and St. He wrote the song about the resistance created by the citizens of Paul. Performed live, the song transformed from a folk ballad into something much more visceral, with Springsteen opening with an acoustic solo before the band joined the chorus.At a key moment in the last verse, Springsteen yells “ICE out now!” he invited the crowd to sing along with the line, “Let him hear it in the White House.” The crowd filled it, and at the end of the song he spontaneously sang along without any prompting from Springsteen, a moment that moved many standing in the rain.
Springsteen’s political message during the show
The show began with Springsteen’s famous declaration of intent, before every show on the tour. “The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to invoke the honest power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times,” he told the crowd. “Tonight, we ask all of you to join us in hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over rampant corruption, resistance over complacency, unity over division.“The band then played a cover of Edwin Starr’s Vietnam-era anthem ‘War’, “as a prayer for our men and women in service overseas,” before diving straight into “Born in the USA.”Before the gospel-informed ‘My City of Ruins’, Springsteen ran through a litany of current political transgressions, each line punctuated by the words “This is happening now.” He spoke about immigrants being held in non-profit detention centers, including Delaney Hall, in his home state of New Jersey, as well as the Supreme Court’s mandate, museum censorship, the move away from NATO and the decimation of USAID.
Tom Morello’s role and the whole team
Joining the 18-piece E Street Band on this tour is Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave co-founder Tom Morello, who has gone from occasional guest to full tour member, playing 12 of the set’s 27 songs. Highlights included a cover of the Clash’s ‘Clampdown’ with vocals from Morello and Springsteen, a haunting solo on ‘American Skin (41 Shots)’ and a duet on ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’, both guitar solos amped up in a version closer to the famous Rage Against the Machine cover. Longtime guitarist Nils Lofgren also shined with standout solos on ‘Youngstown’ and ‘Because the Night’, while five-decade veteran Steven Van Zandt held his own.
Setlist and closing song
The main set finished with ‘Badlands’ and ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ before the band returned for ‘Born to Run’, ‘Dancing in the Dark’ and ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze Out’. Springsteen has closed every night of the tour with Bob Dylan’s 1964 ‘Chimes of Freedom’, a version inspired by the Byrds’ cover of Amnesty International’s 1988 ‘Human Rights Now!’ He included the song called for the first time in the group’s repertoire. tour
Advertisement for the ‘Power to the People’ festival
Before the night ended, Springsteen made the first announcement of the ‘Power to the People’ festival, which will take place outside Washington DC on October 3rd. The lineup includes Tom Morello, Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Dropkick Murphys and more, along with Springsteen himself.
