Bruce Springsteen could be uninterested in speaking. Between two runs of his narrative-heavy Springsteen on Broadway residency and eight episodes of his Renegades: Born within the USA podcast co-hosted with former president Barack Obama, Springsteen had been doing quite a lot of gabbing within the six years since he final hit the highway with longtime backing outfit The E Avenue Band. But when Wednesday evening’s (Feb. 1) opener to the group’s 2023 Tour is any indication, story time is over: The Boss is again, and he simply desires to play.
Actually, for the nice majority of the present at Tampa’s Amalie Area, the one factor Springsteen needed to say — exterior of the occasional “TAMPA!” holler or stage path for his 19-piece band — was “one, two, three, 4!” as he launched their subsequent ripper. No point out was product of the comparatively lengthy layoff since their final international trek, nor of any of the real-world circumstances which may’ve accounted for a few these dormant years, nor even of the truth that this was their first present again; in the event you’d wandered in from throughout the road, you’d doubtless assume that they had already been on the highway for months already.
However in some ways, that’s simply Bruce Springsteen and the E Avenue Band. They might be rock historical past’s most profitable bar band, however they nonetheless have that working man’s strategy to the gig — and precedence certainly one of Wednesday’s present was demonstrating that they had been again in enterprise, and choosing proper up the place they left off. The group was cooking from the opener, Born in the usA. fist-pumping fan-favorite “No Give up,” and the power stayed at that stage near all through the 28-song set. No time for placing on airs; there was six years’ price of rocking to compensate for.
The setlist additionally mirrored this ethos, with the spirit of the choices being way more facet two of The River than facet 4. (Just one music really from The River, the boisterous rave-up “Out within the Avenue,” made the minimize; presumably Springsteen figured we bought our fill of that double LP the final day out.) Renditions of longtime stay staples like “Show It All Evening,” “She’s the One” and “Johnny 99” had been positively scorching — and although the present’s setlist was comparatively mild on main curveballs, longtime followers in attendance had been little doubt please to listen to the prolonged shine given to jammier early cuts “The E Avenue Shuffle” and “Kitty’s Again,” Springsteen even conducting the brass part in particular person solos on the latter.
And the person himself stays a bodily marvel. His voice is clearly nonetheless mighty, however you would possibly’ve questioned if age and day without work would lead to Springsteen, now 73, showing visibly diminished. However he nonetheless reveals a wiry, near-pugilistic scrappiness onstage — maybe just a little stiffer in motion, however no much less authoritative and placing for it. Amongst his traditional rock friends, maybe solely Stevie Nicks can evaluate by way of the quantity electrical energy they’ll summon to at the present time just by lifting their arms. (Bruce’s years would possibly present most in his humorousness, together with on-stage banter with sideman Stevie Van Zandt in the course of the ending of “Glory Days” about it being “time for us to go house… it’s well beyond my regular bedtime.”)
The present additionally aimed to display that Springsteen nonetheless has it as a songwriter, with a whopping six tracks pulled from his 2020 LP Letter to You. (Final yr’s Solely the Sturdy Survive cowl set bought a fast two-song mini-set, whereas 2019’s dustier group of originals Western Stars was not represented in any respect.) The brand new songs meshed surprisingly effectively with the outdated — notably the anthemic “Ghosts,” which already sounds prefer it ought to’ve been a stay fixture for many years — with the repetitive “Home of a Thousand Guitars” the lone choice the place you may really feel the power lag a bit. The night’s most emotionally charged second would possibly’ve include Springsteen’s spellbinding solo acoustic efficiency of Letter ballad “Final Man Standing,” preceded by his lone preamble of the night — which defined the music as being impressed by the loss of life of an early bandmate, leaving him the lone dwelling member of his first-ever band. “At 15, it’s all tomorrows… at 73, it’s a complete lot of yesterdays,” he summarized, to roaring viewers help. “So that you gotta profit from proper now.”
It definitely felt just like the band made essentially the most of their time in Tampa — notably as soon as they began blazing by means of a show-ending run of classics like “Born to Run,” “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” and “Dancing within the Darkish,” with Springsteen even mimicking his well-known dance strikes from the latter’s music video. The “Darkish” efficiency additionally included a uncommon miscue for the band, as somebody got here early with the chord modifications within the first verse — a foible that got here off as extra charming than something, particularly with the remainder of the group visibly shrugging to themselves and each other, eh whaddya gonna do, it’s opening evening, lotta tour nonetheless forward.
The ultimate quantity was a second Letter to You acoustic rendition, this time of “I’ll See You in My Goals,” which Springsteen additionally used to shut Springsteen on Broadway in 2021. Dedicating the music to Emily Rose Marcus — the just lately deceased daughter of rock critic Greil Marcus — Springsteen’s hushed efficiency was a completely heartbreaking nearer. However as he walked offstage at 10:43 ET, seemingly with time nonetheless left for an epic encore (“Thunder Highway” maybe?) the gang continued buzzing expectantly for a pair minutes — till the home lights got here on, confirming that The Boss was certainly testing. He had mentioned all he wanted to say for the evening.
Setlist:
No Give up
Ghosts
Show It All Evening
Letter to You
Promised Land
Out within the Avenue
Sweet’s Room
Kitty’s Again
Sensible Disguise
Nightshift
Don’t Play That Track
The E Avenue Shuffle
Johnny 99
Final Man Standing
Home of a Thousand Guitars
Backstreets
As a result of the Evening
She’s the One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands
Encore:
Burning Practice
Born To Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Glory Days
Dancing within the Darkish
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
I’ll See You in My Goals