Bruce Springsteen reminds his audience of their own power through his Land of Hope and Dreams tour
By NICK TAVARES
STATIC and FEEDBACK Editor
“We begin tonight with a prayer for our men and women in service overseas. We pray for an end to this conflict and for their safe return.
“The E Street Band is here tonight in celebration and defense of the American ideals and values that have sustained our country for 250 years. We are here to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock and roll in these trouble times. Our democracy, our constitution, our rule of law are being challenged right now, as never before, by a reckless, racist, incompetent, treasonous president and his ship of fools administration.
“So tonight we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency, truth over lies, unity over division and peace over WAR.”
So began a raucous night in Boston, as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band took the stage and immediately jumped into “War,” Edwin Starr’s lasting diatribe against needless death in the name of country and conquest. He then flowed seamlessly into “Born in the U.S.A.,” his often-misunderstood anthem to those who had to fight in Vietnam, only to return to their country to find that it had no use for them anymore.
This is how each stop on this jaunt, dubbed the “Land of Hope and Dreams” tour, has begun, and each night it has been a powerful response and call to action against the corrupt and brazen government currently leading the United States of America.
This has been building for years, of course, for both Springsteen and for his record of overtly political activity. While he’s always represented the spirit of the common man in the face of oppression, and had to deal with politicians co-opting his message for their specific needs, it wasn’t until 2004’s Vote for Change movement, in the shadow of the Iraq War, that he first openly endorsed any political candidate.
Things have gotten drastically more complicated since then, of course, bubbling and growing to its current, absurd state of affairs. So for Springsteen’s part, the messaging has gotten more overt and the sense of urgency has escalated.
Luckily, he was built for this moment, and he’s designed the setlist in such a way that the gravity of the music builds as he takes his audience on a three-hour journey. “Youngstown” and “Murder Incorporated” form a one-two punch that delivers a powerful message while taking advantage of the muscle that the E Street Band can provide, particularly when guitarist Nils Lofgren gets the spotlight. “American Skin (41 Shots)” and “My City of Ruins” remain as timely as ever, unfortunate as that may be. His latest anthem, “Streets of Minneapolis,” is a timely and stunning rebuke of the administration. And with guest Tom Morello on guitar, songs like “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and a cover of the Clash’s “Clampdown” are given even more weight than they’d already typically carry.
There were spots, of course, where just the sheer power of the music was enough to carry the moment. When he dusted off classics like “Two Hearts,” “Because the Night” or “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” it was simply a celebration of the moment with songs that everyone in that building have listened to and loved for years.
And of course, a number of his classic songs, like “The Promised Land,” “No Surrender” and “Born to Run,” were seemingly made for this moment. Again, he’s made a life out of speaking for what’s right in his unique voice, and that message has resonated through the years. And without lecturing or talking down to those in his audience, his opinions and hopes are cutting through all the external noise.
Years ago, Neil Young said that just singing a song won’t change the world. And on its own, that’s still correct. But that doesn’t take into account what Springsteen is attempting to do here. By emphatically reinforcing the message of discontent and disgust of our current situation, as kleptocrats drain the country of all assets and dignity in a shameless attempt to retain power and grow wealthier, he’s doing his part to rally people to not take these brazen acts lightly, and to remind those currently in power that they are outnumbered.
Whether or not it makes a difference remains to be seen, I suppose. The dripping fiend currently occupying the nation’s highest office has, when awake, clearly been annoyed by it, if his callous social media posts are any indication. But Springsteen hasn’t been silenced, and his tour has whipped through the country with a fervor and spirit that belies the age of the musicians on stage every night.
By the time the band wrapped up, all standing in line at the front of the stage for Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom,” it was both a celebration of the moment and a reminder that no one has to accept the current state of affairs, to go out into the night and be a better person, to bring something good into the world. And it was impossible to not leave the arena that night feeling more hopeful than before.
Bruce Springsteen is doing more than just singing a song. He’s inspiring people to not give in to complacency. In a career that has hardly had a peer, it could ultimately stand as his most vital moment.
E-mail Nick Tavares at nick@staticandfeedback.com