For two nights leading into the weekend, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band mightily and loudly made amends to Philadelphia for cancelling its 2023 stadium shows at Citizens Bank Park due to illness. Ripping through 30 songs in 3 hours on Friday night – from the punkish ‘Seeds’ to the quietly elegiac ‘I’ll See You in My Dreams’ – a robust, raw-singing Springsteen held the Citizen Bank Park audience in his hand by proving (again) what the true power of rock-n-roll could be when handled by its sturdiest, most soulful stalwarts.
And yes, The Boss even told the sold-out crowd at South Philly’s CPB just what happened with his disabling peptic ulcer, the cause of his 2023 cancelation.
“My belly was fu**ing killing me,” he said, laughing, during a take on ‘Growin’ Up,’ one of his humbly uplifting classics, and a particularly beloved song in the Philly area. “Anything I did, my belly hurt. Trying to sing, my belly hurt. If I tried to play the guitar, my belly hurt. If I went to kiss my baby, my belly hurt. I was laying there thinking, ‘I’d rather be in Philadelphia.’”
The idea of what Philadelphia was to him and his crew lingered throughout Springsteen and the E Street Band’s set as he brought up playing at Ardmore’s now-gone Main Point live venue 50-years-ago and sent audience members to Google who the “Chicken Man in Philly” was during an unnervingly paced version of ‘Atlantic City.’
Of course, everyone shouted “Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce” throughout the entire three-hour concert.
While some acts can often be dwarfed by the immensity of a baseball stadium, even Springsteen’s most intimate moments – such as ‘Reason to Believe’ and ‘Long Walk Home’ — the latter introduced as a “prayer for our country” – rose to the occasion and grandeur. Then again, having a large, well-oiled ensemble such as the E Street Band rocking besides him was half the battle.
The E Street Band created a pulsating wall of sound for The Boss to rock upon. Springsteen’s longtime consigliere, Little Steven Van Zandt (also known as “Miami Steve,” a long-ago nickname that Springsteen reminded the crowd of during a comic interlude) was the night’s MVP, cutting through a briskly bold guitar solo during the rousing ‘Prove It All Night’ and providing rich vocal harmonies on ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ and ‘The Promised Land.’
Saxophonist Jake Clemons – famously, the nephew of “The Big Man,” Clarence Clemons, Bruce’s legendary sparring partner from 1972 until his death in 2011 – wielded his joyful axe on fan-familiars such as ‘She’s the One’ and ‘Dancing in the Dark.’ After the band introductions and during the rollicking ‘Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,’ the wide-open stage’s large video screens showed footage of Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici – the E Street Band’s two fallen members.
But make no mistake, this was The Boss’ night, with Springsteen doing more hard work than any 74-year-old had the right do. Like a good politician, Springsteen ran across the front rows, slapping hands, posing for selfies, mugging wildly and playing with children, even getting a few kids to sing ‘Waitin’ on a Sunny Day’ with him.
He turned Citizens Bank Park into the parade scene in ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ by leading the E Street Band and the crowd through a wiggy ‘Twist and Shout.’ And whether he was crooning through ‘Two Hearts’ — with its finale of ‘It Takes Two’ by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston and the stoic ‘Last Man Standing’ — or roaring hoarsely through the back-to-back-to-back buoyancy of ‘Badlands,’ ‘Thunder Road,’ ‘Born to Run’ and ‘Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),’ Springsteen proved to Philadelphia his devotion to one of his favorite cities, and the might of hard rocking, deeply soul-stirring music.
