The Boss wasn't playing around when he opened his Land of Hope and Dreams Tour on Tuesday (3/31) at Target Center in Minneapolis.
After the band emerged on a dark stage, 76-year-old Bruce Springsteen, intentionally unlit delivered a solemn welcome to the 19,000 as a hint of keyboards provided a heavy mood behind his serious words.
“I want to begin tonight with a prayer for our men and women in service overseas,” the rocker began. “We pray for their safe return. The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times. We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideals, democracy, our Constitution, and our sacred American promise."
He told the crowd how the USA he loves and has been writing about for 50 years is currently being damaged by leaders he called "corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous."
Springsteen wrapped up the intro by saying, “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, unity over division, and peace over--"
"WAR," he and the powerful E. Street Band yelled as all the lights flashed on and they all immediately broke into a startling version of The Temptations' classic protest song.
Alongside Springsteen, E Street on Tuesday was comprised of Roy Bittan (piano, keyboards), Nils Lofgren (guitar, vocals), Garry Tallent (bass), Stevie Van Zandt (guitar, vocals), Max Weinberg (drums), Jake Clemons (saxophone), Charlie Giordano (organ, keyboards), Soozie Tyrell (violin, guitar, vocals), Barry Danielian (trumpet), Curt Ramm (trumpet), Eddie Manion (saxophone), Ozzie Melendez (trombone), Lisa Lowell (vocals), Michelle Moore (vocals), Ada Dyer (vocals), Curtis King (vocals), and Anthony Almonte (percussion, vocals), with Tom Morello (guitar, vocals) featured throughout the set.
The opening song was so striking, it reminded the audience, and all those who watched it for free via streaming on YouTube that The Boss might be a step slower in his strut, but he can still startle, surprise, and inspire when you least expect it.
Last month the 20x Grammy-winner promised the Minnesota Star Tribune, "the tour is going to be political and very topical about what's going on in the country" and that his band was "built for hard times. It always was."
Neither Springsteen nor his musical director Little Steven have ever shied away from politics.
From his participation in the 1979 No Nukes concert to the oft-misunderstood anti-war title track of 1984's Born in the USA, Springsteen has walked in the footsteps of his heroes before him Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon and used his platform to try to advance social change, while having a great time along the way.
So it was no surprise Springsteen's old pal, Tom Morello, rejoined the E Street Band for the night on 11 of the 27 tunes.
The Harvard-educated former Rage Against the Machine guitar hero was part of E. Street from 2012-2015, and plays on Springsteen's Wrecking Ball and High Hopes albums.
Fun fact: While "War" originally was recorded by the Temptations in 1969, Motown didn't want it released as a single with the popular vocal group in fear it would hurt their wholesome image. So the label had Edwin Starr record it and it quickly went to #1 on the singles charts and became one of the biggest protest songs in history.
Its popularity and notoriety sustained through the 21st century. In the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11, Clear Channel radio (now iHeart) famously overreacted and banned 164 songs from being played on its airwaves. Of those were the entirety of the Rage Against the Machine catalogue, and both Starr and Springsteen's versions of "War."
While many politicians often fail to live up to their promises, Springsteen kept his with the Minnesota newspaper.
The set was chock full of his most biting, gnarly, and yes political tunes in his rich catalogue: "Death to My Hometown," "No Surrender," "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "The Promised Land," "Out in the Street," "Youngstown," "Murder Incorporated," "American Skin (41 Shots)," "Long Walk Home," "My City of Ruins," "Wrecking Ball," "The Rising," "The Ghost of Tom Joad," "Badlands," and his latest single "Streets of Minneapolis," written after the shooting deaths in Minnesota of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which he performed Tuesday for the first time with a full band.
In February Springsteen live debuted the tune across the street at the legendary club First Avenue, but acoustically.
The Boss also balanced the set with upbeat rockers and even a somewhat surprising cover, Prince's epic "Purple Rain," which was made famous via the film that was shot at the aforementioned nearby club.
Morello's guitar screamed during moments of the solo in the most beautiful way. It was just the fourth time Springsteen had covered the Oscar-winning tune. The other three performances were in 2016, the year the Minneapolis native passed away.
Springsteen concluded the show with another little chat with the crowd, this time sitting on one of the steps of the stage.
"If you’re feeling helpless, hopeless, betrayed, frustrated, angry, I know. I mean, that’s why the E Street Band is here tonight,” Springsteen told the crowd.
“This is a tour that was not planned. We’re here tonight because we need to feel your hope and your strength, and we want to bring some hope and some strength for you. I hope we did that. All I can say is, God bless Alex Pretti, God bless Renee Good, God bless you and God bless America.”
And then he and the band played Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom," and went off into the streets of Minneapolis.
Planned or not, Bruce wanted it to start in Minneapolis and end in Washington DC. And that's just what's going to happen including two shows at the Forum, Madison Square Garden, and other basketball arenas around the USA.
Get tickets on his website.
Land of Hope And Dreams 2026 Tour
04/03 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
04/07 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
04/09 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
04/13 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
04/16 — Phoenix, AZ @ Mortgage Matchup Center
04/20 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
04/23 — Sunrise, FL @ Amerant Bank Arena
04/26 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
04/29 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
05/02 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
05/05 — Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena
05/08 — Philadelphia, PA @ Xfinity Mobile Arena
05/11 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/14 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
05/16 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/19 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
05/22 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Arena
05/24 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
05/27 — Washington, DC @ Nationals Park
