Break out the champagne, and pink bras, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are back
Shake up that bottle of champagne, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are back.
The Boss carried a bottle of champagne when he walked on stage April 12 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. He shook it up and sprayed the audience
“We're back — somebody lost their money!” said Springsteen with a big smile. “Somebody lost their money or we wouldn't be back. I don't care if you lost your money or you win your money tonight, we're going to make you the luckiest people in the world!”
Then two wild cards to start the show, “Roll of the Dice” and “Lucky Town,” appropriate for the casino setting. The barker introduction and opening songs set the tone for the show — a night of fun, spontaneous rocking. The show was the first for Springsteen and E Street on the East Coast since their Sept. 3 concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
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So how's Springsteen? The Boss, 74, postponed the tour last September due to a bout with peptic ulcer disease. The tour relaunched last month in Phoenix. In Uncasville, Springsteen was full-voiced, spry, and a bit mischievous, too. He referred to E Street Band during the show-closing exaltation with the X-rated term he called Larry David on a recent episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Kids, cover your ears when he's talking.
When he's singing, listen up. There were sweetly sustained notes on “Letter to You,” core-rocking earthy growls on “Seeds,” and majestic intonations on “The Promised Land.” The Boss paints a vivid picture with his voice.
The band is prime. The E Street Horns — Jake Clemons and Eddie Manion, sax; Curt Ramm and Barry Danielian, trumpet; and Ozzie Melendez, trombone, plus violinist Soozie Tyrell — lifted “Lonesome Day” into arena rocker status.
The drum intro to “Ghosts” by Max Weinberg electrified. Roy Bittan's piano intro to “Backstreets” thrilled. The dead-string scrapping by Nils Lofgren and Steven Van Zandt on “I'm on Fire” was a thing of rough-hewed beauty, and the E Street Choir's backing vocals on the third verse of “The Promised Land” were beyond stirring.
The choir — Anthony Almonte, Curtis King, Michelle Moore, Lisa Lowell and Ada Dyer — brought a special energy.
Garry Talent, bass, and Charles Giordano, keyboards, are pivotal players. Clemons’ star is bright when he plays his uncle Clarence Clemons’ solos, and his parts in songs from from the 2020 album “Letter to You.”
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The concert's narrative at Mohegan Sun is essentially the same as last year’s run of shows: a meditation of the passing of time, and friends, with the intent of rocking into that good night.
“Letter to You” was inspired by the passing of George Theiss, Springsteen's bandmate in his Freehold teenage band, the Castiles. Springsteen is the last surviving member of the group.
“We're here tonight to bring the joyous power of rock 'n' roll into your life,” said Springsteen during the “My City of Ruins” intro. “We're here to bring the (blanking) fun. We're here to wake you up and to shake you up and to take you up to higher ground.”
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A higher ground is also, like Springsteen said, a fun and spontaneous place. The 2024 tour setlists so far have been more varied than in 2023. Yet the mission remains.
“I'll See you in My Dreams,” a sweetly rendered solo salute to those who have passed, still closes the show — but the concert felt different, more spirited in a life-affirming way.
Case in point “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” went a bit off the rails toward the end of the show, and a pink bra flew into the stage during its performance. It wound up on Springsteen's guitar neck.
It turns out Uncasville is Lucky Town after all.
Springsteen Mohegan Sun setlist
Roll of the Dice
Lucky Town
Lonesome Day
Ghosts
Letter to You
Seeds
The Promised Land
Spirit in the Night
Hungry Heart
My City of Ruins
Trapped
Nightshift
Last Man Standing
Backstreets
Because the Night
I'm on Fire
She's the One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
I'll See You in My Dreams
Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band are back, play Uncasville
