Bruce Springsteen Contemplates Mortality With Toronto Film Festival Documentary ‘Road Diary’: ‘If I Went Tomorrow, It’s OK. What a F—ing Ride!’
Toronto welcomed “The Boss” on Sunday night.
But it was a more contemplative Bruce Springsteen on display at the Roy Thomson Hall for the world premiere of “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band,” a look at the rock legend and his tight-knit group of collaborators, which also served as a meditation on mortality. Throughout the film and in the post-screening Q&A, though, the 74-year-old rocker stressed that he doesn’t plan to hang up his guitar any time soon. He wants to keep rocking until “the wheels come off.”
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“If I went tomorrow, it’s OK,” Springsteen told the crowd to loud applause. “What a fucking ride!”
Also in the documentary, Springsteen’s wife and E Street bandmate Patti Scialfa revealed she was diagnosed in 2018 with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. Her illness has made it difficult for her to perform and as a result, she’s taken a step back from touring.
“This affects my immune system so I have to be careful what I choose to do and where I choose to go,” she said in the film. “Every once in a while, I come to a show or two and I can sing a few songs on stage, and that’s been a treat. That’s the new normal for me right now, and I’m OK with that.”
“Road Diary” features footage from Springsteen’s latest world tour and an intimate look at the backstage planning. “That’s how we make the sausage,” Springsteen said as he took the stage. He isn’t the only music icon at this year’s festival. Elton John appeared earlier this weekend for the debut of “Elton John: Never Too Late,” a documentary that charted his musical triumphs and personal struggles, while singer- producer Pharrell Williams hit Toronto with “Piece by Piece,” an idiosyncratic look at his life story told with the help of Legos.
As for the E Street Band and Springsteen, their partnership has yielded Grammy Awards, chart-topping hits and decades of unforgettable concert appearances.
“You’re risking everything you have, but you’re not alone,” Springsteen said. “That only happens to a few bands. Bands break up. That’s the natural order of things. All bands break up. They can’t even get two guys to stay together. Simon hates Garfunkel.”
Springsteen said part of the reason the group has stayed together — though there have been breakups and fallow periods — was because they operated as a “benevolent dictatorship,” presumably with “The Boss” living up to his moniker. “Small unit democracies don’t work. We have this enormous collective where everyone has their role and a chance to contribute and to own their place in the band.”
“Road Diary” was directed by Thom Zimny, who previously examined the life and work of Springsteen with films like “The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “Western Stars,” both of which screened at past editions of TIFF. Zimny’s latest production explores Springsteen’s early years, breaking into the music business in the ’70s, as well as the E Street Band’s formation.
“We’ve known each other since we were so young,” Springsteen said. “And we’ve been good a long time. All those nights out on stage, where you are risking yourself, because that is what you’re doing. You are coming out. You are talking to people about the things that matter the most to you. You are leaving yourself wide open.”
The E Street Band is still filling arenas, but time has taken its toll. “Road Diary” memorializes two former members who are gone, but whose impact lingers: Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist who died in 2011, and Danny Federici, the organ player who died in 2008.
“I’d wish you all such a lovely and complete experience with your good friends,” Springsteen said. “It reminds me of the scene in ‘Blade Runner’… ‘I’ve seen [things you people wouldn’t believe].’ We’ve seen some of that shit.”
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