Springsteen And E Street Band Deliver A Powerful Message In San Diego

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rolled into San Diego’s Pechanga Arena on Tuesday for the third date rescheduled from last fall, when Springsteen was sick with a peptic ulcer. As usual, there is an incredible amount to unpack from any Springsteen show.

First, there is the strictly musical standpoint. Looking at the show solely from a musical perspective, this is not only Springsteen and the E Street Band at their best, years from now this should be viewed as one of the best tours ever. Springsteen is in discussions for the greatest live act of all time, so Springsteen and the E Street Band at their best is as good as live music gets. Maybe its getting older, the years not being able to tour from COVID, the continued mortality that comes with aging, or just being better musicians with age, but Springsteen and the whole band have a renewed passion in every note. They are there to deliver that expertly.

As he said during a long intro to the tour debut of the powerful “My City In Ruins,” “We are here to bring the joyous power of rock and soul into your life. We are here to wake you, to shake you, to take you to higher ground.”

Starting with the raucous one-two-three punch of “Lonesome Day,” “Prove It All Night” and “No Surrender,” the band established a ferocious intensity and power that was coupled with a life-affirming joy. As I wrote last year after seeing the Madison Square Garden show, there is no greater celebration of life, in my opinion, than a Springsteen concert. That feeling again permeated the entire three-hour plus extravaganza.

The majority of the show was delivered with a fervent joy that was at a remarkably upbeat tempo. There were countless rocking highlights. The impassioned zealousness of “Badlands,” with the crowd’s screaming along; “Wrecking Ball”; the pure giddiness of “Detroit Medley” and “Rosalita,” which of course earned a huge pop with the line about down “San Diego way”; the party vibes of “Mary’s Place” and “Dancing In The Dark”; the beautifully uplifting “Bobby Jean”; the intensity of “She’s The One”; the timeless “Thunder Road”; the anthemic “Born To Run,” my vote for the single greatest live song in music for the incredible camaraderie and community the song inspires, turning 16,000 separate voices into one. The list goes on and on. Every song is a highlight in its own way.

Springsteen can take you on a pure party for three hours as well as anybody. But the show has an important message as well. Springsteen is smart enough to know that message is best heard quietly. As Cameron Crowe, who was at the San Diego show, said, “It was all about ‘Last Man Standing’ into ‘Backstreets’ for me. That couplet told the whole story.”

As usual, the astute Crowe was dead on. As Springsteen has discussed throughout the entire tour, “Last Man Standing” was inspired by being at the death bed of his early band mate George Theiss and how Theiss’ death led to his realization that he was the last man living from that band, The Castilles.

So, as he has throughout the tour, Springsteen spoke about the epiphany that sparked in him to “seize every day.” It is a profound message especially for his audience, who is older. Like he said, everyone in the crowd has people they’ve lost now.

When I saw the tour last year it was just a few weeks after the passing of my father, Bruce Baltin, a devout Springsteen fan who I saw my first show with in 1984. This show, interestingly, came just about a year later. So I had just marked my father’s one-year passing (the show last night also happened to be the two-year anniversary of Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins’ passing, a long time friend), and right before my birthday.

However, this isn’t about me. It’s about the way this tour makes you tap into your feelings and brings the message you need to hear at the time. That is a huge part of the magic of a Springsteen show. For fans the show speaks eloquently to where you are in life. Every person who enters the building has their demons, their loved ones, their memories, their ghosts in their heart, some uplifting them and some weighing them down.

You don’t have a more than 50-year career as one of the top artists in rock history without forming a true bond and connection with your fans. So Springsteen knows how to speak to his audience and find their feelings. That message is different for every person. In my case, when he spoke about being with and appreciating loved ones, I took it to be about choosing to spend your time with the people who appreciate and want to be with you as much as you want to be with them. Life is short, why waste it on people who do not cherish your time together and what you bring to them?

In other cases, for people who are afraid to share their feelings, the message might have been to tell people you love how you feel. Or maybe it was not to be scared to take that leap. The message is individual. But the fact that he, with the help of the mighty E Street Band, is able to deliver those messages time and time again is what makes a Springsteen gig such a uniquely impactful, life-affirming and unforgettable experience. If it doesn’t change your life, it will damn sure at least make you appreciate life again.