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CONCERT REVIEW: Bruce Springsteen @ Wells Fargo Center 3/28
Equal parts resurrection and unbridled joy, the rock 'n" roll of Bruce Springsteen in his first of two Philly shows on the Wrecking Ball tour was populist entertainment of the highest order. He wanted the audience to dance and ruminate, sing along and shout, and experience the unfamiliar of new songs before granting tastes of "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run."
CONCERT REVIEW: Bruce Springsteen @ Wells Fargo Center 3/28
Equal parts resurrection and unbridled joy, the rock ‘n” roll of Bruce Springsteen in his first of two Philly shows on the Wrecking Ball tour was populist entertainment of the highest order. He wanted the audience to dance and ruminate, sing along and shout, and experience the unfamiliar of new songs before granting tastes of “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run.”
Opening with the full throttle of two of the strongest rockers off of Wrecking Ball — “We Take Care of Our Own” and “Wrecking Ball” — showed The Boss’s well-deserved confidence in the material. Following these with the familiar of “Badlands” displayed the resiliency of the E Street Band. In place of the recently deceased force of Clarence Clemons was Clarence’s nephew Jake Clemons. Not a beat was missed, as Jake served up the saxophonic DNA of the rock anthem with the warmth and energy fans expect. The absence of Clarence was on the mind of the Boss, most notably in the show’s brilliant finale, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” when the song stopped cold for a nearly four minute applause for Clemons.
Even more on the mind of the Boss was the common man. The grim financial reality of “Jack of All Trades” silenced the audience until the line “If I had me a gun, I’d shoot the bastards on sight” got a rousing cheer. How to counter the bleakness? How about going to “Atlantic City?” The pure pleasure and crowdsurfing-infused covers “The Way You Do the Things You Do” and “634-5789” led into numbers of a different stripe in the injustice of “American Skin (41 Shots),” complete with a dedication to Trayvon Martin. Later the triumph of “The Rising” is proceeded by one of the darkest songs in the Springsteen canon, the graveyard parable “We Are Alive.” “Thunder Road” followed, closing the main set by raising the Wells Fargo roof. As a counter point and the finest musical moment of the evening, “Rocky Ground” opened the encore with its gospel and rap moments perfectly woven into its raw rock sensibilities, sending shivers through the crowd on the back of Michelle Moore’s vocals.
Bruce Springsteen never ceases to amaze with his age-defying rock and roll marathons (this one was just shy of three hours). With the E Street Band flawlessly adapting to life post-Clarence Clemons in the studio and, as was apparent Wednesday, in concert, the Springsteen experience should be sustainable for many years to come.
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