Bruce Springsteen, Obama Rally, Ben Franklin Parkway, Oct. 4, 2008

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Bruce Springsteen, Obama Rally, Ben Franklin Parkway, Oct. 4, 2008

POSTED: Monday, October 6, 2008, 1:39 AM

Filed Under: Music Show

Photos by Patrick Rapa

"I'm not Barack Obama," Bruce Springsteen said to the crowd that gathered for his free show on the Parkway. "But I'll do my best."

Half the crowd took the comment at face value. They were there for the junior senator from Illinois. But the other half took it with a grain of salt. The show may have been organized to register voters before today's deadline. But you have to remember, when it comes to a die hard fan, a supergroup made up of Elvis, Gandhi and Jesus could open and Springsteen would still kill.

Alone except for his guitar and harmonica, Springsteen opened with "The Promised Land" and continuing with a short set that was only vaguely political in nature. "I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality," Springsteen said, before introducing "The Rising." But it wasn't until 2004, when he stumped for Democratic nominee John Kerry with the likes of Connor Oberst and Eddie Vedder, that he became overtly political and the setlist reflected these ambiguities. "The Ghost of Old Tom Joad" and "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" are narrative versions of why Springsteen supports Obama. It wasn't about issues, which can be alienating when it comes to a guy who appeals to a wide demographic and has built his persona on being the Everyman. His speech before "The Rising" was more about healing the country than anything else, about upholding the Springsteenian ideal of the American Dream. If only so he was something to write about on his next record.

While Bruce is a natural band leader, able to harness the power of his backing bands (E Street, Seeger Sessions, those terrible people he used in the mid-'90s) on sheer charisma, he's also proved himself to be an adept solo artist (although, I'd be lying if I hadn't hoped Clarence Clemmons would spontaneously appear). Granted "Thunder Road" could be played on spoons and it would still be one of the best pop songs ever written, but "No Surrender," the rollicking pump-'er-up song from Born in the U.S.A., went over surprisingly well with minimal backing. He avoided "Born in U.S.A.," an obvious choice and instead chose to end with Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," which he'll break out now and again even when on E Street.

For a concert that was seemingly thrown together in a week, it ran smoothly. Angelo Cataldi welcomed the crowd. Nora Whittaker and Amos Lee opened. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (one of the least enthused speakers in the world) and Gov. Ed Rendell (who was met with cheers of "We love you Fast Eddie!") made their introductions. Guys hocked t-shirts saying things like "Stop the drama, vote Obama," with the cover of Magic, Springsteen's latest, on the other side. At one point, the crowd broke into a "Yes, we can" chant with Springsteen providing percussion but that was just a distraction from the show at hand. A woman wearing a homemade "Obama Mama" pin turned to my friend and me and said, "I was about your age in 1969 when I marched on Washington. I'll never forget it and now you're here." We both smiled, but were too polite to tell her that Obama was cool and all but we weren't there for him. Two guys behind us were smart enough to pack cans of Yuengling lest we forget the Boss was here.

Setlist:
The Promised Land
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Thunder Road
No Surrender
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street
The Rising
This Land is Your Land

Springsteen, Rendell and Bob Casey Jr.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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