All summer long, European Springsteenites have been smugly Tweeting and Instagramming the epic sets performed during the “Wrecking Ball” (one date in Helsinki, Finland, even went past the four-hour mark).
But they can crow all they want because no amount of time can compare to the thrill of seeing Bruce slugging it out in his own back yard, amplified by the undying love of his brothers and sisters from Jersey as he was last night (and will be again tomorrow and Saturday).
“This place is pretty nice,” quipped Springsteen early on about MetLife Stadium.
He should know.
Having made the old Meadowlands stadium his own, he seemed more than happy with the familiar feelings brought about by new digs, and showed as much by quickly unleashing a squall of show stoppers.
A shred-heavy version of “Prove It All Night,” brought gasps of admiration just two songs in before the giant karaoke session of “Hungry Heart” saw Bruce crowd-surf through his congregation and deliver the E Street gospel face-to-face.
Barely half an hour in, the girders inside the stadium seemed to shake under the excitement of the sold-out crowd.
That was all before Bruce bought out the “Wrecking Ball.” His 17th album won’t necessarily be remembered as one of his greats, but since hitting the road back in the spring, the E Street Band has homed in on which songs work best.
The album’s lead track, “We Take Care of Our Own,” epitomized that selection.
Its angry cry of working-class disenchantment now occupies an anthemic status that almost matches “Born in the USA” for both sonic power and lyrical righteousness. Similarly, the Celtic jig that is “Death to My Hometown” has developed into a linchpin of the set and, despite its grave subject matter, had everyone dancing like it was happy hour on St. Patrick’s Day.
But those modern gems still don’t match the buzz of seeing Bruce pick at his past and bring it back to life.
Aside from placating his oldest fans with the streetwise sounds of “Spirit in the Night” and a brilliant bar-boogie version of “Johnny 99,” Springsteen also brought on estranged original drummer Vini Lopez for a run-through of “The E Street Shuffle.”
Although Lopez hasn’t lost his licks, the businesslike handshake between him and his former boss at the song’s end suggested that regular drummer Max Weinberg needn’t think about hitting the late-night talk-show circuit again just yet.
The payload of hits and classics was saved until the end.
As the temperature dropped, “Badlands” and “Thunder Road” rounded out the night in a burst of communal warmth engineered as much by the crowd as the band itself.
Total time: 3 hours, 40 minutes.
Not quite European standards, perhaps, but watching Springsteen on his home turf is something that is best measured by the soul rather than the stopwatch.