The Boss pleasing everyone while managing to please himself. Picture: Daniel Wilkins
It’s always the little things that stay with you after a Bruce Springsteen show. One lasting image from the opening concert in Perth on Sunday was that of saxophonist Jake Clemons, the lone African-American member of the famed E Street Band, with his hands raised throughout American Skin (41 Shots).
Like the best of what Springsteen does, it was rock ‘n’ roll theatre, but it also spoke of the real world. American Skin tells the true story of Amadou Diallo, who in 1999 was shot 41 times by police as he reached for his wallet. The song details his mother’s plea to always keep your hands in sight, because “you can get killed just for living in your American skin”.
Springsteen is concerned about his country. After the opener New York City Serenade, which included an eight-piece string section, he spoke about his support for the recent anti-Trump marches, saying that “we are the new American resistance” and there was something of a sombre tone for much of the show. Early on he offered No Surrender with a passion that verged on anger.
At that song’s completion he appeared to call a change to the setlist and lit into the uplifting Out In The Street. The mood lightened only briefly. The gospel-inspired Land Of Hope and Dreams followed, with an insertion that this train also carries immigrants. A call-and-response singalong at the end of My Hometown brought local perspective to the discussion. The current world situation may have informed the evening but it didn’t steal the joy that is at the heart of what Springsteen and his band have been doing for more than four decades.
After all this time the single line that may best sum up Springsteen in concert comes from Badlands, “It ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.” Even in what he considers to be such dark times, there is much to celebrate.
While this is Springsteen’s sixth tour of Australia, it is the first time he has not come in support of an album. This brought great freedom in choosing what would make the 205-minute setlist. It was not hits-heavy, and focused initially on his first two albums while holding the big guns — including the aforementioned Badlands, Born To Run and Dancing In The Dark — until the end. At 67, the Boss still has that knack of pleasing everyone while also seeming to be trying to please no one but himself.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Perth Arena. January 22. Perth, tomorrow and Friday: Adelaide, January 30; Melbourne, February 2 and 4; Sydney, February 7 and 9; Hanging Rock, Macedon, February 11; Brisbane, February 14 and 16; Hunter Valley, February 18.