2021-08-24 St. James Theatre, New York City, NY

Adam Meyers

Heart, spirit, emotion, passion, and more emotion are just a few of the main ingredients that make Springsteen On Broadway what it is: Phenomenal! On a day which started with such shitty news about the loss of our dear Charlie Watts, Bruce new exactly how to cheer me up! I saw the show twice early in its initial run in November 2017 on my 20th birthday with my mom, and March 2018 with my dad, and both were absolutely incredible performances, as was the Netflix special! However, given the times we’re living in this was truly unique. The Bruce was loose! He seemed so fluid and comfortable this time around! So much more passion, fun, joking, moving around, enthusiasm, and most notably emotion. Obviously, a lot has changed in the world since the first go around, and Bruce was up to the task! Although the majority of the show had stayed intact, a few songs changes were made, including swapping in a lovely and humorous duet of “Fire” with Patti, “American Skin (41 Shots)” addressing the injustices of police brutality and being black in America, and one of my favorite songs off the new Letter To You album “I’ll See You In My Dreams” to finish off the show. Going back to the emotion Bruce did not hold back the tears, constantly choking up when talking about his late father and their rocky relationship, his beloved mother who’s now 10 years into Alzheimer’s, and of course the loss of former bandmates most notably The Big Man Clarence Clemons. Throughout the show though Bruce knew exactly when to crack a joke! Especially when addressing his recent arrest and the case of The United States vs. Bruce Springsteen on account of 2 shots of Tequila. He also changed up the way he addressed other jokes from the previous go around! The crowd was very into it nearly applauding everything he said, and hysterically during “Dancing In The Dark” when the audience began singing along, he told us all “Stop you’re gonna fuck me up!” to which we all laughed and then he said “Ah fuck it” and let us join along! The night was truly phenomenal! Bruce who is just less than a month away from turning 72, was clearly well aware of mortality including his own, and he gave everything he had into putting on a show we’d never forget! While taking his bows he thanked us for being such a great audience and signed off with a short but sweet “God Bless Charlie Watts!”. It was truly a night and day I’ll never forget, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to go especially on the day where one of my other rock heroes had left this earth. It was a testimate that true rock and roll and true rock and roll bands will never die! If anything’s for sure Bruce can lift anyone’s spirits! Until next time Bruce, see you further on up the road!