BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : LIVE FROM ASBURY PARK 2024

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : LIVE FROM ASBURY PARK 2024

Disc One (68:11)

Lonesome Day
Blinded By The Light
Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
Growin' Up
The Promised Land
Spirit In The Night
Thundercrack
The E Street Shuffle
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Hungry Heart
Local Hero

Disc Two (68:41)

Atlantic City
Tougher Than The Rest
Long Walk Home
Racing In The Street
Because The Night
She's The One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands
Thunder Road
Meeting Across The River

Disc Three (56:45)

Jungleland
Born To Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Bobby Jean
Dancing In The Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Twist And Shout
Jersey Girl

Label : Columbia

Venue : See.Hear.Now Festival, Asbury Park Oceanfront, Asbury Park, New Jersey, USA

Recording Date : September 15, 2024

Release Date : May 29, 2026

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : “Greetings, Asbury Park!” The final U.S. stop on the 2024 World Tour was a homecoming for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Headlining Sea.Hear.Now Festival on the Ocean Avenue beach in Asbury Park, had Bruce not told farewell tours where to go in Philadelphia on August 23rd this one could have served as a perfect finale in the States, right back where it all began over fifty years ago. As it so happens, it was just a perfect finale to this stage of the tour, and an emphatic reminder of what this man and his band are capable of. Bruce had already made the most of the weekend. A guest appearance in The Stone Pony on the Saturday night to play with Danny Clinch’s Tangier’s Blues Band was the first stimulating warm up with five songs played in the famed launching pad of New Jersey’s most fabled artists. Then came sit-ins with the Trey Anastasio Band and Gaslight Anthem on Sunday afternoon. The former set, which saw Bruce join to play a surprise “Kitty’s Back,” is available on Phish’s live site and you can download that one here. These special moments all led to a Sunday evening set that fans were hoping would blow the rest away, and although great expectations over the last two years of touring haven’t always come to fruition, nights like these are the reason fans can’t stop dreaming. So, it wasn’t a typical night on the ongoing tour, oh no, and the themes of life and death that have shaped one hundred+ shows weren’t centric to this night. Instead, Bruce crafted a setlist to pay tribute to his and the E Street Band’s legacy in New Jersey. Five tour debuts made sure of that. The night started with a familiar opener, however. “Lonesome Day” would ultimately feel out of place in the grand scope of the show, but it’s a song the men and women onstage can play as solidly on this tour as any other, which made it a fine way to warm everyone on the beach up for what was to come. And just maybe, this commonplace track was a fine way to throw all off the scent, making the next three hours all the more magical. “Alright, alright! I wrote this song about five hundred yards north on Loch Arbour beach. We haven’t played it in a long fuckin’ time. We’ve got a lot of stuff we haven’t played in a long fuckin’ time for you tonight!” Then, the party officially started. First came “Blinded By the Light” to evoke memories of the epic third MetLife show from 2016 where it followed a similarly exciting statement from Bruce, and the first fitting selection for Asbury Park set a similar tone for more seventies delights to follow. A long awaited “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” was next, and alongside “Blinded” it was full of fantastically punctuated riffs from the E Street Horns to add an extra oomph to Bruce and the E Street Band’s spirited showing; highlighted by a vibrant vocal – “HIT IT IN THE FUNNY BONE!”; “QUEEN OF DIAMONDS! ACE OF SPADES!” – and Roy Bittan’s vivacious playing on the keys. The Professor then played his part perfectly for “Growin’ Up” (a third successive Greetings track), as did the Horns, who ensured the finale was as triumphant as it was mesmerising – Bruce’s cry of “yeah-eeeaaaahh!” covered the latter – following a very special interlude: “There I was, driving down Kingsley. Streets were empty. Buildings alllllll shut down. Nobody on Cookman Avenue, nobody on Main Street, nobody on Ocean Avenue, nobody anywhere. And then… I fell into a dreeeaaaamy sleep, and when I woke up… I said, “Where did all these fucking people come from?” I can tell you one thing, it’s good to see you here! Let’s hear three cheers for Asbury Park!” The audience were cheering alright, and after they “sha la la’d” for “The Promised Land” they were howling at the moon along with Bruce during “Spirit in the Night”! Howling! At the moon!!! That’s what the man called an ‘Asbury Park Howl,’ and that’s the kind of spirit that enhances a “Spirit” to become one nobody is going to forget. Bruce’s famed audience interaction hasn’t been on show too much over the course of this tour, but moments like this were an amazing throwback, and as evidenced above and below there was much more to come. “I wrote this song when I was like twenty, up in Wanamassa at a surfboard factory.“ Another song nobody was going to forget, and for a little while some fans weren’t going to believe it actually happened. I’ve been very lucky this year to talk about several songs I never expected to hear played again, and although it won’t be the last in this review, “Thundercrack” was an insane pull from the vault to kickstart a trio of Wild and Innocent period tracks. The near-ten minute long album outtake was a joyous E Street Band exhibition and itself a throwback to the early days in Asbury Park where the music would be pulsating, funky and lengthy, as those onstage would play “all night! all night! all night!” to make their presence known in the hopes of someday making it. In the end, some went back to their day jobs; while others would find themselves playing in that very spot fifty years later in front of thirty-five thousand people. The celebratory mood was built on with “The E Street Shuffle,” another pulsating, funky track and a tour regular that felt more appropriate than ever here. You’re damn right it sounded as good as ever, too, with Bruce’s “Magic fingers!” and those relentless wrists of Max Weinberg and Anthony Almonte barnstorming in this setting. It was just the way this night went, though, that this song would feel lost in the shuffle compared to the song it followed and the song that was next. “Alright, gonna dedicate this to the memory of Danny Federici tonight.” With the waves crashing and many of the vignettes sung about in clear view, “Sandy” was the one song all were anticipating on this night, and oh how it delivered. A beautiful performance typifying the entire event and conveying that feeling of “something wonderful ending, but something that is unknown and new just getting started,” don’t be surprised if it ends up being your go-to above the rest of the night’s many gems. Roy, standing in Danny’s old spot, did the Phantom very proud with his accordion playing, while Charlie Giordano did the same with dreamlike organ riffs, especially in the final verse. Both complemented a dreamy, wistful Springsteen vocal that felt as inspired and as genuine any other he’s employed all tour. “Love me tonight, for I may never see you again” is a lyric that resonated greater than in any other performance outside of November 2007 and March 2008, and that sincerity reeled Asbury Park in deeper and deeper, magnifying all the more their joy for hearing him sing about that boardwalk, those little seashore bars, and the late Madame Marie who received a very big cheer from the hometown crowd. She may no longer be telling fortunes at the Temple of Knowledge, but just like Danny Federici her spirit perseveres through this song, and this performance reminds us that they are truly eternal. “So about mid-eighties, I’m driving through Freehold. At the time there was still a J.J. Newberry’s. That’s how much everybody remembers J.J. Newberry’s I see. It was a five and ten cents store! If anybody can remember five and ten cents. So I’m driving down Main Street, and I look in the window, and I see this black velvet painting of a Doberman Pinscher. And I look on the other side, and I see this black velvet painting of Bruce Lee. And I look in the middle, and I see a black velvet painting of myself! With the headband and the muscles, the whole thing, you know. So I went home and wrote this song.” Different kind of waves followed “Sandy” with “Hungry Heart” seeing those thirty-five thousand on the beach raising their arms in tandem, but it’s the song that followed Bruce was talking about in the above quote. There was a nice ten-year symmetry to “Local Hero,” its last four performances coming in 2023, 2013, 2003 and 1993, but I’m certainly happy we didn’t have to wait until 2033 to hear it again when Springsteen and the E Street Band were capable of playing it this splendidly in 2024. Its jubilant horns, heightened by delectable little riffs (1:42), seedy guitars, thundering drums and a hard-hitting Bruce vocal – notice the intensity for lyrics like “drunk some heady wine!” – made for a version to compete with those Live Series essentials from Leeds 2013 and Newark 2023, and more importantly, another stand out performance of sheer triumph on this night. “Atlantic City” afterward was less triumphant in tone, but it was an equally biblical showing from the men and women onstage. Shifting the setting to another boardwalk not too far away, Bruce led a story in which some men try to be heroes, only to end up in the most precarious position. It’s very apt with that said that the stand out sequence here came in final verse where – after gorgeous music – Bruce stated, “here it’s just winners and losers, and don’t get on the wrong side of that line” with such a deflated tone. A man who knows the winners are few and far between. “Oh we are lucky tonight, I’ve got my beautiful, my beautiful gal Ms. Patti Scialfa‘s with us! Oh she lookin’ good too!” Another triumph on this Saturday night. It wasn’t a certainty that this one would be played, as the written setlist shows us, but Asbury Park would be lucky to see both “Tougher Than the Rest” and “Long Walk Home” feature and they were very lucky to get this Tunnel of Love track. Its fourth outing on this tour, as is a common theme in Springsteen’s live catalogue, this was a performance different to those in Los Angeles and London with the song taking on new weight days after Ms. Patti revealed to the world her ongoing battle with multiple myeloma. Having made this public in the Road Diary documentary set for an official release next month, Patti’s 2018 diagnosis is the reason why she hasn’t been a touring band member this time around, and why she’s only been onstage for a short time in her appearances this year. When we consider the strength it must take for someone to open themselves up to the world with such a vulnerable announcement, and then go onstage in spite of any and all pain to perform in front of thousands, a sole duet of “Tougher Than the Rest” with their partner is all that’s needed. On a night full of emotional song performances, many more of which were still to come, this was on a different scale. The Magic gem and ongoing “prayer for our country” followed, and “Long Walk Home” was another song that felt weightier in this setting with the election looming. Just like “Sandy,” many of the vignettes Bruce was singing about here will have been in his and the audience’s sight, and as a result it wasn’t a night where the ‘Election Pack’ was needed, because this one served the purpose of multiple songs perfectly. Little Steven Van Zandt’s emphatic backing vocals and Jake Clemons’ likewise saxophone solo made absolutely sure of it. A sublime “Racing in the Street” was next. Although its respective album came five years later in a period where Bruce was moving his characters away from the Shore, this is a song that blends the youthful freedom and ascent into adulthood that are primary themes of Greetings and WIESS, and that made it perfect at the midpoint. It was also one of the stand out musical exhibitions on the night, with Roy and Charlie anchoring the E Street Band en route to the hair-raising, tear inducing coda; while Bruce beautifully conveyed the deflation – “did you make it alllright” – and the salvation – a perfectly placed “we’re gonna riiide to the sea” – that makes this song one of his greatest. It would also surprisingly serve as the emotional centre of this show, as Bruce bypassed his core touring essentials: “Nightshift,” “Last Man Standing” and “Backstreets” in a move nobody saw coming. Like I said, this wasn’t a night for typical 2023-24 tour themes. A power through of second half staples – “Because the Night,” “She’s the One,” a homely and hearty “Wrecking Ball,” “The Rising,” “Badlands,” “Thunder Road” – followed as the set regained a strong sense of normalcy. After a first half much more varied than usual with so many treats, these hits and live staples felt even bigger. I can’t fault how Bruce has approached his setlist selections since February 2023, but on September 15th, 2024 it truly felt like he had found a perfect balance. And after the E Street Horns saw out “Thunder Road,” the night was about to become even more perfect. “Wow! I feel fucking old tonight in a good way! I never thought I’d live to see this sight, during my lifetime. Y’know, when… the band, we were here, on that little street corner when… nobody was here. And, uh, I didn’t know when I would see folks in this good town again. So I just want to take a moment to thank all the people that have invested themselves in Asbury Park and brought the city back to life. On the East Side, on the West Side. I want to thank the LBGTQ-plus community for all they’ve given to Asbury Park in the last twenty, twenty-five years. Danny Clinch, I want to thank you for this wonderful event. And most of all I want to thank all of you for being here tonight and supporting Asbury Park for all this time. This is for you guys.” Then came the sound of an all too familiar trumpet riff and tender piano melody. Is that…? Oh, it was. Completing the Born to Run album for 2023-24, “Meeting Across the River” made a glorious tour debut and it was such an atmospheric and cinematic performance beneath the New Jersey night sky. Curt Ramm’s trumpet glimmered with film noir-esque riffs, and Bruce’s vocal did similar as he seamlessly recaptured the song’s essence. Fluid, robust readings of lines such as “here, stuff this in your pocket!” and “tonight we got style” found a lovely balance with gritty declarations like “Eddie, man, she don’t understand…” to keep the Asbury Park audience gripped, savouring every last drop of a moment they wished would last forever. However, they were also waiting for this song to end, because they knew what was coming next. That sound we hear as Roy and Soozie start “Jungleland” is an audience exhaling a cheer they’d been holding in for three minutes and forty seconds. It was a moment we’ve all been waiting for, but one we weren’t entirely sure would come again. A lot of fans felt it had to be now or never, and now was here. The most euphoric tragedy in Springsteen’s songbook had been resurrected, and oh how that rock and roll band onstage exploded with force. Bruce blew away all doubts of whether his near-seventy-five year old voice could do this song justice with thundering calls – “WE’LL MEET ‘NEATH THAT GIANT EXXON SIGN!” – and those essential final wails, while his band played with the tenacity of their twenty-five year old selves. Little Steven scintillated with that solo, while Jake left New Jersey and you wherever you are as a wreck with that solo. Similarly to its last performance in MetLife Stadium in September 2023, as we listen we get the feeling Jake didn’t want this tribute to his uncle to end, and that was a sentiment shared by all in Asbury Park, who’d been left without a shadow of a doubt that they were witnessing the show of 2023 and 2024. And depending on where you stand, one of the finest Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band shows in a very long list of them. There was more to come, too, as the home stretch rolled on with more familiar favourites and live essentials – “Born to Run,” “Rosie,” “Bobby Jean,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Twist and Shout” – for an electric finale. It was one with a heightened Jersey flavour, too, as after the durable Asbury Park audience – many of which had been hanging around since the early, early hours of the morning – showed those onstage what they had left during “Twist and Shout,” Bruce had one last special song for them. Arguably just as mandatory in this set as “Sandy,” the night came to an end with a beautiful “Jersey Girl.” “Down the shore the everything’s alright, you and your baby on a Saturday night” may never have been sung in more appropriate circumstances, and the first half of that line may never have been more true in Asbury Park. I’ve enjoyed sharing Bruce’s quotes from this show throughout this review, but with this one I’m reminded once again of what he told the BBC in 1987. His description has befitted many versions of the song that we’ve been fortunate to hear through the Live Series, but for September 15th, 2024 it felt more apt than ever. “And then “Jersey Girl”, I wanted that to feel like, like you’re in a convertible and it’s a summer night and you’re driving real slow, back in the town you grew up in. But you’re different, and you’ve changed, and the town has changed, but something that is forever, is with you.” As regular readers will know, I’ve refrained from giving these 2023-24 shows immediate ratings, for better or worse with setlists largely identical. With no idea to entirely gauge what’s in the future it may seem foolish to rate one show so highly. Although it’s unclear how the Canadian shows will shape up, upon listening to this homecoming for the ages I’m willing to take the risk.

Concert Review (Glide Magazine) : At exactly 7:30, Bruce took the stage dressed formally in black pants, a white dress shirt, and a tucked-in black tie. He looked great for a 74-year-old musician in the middle of a tour, who had sat in with two bands earlier in the day and played a half-a-dozen songs the night before at the Stone Pony. A full 18-piece band backed him. The regulars were there – Little Steven (guitar), Nils Lofgren (guitar), Max Weinberg (drums), Garry Tallent (bass), Roy Bittan (keys), Soozie Tyrell (violin/guitar), Jake Clemons (sax), Charles Giordano (organ), and Anthony Almonte (percussion). He also had an entire horn section and four backup singers. The energy in the crowd was incredible as people had been waiting desperately to cash in their winning lottery Sea Hear Now tickets. It felt like it was going to be a special performance, but there was still a nagging doubt that this could be another stop on his tour. From the first notes of “Lonesome Day,” it was clear that this was special for Bruce, too! He followed that song with three songs from his iconic 1973 album Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., “Blinded By The Light” and “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street” (both of which hadn’t been played since 2017) and “Growing Up.” He ran through the crowd, shared the spotlight with his band family, told great stories, and thanked everyone for their part in reviving Asbury Park with a special shout-out to the LGBTQ+ community. He seemed so proud, overwhelmed, and moved, and he shared all those emotions with us throughout his three-hour and fifteen-minute performance. It was a mutual lovefest. It is tempting to go through the entire 30-song performance, song-by-song, detailing every gesture, story, and solo. You’ll have to take this reviewer’s word that an incredibly special evening created a sense of community rarely experienced through rock concerts. Instead, I’ll try to convey the emotion from a few stories to illustrate the point. One of the more memorable moments was at about the one-hour mark. Bruce was joined by his wife and bandmate, Patti Scialfa, who hasn’t been touring with the band due to the effects of her blood cancer diagnosis. They shared one mic on the center of the stage and rendered an excellent duet rendition of “Tougher Than the Rest.” Scialfa looked vibrant, and you could feel the affection and tribulations the two partners shared. Just before the last encore, Bruce did a schtick with Little Steven, and they teased us by telling us that we looked tired and wanted to go home. After the crowd booed in disagreement, Bruce challenged us by saying, “You think you can outlast the E Street Band? No one can outlast the E Street Band. We have been doing this for fifty years – no one can outlast the E Street Band.” Then they launched into the final encores of the evening, “Twist and Shout,” and a beautiful version of Tom Waits’ “Jersey Girl,” which seemed like he was singing directly to all of us. As the last note finished and the band took their final bow, it was evident that Bruce was right about almost everything: the promise of Asbury Park, how special it was to share that moment, and how important community is. However, he was wrong: We did outlast the E Street Band—we would have all stayed there for another hour or three. I don’t know if Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will ever hold another concert on a beach in Asbury Park; it doesn’t seem likely. But I know for sure that if they do, I will be there, and I will be at Sea Hear Now in 2025.