MINNEAPOLIS – If any artist possesses a catalog of songs built for hard times, it’s Bruce Springsteen.
At the kickoff of his Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour at the Target Center March 31, Springsteen and the mighty E Street Band delivered a purposeful show stocked with serious messages, but also winsome fan favorites.
Performing just under three hours, Springsteen, tour guest Tom Morello and 17 members of the E Street Band, anchored the concert with taut versions of weighty songs like “Born in the U.S.A.,” “American Skin (41 Shots),” “Youngstown”) balanced with sprightlier fare – musically, if not lyrically – including “Hungry Heart,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Dancing in the Dark”.
The show – the first of 20 dates through the end of May – marked the concert debut of “Streets of Minneapolis” with the E Street Band. Springsteen wrote the song in January following the shooting deaths of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents, but had only performed it – solo – three times before the tour.
It was one of many politically charged moments in the show, which kicked off with a cover of Edwin Starr’s 1970 protest anthem, “War,” ended with Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” and in between spotlighted several Springsteen discourses about the fractured state of the country and the Trump Administration.
