On Wednesday night at a sold-out Nationals Park in this nation’s capital, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band had just reached the end of “Streets of Minneapolis,” the song the Boss wrote about the ICE murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the resistance put forth by the citizens of Minneapolis and St. Paul in reaction to “Operation Metro Surge” (it was no accident that this tour opened in the Twin Cities). As recorded, it’s a fine folk ballad. But when performed live by the E Street Band, the song flips from black and white to technicolor, with Springsteen opening the song solo acoustic and the band swinging in on the chorus.
There’s a line in the last verse which is set up as potential crowd participation: “In our chants of ‘ICE out now!’ our city’s heart and soul persists,” Springsteen sings, and the audience chants along: “ICE out now!” Springsteen generally reprises the line three times, letting the crowd find their role in this particular performance, saying “Let ‘em hear you in Washington,” or tonight, “Let ‘em hear you in the fuckin’ White House.”
It’s solid stagemanship; the audience understands their role and if they don’t, they will by the second or third run-through. The volume builds with each attempt, and for some audience members, it may be their first attempt at what Springsteen will borrow from the late Georgia Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis: “good trouble.”
