Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (The River Tour) – Nationals Park, 9/1/2016

Section 403, Row K, Seats 9-16. Upper level, down the left field line, at somewhat of an angle to the stage. We were fortunate enough to be under cover, as there was a little rain both early and late. We relied a lot on the big screens on either side of the stage, as the figures on the stage were tiny even with binoculars. Oddly, the screen showed Bruce himself almost the entire time, even when someone else was doing an extended solo.

 

Music-wise, this was definitely the best Springsteen concert I’ve been to this century. (Can’t remember all that much about the time I saw him in 1974 in Carlisle.) He wasn’t touring behind a new album, as he was when he first played Nats Park on the Wrecking Ball tour, and although this was still officially “The River Tour”, he had stopped performing that two-record set in its entirety. (In fact, only 3 of its songs made this night’s setlist.) Instead, the early part of the show was Bruce in wayback mode, featuring 5 consecutive tracks from Asbury Park and 4 of the 7 from E Street Shuffle. He also managed to get to all 5 of the non-single cuts from Born In The U.S.A., while doing only 2 of that album’s 7 Top Ten hits (“I’m On Fire” and the obligatory “Dancing In The Dark”). I was a little concerned about the sound quality during the opening “New York City Serenade”, but it was fine during the rest of the show. The crowd was generally enthusiastic, and Bruce and the band seemed to be having a great time throughout (along with Katie Ledecky).

 

Traffic wasn’t too bad on the way down, although it was a tight fit for 6 of us along with all our tailgating equipment and supplies in the brand-new Kia Sorrento. Our reservation for the parking lot on Half Street (about three blocks north of the park) proved to be a good choice, as the concert ended at 11:45 (started at 8:00) and we got back to Rockville just a few minutes after 1:00.

 

Highlights – “No Surrender”, “Spirit In The Night”, “Kitty’s Back”, “Rosalita” (the last song we listened to while tailgating), “The Promised Land”, “Hungry Heart”, “Jungleland”, “Bobby Jean” (which concluded the evening)

 

Key line from the excellent Washington Post review: [Springsteen] has been trying to make America great again for years in a way that’s antithetical to those who co-opt his progressive songs for conservative purposes.

 

Key line from the great writeup at Backstreets.com: Patti [Scialfa] elevated "Because the Night" with her unique vocal stylings.

 

Setlist