The Boss brought his E Street Band to Scotiabank Arena after postponing last year because of illness.
By Nick Krewen
Special to the Star
**AUTHOR NOTE: Sometimes articles and reviews are edited for brevity. Usually I don’t have a problem with it, but in this case, quite a lot of important info was omitted.
In this case, I’m re-inserting text that was extracted in order to give a more complete account of the show that I witnessed and reported. Resurrected text has a yellow background or is written in italics.**
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
4 stars (out of 4)
Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2024
Speculation exists in some corners that Bruce Springsteen may not be entirely human.
He’s 75 years young, no less — and one wonders how on earth the New Jersey native could keep such a torrid and relentless pace for the nearly three hours he was on stage Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena and still look as though he barely broke a sweat.
That’s 28 songs and 175 minutes of life-affirming rock ‘n’ roll by the genre’s greatest showman. Accompanied by his peerless E Street Band, he leapt out of the gate with a stellar version of “She’s the One,” from the nearly 50-year-old classic album Born to Run; caromed into the uplifting “Prove It All Night,” from 1978’s Darkness on the Edge of Town; segued into a rare rendition of “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” from his 1973 debut Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.; and rounded it out with the upbeat “Ghosts,” from 2020’s Letter to You, before pausing to take a breath.
The fact that he can still deliver these passionate marathons more than a half-century into his career is nothing short of mind-boggling.
He’s one of the rare entertainers that can truly elevate the concert experience, making it so much more than simply the recital of a favourite song from his canon, as he often shuffles an arrangement or extends a solo and embodies the very reason one should get out of the house and enjoy a musical evening out.
And he’s not above showing a spark of spontaneity and deviating from the set list, as he did at the end of “Ghosts,” when he beckoned a fan to hand him a sign with the song title “Sherry Darling” on it.
“Is this your first show?” Springsteen asked. “It isn’t? Well, we’re going to play this one for you anyway.”
He also pulled the same move for a quicker version of “If I Was the Priest,” explaining to the crowd that they rarely performed the song, but acquiesced because he saw “two signs” requesting it.
But there’s no way he could achieve any of these impulsive moments without the assistance of his crackerjack accomplices, the E Street Band. Roy Bittan’s crystalline piano is as much of the Springsteen sonic signature as is Max Weinberg’s anchoring drumbeat; Jake Clemons’ wailing tenor sax always amplifies the energy with his fiery solos; and the Boss — no slouch on lead guitar — has two other lead guitarists, Nils Lofgren and “Little” Steven Van Zandt, to ramp up the energy.
However, one of the themes of this show is mortality – and there have been some changes over the years due to the deaths of some original E. Streeters: Jake’s sax-playing uncle Clarence Clemons and organist Danny Federici.
Those passing have led to the reed-playing nephew and organist and accordionist Charlie Giordano joining the team. Violinist and vocalist Soozie Tyrell has also been added to the core 10 that also includes veteran bass player Gary Tallent and most recent recruit, percussionist Anthony Almonte.
Patti Scialfa — Springsteen’s wife — usually accompanies her husband on guitar and vocals, but as she revealed in the recent documentary Road Diary, she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and will only be appearing at select shows. Sunday night wasn’t one of them.
For this tour, however, the E. Street Band has been beefed up to an 18-piece with The E. Street Horns: trumpeter Curt Ramm; trumpeter Barry Danielian; trombonist Clark Gayton and tenor and baritone saxophonist Eddie Manion; the E-Street Choir (Curtis King, Ada Dyer, Lisa Lowell and Michelle Moore) and, as the occasion warranted it at Scotiabank Arena, an estimated 20,000 “hungry hearts” squeezed into every nook and cranny at the venue and serenading Springsteen at the top of their lungs to their familiar favourites.
For Springsteen, decked out in a white shirt, red tie, vest and jeans, the occasion marked his return to Toronto nearly a year after the original dates were postponed due to his recovery from peptic ulcer disease – and the sociable superstar looked and seemed healthier than an ox.
Performing to the entire arena — there was no backdrop, and highly perched video screens magnified the visuals for everyone — this remarkable entertainer barely had a sip of water during the show’s first two hours.
He’s also one to goad his audience into pushing back against his band — via singing, clapping or waving — and then transforms that encouragement into more blistering workouts.
For example, “Because the Night” — the Patti Smith hit he co-wrote — featured an electrifying guitar solo from a twirling Lofgren, whose technique became more intense the louder the crowd cheered.
Then there was the freight-train sandwiching of the anthemic “Born to Run,” “Bobby Jean,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” that left everyone reeling, because every time you thought there might be a break, Springsteen was counting in a new tune and leading his charges into the breach.
The set list wasn’t entirely frenetic, however.
Following “Youngstown,” the anti-war song that was delivered with a droning Giordano accordion and Springsteen bathed in red light to evoke Hell, he addressed the crowd.
“There’s a big day coming up on Tuesday,” he said, referring to the U.S. election. “Please pray for us.”
He then launched into “Long Walk Home,” off Magic, announcing the song as “a home prayer for my country.”
For “Last Man Standing,” Springsteen regaled us with the tale of learning the guitar for his first band, which lasted three years, and realizing that he was now the sole survivor of that particular lineup.
At one point, he veered into R&B territory with a soulful rendition of the Commodores’ “Nightshift,” excerpted from his recent covers album, Only the Strong Survive, as each member of his E Street Choir added their own expressive crooning to the number.
One of the concert’s most poignant moments occurred during the high-octane delivery of “Backstreets.”
Midway through the song, Springsteen brought the band’s volume down to a whisper, as he delivered a personal eulogy for a fallen friend, gesturing to his own heart that “I’ll be keeping you right here” — a sentiment he repeated during his show-closing solo performance of “I’ll See You in My Dreams.”
While one could point to “Thunder Road” or “The Rising” or “Jungleland” or even the good-spirited fun of “Twist and Shout” as a show highlight — despite a sound mix that often seemed overly cavernous as heard from Section 120 — it was that moment during “Backstreets” where Springsteen proved himself not only to be human, but warmly humane.
That sensitivity is just one of the many components that makes a Springsteen concert as joyful and exhilarating as it is unforgettable.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band return to Scotiabank Arena for a second show and an altered set list on Nov. 6.