The first of three shows in Italy on the European leg of their 2023 International Tour brought Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band to an unconventional stop in the form of Ferrara, and it was a stop that was very timely, too, as the healing power that so often comes with their music was surely needed by many inside the Parco urbano Giorgio Bassani who had been disheartened by the devastating effects of the downpour and flooding in northern Emilia-Romagna. This flooding has been so devastating in fact, that while many will have been grateful to see this man and his band onstage, there were also a lot of locals saddened by the fact this show went on, as the heavy rain had left the people of Ferrara facing a struggle to get to the venue; no chance of getting there; or most importantly, facing even greater despair such as injury – or worse. In the past week on social media, Little Steven Van Zandt responded to a comment about the E Street Band playing this show, saying that all they knew was that it had been raining heavily, and that they had no idea just how catastrophic an event northern Emilia-Romagna was experiencing.
Taking Stevie’s comments into consideration, we can potentially begin to understand why Bruce made no comment about the flooding during the show. Neither were there any songs brought into the set to pay tribute to those who had been injured or those who had passed away. Rather, Ferrara saw a straightforward 2023 tour show bearing the same setlist as the one I was fortunate to see in Paris – this was the first identical setlist Bruce has played with the E Street Band on a tour since August 15th, 2002! – however in spite of that, the core songs that have been played since February 1st in Tampa were shown here to evoke the catharsis and healing that they were chosen for on this tour in the first place.
The opening six-pack in particular stood out in that regard on this occasion and “No Surrender,” led by a raw Springsteen vocal full of commitment spoke of perseverance from the off. “Ghosts” then served as an ode to those not in the house, and the fierceness of this performance assured all that their spirits were with those onstage who played a superb version of the Letter To You fan favourite. In addition to the stellar, determined showing from Springsteen and the E Street Band – the force in Bruce’s voice as he called “JAKE!” for the coda was immense – this one also saw the Ferrara audience shine in the way they sang the harmonies of that coda, as well as the other instrumental nuances of the song. Bruce talked about San Siro audiences doing this in the 2020 Letter To You film, and though the setting was quite the contrast to Milano, the Parco urbano Giorgio Bassani crowd delivered – and then some – on this occasion. As we well know, too, when the audience are giving back to Bruce and the Band the same level of passion that they’re receiving, the men and women onstage normally up their game a little bit more. That was the case in a “Prove It All Night” with blistering guitar solos aplenty, and the intensity of the Darkness track seeped into “Letter To You” too. The title track of the 2020 LP indeed lowered the tempo after the barnstorming trio prior, but once again it came as no surprise that the song about Bruce’s fifty year conversation with his audience was so full of passion, from both him and the E Street Band. In defence of the largely unchanging setlist, Little Stevie – again on social media – has said that “it took fifty years to make this show” and while that comment has been received in different ways by fans with contrasting views on the set, when it comes to “Letter To You” it can’t be denied that five decades of sentiment are being put into it. This reading was great evidence of that. That said, if Ferrara weren’t feeling that with the tour’s unofficial titular track, “The Promised Land” afterward surely brought it all home as a rousing anthem of the journey travelled, and that place we’re all still looking to find. Finally, “Out in the Street” brought the opening half hour to a close with the high tempo maintained following the Darkness track, its lyrics liberating and its harmonies cathartic for an audience now dreaming of a day when local areas will be back to normal. To those of us not in attendance, these songs can be viewed as ‘the usual,’ but for those in Ferrara on this night, they surely meant so much more.
There was a momentary break in the songs of significance, but there was no lull in the intensity or excitement on this night as “Candy’s Room” followed with Max Weinberg in rampant form, and he nicely set the tone for Bruce and Stevie to capitalise on with their vicious guitar playing; before Bruce sublimely segued into “Kitty’s Back” for a twelve minute performance with not only more heated guitar – nicely following on from the Paris shows! – but also a lot more swagger than usual. On Bruce’s part that swagger was evident in the way he sang lyrics such as “ain’t it the collld truuuuth!” and “pretty thiiii-in!”, and it was most noticeable for the E Street Band in the riffs of the E Street Horns, who packed an extra punch when called on to typify the song’s sleazy, noir-esque atmosphere.
Then came more songs with extra significance on the night, first “Nightshift” which saw Ada Dyer extend her streak of outstanding contributions to the song. Where Curtis King Jr. owned this one on the first North American leg (and don’t be fooled, he’s still shining in Europe) it really feels like Ada has stolen it away from him since the end of April. Providing the song stays in the set when the second North American leg begins in August, we have to start wondering if Michelle Moore or Lisa Lowell will begin to make their presence all the more felt with a challenge to her crown! And upon the end of the soul cover, punctuated by more punchy Horns riffs, came “Mary’s Place,” a talking point of the show for sure. With Stevie’s comments on social media about nobody in the E Street Band knowing just how awful the results of the heavy rain in Emilia-Romagna was in mind, I think it can be said that there was no malicious intent meant with this song and its repeated calls to “let it rain!”. As we’ve all come to presume, Bruce simply loves the pairing of “Nightshift” and this Rising track, and he believes it complements the themes of loss in the Commodores cover very nicely with its themes of recovery. I think it’s important to remember that in regards to this one being played in Ferrara, too, as while on its face it feels like a tone deaf selection when we think about the context Bruce and the Band had no idea of, for over twenty years this song has been about rising above hardships, about finding solace in music, and quite simply saying “bring on your deluge because we shall overcome it and we will sing, and laugh, and love, and celebrate each other whether we’re together or not.” Tone deaf or not, this song’s goal is to heal and to start a party atmosphere, and it certainly seemed to succeed in relation to the latter as Ferrara loved the performances of “The E Street Shuffle” and “Johnny 99” that followed. Mind you, for as joyful as Bruce’s hushed instructions to Max in “Mary’s Place”; Max’s percussion battle with Anthony Almonte in “Shuffle”; or the involvement of cowbell in “Johnny” were, it can also be said that this Ferrara audience loved what the second half of the show had in store for them even more!
Bridging us to that second half was the finale of the first, and the pairing that those twelve songs above build to with their themes of loss and legacy: “Last Man Standing” into “Backstreets,” Bruce’s tribute to the memory of George Theiss and the legacy of The Castiles, his first real rock and roll band, and the reason he ever made it this far. Fifty years later, as the last living member of that first band, the former song, played acoustically (with Barry Danelian playing a complementary solo) saw Bruce look back rather longingly at what was, and how it was when he and George and the rest of the lads who formed The Castiles were young, hungry musicians with a lot of tomorrows in front of them. As always, it was a beautiful, albeit gutting, reading of the first centrepiece song, and the same can be said about “Backstreets,” played majestically with the E Street Band and now all the more emotional on this tour with that interlude where words borrowed from “I’ll See You in My Dreams” pay another tribute to George’s memory. Since February I’ve been spotlighting this interlude, very deservedly, as the stand out moment of the song on account of how special it is for 2023, but if this hasn’t been the case since March or April, I’d say at this point the tribute Bruce pays to his fallen brother in arms is very much a part of the song.
The joy Ferrara felt for the party anthems and for “Backstreets” was then arguably amplified with what came afterward. The audience was overjoyed to hear Roy Bittan’s intro for “Because the Night,” and the performance that followed showed why they were so excited in the first place, with Bruce, Max and Nils Lofgren on fine form in a heated version of the song that set the tone for the home stretch of the main set. Equally zestful performances of “She’s the One,” “Wrecking Ball” and “The Rising” had all inside the Parco urbano Giorgio Bassani on cloud nine even before “Badlands” and “Thunder Road” took them into nirvana, and if you listen closely on the Live Download you’ll hear a cheer from someone in the audience just after the audience sing “as the radio plays.” If that doesn’t just sum the mood in that venue up.
On the other hand, the sound of euphoria that came with the E Street Band launching into “Born in the U.S.A.” could also summarise the mood. Ferrara loved this one, and I did too, as there was so much of note about it. The fire in Bruce’s throat as he sang was sensational, and those extra touches he added such as the screams and the pleas added to the immensity – and horror – of the song. More immensity could be found in the efforts of Max on the drums and Ferrara during the choruses, also, and alongside other shining E Streeters such as Roy, Charlie Giordano and Garry Tallent, they combined very nicely for the finale, which Bruce led them into with a thunderous “ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”. Fantastic.
The titanic track stood out best in a naturally thrilling encore for the live audience, with further thunder felt in the way Bruce declared “TRAMPS LIKE US!” in “Born to Run,” and more excitement too by way of stimulating “Glory Days” and “Dancing in the Dark” performances in particular. Then, after a final tribute to the everlasting legacy of the E Street Band – both those onstage and those in absentia – Bruce paid a final tribute to souls lost, to George Theiss, and to Ferrara with “I’ll See You in My Dreams.” Bruce may not have known the extent of the damage caused by the flooding in Emilia-Romagna when he saw the night out with this one, but the song served fittingly nonetheless as a comforting message to those who’d suffered recently, and those who’d been unable to attend this show. Upon the end of this show Bruce would be under some scrutiny for not acknowledging the floods and ways people can help, but even in this instance, he was able to end the night quite perfectly.
Kieran’s recommended listening from May 18th, 2023 – Ferrara, IT:
“No Surrender,” “Ghosts,” “Prove It All Night,” “Letter To You,” “The Promised Land,” “Candy’s Room,” “Kitty’s Back,” “Nightshift,” “Mary’s Place,” “The E Street Shuffle,” “Last Man Standing,” “Backstreets,” “Because the Night,” “She’s the One,” “Badlands,” “Thunder Road,” “Born in the U.S.A.,” “Glory Days,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams.”
You can download the first stop in Italy on the 2023 International Tour here.
Next on the 2023 International Tour, the second Italian stop in Rome. How would Circo Massimo be treated?
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