Bruce Springsteen’s Current Tour is Ready Made to Become a Concert Film

Tonight, I see Bruce Springsteen in concert once again. In fact, I just saw him on Thursday night as well (a show that became mildly viral yesterday when one of the folks I attended with, Mike Ryan, captured none other than Chris Christie being snubbed by The Boss. He details it here in his newsletter The Hard Pass, which is well worth subscribing to). I haven’t missed the past few tours for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, which goes without saying for a fan. The thing is, this particular tour, the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour, is something a little bit different. So, I wanted to write about it, chiefly how it deserves to become a concert film. For those who can’t make a show, it still deserves to be seen.

This particular tour is different than the usual Springsteen show, for a few reasons. For one thing, the set list largely hasn’t changed throughout. Normally, Bruce switches things up as the tour progresses, feeling out the crowd and added bonus songs. Here, it’s been fairly rigid, which I initially thought might be a bit disappointing, but actually is genius. It’s a curated set list, meant to highlight the issues that The Boss is focused on.

The show was amazing, of course, and it really seemed to bring out the best in Springsteen. His anger at the Trump Administration and the ICE murders in Minnesota have rejuvenated him, giving an urgancy to his work that a man in his mid 70s wouldn’t normally have. While the prior tour focused on mortality and, while not a farewell tour, acknowledged that the end is closer than the beginning, this one is a call to action. He’s still got fight in him and wants the audience to feel the same way.

What makes the concert so fitting for a filmed version is that the call to action is so timely and even uplifting. Springsteen is not shy about his political beliefs, which is nothing new, but his current feud with the President has added some extra fight to him. The killings in Minneapolis have led to a new song, Streets of Minneapolis, which is positively inspiring in person, as is his new closer, the Bob Dylan cover Chimes of Freedom. By the end of the night, I wanted Bruce to run for office. Springsteen for President!

As an aside, while I absolutely love Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, I recognize that it wasn’t the film that a lot of Springsteen fans wanted. I’ll defend the movie to the death, but it’s a far cry from something like Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, or Western Stars, which were riffs on concert films. A full on filmed performance for this tour would be a whole different kind of thing. The flick would be able to capture a moment in time, potentially even being a rallying cry around the midterm elections this November.

We’ll see if anything comes of this, since I’m just saying what I think should happen, not something that’s actively in the works, at least to my knowledge. Beyond that, if you have an opportunity to see the Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour, don’t miss out. It’s some of the best I’ve seen from Springsteen, while being a therapeutic experience for anyone drained by the weight of the world these days.

Stay tuned to see if we get any further Bruce Springsteen content on the big screen!