Bruce Springsteen and E Street play magical three-hour show at Sea Hear Now: Review
There’s only one Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, and only one Asbury Park beach.
When the two meet, it’s something special.
Springsteen and E Street played a magical three hour-plus rock ‘n’ roll concert Sept. 15 to close the Sea Hear Now music, arts and surfing festival on the city’s North Beach. The night evoked memories, mirth and the childhood mysteries of an oceanfront resort town that can hold one’s imagination for decades.
“Greetings Asbury Park,” said Springsteen when he took the stage.
Sea Hear Now: Here's the complete setlist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
“I wrote this a long time ago about 500 yards north of here in Loch Arbour,” said Springsteen of “Blinded by the Light.”
“I wrote this when I was 20 in a surfboard factory in Wanamassa,” said Springsteen of the ultra rare oldie “Thundercrack.”
The pre-1975 material kept coming, including “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” and “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),” which was dedicated to late band member Danny Federici. The Boss amplified the famous line about Madam Marie. Her granddaughters are still telling fortunes in the Temple of Knowledge, which is about 500 yards south on the boardwalk from the stage where Springsteen was singing.
The songs had a new life and vitality to them, thanks largely to arrangements that included the band’s horn and choir sections. Instead of a scratchy folk rock sound, they swung pretty good.
The band was as sharp as ever. Guitarist Nils Lofgren’s solo on “Because the Night” screamed into the Atlantic Ocean like a seagull on mega steroids. Drummer Max Weinberg’s Bo Diddley beat on “She’s the One” pounded like fireworks over the beach in July.
Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa, returned to the fold. She sang a duet with her husband on the moving “Tougher Than the Rest.” It was her first public appearance since announcing that she’s been battling a rare form of blood cancer for the last few years.
Springsteen’s voice was in extra fine form, including a sweet vibrato on “Meeting Across the River,” which was paired with “Jungleland” for a poignant one-two punch.
The night was windy, the seas were choppy, but the festival sound was loud and clear — and the visuals on four screens were great except for a 20-minute period when they when dark. The crowd cheered when they lit up again during "Thundercrack."
More: Bruce Springsteen fans flock to Sea Hear Now in Asbury Park. 'To me, it's everything.'
The format of the show did not follow the rocking mortality format of the current tour. This was something special for Asbury Park, the town where the E Street Band was formed more than 50 years ago.
It’s made a comeback in the last 25 or so years. In 1999 when the band rehearsed in Convention Hall for its Reunion Tour, the boardwalk was all but abandoned and the downtown was empty. On Sunday, Springsteen sang for 35,000 on the beach.
“The band was here on that little street corner when nobody was here, and I didn't know when I would see folks in this good town again," Springsteen said, “I just want to take a moment to thank all the people who have invested themselves to bring Asbury Park back to life. On the East Side, on the West Side — I want to thank the LGBTQ plus community for all they did for Asbury Park in the last 25 years. Danny Clinch, I want to thank you for this wonderful event, and most of all I want to thank all of you for being here tonight.
“God bless Asbury Park.”
More: Patti Scialfa, wife of Bruce Springsteen, reveals blood cancer: 'She's an inspiration'
Before the E Street festival closing set, Springsteen took the same stage with the Trey Anastasio Band for a swinging rendition of his classic “Kitty’s Back.”
“Who’s there way down at the end of beach!” said Springsteen during the song’s break down.
It was one and done with the Anastasio Band.
“We’re going to have to follow Bruce Springsteen on the beach in Asbury Park,” quipped Anastasio, a Princeton native who fronts the band Phish.
Springsteen then headed over to the fest’s Park Stage to join Gaslight Anthem for their set-opening songs “History Books” and “American Slang.”
Springsteen surprise at the Stone Pony
Springsteen performed a surprise half-hour set Sept. 14 at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. The Pony show was a Sea Hear Now festival afterparty and the Boss played with the Tangiers Blues Band, featuring Danny Clinch with Robert Randolph and Jake Clemons.
The E Street Band on tour is Max Weinberg, drums; Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, guitars; Garry Tallent, bass; Roy Bittan and Charles Giordano, keyboards; Jake Clemons, saxophone; Soozie Tyrell, fiddle and vocals; the E Street Band Horns — Curt Ramm and Barry Danielian on trumpet, Eddie Manion on sax, and Ozzie Melendez on trombone; and the E Street Choir — Anthony Almonte, Curtis King, Michelle Moore, Lisa Lowell and Ada Dyer. Almonte also plays percussion.
Springsteen and the members of E Street have played in Asbury Park hundreds of times over the decades, but band performances have been rare in recent years. The last time Springsteen and the E Street Band played together in the city was on Dec. 7, 2010, at the Carousel House on the south end of the boardwalk. The performance, for invited fans and friends, was filmed by Thom Zimny for the “Songs from the Promise” video and recorded for the “Live from the Carousel” EP.
The show was the last time Clarence Clemons played with the band.
In December 2009, Springsteen and the E Street Band performed their 1978 classic “Darkness on the Edge of Town” at the Paramount Theatre, part of the Convention Hall complex on the boardwalk. Zimny filmed the band in the empty theater, and it was released as “Darkness on the Edge of Town: Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park,” part of the “Darkness” 40th anniversary box set.
The Sea Hear Now music, art and surfing festival was founded in 2018 by locals Clinch, who has shot several Springsteen album covers, and promoter Tim Donnelly with Tim Sweetwood of C3 Presents, the team behind multiple big fests, including Lollapalooza.
The Gaslight Anthem, the Trey Anastasio Band, the Black Crowes, Norah Jones, 311, the Revivalists, Kool & The Gang, the Hives and more played over two days on the fest’s three stages on the North Beach and in Bradley Park.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band setlist at Sea Hear Now
Lonesome Day
Blinded by the Light
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Growin' Up
The Promised Land
Spirit in the Night
Thundercrack
The E Street Shuffle
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Hungry Heart
Local Hero
Atlantic City
Tougher Than the Rest
Long Walk Home
Racing in the Street
Because the Night
She's The One
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Badlands
Thunder Road
Meeting Across the River
Jungleland
Born to Run
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Twist and Shout
Jersey Girl
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band play Sea Hear Now: Review
