All we have is each other. That is the message Bruce Springsteen brings on the Land of Hope and Dreams tour. Rightfully barbed words aimed at the rot of the United States government begin the show, and it is the through line for this tour. Springsteen longs for a return not to the old America, which he has sung of and will sing of again, but for a reconnection with the values still there, buried in his hometown. Much the same can be said for the division found in the United Kingdom. The E Street Band and Springsteen bring a message of unity, of hope, and while it may be the obvious hope for any show, it is not guaranteed. That looms over the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester for this performance, a blistering three hours which shows The Boss is, as his name would suggest, at the pinnacle of his powers.
His setlist this time around is filled with biting comments on the state of his hometown, a topic Springsteen, wearing two parts of a three-piece suit until an encore, which reveals he has tucked his tie like a high establishment waiter, returns to throughout the set. He asks the audience not for empathy but for understanding. That, along with peace and love, he says, is all there is. What follows is a sensational set, one which not only cements The Boss as a veteran of performance but as one whose oldest hits have a still contemporary heart. Yes, the inevitable thrills of Glory Days, the anthemic beauty of his very best, Dancing in the Dark, and a phenomenal Thunder Road feature in a hits-laden encore, but the beauty of the performance is in the deeper cuts. Springsteen and The E Street Band’s exceptional form gives them room to reassess what came before.
It is how Human Touch brings out the very best in the band, how each song feels like a prayer for better times. The band are phenomenal the whole way through, though the elongation of every song to give it a big finale, the count-in for most, tires quickly. It does not detract from the heart of the performance, this desire for the world to come together in the unlikeliest of times. Springsteen is not pandering or pontificating, he truly means what he says. You can hear it in House of a Thousand Guitars, the stripped-back classic which shares the softer side of the legendary performer. Wrecking Ball, The Rising, and Badlands provide a sensational triple-bill too, before an encore which needs no introduction, the band does not even walk off stage to mimic the call for more.
Because that call for more is what every Springsteen fan had wanted. A hits-laden set with, hopefully, some moments of contemplation. A Bob Dylan cover, Chimes of Freedom, and Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land playing out through the speaker system as tens of thousands cram their way back into the city centre is a telling note of what Springsteen wishes to share with his audience. For the first time in a while, Springsteen has shared with us a deep fear. He uses this energy, this desire for perseverance, as the route through his show. How many people were taken along for the ride is inconsequential. The Boss has moved mountains before, and he is doing so again with the roaringly brilliant Land of Hopes and Dreams tour.
