This is not the first time a live Springsteen performance has aired on TV. In 1992, the performer gave an electrifying concert on MTV. Unfortunately it had one large and gaping hole: no E Street Band. Instead, Springsteen had several other accomplished musicians backing him up. For die-hard fans, it was almost like meeting up with an old friend from high-school and wondering where the rest of the gang was.
By the time 1999 rolled around, however, Springsteen was back once more with his E-Street buddies, and ready to embark on a rip-roaring world tour. The HBO special pulls material from the tour’s final two concerts at New York City’s Madison Square Garden in the summer of 2000.
Images and angles on the televised special are likely to look eerily familiar to concert-goers who spent most of their time watching the huge television monitors. Still, watching a Springsteen concert at home offers its own unique advantages. If “Badlands” needs more volume, the stereo can be cranked up as high as the speakers will allow, and if “Out In The Streets” calls for a celebratory beer, it’s only 10 steps to the fridge (given that it has been appropriately stocked). And if it’s imperative for your best friend to hear Springsteen’s gut-wrenching guitar solo during “Prove It All Night,” there’s no need to hold a cell phone up towards a stadium speaker as many, many fans were doing during both New York and New Jersey shows. Just invite him over.
The editing and camera work are true to the live concert (cheesy close-ups of the audience singing along are thankfully missing), while the song order improves upon the original set list. For example, the live show closed with the non-threatening feel-good tune, “The Land of Hope and Dreams,” while the HBO special closes with “American Skin (41 shots),” Springsteen’s controversial song about four New York City police officers who shot and killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed black man, in 1999. The new order reinforces that not only can Springsteen rock as hard as he once did a decade or two ago, but he can also write songs that are every bit as urgent as his best from that earlier era.
Even non-fans who tune in should be impressed by the unbridled energy of the Boss and his band. Springsteen himself describes the event as “a rock and roll bar mitzvah.” During “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” the gospel-laden, trash talkin’ song which has become the band’s official anthem, he poses like Elvis and Chuck Berry, preaches like Jerry Falwell, jumps around with the energy of James Brown and growls like a WWF ring announcer while he introduces the members of the band, proving to his fans that not only is he the ultimate entertainer, but a perceptive study of pop culture as well.
Of course, not everyone will be converted to Springsteenism. If long-time fans can’t help but flip through mail during the plodding “Youngstown,” newcomers may not find it enthralling either.
Still, those who watch the entire special are bound to be left with a feeling that Springsteen and his E Street Band are one of the finest teams in rock and roll. Whether it’s band member Danny Federici’s crooning accordion intros, the wailing of Clarence Clemons’ soulful sax solos or the desperation in Steve Van Zandt’s vocal delivery, there’s no doubt that everyone in the group is pushing themselves to their fullest capacity.
At this year’s Grammy Awards, Bono told the audience that U2 is reapplying for the “best-band-in-the-world job.” After viewing Springsteen’s HBO special, it’s clear he has some heavy competition.
