Show Review - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band 11/6/24 Toronto, ON

A Real Treat

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band brought their 2024 world tour to Toronto for their second of two shows last night, delivering a powerful three-hour performance that defied the frontman’s 75-year age with pure, condensed rock ‘n roll.

Despite a travel delay that caused the show to start an hour late, Springsteen emerged ready to rock us into the ground as he opened with “Long Walk Home.” It’s fascinating to go to non-jam shows because a lot of the time the audience isn’t nearly as engaged in every note the band puts out, but the E Street crowd hung on every word, and pre-show chatter centred around what was played on Sunday and expectations for the night.

It was also amazing to witness Bruce’s massive smile and joy for every single minute of the performance – some might expect that a musician on the road for so long and at this point in his career might take on some of the qualities of a nostalgia act – not as passionate, more going through the motions than putting it all out there every night. This could not have been less applicable to last night’s performance, where each person on stage – whether it be musicians in their 40^th year as part of the E Street Band or relative newcomers, smiles and amazing energy poured off the stage.

Another really cool part of the show was the band’s willingness to deviate from their planned setlist at a moment’s notice – “Lonesome Day” was audibled early on and Bruce opted for “Better Days” after seeing a fan sign in celebration of their 25^th wedding anniversary. While they hadn’t performed the song since May of this year, the band pulled it off without a hitch.

“Adam Raised A Cain” saw Bruce himself step forward for some screaming lead guitar work, an angle to his music I hadn’t really thought about before since his concerts tend to be much more focused on the songs rather than musicianship. While on the topic of the band, I was blown away by how much drummer Max Weinberg drives the bus – his spot on an elevated platform right at centre stage is a perfect indication of how his pounding beat leads the way on each and every song.

Bruce’s stage presence at 75 years old is also an absolute force – walking from corner to corner and engaging the crowd on all sides, playing multiple other sign requests and spreading his infectious joy to those in the front few rows.

As the show began to reach its end, a massive six-song encore dominated by “the hits” (as well as an audibled “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” thanks to a Christmas hat worn by an audience member) saw the E Street Band pull their trademark move of turning up the house lights for the crowd favourites, a really cool and unique concert experience that allowed focus on the collective singalong and energy rather than putting all eyes on the band.

After the conclusion of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” Bruce introduced his band and hugged each member as they walked off stage before strumming a beautiful solo acoustic rendition of “I’ll See You In My Dreams” to send us off into the night.

Having seen Bruce once before in 2016, I felt as though I appreciated last night’s performance a lot more – and not just due to my proximity to the stage. I keep saying it, but watching the dedication to making the performance the absolute best experience it could be with such power and joy was truly special, and I really look forward to the next time I get to experience this show.

Tour continues this weekend, and pre-orders for all live recordings are available via nugs.net.