What's the News, Mr. Springsteen

Sign outside United Center (my photo!)

In October of 1974, a 24 year old Bruce Springsteen played Chicago for the first time. They opened for a band called the Persuasion, at The Quiet Knight off West Belmont. Springsteen told us this story during a break during Chicago show of his 'Land of Hopes and Dreams American Tour' this past Wednesday (4/29/2026) now in the United Center, stacked with tens of thousands of people. Full of protest songs and rousing speeches from the Boss himself, Springsteen and the E Street Band embodies the ideals that Liberal America strives for. Over the course of the three hour show, which is played straight by him and the E Street Band, no openers, Springsteen delivers a sonic story of anger, hope, and redemption for the American Dream, which you can see he truly believes in. I'm going to do a small overview of the setlist, focusing on the historical context of many of the songs, and how Springsteen uses the current situation to recontextualize his work.

Bruce Springsteen's music has always fallen more on the political side, from Born in the USA to Streets of Minneapolis, his 60 year career has birthed many songs pertaining to current events, his setlist for Land of Hopes and Dreams combines these eras to paint a picture of resistance and struggle to keep the American Ideal alive.

Opening with 'War' a rendition of the 1969 song by the Temptations, first played by Springsteen during the Born in the USA tour in 1985, a grittier, thoroughly angry song he preludes with a speech about the Vietnam War draft. It's a beautiful song, and is a great tone-setter against the more upbeat 'Born in the USA' that followed. 'Born is the USA' is about the US government's abandonment of Vietnam War veterans after they came home. The upbeat pop-rock leaning instrumentals has made the song a contentious figure politically as man politicians have used it to try and push their warmongering campaigns, much to Springsteen's dislike. In my personal opinion the Electric Nebraska demo is much more effective in getting the intended message across but doesn't fit the upbeat tone of the rest of the album.

Since 2008, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine has been an off-and-on member of the E Street Band, and on this next song off Springsteen's album Wrecking Ball they let him loose. Death to my Hometown takes a lot of inspiration from Celtic sounds, and talks of robber barons and rich thieves who commit crimes and get off with just a show of wealth. Timely, as Springsteen calls out the "crooked people" in office who prioritize wealth over the people they are meant to serve. Morello also co-leads vocals on The Ghost of Tom Joad, a harder version of the folk-y recording off the album of the same name. Inspired by the character from John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, the song evokes the image of the spirit of change, taking on an angrier fighting spirit with Morello's influence.

The final song of the night was a cover of Bob Dylan's Chimes of Freedom, first performed by Springsteen on the tour for Darkness on the Edge of Town in 1978, which by the way is my favorite Springsteen album. He played three songs off it (The Promised Land, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Badlands) and it was amazing. The song had been off his roster since the 1988 Tunnel of Love Express tour, almost 40 years ago.

There's a fascinating sort of relevance to how Springsteen presents his songs to the audience, his between songs musings pull from news headlines and things that are falling under the table. It's part rally, part concert, part response to whatever social media tirade the President had gone on against him recently. It's a memorial to people who were killed in acts of political violence, but only those who made headlines. It's a call against war, but only to keep American alive, not quite considering those who the Americans are killing. It's objectively a more moderate position to take, but it is a position that is completely radical to some people. Overall I had a great time, though I wish someone would get him to do something about ticket scalpers and the obscene price of his tickets (behind the stage tickets for $90+??? horrible.)