And as the Delta variant continues to spread across the globe, causing infection spikes everywhere where from India to Ireland, it will likely be a long time before COVID-19 is just a traumatic memory.
And the capacity crowd, which included Steve Van Zandt, United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Brian Williams, and many deep-pocketed Springsteen fans, welcomed him with the familiar “Brooooce” roar that drowned out the chants of the anti-vaccine protestors gathered outside the theater.
“It’s great to see everybody here tonight,” he told the crowd after opening up with “Growin’ Up” and slightly re-worked remarks about his youth.
He’s referring, of course, to the incident in November 2020 where he was charged with a DUI in New Jersey’s Gateway National Recreation Area after drinking just two shots of tequila.
“I didn’t wake up one morning, get on my motorcycle and say, ‘I think I’ll drive to jail,’” he said.
It was a reminder that much has happened since the initial Springsteen on Broadway wrapped up in December 2018 after a 14-month run.
Sadly, his mother’s health has continued to deteriorate over the past few years, and he seemed to be fighting tears when updating the audience on her condition before a moving rendition of “The Wish.” “She’s ten years into Alzheimer’s,” he said.
“I don’t believe I’ve seen, certainly not in my lifetime, when democracy itself, not just who is going to be running the show for the next four years, but survival of democracy itself was as deeply threatened.
At no point did he mention George Floyd or Black Lives Matter, but he followed that speech with a chilling “American Skin ” that made it clear exactly where his mind was at.
Many other parts of the show – including monologues about his childhood in Freehold, his father, Clarence Clemons, dodging the Vietnam draft, and driving cross-country in 1970 – were taken verbatim from the last run.
The enormous stage made the show feel slightly less intimate, and it’s quite possible fans on the top tier struggled to hear him when he wandered away from the mic.
All the previous Broadway shows closed out with “Born to Run,” but he dropped it this time in favor of “I’ll See You In My Dreams” from A Letter To You.
If all goes according to plan, the world will see Springsteen back on the road with the E Street Band in 2022.