Bruce Springsteen plays loose in hits-packed Syracuse concert (review)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band made up for lost time at Thursday night’s concert.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group played more than two dozen songs in a hits-packed performance at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse. The show was originally scheduled for September and postponed when Springsteen was diagnosed with peptic ulcer disease.

Springsteen seemed to be cognizant of the fact that it was his first time in Central New York in more than a decade and his first time playing at the Syracuse University stadium with the E Street Band since 1985. As a result, he breathlessly played for two hours and fifty minutes with virtually no pauses throughout the set. He played the hits — including “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” “Dancing in the Dark,” “Hungry Heart” and “Glory Days” — but sprinkled in a few more surprising songs like “Darlington County” (from his 1986 album “Born in the USA”) and chose “Night” (from “Born to Run”) over “Prove It All Night” (from “Darkness on the Edge of Town”).

He even played “Growin’ Up” for the first time on his tour after a young fan held up a sign requesting it. Most of the crowd grew up with Springsteen’s music over the past five decades, but he clearly appreciated parents who brought their little ones to the show. He hugged one kid who said he skipped school to attend the concert and traded a harmonica for a bag of Skittles with another youngster.

“I f—ing love you,” said one child, who was definitely too young to be using such language. But that’s rock and roll.

Stadium shows are often very rigid due to video and light synchronization requirements. Before his illness, some Springsteen fans complained last year that too many shows were following the same setlist. But at least eight songs were completely different from Monday’s MVP Arena concert in Albany and last week’s performance at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.

According to a setlist that was printed out before the show, Springsteen and the E Street Band kept the whole Syracuse show loose, sometimes swapping songs out spontaneously. He chose “My City of Ruins” over “Racing in the Street” and “Growin’ Up” replaced “Letter to You,” while tracks like “I’m On Fire” and “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” were scrapped altogether — possibly due to a late start, as the concert didn’t start until 7:50 pm because some fans were still entering the Dome after 7:30.

I was most impressed how Springsteen could shout out song names from the edge of the pit and his famous backing band, 20 to 30 feet away from him, could immediately jump into them. It felt well choreographed and rehearsed, but you could tell they were still improvising at times. They just happen to be very, very good at their jobs.

They also happen to love the music, which is why fans want to see Springsteen over and over again. The people on stage are having just as good of a time as the people watching it, which makes the whole thing feel like a party.

E Street Band standouts like guitarist Steven Van Zandt, drummer Max Weinberg and multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren are constantly riffing with Springsteen on stage. Little Steven and saxophonist Jake Clemons, the nephew of the late, great Clarence Clemons, even danced with The Boss.

Some of that energy, as well as Springsteen’s enunciation (or lack thereof), gets lost in the echoes of the Dome during less popular songs like “Ghosts” and “Atlantic City.” But by the end of the first set, the 30,000 people in attendance sang to the roof of the stadium for gems like “Because the Night” (a cover of Patti Smith Group), “She’s the One,” “Wrecking Ball,” “ The Rising,” “Badlands” and “Thunder Road.”

“My City of Ruins” was the most emotional song of the night. The final track from Springsteen’s post-9/11 album “The Rising” was originally written for Asbury Park, New Jersey, but has also been associated with the resilience of New York City and other cities that have faced hardships.

Despite some fan expectations, Springsteen didn’t explicitly pay tribute to Onondaga County Sheriff’s Lt. Michael Hoosock and Syracuse Police Officer Michael Jensen, who were killed by a gunman in Salina this week. But his words during “My City of Ruins” still offered comfort to the Central New York community.

“Are we missing anybody? Yes, we are. And I know a lot of you out there (have someone) you wish could be here with you tonight,” Springsteen told the crowd. And then he said those people can “remain alive in our memories, within our hearts.”

By the time the encore began, it was after 10 pm Yet Springsteen continued to defy his age — 74! — And he blazed non-stop through “Born to Run,” “Glory Days,” “Dancing in the Dark” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out.” Then he took the fun up another notch with an impromptu performance of “Twist and Shout” (a fan’s sign request) followed by a “Detroit Medley” highlighted by covers of “Devil in a Blue Dress” and “Good Golly Miss Molly.”

The night concluded around 10:40 pm with a solo acoustic performance of “I’ll See You in My Dreams” by Springsteen. And, unless I was dreaming, there was also one more F-bomb from someone who’s definitely old enough to say it.

“Thank you Syracuse! You’re a f—ing great audience,” Springsteen said.

Thanks, Boss. You’re pretty great, too.

Bruce Springsteen & E Street Band at JMA Dome, Syracuse, NY

Thursday, April 18, 2024 CONCERT SET LIST

Lonesome Day

Night

No Surrender

Two Hearts

Darlington County

Growin’ Up (sign request, tour premiere)

Ghosts

The Promised Land

Spirit in the Night

Hungry Heart

Atlantic City

My City of Ruins

Nightshift (Commodores cover)

Last Man Standing (acoustic)

Backstreets

Because the Night (Patti Smith Group cover)

She’s the One

Wrecking Ball

The Rising

Badlands

Thunder Rd

Encore:

Born to Run

Glory Days

Dancing in the Dark

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out

Twist and Shout (The Top Notes cover, sign request)

Detroit Medley

Encore #2:

I’ll See You in My Dreams (solo acoustic)

* * * * *

Are we missing any songs from the set list? E-mail [email protected].