Tonight, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their Land Of Hope & Dreams Tour at Co-op Live in Manchester, England. The Boss included a series of politically-minded remarks to accompany the songs "Land Of Hope And Dreams," "House Of A Thousand Guitars," and "My City Of Ruins."
Last fall, during the run-up to the presidential election, Springsteen called Donald Trump "the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime" and deemed him "mentally ill." Here's what Springsteen said tonight before playing the first song of the set, 1999's "Land Of Hope And Dreams":
Good Evening! It's great to be in Manchester and back in the UK. Welcome to the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour! The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n roll in dangerous times.
In my home, the America I love, the America I've written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration. Tonight we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!
Before a solo acoustic "House Of A Thousand Guitars," from 2020's Letter To You, he remarked, "The last check, the last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we've got is each other."
And here's the preface Springsteen gave for The Rising classic "My City Of Ruins":
There's some very weird, strange, and dangerous shit going on out there right now. In America they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now.
In America the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now. In my country they're taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers. They're rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society. They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They are defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands. They are removing residents off American streets and without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now.
A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government. They have no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American. The America l've sung to you about for 50 years is real and regardless of its faults is a great country with a great people. So we'll survive this moment. Now, I have hope, because I believe in the truth of what the great American writer James Baldwin said, he said "in this world there isn't as much humanity as one would like, but there's enough.” Let’s pray.
The setlist also included "Murder Incorporated" for the first time since 2017 and the live debut of "Rainmaker" from Letter To You. The show concluded with a cover of Bob Dylan's "Chimes Of Freedom," which Springsteen had not performed in 37 years; "Take this home with you," he said before the song.
Earlier today Springsteen shared "Repo Man" from his forthcoming box set of previously unreleased music Tracks II: The Lost Albums.
Watch Springsteen speak and cover Dylan below.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Zdcz7TFN2aE
