For seven long years, the one Bruce Springsteen live shows in NYC have been stripped-down shows with the Recent Jersey legend performing solo and telling stories in a Broadway theater.
But on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, the Boss was back in all his arena-rocking glory — with the E Street Band by his side once more.
In the primary of his area live shows on a 2023 trek that kicked off in February, Springsteen and his beloved backing band played together in NYC for the primary time since “The River” tour in August 2016.
And you could possibly feel the joy and anticipation within the air even before Springsteen and crew took the stage just 10 minutes after the scheduled 7:30 start time — the higher to play those marathon, three-hour-plus live shows they’re famous for.
Chants of “Bruuuuuce!” rippled through the world until the band hit the stage, one after the other, but they reached peak roar when Springsteen himself finally made his entrance.
“Recent York City!” he shouted as if he was just as blissful to be back home together with his musical family.
And as he launched into the “Born within the USA” anthem “No “Give up,” it was clear that the ever-buff Boss was not backing all the way down to Father Time — even at 73.
Even when he went into “Ghosts” — from 2020’s “Letter to You,” which found him confronting his own mortality — Springsteen sounded as vital as ever.
And you could possibly feel some love from the opposite side when Clarence Clemons’ nephew Jake channeled the spirit of his late uncle on saxophone.
Although Springsteen’s latest album, 2022’s “Only the Strong Survive,” is a solo affair — which he nodded to with the soulful swagger of his Commodores cover “Nightshift” — this tour is unquestionably all about those special E Street moments like him sharing the mic again with ace sidekick Steven Van Zandt again on classics corresponding to “Prove It All Night.”
Which is strictly what they did.