Bruce Springsteen lets 'The River' songs flow forth

WASHINGTON — Bruce Springsteen went down to The River here Friday night and his flock followed.

The 20,000 or so believers who packed the Verizon Center were met by an energized Springsteen, 66, who appeared to be immensely enjoying himself during the three-hour performance.

It represented the fourth date on a tour devoted to The River, the double-LP set the New Jersey-born singer/songwriter released in 1980. Springsteen seemed to relish giving these songs a victory lap. He delivered that work, in its entirety and in succession, in a furious manner, often counting off the start of the next song while the sound from the previous one still hung in the air.

Along with nine members of the current E Street Band, Springsteen took the stage with the lights up, perhaps to help a crowd still filing in after having made it through long lines at the doors.

"The River was a record where I was trying to fit into the greater community," he told the crowd. By making "a record big enough," he hoped to "find answers I was looking for."

The album is "about time," he said, "the limited amount of time to do your work, raise your family and try to do something good. That’s The River."

For many fans, the next two hours transported them back to Springsteen's original River tour in 1980-1981, which built a rabid national following before his multiplatinum Born in the U.S.A. album catapulted him to the mainstream.

Delivered faithfully, these songs crackled with life. During Sherry Darling, Springsteen traveled the stage with just a microphone, holding it out to the crowd, then dancing with wife/guitarist Patty Scialfa and sideman Steven Van Zandt. Saxophonist Jake Clemons, who four years ago replaced his late uncle Clarence Clemons in the band, assuredly belted out a rich solo.

Springsteen said the solemn Independence Day was about "fathers and sons" and his own father, who "had his own dreams and desires that didn't pan out."

Before another frenzied series of fast numbers, Springsteen let the crowd sing the first verse and chorus of Hungry Heart.

He and Van Zandt shared a microphone trading vocal riffs to finish off You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch).

Later, Roy Bittan provided a lamenting piano introduction to Point Blank. During Cadillac Ranch, Springsteen joined Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren in a guitar faceoff and violinist Soozie Tyrell strode over to take a turn, too.

Having spanned the 20 songs from The River, Springsteen offered up another dozen from throughout his career, including Born to Run and Rosalita. Two women took turns on stage with the singer during Dancing in the Dark.

The crowd ranged from kids to octogenarians. On social media, Springsteen was compared to Lawrence Welk, whose TV music variety show ran for nearly 40 years.

To be sure, concertgoers Friday night didn't need a bubble machine. They only needed Bruce.

Set list:

Meet Me in the City
The Ties That Bind
Sherry Darling
Jackson Cage
Two Hearts
Independence Day
Hungry Heart
Out in the Street
Crush on You
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
This Little Girl
I Wanna Marry You
The River
Point Blank
Cadillac Ranch
I’m A Rocker
Fade Away
Stolen Car
Ramrod
The Price You Pay
Drive All Night
Wreck on the Highway
Darlington County
Prove It All Night
The Promised Land
Tougher Than the Rest
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
Thunder Road
No Surrender
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita
Shout

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