The Fat Angel Sings

The opening of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s newest American tour had a familiar ring. He debuted the Land of Hope and Dreams banner on last year’s European dates, and this new leg continues in that spirit, again opening with a “call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ’n’ roll in dangerous times.” But the ICE invasion of Minnesota, as well as President Trump’s illegal war against Iran — among much else — has amped Springsteen’s indignation, not to mention that of the 20,000 people hanging on every word at the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis on opening night of the tour’s newest leg.

Three days earlier, at the No Kings Rally in St. Paul, just over the Mississippi River, Springsteen had already performed an acoustic version of his new single, “Streets Of Minneapolis”. It wasn’t the first outing for the song, either: he’d debuted it at an anti-ICE benefit put together by Morello at First Avenue in late January — literally across the street from Target Center. But this night’s full-band version made those sound tentative; the sheer fury with which Springsteen delivered the third verse – “they killed and roamed / in the winter of ‘26” – was bone-rattling. Accordingly, the guitar solos during “Murder Incorporated” and especially a towering “Ghost Of Tom Joad” were suitably bloody. Guitarists Morello, Springsteen, Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren took turns stepping out — and making unfettered, noise much of the time.

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band perform the first two songs from their set for the opening night of the Springsteen & E Street Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour live in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 31st, 2026.

In the Steve Van Zandt documentary Believer, Springsteen noted that in the ‘80s, his confrere had “gone from no politics to allpolitics.” Bruce didn’t quite do that here — crowd-pleasers like “Dancing In The Dark” and “Because The Night” helped to effectively leaven things. But the first song set the tone. Edwin Starr’s “War” — short, sharp, and surging, with guest guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine shredding-not-soloing over the arrangement — followed hard by “Born In the USA”, with Bruce hitting a piercing falsetto in the second verse and drummer Max Weinberg’s drum rolls even more commanding.

Nevertheless, there was still real playfulness on offer — the third time (of four) that he led the crowd in a chant of “ICE out now!” during “Streets Of Minneapolis”, Bruce offered a cheerful, “Almost!” During “Out In The Street,” someone in the front handed him their NO KINGS sign, which he held up for a verse before handing it back to its owner: what a gentleman. Played a dozen songs apart, “Death To My Hometown” and “Wrecking Ball” had a lighter cast to them, closer to the folky Seeger Sessions than E Street crunch, a welcome change of musical pace. “Born To Run” was scheduled as an encore — only there really wasn’t one, because the band just stayed on stage and kept playing without a break.

But the underlying seriousness of the night wasn’t lost on anyone. When “American Skin (41 Shots)” began, the crowd went rapt. This quarter-century-old song, written about the murder of Ghanaian immigrant New Yorker Amadou Diallo, by police, didn’t need to call attention to itself; the resonances were horribly plain for all to hear. It was an elegy, not a war cry, and the audience listened intensely. For all the volume the band (and audience) dealt, that relative quiet also made a statement.

“This tour was not planned,” Springsteen said near the finale, a grandiose “Chime Of Freedom”. (The Dylan song followed a number from another Minnesota songwriter: “Purple Rain”, the fourth time the E Street Band has covered it.) “We needed to feel your hope and strength, and I hope we offered some hope and strength to you in return.” There was no question — the energy had gone both ways, in a manner that nobody who was in the room is likely to forget.