Bruce Springsteen, left, and Anthony Almonte of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform on opening night of the "Land of Hope And Dreams" tour at Target Center in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Bruce Springsteen was in a defiant but upbeat mood as he returned Tuesday night to the “Streets of Minneapolis” to launch his latest U.S. tour, denouncing the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in the city and opening with a not-so-veiled salvo against the war in Iran
Springsteen kicked off his “Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour” at the packed Target Center with a show that lasted just shy of three hours, with no intermission. He previously honored the city’s residents in song for their courage in standing up against the estimated 3,000 federal officers that President Donald Trump’s administration sent in what it called its largest immigration enforcement action anywhere in the country.
“We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideals,” Springsteen said. “Democracy, our Constitution and our sacred American promise, the America that I love, the America that I’ve written about for 50 years, that’s been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration.”
The Boss then asked the crowd to join “in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency, unity over and peace over … ” before exploding into a thunderous version of “War,” a song he has sung since war clouds loomed over the Reagan administration.
After Springsteen and the E Street Band launched into “Born in the U.S.A.” and a few other fan favorites, he stood alone at center stage with just a quiet accompaniment for “Streets of Minneapolis,” a song he penned in January amid the nationwide outcry over the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers. Thousands of audience members held their lit-up phones aloft in tribute.
After E Streeters including Steve Van Zandt and Max Weinberg joined in, Springsteen led fans in four chants of the song’s signature line, “ICE Out Now,” as the house lights came up.
Springsteen played a solo version of “Streets of Minneapolis” Saturday during the national flagship “No Kings” rally at the state Capitol in St. Paul. On Tuesday night, he repeated his statement: “The solidarity of the people of Minneapolis, of Minnesota, was an inspiration to the entire country.”
“We’ll take our stand for this land/And the stranger in our midst/We’ll remember the names of those who died/On the streets of Minneapolis,” he sang.
Springsteen later delivered a soliloquy lamenting the state of the country and the world, using it as a lead-in to “My City of Ruins.”
There’s no love lost between Springsteen and Trump, who have long feuded. During his European tour last year, Springsteen slammed the Trump administration as a “rogue government” of people who have “no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.”
Trump, in turn, has called Springsteen a “dried-out prune of a rocker.” In a social media post, the president once wrote, “Never liked him, never liked his music or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he’s not a talented guy — just a pushy, obnoxious JERK,” he wrote on social media.
The lights went violet as Springsteen and the E Streeters performed Prince’s “Purple Rain.” Tom Morello delivered a searing rendition of the late Minneapolis-born superstar’s concluding guitar solo.
The show ended with Springsteen again honoring Pretti and Good. Before beginning “Chimes of Freedom,” he told the audience:
“This is a tour that was not planned. We’re here tonight because we need to steal your hope and your strength. And we wanted to bring some hope and some strength to you. I hope we did.”
Springsteen told a New York City audience last week, during a 30th anniversary celebration for the independent news program “Democracy Now!,” that his tour will head next to Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, “two other cities where they had to deal with ICE, ICE’s terror.” It ends May 27 in Washington, D.C., where he said he’ll have a few choice words for the White House.
Becky Stunc, 75, came to Minneapolis from Sandpoint, Idaho. “I really want to make my voice known for what Bruce represents,” she said. “And our country.”
Stunc said she found “Streets of Minneapolis” especially moving, with its reference to the spots where Good and Pretti fell as “where mercy should have stood.”
Peter Somers, 46, of Rochester, Minnesota, brought his 11-year-old son, Jack, saying he was glad that Springsteen was “standing up with people for America and democracy.”
“He’s a legend,” Somers said. “And it’s Jack’s first concert ever. What better first concert to ever have than Springsteen?”
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