{"id":717636,"date":"2026-04-10T07:41:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T07:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/717636\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T07:41:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T07:41:24","slug":"bruce-springsteen-brings-protest-and-joy-to-l-a-s-forum-concert-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/717636\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Springsteen Brings Protest and Joy to L.A.’s Forum: Concert Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen Bruce Springsteen<\/a> brought his \u201cLand of Hope and Dreams Tour\u201d to the Los Angeles area this week, it followed the same template as the opening night of the tour in Minneapolis exactly seven days prior. There was one addition to the setlist Tuesday, in the first of two Kia Forum<\/a> shows: a cover of the Clash\u2019s \u201cClampdown,\u201d sung as a duet with Tom Morello<\/a>. Inevitably, they drew big cheers when they got to the vintage Strummer-Jones line \u201cIn these days of evil presidentes\u2026\u201d Who knew that, 47 years later, Americans would be bashing kings with an even greater passion than the Brits of the original punk era?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s safe to say that most of the 18,000 in the audience were primed to roar for a line like that, given that this pop-up trek had been clearly advertised as a patriotic protest tour, in response to the ICE killings in Minneapolis and other recent outrages. Springsteen\u2019s many detractors have repeatedly claimed that he will lose half his audience by publicly positioning himself against this administration, but he is still filling arenas this time around with those who know exactly what to expect and are coming as much to enjoy some social solidarity as to hear \u201cBadlands.\u201d Hardcore fans in Los Angeles had likely already heard or read the speeches that Springsteen gave in the earlier Minneapolis or Portland tour stops, which will be as faithfully rendered every night as the well-honed text of his \u201cSpringsteen on Broadway\u201d run.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere were just a couple of slight changes in his on-stage patter Tuesday. One was removing Pam Bondi\u2019s name when he was referring to the injustices of the Justice Department. (Yes, the attorney general had been fired in the short time between the tour\u2019s first show and its third, even though that feels like it happened a month ago. Time flies, in Trump\u2019s America.) The other was an ad lib Springsteen threw in during his final speech of the night, in which he sits down on the lip of the stage to share some closing dismay along with the promised hope and dreams.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe may have been influenced by the fact that this was the night in which the president was supposed to begin bombing Iran \u201cback to the stone ages,\u201d only to have the news come out not long before showtime that some kind of ceasefire was being put in place at the 11th hour. Springsteen began to recite his prepared text: \u201cThese are the hard times, but we\u2019ll make it through. We\u2019re gonna make it through,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re the Americans.\u201d Then, just for a moment, he went off-script.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhat do they say? Americans do the right thing, after they\u2019ve tried everything else.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tHe gave a slight chuckle, then uttered: \u201cFuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBeautifully prepared speechwriting is one thing, but sometimes an exasperated F-bomb also does the trick.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cLand of Hope and Dreams Tour\u201d serves two masters: being a disappointed and angry howl against the extreme right turns the country has been taking\u2026 and the mission to also give the audience a walloping good time. Springsteen has sequenced his show in a way that deftly threads these two threads together: Whether you come to mourn blood shed on the \u201cStreets of Minneapolis\u201d or celebrate the personal liberation found in going \u201cOut on the Street,\u201d Springsteen has a lane of E Street set aside for you during these three hours.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBruce Springsteen and Tom Morello at the Kia Forum, April 7, 2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTimothy Norris\/Kia Forum<\/p>\n

\n\tThere were plenty of moments of silliness to go along with the solemnity in Tuesday\u2019s show. He has tended to break the setlist up into blocks of music that are either personally joyful or culturally alarmed, with careful segues beween the two moods so that the juxtapositions never seem too abrupt or bizarre.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe has added one topical phrase to the fast-talking rap he does toward the end of \u201cTenth Avenue Freeze-Out,\u201d reflecting the politicized theme of this tour but allowing himself to have a moment of fun with it. \u201cI want you to go home tonight and wake up all your neighbors,\u201d he demands, as is his longstanding custom when performing this 1975 favorite. \u201cI want you to get them outta bed, and I want you to tell them that you\u2019ve just seen the heart-stoppin\u2019, pain-stompin\u2019, pants-droppin\u2019, earth-shockin\u2019, hardest-rockin\u2019, booty-shakin\u2019, earth-quakin\u2019, love-makin\u2019, Viagra-takin\u2019, history-makin\u2019, ICE-outin\u2019, soul-shakin\u2019, legendary E Street Band!\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat, of course, was not the first time ICE came up in the course of the evening, as his late-January composition \u201cStreets of Minneapolis\u201d had him stopping to lead the crowd in the rallying cry of \u201cICE out now!\u201d four times, where there was only one on the studio version. That song also had him dropping a fresh F-bomb not in the recorded lyrics: \u201cIt\u2019s our blood and bones and these whistles and phones against Miller and Noem\u2019s fucking lies.\u201d (Unlike Pam Bondi, whose mention was dropped post-firing, Kristi Noem will be immortalized as a villain forever in the annals of Bruce-dom.)<\/p>\n

\n\tThe show started, as on the previous two nights, with a short speech that led right into his revived cover of Edwin Starr\u2019s \u201cWar,\u201d which segued right into \u201cBorn in the U.S.A.\u201d \u2014 a Vietnam-themed double-header. From then on, much of the night was like a \u201cSocially Conscious Springsteen Greatest Hits\u201d collection, including \u201cDeath to My Hometown,\u201d \u201cMy City of Ruins,\u201d \u201cYoungstown,\u201d \u201cThe Ghost of Tom Joad,\u201d \u201cMurder Incorporated,\u201d \u201cLong Walk Home,\u201d the Bob Dylan cover \u201cChimes of Freedom\u201d and, of course, the sublime \u201cLand of Hope and Dreams\u201d itself. You could trace how certain themes have reemerged over the years, as with the tragic twinship of 2001\u2019s lament about state-sanctioned murder, \u201c41 Shots (American Skin),\u201d and the new \u201cStreets of Minneapolis.\u201d In \u201cWrecking Ball,\u201d he repeated the phrase \u201cHold tight to your anger\u201d three times, for emphasis \u2014 and with \u201cClampdown\u201d now in the set, that line served as an echo of the Clash\u2019s maxim: \u201cLet fury have the hour, anger can be power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut he is not about to stay mad, or lamentful, for a full two hours and 52 minutes. So after listing off all those heavier songs, it\u2019s remarkable just how much of the set was still devoted to setting off the constant joy bombs the E Street Band has been known for for the last half-century. The current tour and the last one they did, two years ago, have very distinct, individualized themes: the 2024 show was about facing mortality, and the 2026 show is about facing America\u2019s moral failures. But in both cases, the songs of jubilation stand not as outliers but as relevant reminders of why it ain\u2019t no sin to be glad you\u2019re alive, or, as the case may be, to be glad you\u2019re American, current circumstances notwithstanding. It\u2019s no exaggeration to say that both these tours have been designed as very deliberate and calculated affirmations of life\u2026 a description that would feel like hype or hyperbole if you said it of just about any other rock \u2018n\u2019 roll tour.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Kia Forum, April 7, 2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTimothy Norris\/Kia Forum<\/p>\n

\n\tThis all kind of came together in what is, ironically, the show\u2019s quietest and probably most obscure number. That is \u201cHouse of a Thousand Guitars,\u201d a song from the 2020 \u201cLetter to You\u201d album that Springsteen did not previously perform on tour. He does it now acoustically, while the band gets to take a pee break, something he does not afford himself during these epic proceedings. (Maybe his prostrate is tougher than the rest?) It\u2019s a song with a reference that is bound to get a cheer on a \u201cNo Kings\u201d-themed tour \u2014 \u201cThe criminal clown has stolen the throne \/ He steals what he can never own\u201d \u2014 but, maybe even more importantly, it\u2019s a testament to the power of music being stronger than either Donald or death. The show could not have a sweeter centerpiece.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd speaking of guitars, the E Street Band does seem to have about a thousand electric ones, now, even though it\u2019s actually only four. Guest star Morello joins the already capable Nils Lofgren, Little Steven Van Zandt and Springsteen in peeling off multiple solos during the night. I tried to imagine whether it would be possible for a MAGA person to come and enjoy these concerts, with all the rhetoric about how that movement is proving to be America\u2019s ruination. And in the end, this show is such a showcase for sequential guitar heroism that it might be possible to be a right-wing-extremist guitar nut and have a good time at the gig. (Let us know how that works out, if you fit that bill.) Springsteen\u2019s own solos are shorter and tangier, but the other three guys all get truly epic solos: Lofgren on \u201cYoungstown\u201d and \u201cThe Rising,\u201d Little Steven on \u201cMurder Incorporated,\u201d and Morello on \u201cAmerican Skin\u201d and \u201cTom Joad,\u201d for starters.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs time-honored solos go, there is also Jake Clemons, recreating his uncle\u2019s sax work (and prompting Bruce to do a truly goofy dance) in \u201cDancing in the Dark,\u201d and Springsteen gleefully blowing his harmonica in \u201cThe Promised Land\u201d like he is the twister that is going to blow everything down. <\/p>\n

\n\tSome of the musical pleasures in the show feel age-old, like Roy Bittan\u2019s piano licks and Max Weinberg\u2019s furious fills. (A special call-out to how well the overhead video screens capture some of these moments, knowing exactly when, in this well-oiled machine, to switch to shots of Weinberg doing especially powerful fills in a number like \u201cMurder Incorporated.\u201d) Some of the moments to treasure are not so eternal and familiar. There may be a few old-fashioned fans who lament the long-gone days of the E Street Band being a smaller unit instead of the veritable orchestra that appears on stage now. But any such nostalgia would be misplaced when you get Bruce\u2019s battery of backup singers forming a choir at the moving climax of \u201cLong Walk Home\u201d\u2026 which, by the way, ought to be considered as a new National Anthem, whenever the country gets around to regrouping from all this.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the center, there is Springsteen, with a world-weariness in his speeches that is in no way mirrored in his performance level, which would feel spirited and energized for a man of half his 76 years. It remains to be seen how many years he\u2019ll be able to deliver as powerful a raspy belt as he does here, practically uninterrupted, for almost three hours; get it while you can.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere is something special about seeing Springsteen at the Forum, which has to nearly feel as much like a home base at this point as anywhere in home territory on the east coast. It\u2019s not \u201cthe dump that jumps,\u201d as he famously deemed the L.A. Sports Arena, but neither is it his famously hated Staples Center. Springsteen didn\u2019t devote a lot of Tuesday\u2019s show to catering to the local crowd, but he did have some quips. There were cheers for the New Jersey references in \u201cWrecking Ball\u201d that led him to wonder aloud how many people in the audience were from the state. Naturally, a suspiciously big cheer went up, leading him to ask, \u201cThen who the fuck is from Los Angeles?\u201d Another big response. \u201cGet out of here,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody was born in Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut most of his chatter during the night was about the larger issues that prompted the tour just a matter of weeks earlier.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis White House is destroying the American idea and our reputation around the world,\u201d he said, taking a seat at the lip of the stage as the night drew to a close. \u201cTo many, we are no longer looked upon as an often imperfect but strong defender of democracy, standing for the global good. We are no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are now America, a reckless, unpredictable, predatory rogue nation. That is this administration and this president\u2019s legacy. \u2026 Honestly, honor, humility, true compassion, thoughtfulness, morality, true strength and decency \u2014 don\u2019t let anybody tell you that these things don\u2019t matter anymore. They do.\u201c<\/p>\n

\n\tThis last assertion got a spontaneous standing ovation from the vast majority of the Forum crowd, as if he\u2019d just trotted out a greatest hit, which in a way he had.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThey\u2019re at the heart of the kind of citizens we want to be and the kind of country we want to leave to our children,\u201d he continued. \u201cSo many of our elected leaders have failed us that this American tragedy can only be stopped by the American people. So join us\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAre these the words of a radical-left lunatic? Or your high school civics teacher, dressed up as a rock god to impart a lesson about basic decency? It\u2019s such a fine line these days.<\/p>\n

\n\t(For another account of the tour, read Variety\u2019s review of the opening-night show in Minneapolis.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at the Kia Forum, April 7, 2026<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTimothy Norris\/Kia Forum<\/p>\n

\n\tSetlist for Bruce Springsteen at the E Street Band at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., April 7, 2026:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tWar
Born in the U.S.A.
Death to My Hometown
Clampdown
No Surrender
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Streets of Minneapolis
The Promised Land
Out in the Street
Hungry Heart
Youngstown
Murder Incorporated
American Skin (41 Shots)
Long Walk Home
House of a Thousand Guitars
My City of Ruins
Because the Night
Wrecking Ball
The Rising
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Badlands
Land of Hope and Dreams
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Chimes of Freedom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Bruce Springsteen brought his \u201cLand of Hope and Dreams Tour\u201d to the Los Angeles area this week,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":717637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[4580,1582,276,102959,2961,224,5337,94585],"class_list":["post-717636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-bruce-springsteen","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-kia-forum","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-tom-morello"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116379286998447677","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}