The Boss Still Has Magic

    By: Scott Sheahen

       After 35 years of rocking, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street still have the magic.

       Tuesday October 2, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band released their new CD, Magic, and kicked off their Magic Tour at the Hartford Civic Center.

       In front of a packed house the E Street Band played a mix of old and new songs. They opened with Radio Nowhere and rocked off another seven songs from Magic. They complemented their new songs with old ones like, Promise Land, Badlands, Night, Reason To Believe, Darlington County, and an audience-inclusive encore of Born To Run.

       Springsteen and the E Street Band encouraged the crowd to sing, pointing the microphone in their direction. Springsteen asked periodically for the house lights to be turned up so he could look at his dancing audience.

       Springsteen was a bit controversial, openly badmouthing the Bush administration during the show and in his songs. He claimed the title track Magic is about Bush using magic to win the election and Livin’ In The Future is about having to deal with the future problems the Bush administration made.

       The E Street Band returned to their roots with their new CD. Magic has a feel of a walk through Asbury Park, New Jersey during a summer day in the late 1970s. They take you, “walkin' through town, your boot heels clickin'” with stops at diners and downtown stores, going past girls in their summer clothes. Magic is a great summer-ending CD.

       Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will continue their Magic tour all over the United States and Europe with stops in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, California, Pittsburgh, Albany, Boston, Madrid, Milan, Paris, and finishing in London.