Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band performed live at Wembley Arena on July 25th, earning them widespread accolades for their performance. Their London performance lived up to their reputation as the greatest live band on the planet. The flawless guitarist Steve Van Zandt led the group in playing as if their lives depended on it.
Bruce Springsteen has never held back when discussing the significance of performing live.
You can see how sacred performing is to him if you go back in time to his very first performance in London.
“When we arrived outdoors, this brilliantly lit marquis said, ‘Finally!! Bruce Springsteen is coming to London. “After giving it some thought, this is not exactly the tone I would have liked to be struck. It feels a little too… presumptuous?” he remarked.
“My business is show business and that is the business of showing… not telling,” is how Springsteen approaches his work. People are best served by showing them things rather than telling them what to do. Because of this, his live performances continue to be among the most popular events in contemporary music, and his band members also share this outlook.
Since he has been playing with the E Street Band for decades, both on and off, Steve Van Zandt is a great complement to the group because he shares the same passion for live music as his musical counterpart. It implies that he knows the routine and doesn’t hold back when delivering the performance on stage.
Both in his performances and his listening, his passion for live sound is clear. In response to a question regarding his favorite live album, he said that he wouldn’t bother with it unless the live recording was far better than the studio version. He declared, “Unless they’re changing the arrangements or doing something substantially artistically, I’ve never been a big fan of live albums.”
A few notable exceptions exist, such as The Who’s Live in Leeds. He went on, “It was revolutionary at the time, and when they release new songs, it genuinely makes sense for them to be there. We had never heard them perform “Summertime Blues,” for example, until then.
Van Zandt’s appreciation for The Who extends beyond their live recordings. It makes sense that Van Zandt would be a fan of the musician considering the emotional spectrum he covered in his discography with The E Street Band. Their concept albums use music to investigate various facets of the human mind and create intricate storylines. Van Zandt gives a special appreciation to this particular CD.
Tommy, The Who’s 1969 album that featured a captivating tale subtly revealed in the most exquisite way, fundamentally altered listeners’ perceptions of records. Not holding back, Van Zandt readily acknowledged that “The Who’s Tommy is the highest pinnacle of the art form.” An ideal fusion of Van Zandt’s live music philosophy and
