The Boss And The President (Part Five)
Glory Days
Friday, April 28, 2023 Entry #117
The two Bruce Springsteen concerts I saw in New York City were among the final shows of the first US leg of the 2023 tour. I was spiritually fulfilled from accomplishing my goal of seeing multiple concerts on this triumphant post-COVID romp, from the first four shows down south to three more on the East Coast. After an April 14th home turf performance in Newark, NJ, Springsteen and the E Street Band took a few weeks off before beginning three months of touring through Europe.
Their first stop was Barcelona in the Catalonia region of Spain, one of Springsteen’s favorite cities to play concerts. Springsteen has said that, “Catalonians take their music very seriously. The audiences are non-stop, loving, warm, and exactly anything you can ask for in a crowd. It’s been that way for a long time and it still is.” New E Street member, percussionist Anthony Almonte, recounts how, starting about a month before the concert in Spain, Springsteen kept saying to him, “Wait until we get to Barcelona!” Jake Clemons added about the Spanish audiences, “Every single soul is engaged and alive from front to back.”
Before there was even one note played, Springsteen made news in the Catalan capital. Back in St. Louis, I read with amazement about a pretty incredible dinner party at Zafra, a restaurant in the Barcelona Palace Hotel. The Thursday night table consisted of Bruce and his wife Patti Scialfa, with two other famous couples who were in the country specifically to see Springsteen perform—Steven Spielberg and his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, and none other than former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama!
According to the restaurant’s chef, after the illustrious group finished their seafood meal, President Obama entered the kitchen. Obama literally “complimented the chef,” saying everyone agreed it was one of their best meals ever and requested that the whole team pose for a photo with the three couples. One of the restaurant staff members posted the picture on Instagram with the caption, “Pleasures that this job brings you!”
Bruce Springsteen and Barack Obama are two of my most revered public figures, so their connection to and relationship with one another is a subject of fascination for me (see “The Boss and The President” entries, #30, #31, and #32). One writer referred to President Obama, with his message of unity, inclusion, transcendence, and compassion, along with his appeal to our ‘better angels,’ as “the most ‘Springsteenian’ political figure in American political history.” I believe the corollary to be true as well-Springsteen is the most ‘Obamaian’ artist around by far. Their evening out in Barcelona already felt like one more chapter in their intriguing and ongoing story, but there was even more to come.
The next night, while Springsteen and the band were performing the song “Glory Days” at Barcelona’s Estadi Olimpic (Olympic Stadium), Springsteen beckoned Michelle Obama onstage and she commenced to participate in an impromptu backup vocal ensemble with Patti Scialfa (Springsteen’s wife, who is also a longtime member of the E Street Band). As you can see in the video below, Mrs. Obama sang background vocals and played tambourine. What an incredible moment for everyone involved!
The former First Lady sure seemed to be enjoying herself! And President Obama loved it too. “How cool is my wife!” is how he expressed his pride on Tik Tok.
As captured in the next video, Barack Obama danced (sort of) at the concert as well, but from the audience, smartly ceding the stage to his wife.
Actually, it was stirring to see Obama, the 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American president, singing along to “Born in the USA.” Watching all of this, it struck me that the audience in Spain was seeing the best of America in Bruce Springsteen; his talent, voice, vision, passion, dedication and compassion. It felt like such a blessing that Springsteen was their American ambassador for the night, with his sincere desire to entertain, touch, and inspire them. So, having both Springsteen and Obama in one sitting meant Barcelona was temporarily immersed in the true promise of American greatness and grace, in my humble opinion.
I realize I am being lofty, and definitely biased to the max in my estimation of Barack and Bruce, so I will end this post with some balance. This is a video of a pretty funny Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” bit which aims to lightly take the President and the Boss down a few pegs.
But, they are still my heroes (and I thought the actual podcast was pretty deep!).
Adios!