Showtime! Concert #13-Calgary, Alberta Canada Part 2
Santa Claus Came To Town
Saturday, November 16, 2024 Entry #133
In the first part of my review of the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s concert in Calgary (see Entry #132), I focused on two songs, ”Reason To Believe” and “Long Walk Home.” Both focused on serious themes within the arc that runs from despondency to the hope for redemption. Through the later song, Springsteen conveyed some of his thoughts and feelings about the recent highly charged and extremely divisive US presidential election to the assembled Canadians.
However, Springsteen’s performances are legendarily long, and there was also plenty of time during the show for some plain old-fashioned fun. And, at least one of the fans standing near my brother-in-law Ken and I came prepared. The winter holiday season was almost upon us, and this individual had brought and distributed dozens of red and white Santa hats, hoping to prompt Springsteen to play a certain rocking Christmas song. Stay tuned to see if the effort paid off.
Speaking of Ken, like with my friend Steve in LA, I got a kick of how enthralled he was by the GA floor experience. Even for someone like Ken, who has followed Springsteen forever and has seen him live dozens of times, being so close and direct to Bruce and the band is an awesome revelation. I was really happy we shared the experience.
One really emotionally impactful moment came during Springsteen’s performance of “My Hometown.” As you can see from the video, the arena went dark except for the cell phone flashlights, embodying the lyric of one of my favorite U2 songs: “If there is a dark/then we shouldn’t doubt/that there is a light, don’t let it go out.” Ever since I started going to concerts as a teen back in the Bic lighter days, I’ve been a sucker for this ritual. I imagine that the extra-spiritualized atmosphere enabled many of us to go deep in reflection about our own hometowns, the good, the bad and the ugly. “Son take a good look around,” indeed.
Here, I will take a slight pause from the narratives and videos to show off some of my favorite pictures from the Calgary show. The satisfying conclusion of the Christmas story is coming soon, I promise.
As I explained, distinctive red and white hats had been distributed to folks throughout the pit. Near the end of the concert, Ken captured the moment (see video below) when Springsteen took one of the hats extended to him (I believe by the fan who initiated the whole event), placed it on his head, and launched into “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” Many fans know that the song, first recorded in 1934, became a seasonal staple in a rock & roll guise at Springsteen concerts in the 1970’s. Later, when it took Springsteen more time than expected time to record The River album, Columbia Records filled the void by releasing a live recording of the Santa song as a single. Although it remained a fan favorite, Springsteen has only played the song sporadically (even at Christmas time) since its heyday.
A number of other E Street Band members popped up wearing similar hats, including Jake Clemons, who nailed both the saxophone solo and his deep-voiced vocal turn on “You better be good for goodness sake.” All in all it was a festive conclusion to a fantastic concert, even for this Chanukah celebrating rabbi. From “Long Walk Home” to “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” Bruce Springsteen really holds space for it all.
As has so often been the case during these past few years of my “travel-touring” to see multiple Springsteen shows in a row, I was slightly wistful when the concert came to an end, but also heartened because I have another one to look forward to in just a few days. At the same time, I was also starting to absorb the fact that the coming Edmonton show will literally be the end of this particular line for me, as this incredible tour is rapidly drawing to a close.
Here is the setlist for Calgary:
Day 6