When James was living in Ottawa back in the 1970s, he saw pretty much every band that came through town, including Aerosmith, Foreigner, Leslie West and Mountain, Cars, Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Jethro Tull, Yes, Rush, and many others. But he opted to skip on Bruce Springsteen, whose music wasn’t quite his style back then. A friend of James did attend Springsteen’s 1977 Ottawa concert, and later raved at how the three-hour show was the best they’d ever seen.

James shared this story with Jennifer years ago, saying he’d regretted not attending, and making her eager to see “The Boss” herself in concert. In 2023, she nearly had her chance when the 73-year-old Springsteen’s 2023-2025 tour stopped at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. But attending ran afoul of James’ “no musicians over age 70” rule, and Jennifer didn’t feel like going without him. The concert reviews matched those of Ottawa: Springsteen put on an amazing three-hour show and we kicked ourselves for not going.

Missing that show was the genesis for Jennifer finally getting James to drop that annoying rule, and last year we attended excellent concerts by Bill Idol, Joan Jett and The Who. When Springsteen announced his 2026-2027 Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour, he would be making a stop in nearby Portland, but not Seattle. Knowing this might be our last chance to see him live, Jennifer put her foot down and said “we simply have to go, even if it is in Portland”. So we made the short journey south to Portland this past weekend to catch the show.

Watching Bruce and the 18-member E Street Band take the stage was exhilarating. We finally were seeing them live! Our seats in the front row of section 102 gave us an excellent vantage barely a hundred feet from the stage, and we thoroughly enjoyed the performance. True to form, the 76-year-old Springsteen put on a fabulous near three-hour show. Adding to the quality of the performance was Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who joined Springsteen and his band for eleven songs.

Springsteen also delivered a powerful political message, opening with a cover of Edwin Starr’s ‘War’. The Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour, with its “No Kings” slogan, started in Minneapolis, where the recent deaths during immigration enforcement actions are the subject of Springsteen’s 2026 song “The Steets of Minneapolis”. Portland, also a target of intense immigration enforcement, was the second stop on the tour. Springsteen’ disdain for the current administration is no secret, and he expressed his feelings throughout the show, exhorting the audience to choose hope and unity over fear and division. The political messages were a part of the show, but he kept the focus on the music, and we enjoyed the evening immensely.