Skip to content
Reviews

Bruce Springsteen’s Soul Revival at the Apollo, By the Numbers

Springsteen in the Apollo balcony

As the E Street Band took the stage at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem Friday night, each member touched the venue’s famed tree stump for good luck. Maybe they felt they needed a little extra boost — the show was Bruce Springsteen and Co.’s first show without beloved saxophonist Clarence Clemons, and their first with his replacement, the Big Man’s nephew, Jake. Playing for SiriusXM’s 10th Anniversary Party, the band sounded enormous in the intimate (by their usual arena standards) Apollo setting, as Springsteen used the legendary theater as his playground, climbing rafters, sprinting through the crowd, and paying tribute to the soul artists who made the theater a crucial part of pop history. SPIN was there for this momentous night of firsts. Here’s how the evening broke down:

16: E-Street members onstage, including the Boss himself

4: Pieces in a newly assembled horn section.

8: Songs from new album, Wrecking Ball, out of 11 Springsteen originals in total

1: Times Springsteen referred to himself as the “Jersey Devil”

3: Times I almost went pee but was too scared to miss anything

2: Pairs of dudes who high-fived when “Badlands” started

0: Number of people in my section not wearing the biggest smile ever during the “whoa-oh” sing-along during “Wrecking Ball”

1: Guy in front of me who played air guitar along to Jake Clemons’ “Badlands” sax solo

2: Black vest and navy blue shirt combos that Springsteen and drummer Max Weinberg wore during the show (twin day!)

3: Times the Boss did a running man-esque dance while performing “Death to My Hometown”

2: Processional lines the band formed entering the crowd during “E Street Shuffle”

1: Massive marching drum Springsteen played during “Jack of All Trades”

6: Times Springsteen hopped offstage to sing in the crowd (complete with pillar-climbing theatrics)

12: Roughly the number of feet I was away from after he climbed into the upper balcony

1: Times Springsteen said the word “fuck” and everybody laughed more than was necessary

2: Number of “amens” uttered in my vicinity throughout the show as Springsteen addressed the crowd

4: Times the guy sitting to my left did the McConaughey “alright, alright, alright’ from Dazed and Confused

82: Length (in seconds) of the crowd eruption during the line, “the Big Man joined the band” on “Tenth Avenue Freezeout”

2: Times my dad predicted the next song in the set list while listening to the SiriusXM livestream in Carlock, Illinois

0: Happier groups of people I’ve ever been around in my life after the show was over