My dearest reader(s), it's been quite a long while again, hasn't it? I hope everyone is enjoying the close of Spooky Season and the start of Santa Season!
It's been a busy month for this ghoulish gal, but this week I made time to watch the new documentary, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
Bruce Springsteen assembled the E Street band more than 50 years ago, and while the film touches on history and offers little tributes to members lost (Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici, RIP), the main focus is on the ongoing world tour, from the first rehearsals through some of this past summer's European dates. The movie runs about half the duration of a real Springsteen concert, but there's plenty of live footage to hold you over 'til your next E Street show.
Bruce provides some narration to these proceedings, turning on his best teacher voice to impart viewers with wisdom earned in five decades on the road. Interviews with band members, old and new, seem less formal. Tone of the discussion swings from happy relief and gratitude for being able to return to touring post Covid, to somber acknowledgement that nobody gets to do this forever. The live footage, though, that is pure joy, for band and fans alike.
As documentaries go, this one won't set the world on fire. If you're a fan of the subject matter you'll enjoy it, and certainly the music is always good enough to earn new fans, but the film itself is a bit pedestrian.
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band clocks in at a quick 99 minutes and is unrated. These are rock n' roll people, but I don't recall too much in the way of adult content.
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band is a good watch thanks to its legendary subject, and I'm a real sucker for "back onstage after Covid" stories. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Road Diary gets seven.
Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is now streaming on Hulu amd Disney+.
Until next time...
