Springsteen & the E Street Band: Pittsburgh, May 19, 2026

Bruce Springsteen, Pittsburgh, May 19, 2026

Bruce Springsteen brought his "No Kings" / Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour to Pittsburgh Tuesday evening. As nearly everyone paying attention knows by now, Bruce has stopped varying the setlist: He's chosen a core 27 songs and, except for a single song at a single show, hasn't changed a single selection for the past 13 shows. Given that as a backdrop, it may be fair to ask -- at least somewhere in the recesses of my mind -- why I'm making a full day trek and an overnight, etc., to see a show that I already traveled across the country to see less than 5 weeks ago.

So, a few things here:

1. It's the same setlist every night, but it's a hell of a focused setlist. Would I tweak it? Sure. Some of the song pairings have been around for decades, and there are some other entries that would work.
   
2. The passion that Bruce is bringing to this set, night after night, is off the charts. Lori said this show was better than Phoenix. I'm not sure about that, but for sure the performance had an intensity that was up there with anything I've seen, including the 9/11 show in this same arena in 2016.
3. The show serves as a reminder. So many things have happened in this country in such a relatively short time span that it's easy to lose track. It's not even 4 months since Renée Good and Alex Pretti were killed, just as an example.
4. I'd gather that most attendees of this tour are seeing one show, both as a matter of convenience and as a matter of economics. For many, it might be their first show. During Bruce's spoken intro to "My City of Ruins," I looked over to my left and saw a woman dissolve in tears as Bruce ran through the litany of what's been going on, and our associated responsibilities.

Bruce went on a bit later last night than at some previous shows; at 7:30 the arena seemed still half empty. But it filled in a hurry, and it was packed -- and loud -- all evening. In prior stops, Bruce has talked about memories he has of the city he's visiting. He didn't do that last night, but he didn't need to. There are many beats in the show, including little interactions wherein Bruce or Jake or some other band member might call out an audience member or three. The band works hard at making the show an intimate experience.

Tom Morello - wearing a "21" shirt in homage to Roberto Clemente - continues to ignite the show whenever he's on stage, and I think he's expanding some bits as the tour progresses. Just as an example, he worked up a bit for the pause in "Clampdown" that wasn't part of the Phoenix performance, making that pause just that much longer and more dramatic. It's only three seconds longer, but there it is. Maybe in light of last week's announcement of the Orwellian "Anti-Weaponization Fund," the moniker "evil presidentes" was, at least for this show, "corrupt presidentes." "Clampdown," which Bruce played for the first time in this same arena in 2014, really is an encapsulation of much of what this tour is about.

That said, Bruce also paid attention to his own songs, and combinations such as "The Promised Land" and "Two Hearts"  felt fine. "Youngstown" and "Murder Incorporated," a pairing that Bruce has been using ever since re-constituting the band in 1999, gave Nils Lofgren and Little Steven opportunities for extended solos. And at some points late in the show, with Roy Bittan and Charlie Giordano on accordion for "American Land," Bruce had the entire band -- except for Max (whose spotlight during "Born in the U.S.A" was breathtaking, as in, "how does he have any breath left after that?") -- front stage.