Inside the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, the E Street Band has just finished the main set of their Milwaukee show and is taking their bows when Bruce Springsteen grabs a sign from the crowd. "Living proof two weeks ago tonight" it reads and has a picture of a newborn with a homemade onesie that said "Future Boss Fan". Springsteen chuckled and said "I hope I'm not dead before he gets a chance to see me". He then called for his guitar and began discussing doing "Living Proof" with the band, a track from his E Street Band-less release 'Lucky Town' in 1992. Despite performing the song on a handful of occasions in 2003, the band looked semi terrified. Springsteen offered to do it solo, but he continued to work out the chords and after a tentative drum fill by Max Weinberg, Bruce and the band found they groove and executed a song about the regeneration of faith, renewal of life and the belief in a better world in under five-minutes. It is moments like these that forge Springsteen's legacy as a live performer. While dozens of artists around the world hit the stage and play the same songs night after night, Springsteen doesn't. In fact, the performance of "Living Proof" was an example of him willing to take profound chances. The band had to work out the song right there on stage and the poignant punch they provided to the show is inexplicable. Capturing the emotions of the room and elevating them is a rare feat, but Springsteen and the E Street Band were up to task for their entire three hour performance at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee; the best concert I saw all of 2009.

Every time I want to write Bruce Springsteen off, he rises to the challenge, lifts his Fender Esquire and proceeds to beat the jaded cynic out of me. His last few albums, while admirable, haven't crawled under my skin the way I wish they did. Many of the shows from the last few years, at times, felt more obligatory than spiritual. Make no mistake, Bruce Springsteen has the impossible task of living up to his legacy and every concert he performs is done in the space of what is possibly the most celebrated legend of concerts in the rock era (Grateful Dead aside). Three weeks earlier, I watched Springsteen and the E Street Band dispense a competent but inexpressive performance in St. Louis. It was devastating to watch, not just because his show in the same building in August of 2008 ranks as one of the best Springsteen concerts of the last decade, but also because it was coming off the heels of the final spirited stands of Giants Stadium in New Jersey and the Philadelphia Spectrum. A few weeks later after his shows for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and a pair of astonishing shows at Madison Square Garden (including one where he performed The River in its entirety) left even the most jaded cynics sparkling with elation.

In Milwaukee, the lights dimmed, the band appeared one by one and then drummer Max Weinberg drove the evening into overdrive immediately as the band launched into "Cadillac Ranch", played specifically for its Wisconsin mention, but regardless, its upbeat tempo instantly captured the attention of the crowd and for the next three hours, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band never relented. When an audibled "Badlands" appeared in the second slot, it was a tip of the hat to the adventure that would follow. More so than any time since August 2008 (when the band gave one of their greatest performances in St. Louis) this was an evening where the stakes were raised and anything seemed possible. During "Hungry Heart" the ingredient of merriment was in attendance as Springsteen made his way half way through the crowd and crowd surfed back to the stage. The Milwaukee crowd, which was distant and lost at the Harley Fest in August of 2008, was right in the thick of the action staying with Springsteen throughout the evening, welcoming challenges and rising to the Boss's dares.

The epic Born To Run was performed in its entirely. This was the third full performance I witnessed and in many ways, the best. Chicago had the air of novelty, St. Louis was missing that spark and Milwaukee found the band performing these songs as if it was the last time. Max Weinberg was especially noticeable as he pounded his drums like a champion winning middle weight. Despite having heard this record hundreds of times, I still never grow tired of it. There was a time in my life where in my loneliness and despair, I would drive at night listening to this record over and over again. I clung to the music, it stirred inside me. Seeing the rapturous revving of "Thunder Road" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" was mystical while "Night" was fiery and "Backstreets" held no prisoners in its performance. Weinberg's open drum roll came from a man possessed, with force and exactness. His sticks were blurry, bright and breezy. It was almost as if he's in on some inner secret. While Weinberg is the engine that drives the E Street Band, Bittan's hands caress the keys of his piano with a pleading ambiance I have never observed before. Springsteen's hypersensitive vocals cracked open my heart all over again in a triumphant experience which highlighted and intensified emotions.

"Born To Run" makes you more aware and makes a great loss more severe but it also contain the remedy to heal you in ways modern medicine ever could. It's one thing to perform a song well and another to instill sentiment into the performance. The mischievousness of "She's The One" found the band in the throes of their glory and power. Weinberg beat his skins within an inch of his life, Clarence Clemons hit his notes with the fervency of a teen and Nils Lofgren and Steve Van Zandt dueled with their guitars on the side adding a level of dynamism to the show. Just when you feel certain songs can no longer be novel, the band finds a way to shake it up. During the languid "Meeting Across the River" and the album's finale, "Jungleland" the band used their instruments like weapons in warfare commanding them in a way I have never seen before. Bassist Garry Talent's bass felt warm, Soozie Tyrell's violin awoke phantoms while Charles Giordano's organ submerged the tension before the wailing E Street crescendo exploded amidst the crowd. After the final wail, the last piano chord was struck and the concluding cymbal crash, there was a sense of epic accomplishment.

The request segment of the show was more than just a futile exercise, but a study in what the E Street Band does best. Rather than random covers, each song was one the band was familiar with and as a result, there was a poignant center to the performances. "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" was festive and fun while "Jole Blon", a recurring cover on The River tour was inspiring as this was a choice cover nearly three decades back. This wasn't just an accidental jukebox selection, but was performed nightly with purpose. The Milwaukee performance was no different. Charles Giordano (who has graciously and meticulously filled in for Danny Federici since he passed in 2008) on accordion and Tyrell embellished the song with her smoldering string fills. "Loose Ends" (the rarity was also performed at the St. Patrick Day show in Milwaukee in 2008) found Steve Van Zandt's vocal complimented Springsteen's. What makes all River era material incandescent in concert is the bond shared between Van Zandt and Springsteen. The E Street Band was at the peak of their powers in the studio on this record and there was still enough hunger to take these songs to that next level. "Growin' Up" found the band holding the keys to the universe and the surprise inclusion of "Into the Fire" was wonderfully superb as it was performed as a precursor to "The Rising". A redeeming song delivered with Motown soul, "Into the Fire" never found its footing on the 2002-03 tour, but on this night in a straight forward rendition it felt absolute. "The Rising" has become an obligatory inclusion in set lists over the last seven years, but on this night with the "Into the Fire" precursor, the song was reborn. The camaraderie between the E Street Band was at an all-time high. They could shift between the Friday night escapism and the solemnity of Sunday morning with ease. Concluding the main set with the scorching "No Surrender", the E Street Band cemented their unification more so than at any other time since they reunited in 1999.

The aforementioned and unexpected "Living Proof" provided the encores with a stirring center. "Kitty's Back" found the band embracing their past, without being trapped by it. Furthermore, there was a concoction of elation in the delivery of the warhorses "American Land", "Dancing in the Dark", "Rosalita" and the hydroelectric finale of Jackie Wilson's "Higher & Higher". With each song, the E Street Band pushed the crowd higher and higher and after a third reprise of the song, the crowd stood in rapt attention calling for more. A buzzing energy was present and it never subsided as was the band's tickling tease, always engaging the crowd but ever so gently holding off making you believe that the next song would be more climactic, more dramatic and more defining.

People make incredulous statements that bands or artists are as good as they have ever been, but in witnessing the E Street Band for over three-hours deliver a series of songs embracing their past and performed with the immediateness of bands half their age, a valid argument can be made.
Some acts you only see truly ambitious shows when a charity is involved or it's an overpriced club show. But with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, there is that chance on any given night you may see a performance unlike any other. Not all are distinguished and many miss their mark (compared to his own legacy and standards) but when he hits one out of the park, it's not just a home run but a grand slam. This is why his repeat business is stronger than any other act on the planet. There are nights where legacies are enhanced and legends are made; Milwaukee was one of those nights. Could this be it for the E Street Band? No one knows for sure and even if the plans are to re-group in the future, one never knows what life has planned for any of us. What I do know, is that if I never see the band in its current incarnation again, I will know I saw them go out on top. This was more than a concert experience, it was a revival reminding us of the pain, torture, struggle and joy life can bring. Nothing in life should feel this good but it does and that is why this concert performance was the best all of 2009 had to offer.