For the first 15 years of Light of Day’s history, a surprise appearance by Bruce Springsteen was practically a given. He performed at the very first event for the non-profit that battles Parkinson’s Disease and other related neuro-degenerative diseases back in 2000, came back practically every time in the years that followed, and he’s become one of the organization’s greatest champions. But he’s showed up to just two of the annual events throughout the past decade, and they were blowouts to celebrate Light of Day’s 20th and 25th anniversaries.
There was nothing close to a guarantee he’d come to the 26th annual Light of Day at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, on January 17. And as always, he wasn’t on the bill. But a capacity crowd still showed up to see Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik, Dramarama, Willie Nile, Joe D’Urso & The Stone Caravan, the James Maddock Band, Williams Honor, Fantastic Cat, and Low Cut Connie.
But whispers began filling the theater around 9:00 pm that Springsteen was in the house, and he took the stage not long afterwards to play the anthemic “One Guitar” with Willie Nile as screams of “Brooooce” echoed through the theater, fans rushed towards the stage, and just about every cellphone in the house shot up into the air.
Rzeznik had the very difficult job of following that, but he kept the crowd entertained with solo renditions of Goo Goo Dolls classics like “Slide,” “Black Balloon,” “Broadway,” and the inevitable “Iris,” which had the entire crowd singing along. “You didn’t come here to hear a fuckin’ TED talk,” he told the crowd. “But we are living in interesting times. And that doesn’t mean they’re good. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t have each other. This is a room full of love. You can feel love. I just want you guys to take all that love and get the fuck out in the streets…We’re all in this together. That’s what makes us strong. And what’s going on…I’m not saying anything because I’m not rich enough to alienate theoretically half my audience.”
Springsteen had no such concerns, and shortly before playing “The Promised Land” with Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, he delivered some frank remarks. “I wrote this song as an ode to American possibility,” he said. “Right now we are living through incredibly critical times. The United States, the ideals and the value for which it stood for the past 250 years, is being tested like it has never been in modern times. Those values and those ideals have never been as endangered as they are right now.”
He continued, “If you believe in the power of law and that no one stands above it, if you stand against heavily-armed masked federal troops invading an American city, using gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens, if you believe you don’t deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, then send a message to this president, as the mayor of the city said: ICE should get the fuck out of Minneapolis. This song is for you and the memory of the mother of three and an American citizen, Renee Good.”
The speech was met by deafening cheers, and a tiny smattering of groans from people on the other side of the political spectrum. But those folks had little complain about since Springsteen and the Houserockers played a blazing 14-song set that took the show well past midnight. Gary U.S. Bonds came onstage at first to join them on his 1981 comeback hits “This Little Girl” and “Jole Blon,” displaying incredible energy and vitality for his age. “Bonds is fuckin’ 86 years old.” Springsteen told the crowd. “He’s ten years older than me!”
After Bonds exited, they tore through “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Lucky Town,” “Johnny 99,” and several tunes that Springsteen and Grushecky wrote together, including “I’m Not Sleeping,” “Pumping Iron,” and “Never Be Enough Time.” As always, it was a thrill to see Springsteen jam with his longtime buddy and a tight, working-class bar band. He even called photographer Danny Clinch up to the mic a couple of times to deliver impromptu harmonica solos, forcing him to quickly put his camera aside and find an instrument in the right key.
Prior to a soaring rendition of ‘Savin’ Up,” which first appeared on the 1983 Clarence Clemons LP Rescue, Springsteen delivered a hysterical bit to the audience. “So I’m watching CNN and it comes on says that rock and roll has its fifth billionaire and it’s Beyonce,” he said. ‘I’m going, “Okay, the fifth fuckin’ billionaire. Who the hell are the other four?’ The first one they say is Paul McCartney, and I happen to know that he does have a billion dollars. Then it was…I think Paul Simon. He might have a billion dollars. But eventually they get to me. And what aggravates me is they say I have a billion dollars when I don’t have it. I wish I did have it. And they keep saying it. And what they don’t understand is that I have partners. Anyone ever hear of the E Street Band? I’ve got fuckin’ partners. I don’t have a billion dollars!”
Keeping with longtime tradition, the evening ended with every performer from throughout the evening returning for “Light of Day,” before a birthday cake was rolled out for Light of Day founder Bob Benjamin, who has been battling Parkinson’s for 30 years. Springsteen then capped things off with an acoustic “Thunder Road.”
Springsteen’s calendar is blank for the foreseeable future, though a solo album is expected to arrive at some point this year. His touring plans remain a mystery. But Light of Day will certainly be back in January 2027, and Springsteen gave fans hope he’ll be back for it when a fan yelled out a request for “Frankie Fell In Love,” a deep cut off 2014’s High Hopes. “Next year,” he said. “We gotta practice that shit.”
