Milwaukee Harleyfest: Bikes, Beer, And Bruce

Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band played the final show of their year-long marathon tour behind 2007’s Magic before an appreciative stadium sized crowd of bikers this past weekend.

The occasion was the Harley Davidson festival, a birthday bash celebrating the classic motorcycle turning the ripe old age of 105, and by all accounts spirits were high and the beer flowed freely.

Springsteen himself, who has written about bikes and bikers in his own songs from “Sandy” to “Gypsy Biker” (both of which were included in the setlist), seemed to be in great spirits throughout the show – which at 3 and a half hours was the longest running performance of the tour.

As has become the custom on the Magic tour, Bruce and the E Street Band also honored signs with requests. This added to the already loose feel of the show as the band played covers of the bar-band classic “Wooly Bully,” and Steppenwolf’s biker anthem “Born To Be Wild,” which closed out the encores and drew a roar of appreciation from the thousands of “Harley Davidson motorcycle enthusiasts” in attendance.

Springsteen did draw a few scattered boos when he preceded “Livin In The Future,” with the same rap on Bush’s policies he often has on this tour. But by the time of crowd-pleasers like “Born To Run” and “Rosalita,” all was forgiven and Springsteen once again was “the Boss” of the bikers.

Also appearing at the Harley Davidson weekend fest were Kid Rock, the Foo Fighters, and ZZ Top. For their set, ZZ Top also focused on such biker-friendly rock as “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” “Legs,” and a cover of “Jailhouse Rock.” Kid Rock likewise raised the roof with his smash “All Summer Long” and his “Detroit Medley” of songs by the likes of Bob Seger and Ted Nugent.