Why Bruce Springsteen's "Road Diary" works so well
What Road Diary does particularly well is unpack how Springsteen works his magic.
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Road Diary, the new documentary about Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (available on Disney+) is a beautifully shot and sequenced film that does a fantastic job of answering one of life’s eternal questions: “Why is Bruce Springsteen so great as a live performer?”
Now, you might think that the answer to that is simple - just go to a show, or if you can’t get to a show, listen to a tape, and if you can’t do that, go watch any of the live shows that director Thom Zimny previously worked on. But what Road Diary does particularly well is unpack how Springsteen does it, going from an E Street Band that hadn’t performed live for six years (due to both Springsteen on Broadway and COVID) to hitting the stage opening night, and then going out on the European tour, and he manages to make it engrossing to not just diehard fans, but in 99 minutes for anyone flipping on the Disney Channel. That’s not an easy accomplishment.
The relationship between Zimny and Springsteen (and manager Jon Landau) isn’t a random documentary maker wanting to film the E Street Band (I imagine that list of people who have approached them over the years is endless). It’s someone they’ve developed a working partnership with over the years and so it’s not just that they trust him – which they obviously do or he wouldn’t still be here – it’s that they know they can depend on him to do the right things. In a great piece by Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post, there’s a quote from Bruce talking about Zimny’s work as an editor on 2001’s Live in New York City, and how Bruce at one point asked why the camera was on a guy in the 16th row or focused on a corner of the drum riser when there was something very specific going on onstage that was being ignored. (This is a common reaction for me when I watch a concert film or live documentary or bootleg footage so it is very refreshing to know that it annoys Bruce Springsteen as well.)
Zimny is a long-time, diehard Springsteen fan, but that isn’t the only reason he is good at his job. The reason he is good at his job is because of his approach to filmmaking (which you can see in his other work, like his great Elvis Presley documentary), his eye, his attention to detail, his ability as a storyteller, and because he understands rock and roll – and then he’s able to synthesize all of them together. He sees and understands the connections that others would miss.
This is a shot from Zimny’s film about the making of Letter to You in 2020, one of my favorite pieces of evidence that illustrates all of the above. He saw this moment between Steve and Bruce happen, he knew it was important, and he made sure we saw it. It’s the kind of moment that requires a split-second, almost subconscious, decision. It is this level of attention to not just detail but attention to everything that’s going on and that has gone on and understanding why it’s important: here, we are seeing Bruce and Steve’s friendship in action, all that history captured in one conversation, one expression.
In the big picture, Road Diary is the story of the first E Street Band tour in six years coming together. It’s broken down in a way that’s easily digestible for the general public but is also able to hold the attention of the diehards. It’s the closest to “Springsteen lite” that you will ever get, and I don’t mean it as an insult - that is an exceedingly difficult task. This project is not intended to be a Ken Burns-esqe epic history of Bruce Springsteen as a live performer. It is this band getting ready for this tour, and through it, learning about the history of the E Street Band in a way that makes it relevant to someone just arriving as well as for someone who has been around for a while. The backstory is told both in the words of the band members as well as through archival footage – some of which you might recognize and others from inside the vault (which Zimny has been deliberately vague about so far) – and it’s used to sketch out the history of the band so we can understand their relationship with each other and their life on the road across the years.
The archival footage is used for color and detail, and it’s also in some places used to placate, if you will, the diehard fans, while a band member is telling you a story you already know: here, watch this! (I don’t know if that was the intent but it certainly worked that way for me.) And also, there is no music fan of any era that is not going to be absolutely entranced by the detail of the sleeping arrangements for each member of the E Street Band inside the GMC motorhome the band upgraded to on the 1975 tour, and is a story we have not heard before because at some point Bruce started doing all of the interviews and no one was asking Roy Bittan or Garry Tallent about their memories of the early days. Ultimately, the presence of the archival footage is an important reminder of the history and the legacy of the E Street Band, which they carry with them every single day, every time they are on that stage.
What I particularly adored about Road Diary is how each member of the E Street Band, including the horns, the backing singers, and percussion, is heard from in the course of this film. Jon Landau, Bruce’s longtime manager (his nickname for Landau is “King.” Everyone in E Street has a nickname. You know this already.) of course has much to say over the course of the film. Long-time members of the road crew, like Bruce’s guitar tech, Kevin Buell (the guy who has to catch the flying guitars), and front-of-house sound engineer John Cooper, also get to add their two cents. (I personally would have loved to have heard from tour director George Travis, but I’m guessing he declined to participate.) And later in the film, over the credits, everybody who works on the show gets a mention, and there’s a bunch of backstage footage of crew folks at work. It reminded me of a video version of a tour program, which was the way you used to learn the names of everyone who worked on a concert tour.
The voices also include older footage of the late Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici from an earlier project. I appreciated that Clarence and Danny weren’t just in the film as the people who aren’t there any more, but that they were part of the discussion of how the band works and how the set comes together. But I was particularly grateful to see that they took the time to explain who Clarence and Danny were, and to use the archival footage to help convey why they were important – Danny’s ethereal organ lines in “Thundercrack,” Bruce and Clarence’s utterly electric interaction in “She’s The One” (at 8:51 - trust me you'll want to come back to this), among endless others – and why they are still important.
On that note, a perspective I appreciated from Road Diary is Landau’s observation that in the cover of “Nightshift,” “He’s talking about our guys,” and by “our guys” he means Danny and Clarence. This is a film directed at people who may have never had the opportunity to see the E Street Band with one or both of those musicians and so this inclusion and explanation was particularly relevant. It’s a reflection of the spirit of inclusivity that is a unique element of this project.
That said, there are definitely moments in the narrative where some of the statements seem off or feel a little forced. That's the tradeoff made when you don't use any kind of traditional narrative, but it's still a better and more interesting decision than any other traditional documentary narration approach. And it also gives us Anthony Almonte, the percussionist who just joined up on this outing and who has wonderful, tremendous insight. I am glad that he is included based on the strength of what he is saying and not excluded based on his seniority or some other archaic concept that doesn’t matter in the service of telling the story. There is a new kind of E Street egalitarianism on display in Road Diary that feels refreshing when the nickname of the guy whose name is on the ticket is “the Boss.”
The film focuses on Europe — big, beautiful shots of the band in football stadiums – and that was a choice for a lot of reasons: it’s outside, it’s summertime, you have a lot of natural light you can rely on – but mostly, it’s because the audiences over there are so alive and so diverse and you see that in every shot. It was enough to make me look in the direction of a calendar and a tour itinerary even though I have sworn off stadiums. I spent two summers going over there and once you’ve seen a Springsteen show anywhere in Europe you will be spoiled for life.
Caryn Rose
Caryn Rose
I find it absolutely fascinating that despite all of the discussion within the film about certain songs, why they’re important and why they’re in the setlist, there’s absolutely zero literal discussion of “My Love Will Not Let You Down.” I spied it in a shot of the written setlist early on in the film, where it was #7, between “Prove It All Night” and “Glory Days.” (I could easily write 3000 words on that setlist alone, so I will not dig into what that particular setlist says versus the one they ended up using; if you’re a paid subscriber and that’s something you’d like to see here, please let me know!) But MLWNLYD did not make an appearance on this tour until Europe, where Road Diary uses it as a device to illustrate and illuminate the relationship Bruce and the band have with their European fans.
“My Love Will Not Let You Down” is an amazing Born in the USA outtake that got released on Tracks, the outtakes box set that came out in 1998. It’s one of those intense mid-80s love songs, like "I'm On Fire" – years ago there were heated discussions on rec.music.artists.springsteen about how the main character of the song struggles with the notion of consent -- and Bruce has repurposed it to be a declaration of faith and intent from him to his audience.
Of course, the song was only ever part of setlists in the Reunion era because it didn’t get released until 1998. But then it was the opening song on the opening night of the Reunion tour, which not accidentally took place in - you guessed it! - Barcelona. It was a regular staple during the Reunion tour and was a fairly frequent flier through the Rising era, but after that, if you wanted to see it live, you needed to go to Europe. It’s been performed 168 times in its history, with only 43 of those performances in the US.
When it does make an appearance Stateside, there’s always a significant reason: its most recent appearance was on the last night of the Philly three-night stand, a place that has a deep, long-standing history with Bruce before a lot of other places cared. But it was a regular in Europe, and we get to see why it is, and how it feels to be in the crowd when it happens. Which I fully realize is an entire other way of discussing a song, but unlike the other literal discussions, this one doesn’t require any justification.
In Road Diary, there’s a lot of focus on Barcelona. They explain why that is, and honestly, they’re not wrong, although I know that the fans in every country believe that their love of Bruce Springsteen is unique and special, and they’re also not wrong. The relationship that Bruce Springsteen has with his European fans is completely different than it is over here.
Springsteen is huge in Europe because he is still considered to be a working artist and not a nostalgia act. Also, as Road Diary shows you, the European audience is incredibly diverse. That’s because blues-based rock and roll and soul music are still genres that resonate with younger generations over there. It’s interesting that the org is no longer trying to be cagey about how insanely popular he is over there as compared to the US. It always felt like they didn’t want to insult their American fans by pointing out the differences, or something, but facts are facts.
The fans have a voice in this film, but none of those fans are from the States. This goes to another aspect of why Thom Zimny is the right person to tell this story: how Springsteen fans are represented in this film. Compare this to the 2013 documentary Springsteen and I where the director admitted that he knew nothing about Bruce and how they “let the fans tell the story” but then they basically mock every single person who appeared in it in terms of how they shot it and how they put it together. It did not explain anything about Bruce Springsteen as an artist or why his fans are so passionate about him. It was “hey look at these freaks.” Road Diary is the polar opposite of that. There is affection and respect, even in the crowd shots. They want to show passion and enthusiasm; they’re not trying to embarrass anyone.
A particularly fascinating aspect of this project is Springsteen’s willingness to let some of the edges show, to let us hear an E Street Band that is finding its sea legs again after being off the road for so long. For long-time fans, this is the kind of thing that you know would never have made it out in the past because Springsteen is a perfectionist whose business associate is also a perfectionist. In that Washington Post piece, Bruce himself states that he had an “aversion” to having his shows filmed. “A magician doesn’t want [you] to look too closely at his magic trick,” he says. “As I got older, I started realizing, ‘Gee, we don’t have much film of the band. I wonder why.’” The quote about the magic trick -- which he’s alluded to in different ways before, many times -- makes it even more amazing to a long-time fan that we see even the slightest glimpse at something less than perfection.
Which is exactly why it’s amazing to watch the scene where Steve Van Zandt is expressing his nerves at the band not being as rehearsed as he thinks they should be, so Stevie goes ahead and rehearses them. Bruce agrees that this is a good idea and says, yes, you should be Musical Director. “FINALLY,” I yelled at the television. “40 years later,” says Steve on screen, “but *pause* fine.” I am surprised that stayed in but also I feel like the SVZ documentary probably cleared out all of the stray bones in that particular closet so what did they have to lose?
Caryn Rose
One also has to consider what would have happened had Steve not done this extra-curricular work? Hold that thought.
I did not read any press about the film after the premiere but I saw headlines, and based on those headlines, I thought that there would be more of a storyline about Patti Scialfa’s absence than there is. I’m grateful they felt comfortable finally sharing with us the reason she was absent from E Street, because she was a member of the band and folks just naturally wondered over the years, the same way they would if any other band member was MIA. I also appreciated that we got one of the sweet interludes of Bruce and Patti singing together onstage, which Scialfa notes shows the fans a side of their relationship that they normally don’t get to see. (She talked about this a little bit on Howard Stern, how she tried very hard to not be a wife onstage.) Do I wish it had been “Tougher Than the Rest”? Absolutely, but I also appreciate that that footage would have been more subtle than this was.
When I was thinking about how to explain Road Diary in one sentence or less to people who are not members of the Church of Bruce, I'd hit on “infomercial,” but there’s a negative connotation to the term that does this good work a disservice. But what infomercials are designed to do – it is their entire purpose – is tell a story, effectively communicate, and then close the deal – and Road Diary does this exceedingly well. But there are times during the course of the film where the continual repetition from some parties of how electric the audiences are and how utterly amazing the show is starts to feel a little much, especially when during the earlier part of the film you have Bruce on tape saying that he doesn’t want to be over-rehearsed, that the audience comes to see the mistakes.
You have to be able to hold two somewhat conflicting ideas in your mind at the same time. You can celebrate something, and also be critical of it. As a matter of fact, that may be how you show your love for it. - Bruce talking to George Stephanopoulos on ABC
The above-mentioned quote is referring to the content of "Born In the USA" but it feels relevant here. There is an infuriating narrative among some Springsteen fans that there is no such thing as a bad Bruce Springsteen show, ever, and anyone who ever says anything that's not 100% positive is a bad fan. The truth is that there are off nights and off moments on great nights, and it's also true that a merely “good” Springsteen show is still orders of magnitude better than many artists’ best nights, and it is possible to have a great time during a show that is "good". One of the things I miss with the absence of Backstreets Magazine in the conversation is the ability to get a pulse on what is really going on vs. headlines about how Bruce Springsteen Is Performing The Greatest Show Ever In The History of Rock and Roll written by people who don’t have enough context to make that call.
At no point during Road Diary is there any mention of the fact that Bruce would later end up postponing the end of the 2023 shows because of his peptic ulcer, and that he was in pain for the entirety of the tour. Zimny said in at least one interview that it was deliberate, because he was focused on the moment, and it would be easy to write that off as a party line but just like Zimny had to earn the trust of Springsteen, I believe he’s earned our trust as fans, so I’ll buy it. It’s also very public information, it’s not like they hid that it was happening.
But his condition absolutely had an effect on the show. I know it’s hard to believe that his illness impacted the performances on that tour when you’re watching these compressed pieces of dynamite on your television where Bruce is fit and tan and full of energy but there was a definite energetic difference between the 2023 shows and the 2024 shows. That didn’t mean that Bruce wasn’t trying his hardest or that the shows weren’t enjoyable, but it means that they could have been even better if he had been at 100%. And the film is an edit, where of course you’re going to use the best takes of a song or the best shots of a particular show. It is 100% normal and okay for an artist to want a product going out into the world to portray themselves and their work in the best light possible. But there are times there is too much hyperbole in this film in this regard particularly.
This is less a criticism than an observation. As a culture, we tend to valorize the people who push through pain, and we absolutely romanticize the rock stars who are leaving blood on the stage. But we have also lost too many of our great artists because they decided to be heroes (I’m thinking of Tom Petty and Prince here specifically). It might have been interesting to reflect on that. By not mentioning it, they’ve either deliberately or inadvertently created a fascinating storyline under all of this about how he is still this focused and this intense even when he is not physically at 100%. As we learn from Anthony Almonte, Bruce is still in the gym every morning, which by process of elimination means that he’s doing that even when he’s in pain.
The word “COVID” does not get mentioned at any point during the film, not the various band members who came down with it during the course of the tour. It’s mentioned in passing in the very beginning, you will see crew members (and band members) wearing masks, and that’s it. Given the information presented about Patti’s illness and how it creates a real challenge to her health and well-being, this would seem incomprehensible if we didn’t live in a world in which our shared responsibility for keeping your fellow citizens safe got turned into something else. This is also a product for mass consumption and there will be people who will take that word as a political statement.
There is also zero mention of 2022’s Only The Strong Survive, the only surviving relic of which is the cover of the Commodores’ “Nightshift,” which has evolved to be a wonderful moment in the show. (There’s also a short glimpse of “Don’t Play That Song (You Lied)” which did not make it past the early part of the tour, and despite an attempt to revive it again in 2024, also got cut.) The record was not one of Springsteen’s best recorded efforts and its absence here is not a loss.
Overall, Road Diary is such a highly enjoyable outing and in a perfect world we'd have had something like it for every tour, like a tour program issued after the fact. It succeeds because it is so beautifully photographed, because it does the impossible task of successfully taking you behind the curtain to see so much of what goes into creating an E Street Band show, because it is very present in right now while still holding a place for history, and because it manages to be both commercial and accessible while still chock-full of elements for the diehard fan. It’s a solid, fun document of a specific point in time and as a fan and as a Springsteen historian I’m grateful that Team Springsteen has dropped their defenses a little when it comes to film, and that in Thom Zimny we have such a reliable narrator both on the inside and on our side, and look forward to whatever he’s got for us next.
