Springsteen delivers plenty of E Street magic

Bruce Springsteen (left) and Little Steven Van Zandt sing together last night in Hartford. (bob child/associated press)

HARTFORD - When Bruce Springsteen asked the musical question "is there anybody alive out there?" last night at the Hartford Civic Center he got back a roar of affirmation like only Bruce Springsteen can.

The beloved New Jersey icon, sporting a shocking amount of hairspray in his endearingly poufy 'do, was back among his people. All his people.

After Springsteen's troubadour detours - 2005's ruminative solo work "Devils & Dust" and the big-band folk of 2006's "The Seeger Sessions" - both the E Street Band and his fans transformed the opening night of the tour for the new "Magic" album into what felt like the largest reunion of old friends imaginable.

"Magic" was released just yesterday but plenty in the sold-out crowd were already familiar with the eight tracks played last night including the aforementioned "Radio Nowhere," a tasty table-setter with its driving groove and insistent, community-building refrain of "I just want to feel some rhythm."

Many who crowded the general-admission floor and stood in front of their seats for most of the well-paced two-hour-and-15-minute set sang along, whether it was to a cherished oldie - of which there were many including "She's the One," "Badlands," a stunning "Darkness on the Edge of Town," and an ebullient "Thundercrack" - or a spiffy new gem like "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," a hazily elegant street-corner observation that made you wish the season wasn't over.

Political issues may have taken an explicit back seat on some of the new album but Springsteen left little open to interpretation when introducing the haunting title track, saying it was about "how we're in this Orwellian moment where what's true can be made to seem like a lie and what's a lie can be made to seem true, and we've gotten to witness that over the past six years."

He then sang the atmospheric tune, trading solemn cries with wife and backup singer Patti Scialfa. (The pair also teamed up for a down and dirty "Town Called Heartbreak.")

Later Springsteen - who was in good voice and good spirits - prefaced the swaggering "Living in the Future" by decrying "illegal wiretapping and attacks on the Constitution" among other abuses of government to the cheers of some and the mere tolerance of others.

While age may be catching up with some in the band, no one dropped a note or beat last night and all seemed happy to be playing together again.