“Against smoke and rubber bullets
In the dawn’s early light
Citizens stood for justice
Their voices ringing through the night
And there were bloody footprints
Where mercy should have stood
And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets
Alex Pretti and Renee Good
Oh, Minneapolis, I hear your voice
Singing through the bloody mist
We’ll take our stand for this land
And the stranger in our midst
Here in our home, they killed and roamed
In the winter of ’26
We’ll remember the names of those who died
On the streets of Minneapolis”
- Bruce Springsteen (2026)
When I heard Bruce Springsteen was going on an unexpected “Land of Hopes and Dreams” tour following up on his “Streets of Minneapolis” song release, I knew I had to go. When they announced the tour schedule, I was happy to see Philadelphia made the list. But then I saw the tour was starting in Minneapolis- I could only imagine how emotional that first show would be. My wife Eva is a big Bruce fan, but couldn’t fit another trip into her schedule. We agreed that I could go to Minneapolis with a friend as long as I also went to the Philadelphia show with Eva. Deal! I asked my friend Steve, who also loves Bruce, if he was interested. At first he thought I was joking, but after realizing I was serious he happily agreed to join me.
We decided to go a day early in case there were any problems with our flight. Security lines at airports were incredibly long due the government Homeland Security shutdown resulting in the TSA security employees not getting paid. We didn’t want to risk not making the flight, so we got to the airport 4 hours early. We were able to get through security relatively quickly, and were on our way.
While researching the trip, I was trying to determine if they had any memorials still up for Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as mentioned in Springsteen’s song. I couldn’t find anything definitive in my google search, so I asked our Uber driver if there were any memorials still remaining. He said they were on the way to the hotel, and he would be happy to take us there for an extra tip.
The first stop was where Renee Good was gunned down. Like everyone else on the planet, I watched the video on TV a hundred times. To stand on the exact spot where her car went crashing into the sidewalk after she was shot was very emotional for me. The whole block was covered with flowers, notes, teddy bears, photos, and messages. It was heart wrenching. I snapped some photos and we made our way to the next stop.
Next up, we went to the site of Alex Pretti’s murder. As with Renee Good, the video of Alex getting wrestled to the ground and shot by ICE officers was etched in my brain. And once again, I was standing on the spot I had seen so many times on TV. Equally heart-wrenching, the flowers, signs, messages, and tributes brought a tear to my eye.
Lastly we went to the George Floyd memorial. That one wasn’t on my radar, as it happened 6 years ago and I had forgotten that was also in Minneapolis, but when the Uber driver mentioned it, we agreed to go to see that as well. I clearly remember the George Floyd murder- during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd had used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, one of four police officers who arrived on the scene, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck and back for over nine minutes, fatally asphyxiating him. I was surprised the memorial was still around, but that was probably the biggest display of all of them. Once again I found myself standing on the spot I saw on TV, clearly remembering the bystander yelling out to the police officer “You’re killing him!”
After our unexpected side excursions, we made our way to the hotel. We had to hurry a bit, as I reserved tickets for that afternoon for a VIP tour of Paisley Park, the late musician Prince’s home/studio/office. That alone is worthy of a separate post, so if you follow my blog, I’ll add another post about the Paisley Park tour in a few days. It was incredible!
We met many out-of-towners who were in Minneapolis for the Springsteen show- at restaurants, the hotel, tourist attractions, etc. They came from California, Washington, Florida, Virginia, and Michigan. There was an excitement in the air everywhere we went- the city was full of people in Springsteen shirts and everyone was talking about the upcoming show.
It was a cold day, so it was great to able to walk to the Target Center for the concert via the “Skyway”, 9 miles of pedestrian walkways which connect buildings throughout downtown Minneapolis. The Target Center was packed. We had good seats, on the lower level about halfway back, near the side on the stage. As the show started, the lights dimmed and a single spotlight focused on Bruce as he introduced the show-
“I want to begin tonight with a prayer for our men and women in service overseas, we pray for their safe return. The mighty E-Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock & roll in dangerous times. We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideals: Democracy, our Constitution, and our sacred American Promise. The America that I love, the America that I have written about for 50 years … that has been a beacon of hope and liberty around the world is currently in the hand of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration. Tonight we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear, democracy over authoritarianism, the rule-of-law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency, unity over division, and peace over WAR” (as the band broke into the song War- what is it good for, absolutely nothing)!”
Bruce had an extra big E-Street Band, with about 20 players, including a horn section and a group of backing vocalists, along with guest guitarist Tom Morello. Bruce and the Band continued non-stop for 3 hours, with a set filled with songs about America, democracy, peace, and protest. At 76 years of age, Bruce sounded great, the band was on fire, and they all put on an energetic performance.
The song “Streets of Minneapolis” was extra powerful. He introduced it with these words- “This past winter, federal troops brought death and terror to the streets of Minneapolis. Well, they picked the wrong town. The power of solidarity, of the people of Minneapolis, was an inspiration to the entire country. Your strength and your commitment told us this is still America, and this will not stand. Minnesota, you gave us hope. You gave us courage. And for those who gave their lives, Renee Good, mother of three, brutally murdered, and Alex Pretti, VA nurse, executed by ICE and left to die in the street without even the decency of our lawless government investigating their deaths. Their bravery, their sacrifice, and their names will not be forgotten.” During the song, the entire arena burst into chants of “ICE Out Now”, waving their hands in the air. For me, it was the most emotional moment of the show. It gave me goosebumps, seeing an arena full of people who saw two of their fellow citizens murdered on their streets, letting out their frustrations.
Another highlight was during the encore, when Bruce and the band played Prince’s “Purple Rain” for the people of Minneapolis. The arena was bathed in purple lights as everyone turned on the lights on their cameras, swaying them in the air along to the music. Having just toured Prince’s Paisley Park, that was another emotional moment for me. I felt a real connection to the people of Minneapolis. I don’t believe he will be playing the song in other cities on the tour.
It was an incredible show, from beginning to end. I’ve gone to a lot of concerts in my life, and I have to stay this one jumped to the very top of my list of all-time favorites. I’m looking forward to seeing the show again in Philadelphia, although it will be hard to match the excitement of witnessing the show in Minneapolis.
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