Working On A Dream Tour - Critical and Commercial Reception

Critical and Commercial Reception

Newspaper reviews of the show often commented on the high level of energy and stamina the nearly 60-year-old Springsteen brought to the concerts. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Chicago Tribune favorably compared Springsteen to the rest of the band in this regard, saying "Some of the guys in the band look their age" and "they lack the physicality, the sustained urgency of their prime."

The Philadelphia Inquirer and the San Jose Mercury News both commented on the fundamental problem that Springsteen seemed to be facing on the tour. The former said "Bruce Springsteen may well have miscalculated earlier this year when he released Working on a Dream, one of the most hopeful and downright happy sounding albums of his career just as a cratering economy was rendering the songs of struggle and strife that are his stock in trade more resonant than they have sounded in years." The latter said, "As Don Rumsfeld might say, you don't go on tour with the album you wish you had, you go on tour with the album you've got. So Springsteen faces the tough task of hyping a new romantic pop record while simultaneously offering hope and support to a wounded nation – not an easy task." Rolling Stone voiced a similar theory. Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot wrote that "If there was a disappointment, it was that Springsteen didn’t make a stronger case for his latest album, Working on a Dream. I’m not a fan of the album, but I always look forward to how the singer reinvents his studio work on the stage. In this case, however, he barely touched the new material ..." Views on one, the early-in-show, eight-minute "Outlaw Pete" – one of the few new material centerpieces – varied considerably.

The San Jose Mercury News and the Connecticut Post both gave the show a mixed review, with the former saying it was "decidedly subpar" and latter saying "the concert itself wasn't as captivating as past visits to the state." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Philadelphia Inquirer were unreserved in their praise, with the former saying Springsteen "deliver a show that proves boomer-oriented rock 'n' roll can still tear it up" and the latter saying Springsteen adapted to circumstances "with an altered game plan that wisely plays to his strengths". The Greensboro, North Carolina News & Record said that "Springsteen and the E Street Band were received like conquering heroes during an exhilarating three-hour show that repeatedly drove the adoring, near-sellout crowd into fist-thrusting, sing-along frenzies." The Globe and Mail said of the tour's sole Canadian show, "an evening with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band still ranks as the epitome of the rock concert experience." Rolling Stone said of the first leg's concluding New Jersey shows, "Springsteen tours don’t usually hit highs like this until the end, but the band has essentially been on the road since September of 2007."

Of the European shows, critical reaction was generally quite favorable. The Irish Times said Springsteen showing no signs of age as he neared his 60th birthday, despite taking a spill during his stage antics in rainy Dublin, and remarked upon how "a set that features so many songs about the toughness of life ... can be delivered with such extraordinary verve that by the time you leave, you’re very glad to be alive." The Independent echoed the sentiment in reviewing the Hyde Park show, writing that he showed "the vigour of a frontman a third of his age" and that "Springsteen's intensity was staggering from first powerful vocal to final thrashed-out chord." The Bath Chronicle saluted Springsteen's performance at Glastonbury, saying "As all the tickets were sold before Springsteen was even confirmed on the bill, he must have known he was facing something very rare for him – the musical equivalent of a sporting 'away match' where not everyone was necessarily a worshipper at the altar of Bruce." They concluded that Springsteen gave "a performance of passion, exuberance, exhilaration and musical majesty" while sticking with his standard tour set list and not resorting to playing many of his better-known hits.

Of the final Giants Stadium stand, the New York Daily News said that "Wrecking Ball" was "a rousing declaration of defiance in the face of destruction," and overall said that "Once again, this proved to be one of the few performers charismatic enough, and anthemic enough, to use the stadium scale to his advantage." Entertainment Weekly called "Wrecking Ball" "an inspiring start to another of the marathon three-hour shows Springsteen still manages to put on night after night." The New York Times said of the full performance of Born in the U.S.A. that "Springsteen sang with deeper nuance ... the songs have not faded." Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune said that while during the first leg of the tour the band had "appeared to be running on fumes", the Born to Run album performance was "easily the best Springsteen show with the E Streeters I'd seen since the '80s."

Looking back on the tour as a whole, and in combination with the preceding Magic Tour, Billboard magazine cover story stated that "Even for an artist who has largely built his career on epic shows, Springsteen and the E Streeters have managed to find yet another gear at this stage in their legendary career." Springsteen himself said, "With the end of these shows, we're coming to the end of a decade-long project that really was a tremendous renewal of the power, the strength and the service that our band hopefully provides." Springsteen also touted the quality of the shows: "I believe if you come and see us now you're seeing the best E Street Band that's ever played." Specific shows from the tour were named as among the best concerts of 2009 by Spin magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the Chicago Tribune.

Springsteen himself remained quite interested in his and the band's commercial fortunes. He said before the tour's start that remaining popular had been one of his motivations for the Super Bowl appearance: "I've said no for about 10 years or however long they've been asking, but, I tell you, we played on the last tour and there were some empty seats here and there and, well, there shouldn't be any empty seats at an E Street Band show. I hold pride that we remain one of the great wonders of the world ... so sometimes you got to remind people a little bit."

Through September 2009, the Working on a Dream Tour was in the top five in grosses of 2009 tours worldwide, alongside the U2 360° Tour, Coldplay's Viva la Vida Tour, and AC/DC's Black Ice Tour. For all of 2009, the Working on a Dream Tour was the third-highest grossing tour, trailing only U2 360° and Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour. It grossed over $156 million, was seen by over 1.7 million ticket holders, and sold out 42 of 72 non-festival shows. Unlike the past Magic and Devils & Dust Tours, the Working on a Dream Tour failed to win any Billboard Touring Awards. The tour completed a busy ten years on the road for Springsteen, who ranked fourth among pop artists for the decade in terms of total touring grosses.