Bruce Springsteen says he plays every live show like it’s his “first night”

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will soon kick off their first tour in six years, and it’s no wonder fans are clamoring for tickets: Springsteen says he tries to play each show like it’s the first time he’s ever performed.

Appearing on the Questlove Supreme podcast, Bruce explains, “My band have been together for 50 years. So we’ve got a lot of history and we’ve got a lot of experience. And on the last tour, we played 200 songs … 200 different songs.” He adds, “Usually, once the tour gets rolling, the show is regularly different on a night-to-night basis.”

Springsteen says he maps out what songs he wants to play before every concert and then tells the band to “refresh” themselves on his choices, “because we might play it tonight.”

Then the rehearsals start. “We don’t just play 3 1/2 hours a night. We’re there [at the venue] in the afternoon,” he explains, noting that sound checks can sometimes last for two hours to give the band enough time to ensure any deep cuts he’s chosen sound just as good as his set list staples.

“It’s just fun,” he exclaims. “Surprising that audience here and there, it’s fun to do. It’s wonderful.”

As he puts it, “It remains an honor to play for our audience. And that’s the way that I approach it. And that’s what I insist from the band on a nightly basis. You come out, your name is on the line every single night — I don’t care how long you’ve been doing it. You have an opportunity to impact somebody’s life tonight.”

The Boss ended the interview with a mic-drop moment, declaring, “Every night is somebody’s first night. I want to play like it’s my first night.”