Bruce Springsteen talks about touring

The usually shy Bruce Springsteen opens up in the new Esquire magazine, which comes out this week. For the article, Springsteen talked with writer Cal Fussman about a number of topics, including what touring looks and feels like from his perspective as a performer. Springsteen said, "That first step onstage is an unusual feeling. I'm not sure I can connect it to other people's lives outside of perhaps taking a driver's test. You really want that license. The feeling in your gut means you're sober - and that's good. It also means something's at stake, something that matters. You're taking a risk, which is the essence of all live performance. It's not an entirely comfortable feeling, but it's a necessary one. It happens every time, and it tends to stop the minute I put my hands on any instrument."

He added, "Part of what the risk is, part of what I'm searching for from the moment I put my foot onstage until I walk off, is the invisible thread of energy and inspiration or soul or whatever you want to call it that is going to take me to that place where a song can explode to life. That thread is between me and the audience every night. Always. I've got to grab it out of the air and physicalize it into something they can hear. Sometimes it's like catching a wave that can take you through all 25 songs. Sometimes it'll take you through 10 and then you have to refind it. Sometimes you're looking for it again after one. A big part of what I'm experiencing when I'm performing is that search."

Springsteen kicked off a new round of North American solo shows on Wednesday, July 13 in Ottawa, and he moves on to Toronto on July 14, 2005. Springsteen admitted that these Devils & Dust acoustic tour has really forced him to do things differently. He said, "I don't have a piano and a sax and drums behind me on this tour. So I had to re-approach the guitar as an instrument of solo accompaniment. It becomes a bit of a new land, and I'll play it in ways I've never played it before. I'm constantly asking myself, 'How can I wring as much music and meaning as possible out of those six strings?' One thing I do know: With the correct playing style, you can summon up an orchestra."
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