I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKIN'," RASPED Bruce Springsteen during one of his marathon homecoming concerts in New Jersey. "I'm 42 and I can't keep goin'." With that, the rock Boss executed a mock swoon onstage, falling straight back into the arms of his backup singers, who collapsed in a heap beneath him. Rock on he did, of course, ripping through an exuberant 3½-hour, 30-song show that lasted well past midnight and offered ample proof that middle age, fatherhood and a four-year hibernation hadn't thrown the Boss for a loss.
"A lot's happened since I seen you last," the local hero told fans two weeks ago at the Meadowlands, where he kicked of the U.S. leg of a world tour that began June 15 in Stockholm and is expected to stretch into 1993. "Got a beautiful little girl, got a beautiful little boy, married a Jersey girl." There's also a new band this time—only keyboardist Roy Bittan remains from the dismissed E Streeters who backed Bruce through his glory and pre-glory days—playing mostly new songs from two new CDs, Human Touch and Lucky Town. Released last March, the albums are Springsteen's first studio recordings since 1987 but have quickly dropped toward Billboard's basement (last week they hovered at No. 73 and No. 105, respectively) despite combined domestic sales of over 3 million copies. But that didn't seem to mailer to fans, many of whom brought kids of their own and booed good-naturedly when Springsteen mentioned the Bel Air mansion he shares with wife and former E Street singing partner Patti Scialfa, 36, and their kids, Evan James, who celebrated his 2nd birthday on the road July 25, and Jessica Rae, 8 months. An enormous blue banner hung from the arena entrance echoed fan sentiment exactly: WELCOME HOME BRUCE.
Home is where the art was. With five backup singers harmonizing like a gospel choir, Springsteen testified about the glories of dad-dom, dedicating "My Hometown" to "all the moms and the pops," and "Jersey Girl" to Scialfa, who joined him for a duet each night, and his mom, Adele, who danced with her boy onstage. "I better stop," he said after one chat about the joys of family life, "before I sound like a presidential candidate."
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