Bruce Springsteen Ends World Tour At Harley Celebration

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Bruce Springsteen performs during a concert in San Sebastian, Spain
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Bruce Springsteen
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Rocker Bruce Springsteen performs in New Jersey
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Bruce Springsteen performs in Germany

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FIRST PUBLISHED: August 31, 2008 12:45 PM EDT
LAST UPDATED: August 31, 2008 12:52 PM EDT

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. --

Bruce Springsteen ended his world tour over the weekend, toned down but revved up.

Springsteen played more than 30 songs over 31/2 hours Saturday night on Milwaukee’s lakefront for Harley-Davidson’s 105th anniversary celebration. He made few comments between songs.

Only for a few moments before “Livin’ in the Future” did the rocker — who often brings his liberal-leaning political comments to the stage — stray into politics. 

Springsteen performed to a crowd not unlike the one that gave Republican presidential candidate John McCain a warm welcome Aug. 4 at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota. Many roared their motorcycles during McCain’s speech.

Springsteen said “Livin’ in the Future” was about what was happening now: cheese, Harley-Davidson motorcycles (tailoring it to his Wisconsin crowd), transfats, “500 channels of nothing on” and
the Bill of Rights.

But he also mentioned wire tapping and rendition — the secret transport of terror suspects from one country to another.

“Things that basically at the heart are un-American,” he said.

The crowd gave spattered groans but mostly stayed silent.

He did not play “Born in the U.S.A,” his anthem about the difficulties Vietnam war veterans faced, or the anti-war ballad “Devils and Dust” about Iraq.

Springsteen’s Saturday performance was his last stop on his tour. His Web site said Springsteen and the E Street Band have performed 100 concerts for more than 2 million fans.

Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson expected more than 100,000 people from around the nation and world to participate in the four-day celebration that officially started Thursday in Milwaukee and its suburbs. It included a parade through the city, a party along the lake, activities at the new Harley-Davidson Museum, a special exhibit at Discovery World and other big-name bands.

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