Grandpa, Bruce, play it again.

Shortly before nine o'clock, still daylight, with an overcast sky threatening a downpour, the liturgy begins. One by one, the musicians ascend the steps from the wings of the stage to take their place. We applaud. Until it's their turn. The camera is at their side, waiting for them to take the step. Bruce Springsteen begins to walk. We accompany him. The images that the audience sees are a fundamental element of the spectacle of his recent tours. The people shout as he calmly walks toward his microphone. He knows it. It won't rain.

At 8:58 p.m., he looks out at the tens of thousands of people waiting for him at the Reale Arena (San Sebastián), where he gave the first of his two Spanish concerts this Saturday night (the second will be this Tuesday at the same venue). Close-up. The 75-year-old said nothing and smiled for a few seconds, preparing us for what was to come over the next two hours and forty-five minutes. He has no hesitation. He knows he's going to reaffirm the promise that is the theme of the first song of the night: the vital promise of rock from his youth to today. As in two previous concerts of his Land of Hope and Dreams Tour, he began with "No Surrender ."

A buttoned black vest and black tie with white polka dots, a white shirt with thin black stripes. And a band that runs like clockwork—drummer Max Weinberg is the driving force—and the exacting professionalism that he reaffirms in "My Love Will Net You Down" with his second solo of the evening.

With the third song— after Gabon Donosti —the objective of this tour already appears: to raise audience awareness about the critical moment the United States is experiencing under the presidency of Donald Trump . He reads the speeches, which appear subtitled on the screens, and some of the lyrics, the more political ones, are also translated. The most powerful, because it was there without anyone having noticed the force of its message, is Rainmaker : it works with the cultural imagery of the Great Depression and speaks of the conditions of hardship that make possible the emergence of a demagogic leader. Yes, he dedicates it to Trump. This is no joke. Before singing "My City in Ruins," he even asks the audience to be silent. In acoustic form, House of a Thousand Guitars also connects with political criticism.

The first time he comes down the stage steps to sing face to face with the audience is with "The Promised Land ." Suddenly, he transforms into a happy old man. He stands before a little girl holding a sign, reads that she'd like to take a selfie with him, and Springsteen doesn't disappoint. His proximity to the front rows is another way to demonstrate communion with the audience. Tonight, who will he give the harmonica to? Today, to a longtime fan. From this point on, the variations will be few and far between. He plays " Darkness on the Edge of Town ," whose central verses he recites more than he sings, and performs "The River" with that final falsetto howl that concentrates all the fears of a grown man. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the power the band now brings to "Long Walk Home ," with a thriving Steve Van Zandt .

In "Wrecking Ball," he gets the crowd going, forcing them to repeat the chant. The horn section comes in, and suddenly that minor song turns into a full-blown party. The crowd dances, and I see the kids bouncing about their fathers' husbands. Excuse me. I can't keep writing. I get up, jump, and don't sit down again until, away from the band and in the audience, "Badlans" finishes. For the first time, he looks truly tired. Tonight and tomorrow, his recovery sessions with the physiotherapist at the María Cristina will be intense.

I sit down. I'm more alive than before the concert started. I type again. Play it again, Bruce: the "Thunder Road" moment, and he strolls around again, shaking hands with the fans in the front rows. The final flourish arrives. The lights come up, Donosti shouts, and he begins to sing the cursed anthem " Born in the USA ," the first of three songs from that commercial rock gem that catapulted him to global mainstream stardom.

In Bobby Jean, everyone waves their arms from right to left; in Dancing in the Dark, the camera focuses on faces bursting with enthusiasm. It will overflow with that Twist and Shout that proves the 75-year-old grandfather is still the artist who best masters the greats. Five more minutes, please. Five minutes to eternity.

An expected epilogue: Chimes of Freedom , the version he's revived for this political tour. A celestial keyboard accompanies the performance. Bob Dylan 's lyrics appear subtitled in Spanish on the screens. He's no longer wearing a vest. God bless you . The soldiers of the night, at 11:45 p.m., leave Anoeta while "This Land Is Your Land" blares through the loudspeakers.