In the first scenes of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, the band is not playing as fast as they used to. The documentary opens with their rehearsals before going on tour after six years apart.
Director Thom Zimny got a crew to film those rehearsals without any idea of what the footage would become. He told Yahoo Entertainment that he simply wanted to capture “special, unseen moments” — like when guitarist and musical director Steven Van Zandt called for additional practice time without the frontman because he was concerned the group wasn’t ready to perform.
“What I don’t want to happen is for critics or the audience to look at us and say, ‘Well yeah, it’s nice but these old men are just going through the motions,’” Van Zandt says in the documentary. “I wanna go out and blow their f***ing minds.”
Zimny also filmed a few of Springsteen’s European concerts, hoping to reflect “the spiritual element of the live show.”
“You’re laughing, you’re crying, you’re in the pure joy of rock and roll,” he said. “The fan in me wanted to try to get as close to that magic as I could.”
“You know, Born to Run was recorded in 1975, but [time] doesn’t stop people from chasing that high of that music,” Zimny said. “The beauty of those lyrics that reflect a certain freedom. Everyone has an understanding of their place in the world with the music.”
“That’s the beating heart of my job, to be there and only there playing for all the stakes rock ‘n’ roll has to offer you,” he continues. “I want to leave you with life’s possibilities, with energy to take outside the concert gates … the smile on your face and some feeling of love in your heart.”
“If I went tomorrow, it’s OK,” Springsteen tells the crowd as they cheer. “What a f***ing ride!”
