“We stand before you embarrassed Americans,” Bruce Springsteen told a sold-out AAMI Park last night. And he used his first song of the night to “send a letter home”. The E Street Band opened their first Melbourne show with a cover of The Orlons’ 1962 hit Don’t Hang Up. The crowd roared its appreciative laughter, and we’re sure noted Springsteen fan Wayne Swan would have got a kick out of it had he been in attendance. And the Boss wasn’t done. His second song was his 2006 song American Land, which he introduced by saying, “This is an immigrant’s song”, a direct dig at Donald Trump (even the Springsteen tribute band the B Street Band refused to play at Trump’s inauguration). And in a quiet pause before Mary’s Place, Springsteen needed to vent: “Shit is fucked up. I don’t know what more to say, shit is fucked up!” Perhaps we’ll be seeing more of the Boss Down Under if Trump’s America proves too hostile an environment?