Springsteen ends tour at Harley celebration

updated 3:52 p.m. ET Aug. 31, 2008

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

Springsteen played more than 30 songs over 3½ 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.

Slide show The 'Magic' of Bruce Springsteen From 1973's "Greetings from Asbury Park" to his newest album, "Magic," Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have continued to define American rock and roll. more photos

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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