Backstage Pass

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band appeared on NBC's “Today” show yesterday morning, delivering a half-hour mini-concert in which Springsteen debuted new material, played old favorites and briefly delved into politics.

The concert was one of several shows Springsteen and his newly regrouped band have played before the release of a new CD, “Magic” (Sony), and the simultaneous launch of a tour in Hartford, Conn. on Oct. 2. Later on Friday the band was scheduled to play a “rehearsal” concert at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ, their third and final pre-tour show.

During Friday's set, which started around 8:30 a.m., Springsteen addressed the state of the nation in ways subtle and overt. He kicked off with “The Promised Land,” from the 1978 album “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” followed by the new single “Radio Nowhere.”

Introducing the new song “Livin' in the Future,” Springsteen contrasted a list of beloved American traditions -- including cheeseburgers, the Jersey Shore and the Bill of Rights -- with more contentious ones like the Iraq war and government-sanctioned wiretapping.

“Right now we plan to do something about it, we plan to sing about it,” Springsteen told a crowd that had been gathering at 49th Street and Rockefeller Center since the wee hours. “I know it's early,” he added, “but it's late.”

The set would have ended with “Your Hometown,” the closing track of the 1984 album “Born to Run,” but as “Today” co-host Matt Lauer tried to segue to a news segment the crowd began chanting for another song. Lauer, pressing a finger to his earbud, looked for direction: “Should we go inside and get the news real quick?” he asked aloud. But the cameras stayed on the band as they picked up their instruments and played the final song, “Night.”

PHOTO: Bruce Springsteen performs with the E Street Band at Asbury Park's Paramount Theater Monday, Sept. 24, 2007.(AP Photo/Mel Evans)