Bruce Springsteenand the E Street Band returned to Saturday Night Livefor the first time since 2002 to serve as musical guest for the shows Tina Fey and Amy Poehler-hosted episode Saturday. In addition to performing a pair of cuts from The Rivers deluxe reissue The Ties That Bind, Springsteen and company had a Christmas surprise at the ready for episodes end.
Springsteen an the E Street Band, as a previewfor their extensive The River tour in 2016, first busted out the live debut of Meet Me in the City, one of the many unreleased tracks from the productive River sessions that were finally untetheredfrom the vaults for The Ties That Bind. Springsteen followed that up with an exhilarating rendition of The Rivers opening track The Ties That Bind, which featured a solo by saxophonist Jake Clemons, the nephew of the late Clarence The Big Man Clemons.
However, the biggest surprise of the night was reserved for the episodes closing moments, when Poehler and Fey, the entire cast of SNL and, inexplicably, Paul McCartney, joined Springsteen and the E Street Band for a festive take on the bands Christmas classic Santa Claus Is Coming to Town. McCartneys participation was hinted by Springsteens Twitter, which warned fans, Got a few surprises in store for #SpringsteenSNL tonight and make sure to stay up for the end credits!(Springsteen latertweeted a photo of him and McCartney hanging out backstagepre-show.)
The secret was finally revealed when McCartneycasuallystrolled onstage with sleigh bells in hand to join in the festivities and help close out SNLs 2015.