On Saturday Bruce Springsteen played a seven-song acoustic set on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway mall–the first of three such appearances, followed by a stop at Ohio State University in Columbus on Sunday and one in Ypsilanti, Michigan Monday afternoon.

“After the disastrous administration of the past eight years,” Springsteen told the crowd in the course of a five-minute introductory speech, “what we really need is someone to lead us in an American reclamation project.” Here’s that speech, followed by an acoustic performance of “The Rising.”

Bruce Springsteen: “An American Reclamation Project” Philadelphia, 10/4/08 (9:15)