All Bruced Up
As I mentioned in my pre-concert post, I have never really considered myself to be a fan of Bruce Springsteen. In my younger years I was mostly into heavier music. I didn’t much care for music that had a saxophone or piano in it unless it was jazz. As I also mentioned, I did have “Born In The U.S.A” on cassette tape, but it never really broke through to be one of my favorite albums. I never really considered this before reading the hypothesis the other day, but maybe growing up in Texas played a part too? I mean, in New Jersey you probably have to sign a statement pledging your allegiance to Bruce before receiving your driver’s license, and in general I would say he’s more popular in the Northeast. Over the last few years I’ve come to know a couple of Bruce fans, one being my brother-in-law. And these people are really into Bruce. There’s got to be a reason that he inspires so much devotion, right? So when I heard that Bruce and the E Street Band were coming to town I wanted to go because just felt a curiosity to see if I could gain some insight into why his fans are so dedicated. I have to say that after the show I’m a lot closer to understanding it.
I thought the show was great. He played most of the songs from his latest album, and the songs are pretty good (metacritic page here). Of course a bunch of the classics were played as well. I have seen some complaints about the sound quality, but from where I was sitting the sound was pretty good for an arena show. That is one tight band, which I guess is to be expected considering how long they’ve been around. Bruce’s voice was in excellent form. I’ve been looking at the setlist and listening to the download I found, and I can’t even single out highlights because just about everything was great. I thought I might be distracted by seeing Little Steven and thinking about Silvio, but that wasn’t really the case (maybe it’s the bandanna). And Bruce? Well, I’ve got to hand it to him, the guy is good. The thing that stood out the most for me was that clearly this guy loves what he does. And while I think that can really help me enjoy a concert, I have still enjoyed concerts where the performers didn’t seem like they were having the time of their lives up there (there are other ways to give part of oneself to an audience). But it’s awfully hard to dislike someone who’s having so much fun. For me it’s impossible not to like someone who gets up there and gives it his all like that. And at age 58, no less. Clearly he could phone it in by this point if he wanted to. After all, the guy’s a multi-gazillionaire, he’s got nothing left to prove. But he still goes after it like he does. Which is awesome. The day after the concert it was all I could think about, and a bunch of the songs kept running through my head.
It feels like the bond between Springsteen and his fans is entirely mutual. He just looked like he was having a blast up there. He was high-fiving people, smiling and pointing at individuals in the crowd, playing to every section of the crowd, bringing a bunch of tweens onstage to dance. There just seems to be a real connection there. I mean, Mick Jagger at 60-whatever is still bebopping around quite impressively, but I don’t get the sense that he’s doing it for the same reason. Another thing about Bruce, the guy has the “it” factor. Charisma. He’s just a badass. He owned that “room” of 20,000 people.
In the end you can do all the analysis you want. But the bottom line is that this concert was just a great time. Hipsters can go on ignoring him since he’s too mainstream, too old, not relevant, too American, or whatever other crap excuse they throw out. Hipsters can also kiss my ass. Seeing this show has made me into a Bruce Springsteen fan. I am certain that if Bruce ever blows through town again that I if I’m able to, I will be there. Yelling “Brooooooce!”
Link to setlist
(Bands, this is how you do a setlist on your website: Links to lyrics for each song, indication of tour premieres, list of albums that song appears on, and an image of the handwritten setlist. Awesome.)
Video Excerpts
(To launch in a new window, hold down the Shift key and then click on the links):
Spirit In The Night (Sacramento)
Trapped (Vancouver)
Darkness On The Edge of Town (St. Paul)
Because The Night (Montreal)
For You (Portland)
Point Blank (Seattle)
One final note: I was saddened to hear that Danny Federici, who has been playing with Bruce for 40 years as a keyboardist and accordionist, died yesterday after a 3 year battle with melanoma. Rest in peace Danny.
I thought the show was great. He played most of the songs from his latest album, and the songs are pretty good (metacritic page here). Of course a bunch of the classics were played as well. I have seen some complaints about the sound quality, but from where I was sitting the sound was pretty good for an arena show. That is one tight band, which I guess is to be expected considering how long they’ve been around. Bruce’s voice was in excellent form. I’ve been looking at the setlist and listening to the download I found, and I can’t even single out highlights because just about everything was great. I thought I might be distracted by seeing Little Steven and thinking about Silvio, but that wasn’t really the case (maybe it’s the bandanna). And Bruce? Well, I’ve got to hand it to him, the guy is good. The thing that stood out the most for me was that clearly this guy loves what he does. And while I think that can really help me enjoy a concert, I have still enjoyed concerts where the performers didn’t seem like they were having the time of their lives up there (there are other ways to give part of oneself to an audience). But it’s awfully hard to dislike someone who’s having so much fun. For me it’s impossible not to like someone who gets up there and gives it his all like that. And at age 58, no less. Clearly he could phone it in by this point if he wanted to. After all, the guy’s a multi-gazillionaire, he’s got nothing left to prove. But he still goes after it like he does. Which is awesome. The day after the concert it was all I could think about, and a bunch of the songs kept running through my head.
It feels like the bond between Springsteen and his fans is entirely mutual. He just looked like he was having a blast up there. He was high-fiving people, smiling and pointing at individuals in the crowd, playing to every section of the crowd, bringing a bunch of tweens onstage to dance. There just seems to be a real connection there. I mean, Mick Jagger at 60-whatever is still bebopping around quite impressively, but I don’t get the sense that he’s doing it for the same reason. Another thing about Bruce, the guy has the “it” factor. Charisma. He’s just a badass. He owned that “room” of 20,000 people.
In the end you can do all the analysis you want. But the bottom line is that this concert was just a great time. Hipsters can go on ignoring him since he’s too mainstream, too old, not relevant, too American, or whatever other crap excuse they throw out. Hipsters can also kiss my ass. Seeing this show has made me into a Bruce Springsteen fan. I am certain that if Bruce ever blows through town again that I if I’m able to, I will be there. Yelling “Brooooooce!”
Link to setlist
(Bands, this is how you do a setlist on your website: Links to lyrics for each song, indication of tour premieres, list of albums that song appears on, and an image of the handwritten setlist. Awesome.)
Video Excerpts
(To launch in a new window, hold down the Shift key and then click on the links):
Spirit In The Night (Sacramento)
Trapped (Vancouver)
Darkness On The Edge of Town (St. Paul)
Because The Night (Montreal)
For You (Portland)
Point Blank (Seattle)
One final note: I was saddened to hear that Danny Federici, who has been playing with Bruce for 40 years as a keyboardist and accordionist, died yesterday after a 3 year battle with melanoma. Rest in peace Danny.
Labels: Concerts
posted by JC at 11:39 PM
5 Comments:
Of all the great armies of rock fans, few can match the devotion of Bruce Springsteen's. For them it's not just catching just one show-it's about catching them all. Anyone who has experienced Springsteen in concert will testify that the bond between audience and artist transcends the usual adulation. Something magical, almost mystical happens. Some might describe it as spiritual-most definitely it is life affirming. It is in trying to nail this phenomenon that the beautiful hardbound For You has arrived.
Edited by Lawrence Kirsch and replete with an amazing welter of outstanding photographs, it's a mind-blowing collection of thoughts and stories from fans of every age and many nations, each explaining why Springsteen occupies such an important place in their hearts. Covering all four decades of Springsteen's career it is possibly the ultimate fanzine for it is the fans who have made the journey and whose words tell us as much about them as they do about Springsteen. The warmth and humanity that flows from every page is truly moving and provides a beacon of hope from which we can all draw strength in these hard times. Not a book to be read at one sitting but rather to revisit and enjoy over time.
58?! wow. all I can say is wow, and good for him. You have to appreciate what he does. Yes charisma. The Bill Clin-ton has that too. Just a charming kind of guy.
Glad to hear you had a good time. You are the concert dude of late.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear one of his nwe songs the other day. It reminded me of an irish folk ballad.
Sounds like good times!! Now I wanna see him in concert.
l - thanks!
pg - yep, lots of concerts lately, the radiohead blowout is coming soon!
a - i wonder if you heard "american land"? it sounds like an irish folk song. it was on the album before his latest one and he closed the show with it. it was great!
c - you should totally go. i can't imagine anyone who loves music not liking it.
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