Yesterday (July 6th, 2023) was another tick off my bucket list:
I got to see Bruce Springsteen perform live!
A packed Hyde Park welcomed the seasoned musician with open arms, who together with his magnificent E Street Band, set all our hearts on fire.
As a child going into my teens I would listen to his music frequently…
From Born in the USA and Dancing in the Dark, to Born to Run and the Oscar winning track (and my personal favorite) Streets of Philadelphia.
Not quite sure how I got to him… perhaps through my brothers, but I remember vividly the main track to Jonathan Demme’s movie Philadelphia (starring Tom Hanks in his first Academy Award winning performance) having a profound impact in me, years before I even saw the movie. Until this day it remains easily as one of my top five favorite songs and one that moves me into tears instantly.
We were also a bit far away… which made me wonder if paying extra to get closer access to the stage was worth it. In fact, looking through the big screens, it was hard not to be slightly jealous of those up front as they shook hands and took selfies with Bruce. A girl even got to take his harmonica home, which was pretty cool.
His interactions with the audience, be it up close and personal or from a distance, showed him to be charismatic, respectful, and kind. A true man of the people, who made a career often speaking to the working class and using his platform to talk about anything from world politics to growing up in New Jersey.
As his energy levels kept rising, so did the whole ensemble in a sort of continuous crescendo.
They barely took their foot off the gas, which was quite impressive for a bunch of people well into their 60’s and 70’s.
I for one couldn’t take my eyes off Steven Van Zandt and Max Weinberg, as two of my favorite band members.
Aside from being a guitarist for the E Street Band, Steven is also an accomplished actor, notorious for playing one of the main roles in the classic HBO series The Sopranos.
With regards to Max Weinberg, I got to “meet him” for the first time when I watched Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
Weinberg was then the leader of the “Max Weinberg 7” and was a frequent collaborator in Conan and Andy Richter’s sketches in the show.
I even remember as a kid seeing Conan explain to his audience Max’s occasional absence from the program due to being on tour with Bruce Springsteen. That blew my mind!
Anyway, back to the gig…
Hard to pick a favorite moment… perhaps Dancing in the Dark was my tune of the night.
The Rising was also a highlight as it took me back to the early 2000’s when I last consumed a new Springsteen’s album vigorously.
Feeling nostalgic, I added to my mental notes that I should revisit this record again and look into hearing more of Bruce’s contemporary material.
Hometown triggered my friends to mock my trademark claim “My hometown is better than yours”.
Bruce at some point sang “Duarte’s homeeeeeetownnnnn” … well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
But I guess that for most people, Born in the USA is the one track that really stirs the crowd up.
I've always found that particular track fascinating due to being able to provoke a visceral reaction from everyone, even those who have a tremendous dislike for the US but won’t resist singing the chorus with a colossal amount of passion.
Interestingly enough, the song is often misunderstood as an American anthem paying tribute to the nation, when in fact it's almost a protest song of sorts against the war in Vietnam and the consequences that followed.
Well, this is my sharable moment of the day. One for the ages that I hope to revisit through Facebook memories, a quick scroll through my camera roll or something of that nature.
As a child going into my teens I would listen to his music frequently…
From Born in the USA and Dancing in the Dark, to Born to Run and the Oscar winning track (and my personal favorite) Streets of Philadelphia.
Not quite sure how I got to him… perhaps through my brothers, but I remember vividly the main track to Jonathan Demme’s movie Philadelphia (starring Tom Hanks in his first Academy Award winning performance) having a profound impact in me, years before I even saw the movie. Until this day it remains easily as one of my top five favorite songs and one that moves me into tears instantly.
I was so into him that when DVDs were becoming a thing, I purchased Bruce Springsteen Live in Barcelona which I would watch on the TV, hoping that one day maybe I could see him live.
Fast forward many years later, I’m in London working as an intern, which also means I was absolutely broke… but as I have good friends, on one occasion I was lucky enough to get offered tickets to see Kaiser Chiefs, a band I was barely familiar with, live at Hyde Park, unknown to be me as being one of London’s most iconic spots.
Upon arrival I noticed they were advertising Bruce Springsteen for a live concert the following day.
Having a free ticket to see Kaiser Chiefs immediately lost its appeal (nothing personal guys), and I instantly wished I had been given tickets to see Bruce instead.
Since I couldn’t afford the ticket to see him the following day, I promised myself right there and then that if I ever had some money in my pocket, I would use it to pay whatever the asking price to see him perform live.
Fast forward more than 10 years later and there I was back at Hyde Park, ready to see “The Boss” on stage with his beloved E Street Band.
The gig was everything I hoped for… well, nearly everything.
As expected, he didn’t play Streets of Philadelphia, which very rarely makes it to his setlists, as well as Tunnel of Love, Brilliant Disguise, Human Touch and Secret Garden, the latter being a tune that saw its popularity increase after the release of Jerry Maguire, a Cameron Crowe movie featuring Tom Cruise.
Fast forward many years later, I’m in London working as an intern, which also means I was absolutely broke… but as I have good friends, on one occasion I was lucky enough to get offered tickets to see Kaiser Chiefs, a band I was barely familiar with, live at Hyde Park, unknown to be me as being one of London’s most iconic spots.
Upon arrival I noticed they were advertising Bruce Springsteen for a live concert the following day.
Having a free ticket to see Kaiser Chiefs immediately lost its appeal (nothing personal guys), and I instantly wished I had been given tickets to see Bruce instead.
Since I couldn’t afford the ticket to see him the following day, I promised myself right there and then that if I ever had some money in my pocket, I would use it to pay whatever the asking price to see him perform live.
Fast forward more than 10 years later and there I was back at Hyde Park, ready to see “The Boss” on stage with his beloved E Street Band.
The gig was everything I hoped for… well, nearly everything.
As expected, he didn’t play Streets of Philadelphia, which very rarely makes it to his setlists, as well as Tunnel of Love, Brilliant Disguise, Human Touch and Secret Garden, the latter being a tune that saw its popularity increase after the release of Jerry Maguire, a Cameron Crowe movie featuring Tom Cruise.
We were also a bit far away… which made me wonder if paying extra to get closer access to the stage was worth it. In fact, looking through the big screens, it was hard not to be slightly jealous of those up front as they shook hands and took selfies with Bruce. A girl even got to take his harmonica home, which was pretty cool.
His interactions with the audience, be it up close and personal or from a distance, showed him to be charismatic, respectful, and kind. A true man of the people, who made a career often speaking to the working class and using his platform to talk about anything from world politics to growing up in New Jersey.
As his energy levels kept rising, so did the whole ensemble in a sort of continuous crescendo.
They barely took their foot off the gas, which was quite impressive for a bunch of people well into their 60’s and 70’s.
I for one couldn’t take my eyes off Steven Van Zandt and Max Weinberg, as two of my favorite band members.
Aside from being a guitarist for the E Street Band, Steven is also an accomplished actor, notorious for playing one of the main roles in the classic HBO series The Sopranos.
With regards to Max Weinberg, I got to “meet him” for the first time when I watched Late Night with Conan O’Brien.
Weinberg was then the leader of the “Max Weinberg 7” and was a frequent collaborator in Conan and Andy Richter’s sketches in the show.
I even remember as a kid seeing Conan explain to his audience Max’s occasional absence from the program due to being on tour with Bruce Springsteen. That blew my mind!
Anyway, back to the gig…
Hard to pick a favorite moment… perhaps Dancing in the Dark was my tune of the night.
Hometown triggered my friends to mock my trademark claim “My hometown is better than yours”.
Bruce at some point sang “Duarte’s homeeeeeetownnnnn” … well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
But I guess that for most people, Born in the USA is the one track that really stirs the crowd up.
I've always found that particular track fascinating due to being able to provoke a visceral reaction from everyone, even those who have a tremendous dislike for the US but won’t resist singing the chorus with a colossal amount of passion.
Interestingly enough, the song is often misunderstood as an American anthem paying tribute to the nation, when in fact it's almost a protest song of sorts against the war in Vietnam and the consequences that followed.
Well, this is my sharable moment of the day. One for the ages that I hope to revisit through Facebook memories, a quick scroll through my camera roll or something of that nature.
