Springsteen live!...

Well this past Sunday I had the privilege of working at the Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band concert, I was excited and hoping to be amazed. What I got was a decent show, but when I think about it, it's what I should have expected given I didn't know hardly any of his songs and have a hard time understanding half the time they're singing there songs, especially Springsteen. Half the entertainment I got was from the people at the concert and observing them and there actions.


The setup for the concert was a basic stage with each band member (there were 9 in all, including Bruce) having there own little section to perform and the seats on the floor were general admission, 1st come 1st serve standing room only. There were also large video screens on both side of the stage for the people farther away. I think one of the best jobs I saw (even better then mine where I get paid to usher at concerts, Mavs and Stars games) was every song Bruce would switch guitars and he had a guy hand him a different one switching between like 3 different guitars, I'm sure he does something else but that guy has got it made. He probably gets laid just because he strums on Bruce's guitar strings (if you get my drift)


One thing I have to give credit to Bruce is he pours his soul into these performances, he brings so much energy and passion to his show and I think that's what most people like, that and the fact that he doesn't always stick to his set list and performs songs from his whole catalogue and not just the hits. Sure he did play Born to Run and his latest track that had some radio succes 'Radio Nowhere' but he didn't play Born in the USA which I thought he'd close with that or Born to Run. Instead he ended the show with this Irish type song that was meant to be an homage to the Irish punk band the Pogues called 'American Land' That was probably my favorite song of the night aside from when he played Born to Run and Radio Nowhere.



There were things that did bother me though or that I noticed, I don't think the entire time Bruce was singing his eyes were open, I can understand it especially when he's singing a slow song but I swear his eyes weren't open the whole show. Also on the video screen I think the people working the video boards were afraid to cut away from Bruce, if Bruce was singing they'd show saxophonist Clarence Clemons or drummer Max Weinberg (yes from the Conan O'brien show) for a couple seconds but right when they'd show them they'd go right back to Bruce. And I know Bruce isn't egotistical so I don't know what was up with that but I'd like to see the rest of the band perform for more then a split second. And then there was the issue I had with Bruce and lead guitarist Steve Van Zandt sharing the same microphone everytime they had to sing together when he had a perfectly good one for himself. It was just odd with Bruce practically making out with the mic and Steve looking to get in on that action.



I think the funniest part of the night was when they were finishing up a song and he's sweating and appears to be out of breath and belts out this lameass speech how this country needs a change from the past 8 years. He sounded like he was pouring his heart out, looking down at the ground looking like maybe a tear could fall from his face as he was almost at a loss of words and overcome with emotion. During the speech it was pitch black in the arena with a blue spotlight on Bruce which only made it better. Perhaps you had to hear it but I found it laughable despite how serious he was about it (I'm by no means a Bush supporter I couldnt careless, but find it funny when people go on a political speech like this and it sounds like this) But I should've expected this after just reading his Wikipedia.



Working at concerts like this or Van Halen I've noticed that any and all people are welcome to old school type bands who have been around for the past 25-35 years. I saw guys who had tatoos all over there necks with hair spiked half a foot in the air and then I saw 8 year olds trying to get a grasp on the music that there parents loved and grew up with. This wasn't as white trash as Van Halen and more upscale. What I think everyone that goes to concerts can agree on is the absurdity of the souvenir prices, I expect them to be completely overpriced but Springsteen's prices were the worst of the bunch, I think the cheapest was $35 and they had one t-shirt priced at 90 freaking dollars, simply because it was from a tour in 1992-93, what kind of reasoning is that? Of course you can find the majority of these shirts online for a helluva lot cheaper.



Back to my thoughts on the people there, the thing that pissed me off the most was this group of 10 year old girls who were all dressed up with makeup and short miniskirts and even one had a strapless shirt on. They truly looked like whores in training (you could use the term groupies, but whores is much more truthful) perhaps I sound like an old man but I couldn't imagine letting my daughter go out like that, let alone one that's not even in middle school. And then maybe the worst part of it was they had front row seats and got to go on stage for a song with Bruce, what a load of crap. It's bad enough they had to goto a concert looking like a bunch of sluts but then they get rewarded for it? That shouldn't happen til at least there early 20's where they suck the life out of some rich guy (*laugh track*)



I also saw this mother/daughter combo going to there seats, they looked exactly alike except the mom was probably 25 years older and fatter and I'm sure was more "seasoned" The daughter was good looking but what I hate when I see girls today is these fake tans that leave the girls looking orange and when they look like they're wearing 3 pounds of makeup. I'm not suggesting that you have to wear no makeup (though if you can pull it off, do it) but it just looks unattractive when there is a huge glare or shine on your forehead from all the makeup you wear. The mom looked the exact same as her though (another example of whores in training, we'll call it WHIT. Having the abreviation WIT would be to complimentary, as they don't have a shred of wit in there body)



The best story I heard from another usher at last night's concert was these 2 women were wanting sit closer then where there seats were located, the guy was skeptical at first until he said the lady took his face and shoved it in her boobs for a couple seconds. Lo and behold, she got closer seats, aren't boobs wonderful. Not sure how I'd react to that, for one I'd be so overcome with joy that'd I'd space out for a second and try and let that moment sink in, and then scramble to find them some closer seats. What would you do if you couldn't find any open seats though (my section was full all night, even the last rows in the house) I'd probably look at the women dumbfounded saying "Der, uhh sorry m'am but I can't find any open seats" And then there'd be an awkward pause where she realizes that I got a free show for nothing before I ask for another motorboat.

But it's just fun watching how people react to the music they're hearing, you'll see some people who just sit there the whole time just letting it sink in then some people feel the need to stand the whole time and really shake every limb in there body as they attempt to maintain some sort of rhythm. It was fun looking at some people that had floor seats, people on the outside particularly with room to move, there was this one woman who was going crazy and felt the need to keep spinning and twirling with her friend to every song. Then the reaction when Bruce decided to play his favorite song was as if he just won the Superbowl as he gives this huge fist pump and does some punches in the air.

I wonder if Bruce ever hates his name, because having a name like Bruce means if you're a star player or rockstar they chant Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce everywhere you go. I think it'd be cool to have something like that, like Darryl "Moose" Johnston would get that chant every time he touched the ball or Luke Walton for the Lakers. I wonder if Bruce was ever just booed loudly and he didnt pick up on it because of his name. Like one night it was real brutal and the band was a note behind and real worn out and the energy just wasnt there and the crowds just laying it on them but in his mind he's like, "Man these guys really love me"

All in all it was a good night, since I worked there I had to keep watching for people with cameras because the building felt like that was going to be the thing to harp on tonight. Thankfully I didn't have a problem with that or people coming up to me about people smoking. It's a freaking concert, you should embrace the smoke whether or not it's indoors. But I'd suggest to know some of his music beforehand to really enjoy it. Plus it might be easier to understand what the hell he was saying.