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starladySo my dad and I went to the soon-to-be-demolished Spectrum to see Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band last night. They were just, well, incredibly awesome.
Seriously, they are all just phenomenal musicians, and they have been playing together since 1973--that is as long as my parents' marriage--and on this tour they have just pulled out all the stops and had fun with it. My dad and I debated a long time about whether the members of the band are in physical condition to do another tour, with my dad in the "no" camp, but everyone on that stage played for three hours straight last night, with barely any breaks in between songs--hell, the encore set was five songs, and they do not play the songs short!
We had pretty good seats, kind of high up but directly across from the stage, so we could see the lighting techs ascending into the catwalks before the show (!), the Elvis impersonator dancing around on the stage (more on that anon), and everything, really. Dad and I both felt like the set list included a lot of our favorites, though looking at it now, I'm not surprised I didn't know the first song, as it's the first time they've played it since 1976. It may be only the first or second time I've heard Born to Run all the way through, but it is an awesome album, and they even played "Radio Nowhere" and "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City" and my all-time favorite "Dancing In The Dark", so hooray! At one point Bruce stood and sang on the piano, and he also crowd-surfed from the middle of the floor back to the stage. He is so awesome.
Some of the best moments of the night came in the middle, though. There was a kid, 14, tops, with a sign that said "I know all the words" right next to stage left, and Bruce gave him the microphone at the end of "Waiting On A Sunny Day" and the kid sang the song for several minutes to the entire Spectrum--we of course were singing along and applauding him. It was pretty awesome. "All Shook Up", though, was even better--it was requested by an Elvis impersonator (white sequined jumpsuit, sideburns, shades, pompadour) down on the floor near the stage via a sign, so Bruce and the band agreed to play it, and then Bruce gave the King the microphone, and the Elvis dude sang like half the song, and danced up the stage and back, and gave Bruce a cue for the bridge with "Hit it, Bruce!" and then broke into "Blue Suede Shoes"! It was amazing. So, the Elvis impersonator and that kid are my heroes.
We took SEPTA there and back, and on PATCO back into Jersey we heard thanks to our cell phones that the Phillies had pulled it out in the bottom of the ninth, 5-4 over the Dodgers, and the entire train car broke out cheering. So really, how could it have been any better?
Seriously, they are all just phenomenal musicians, and they have been playing together since 1973--that is as long as my parents' marriage--and on this tour they have just pulled out all the stops and had fun with it. My dad and I debated a long time about whether the members of the band are in physical condition to do another tour, with my dad in the "no" camp, but everyone on that stage played for three hours straight last night, with barely any breaks in between songs--hell, the encore set was five songs, and they do not play the songs short!
We had pretty good seats, kind of high up but directly across from the stage, so we could see the lighting techs ascending into the catwalks before the show (!), the Elvis impersonator dancing around on the stage (more on that anon), and everything, really. Dad and I both felt like the set list included a lot of our favorites, though looking at it now, I'm not surprised I didn't know the first song, as it's the first time they've played it since 1976. It may be only the first or second time I've heard Born to Run all the way through, but it is an awesome album, and they even played "Radio Nowhere" and "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City" and my all-time favorite "Dancing In The Dark", so hooray! At one point Bruce stood and sang on the piano, and he also crowd-surfed from the middle of the floor back to the stage. He is so awesome.
Some of the best moments of the night came in the middle, though. There was a kid, 14, tops, with a sign that said "I know all the words" right next to stage left, and Bruce gave him the microphone at the end of "Waiting On A Sunny Day" and the kid sang the song for several minutes to the entire Spectrum--we of course were singing along and applauding him. It was pretty awesome. "All Shook Up", though, was even better--it was requested by an Elvis impersonator (white sequined jumpsuit, sideburns, shades, pompadour) down on the floor near the stage via a sign, so Bruce and the band agreed to play it, and then Bruce gave the King the microphone, and the Elvis dude sang like half the song, and danced up the stage and back, and gave Bruce a cue for the bridge with "Hit it, Bruce!" and then broke into "Blue Suede Shoes"! It was amazing. So, the Elvis impersonator and that kid are my heroes.
We took SEPTA there and back, and on PATCO back into Jersey we heard thanks to our cell phones that the Phillies had pulled it out in the bottom of the ninth, 5-4 over the Dodgers, and the entire train car broke out cheering. So really, how could it have been any better?