Monday night, August 16, 2008. I am in the parking lot with friends having beer, while I’m chugging water, and sweating despite my breezy sundress. I was eagerly anticipating my first Springsteen show since the Rising and so excited to be going, although my companions were bummed not to get into the front pit. When Ashby’s husband pulled out the Jim Beam, I was a happy but hotter girl.
I have such mixed feelings about the Boss—the early 4 records were so pivotal in my teen years when I felt so acutely lonely and lost and there was this sound calling to me…..then those first few shows I saw showed me how rock can create a community that seems transformed, at least in that place in that night, and that we aren’t all so alone.
But I shared this love of the early E Street sound with several loved ones who have come and gone from my life, and Springsteen seemed ruined for me—-too complicated by past nights, past feelings, and the misery of loss. Back to that early loneliness, but now, in some ways, it was worse. Also, the music changed, and he stayed a classic–but of a time. I didn’t relate to the later albums the same way even though I appreciated the craftsmanship. But the big reason that I thought I was done with Bruce is that I couldn’t revel innocently the way I did before, and often I’d try to listen to an old CD only to collapse in tears. That’s not usually why I put on a record.
But my bestest friend Chris had never seen Bruce live, and I was up for going to a show with my best friend, especially after he tried for so long to get tickets and surprised me with them! And once that decision to go to the show was made, I let some of the past go and relax without any relationship-related pressures or sorrows.
The group we were with was betting on the first song, and my guess was right: Tenth Avenue Freeze-out, a classic opener. It turned out that the boss has some old deep ties to Richmond, and we were in for a rockin treat rather than a gloom fest or preacherman evening. This was the least commentary I’ve ever heard from Bruce–he kept his comments to focusing on the songs, even disparaging some that are admittedly, throwaways!
He mixed in just a few songs from Magic with others from the River, Darkness, Rising, the Wild and the Innocent, and even his first record. Highlights for me were Prove It All Night, Spirit in the Night, and even
Stand on It to which I apparently danced like a maniac.
Sadly, the Richmond Coliseum must be the WORST ACOUSTIC VENUE on the East Coast. I would give it less than zero for sound quality. You could barely hear the iconic start to Cadillac Ranch or Backstreets but I was so glad to hear the latter, even though that song has been very bitterweet for me with all kinds of sadness about my first love. it was a great version too, so check it out:
After a few others, he rolled into She’s the One and there I was, like a fool, with tears rollling down my face. But this time, they were happy tears and I was relieved to feel the weight of things lifting off me, and instead, feeling those old transcendant vibes….
The band seemed tight, and moving around on the floor gave a little audio relief but not much. I think they played Badlands just before the Encore, for which they took a tiny break, not at all like encores of old with the fake leaving and returning and leaving and returning. Badlands always reminded me of my beloved dad who was from South Dakota and viewed his life as one of escape, similar to the story in the song.
The band was on the stage for most of nearly 3 hours by my rough calculations, and I was shocked and laughed when they rolled into Bruce’s worst song (argue with me if you want, but he admitted it!), Crush on You. But they treated it like a pure party song and it was BIG fun. A few last high notes for me were a great, old style version of Born to Run, followed by the most iconic song of my teen years, when I was longing to be rescued, Rosalita. Like on several other nights, I thought to myself that I could die right then and there without regret. But then they, topped off with a wistful ode to the one who got away, Bobby Jean, and it was the best version of that song I’ve heard since the beginning of the River tour. I personally could have done without Dancing in the Dark but at least no girls were pulled up on stage. The night was capped by an awesome version of Twist and Shout with a local guy whose name I didn’t catch.
The energy and enthusiasm of the crowd and the band, despite the terrible audio quality, was transformative. Thank you my friend for rescuing Bruce for me. Of course, he did his part too, as this band usually does.
