Well, I've got ya beat by a few years—I saw Bruce for the first time in May of 1976 in Pittsburgh, my senior year of high school, and been going to his shows ever since.it was his Born to Run tour. And I have had many transcendent experiences at his shows. I didn't have a ticket for his show in Columbus, Ohio that was supposed to happen just last night (I just couldn't afford the prices!), but he canceled at the last minute (due to illness). I am praying he's OK and it's not Covid. That was a sign from the Universe that I must get a ticket for his rescheduled show.
I loved this and have been a Bruce fan since high school (I'm 53 now). I've seen him in concert many times over the years, but the current tour is possibly his best ever in my opinion. Maybe it just means more to me now, given the hard times I've been through over the last few years and the pure joy I experience at every concert (or watching concert DVDs at home, but like you said in person is so much better). Here's my latest story about seeing Bruce perform live last month: https://medium.com/illumination-curated/how-one-womans-generous-gift-turned-my-tears-of-despair-into-tears-of-joy-bbc4330adb97?sk=12b7924ad08b9e962f99ea85a6e3ee76. Also, if you're not already a member of the SPRING-NUTS group on Facebook, I highly recommend you check it out! It's a well moderated worldwide group of Bruce fans who gush about how awesome he is, share photos and stories, plan meetups before concerts, etc. So much happiness and positivity in contrast to much of social media these days.
Beautiful Diane. I've never been overly into his music either, but always deeply respected him as a true performer, one who genuinely loves his audience.
Thanks for this, Diane. I saw Bruce live in concert only once, when a bunch of fellow library-school students and I drove from London, Ontario, to Toronto when he was touring for "Born in the USA." It was excellent, and as Springsteen is famous for, it last a good 3 hours or more. I am ten years younger than he is, and I was 24 at the time. (I am currently 63 but could easily play 61 if called on by some savvy film producer.)
My Springsteen listening is now almost totally confined to the album "Nebraska," which came out during a transitional time in my life. I was underemployed working for a temp agency doing manual labour for $3.50 an hour. I signed up for journalism school, did a term, but dropped out.
For me, the music and the lyrics on "Nebraska" are the best he's ever done. Spareness, hardship, disappointment, crime, lost love. I think on a good day I could still recite the lyrics of all 10 songs.
Music and all the other arts have a power that no other phenomenon on earth has. I'm doing an episode of my podcast soon about the experience of reading Nabokov's "Pale Fire" late at night after a busy day. Want to join me on the episode to talk about artistic power in general afterward? We can "talk offline," as they say in corporations.
An Ode to Bruce Springsteen
Well, I've got ya beat by a few years—I saw Bruce for the first time in May of 1976 in Pittsburgh, my senior year of high school, and been going to his shows ever since.it was his Born to Run tour. And I have had many transcendent experiences at his shows. I didn't have a ticket for his show in Columbus, Ohio that was supposed to happen just last night (I just couldn't afford the prices!), but he canceled at the last minute (due to illness). I am praying he's OK and it's not Covid. That was a sign from the Universe that I must get a ticket for his rescheduled show.
I loved this and have been a Bruce fan since high school (I'm 53 now). I've seen him in concert many times over the years, but the current tour is possibly his best ever in my opinion. Maybe it just means more to me now, given the hard times I've been through over the last few years and the pure joy I experience at every concert (or watching concert DVDs at home, but like you said in person is so much better). Here's my latest story about seeing Bruce perform live last month: https://medium.com/illumination-curated/how-one-womans-generous-gift-turned-my-tears-of-despair-into-tears-of-joy-bbc4330adb97?sk=12b7924ad08b9e962f99ea85a6e3ee76. Also, if you're not already a member of the SPRING-NUTS group on Facebook, I highly recommend you check it out! It's a well moderated worldwide group of Bruce fans who gush about how awesome he is, share photos and stories, plan meetups before concerts, etc. So much happiness and positivity in contrast to much of social media these days.
Beautiful Diane. I've never been overly into his music either, but always deeply respected him as a true performer, one who genuinely loves his audience.
Thanks for this, Diane. I saw Bruce live in concert only once, when a bunch of fellow library-school students and I drove from London, Ontario, to Toronto when he was touring for "Born in the USA." It was excellent, and as Springsteen is famous for, it last a good 3 hours or more. I am ten years younger than he is, and I was 24 at the time. (I am currently 63 but could easily play 61 if called on by some savvy film producer.)
My Springsteen listening is now almost totally confined to the album "Nebraska," which came out during a transitional time in my life. I was underemployed working for a temp agency doing manual labour for $3.50 an hour. I signed up for journalism school, did a term, but dropped out.
For me, the music and the lyrics on "Nebraska" are the best he's ever done. Spareness, hardship, disappointment, crime, lost love. I think on a good day I could still recite the lyrics of all 10 songs.
Music and all the other arts have a power that no other phenomenon on earth has. I'm doing an episode of my podcast soon about the experience of reading Nabokov's "Pale Fire" late at night after a busy day. Want to join me on the episode to talk about artistic power in general afterward? We can "talk offline," as they say in corporations.
Superb! Thanks so much for sharing the transformative power of the Boss, of music and of spirit. Absolutely loved this.