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.
Oh no. Hope he didn’t get Covid. My parting gift from the Denver show is a nasty bout of it. Yeah - I was thinking of Phoenix in November but tix are too expensive. I saw a floor GA standing ticket for nearly 11,000 dollars!!!! Come on.... and yeah you to get to see him in born to run tour!!! I saw him in the river tour so one after yours. I tell people who knock him that if you haven’t seen him live you’ve no right passing an opinion.
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.
haha - I do that with The Who, so I'm keeping Bruce pure joy and don't really want to connect with fans. That might sound horrible, but I had so much with Who fans and the such over the years that I'm keeping Bruce a fantasy! I'll def check your article out - thanks for letting me know about it!
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, Glenn - though I have to point out I didn't like him until I saw him. I'm a 100% Bruce fan!!! Brooooooce!! And you're right - he really does love his audience. The people who come to the show are all part of the performance, not just the band on stage.
Nebraska is absolutely brilliant! I love it also. And you're not the only one who thinks it's his best writing. And can you believe he still played 3 hours - at age 72??! Sure, I'd love to come on your show. I can't do anything before mid-next week, so want to schedule something? Email me.
Not only does he still do 3 hour concerts, he even crowd surfs at some of them! His voice, guitar and harmonica playing, and dance moves are as good as ever (maybe even better). He's also clearly loving every minute of every show and more energetic than much younger musicians. He also encourages fans to support the local food bank and has food bank reps inside the concert venue next to the concession stands collecting $. He's a great role model for multiple reasons!
He is! But he still crowdsurfs on this tour? I have covid now after my trip, so I hope he takes care - sounds super risky.... but hoping I can see him again this year!
He didn't crowd surf when I saw him live on this tour but other fans who saw him in other cities have shared videos of him crowd surfing. I got Covid within a couple of days of the concert I went to, and know other fans from various cities who did, too. Several E Street Band members have also gotten it and had to miss some shows. Hopefully Bruce won't!
I won't be able to see him again this year, sadly. If I could afford to, even if every time I sat in the nosebleed section behind the stage, I would go to every single concert! I hope you get to see him again.
I wish I still lived on Maui, but am now in Texas. One of very few good things about living here is that I could drive to a Bruce concert. If I had the $, I actually could have driven to three of them.
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.
Oh no. Hope he didn’t get Covid. My parting gift from the Denver show is a nasty bout of it. Yeah - I was thinking of Phoenix in November but tix are too expensive. I saw a floor GA standing ticket for nearly 11,000 dollars!!!! Come on.... and yeah you to get to see him in born to run tour!!! I saw him in the river tour so one after yours. I tell people who knock him that if you haven’t seen him live you’ve no right passing an opinion.
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.
haha - I do that with The Who, so I'm keeping Bruce pure joy and don't really want to connect with fans. That might sound horrible, but I had so much with Who fans and the such over the years that I'm keeping Bruce a fantasy! I'll def check your article out - thanks for letting me know about it!
I understand about not wanting to connect with fans. Here's my personal ode to Bruce, with examples of how his music has spoken to me at various points in my life: https://medium.com/@wendigordon/thank-you-bruce-6ce8df77849f?sk=faadf23d668271d2f0c655f17184d561 The ringtone when my husband calls my cell phone is an excerpt from "Born to Run"!
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, Glenn - though I have to point out I didn't like him until I saw him. I'm a 100% Bruce fan!!! Brooooooce!! And you're right - he really does love his audience. The people who come to the show are all part of the performance, not just the band on stage.
Superb! Thanks so much for sharing the transformative power of the Boss, of music and of spirit. Absolutely loved this.
Thanks, Carrie! And where's your substack???....(just joking....)
Nebraska is absolutely brilliant! I love it also. And you're not the only one who thinks it's his best writing. And can you believe he still played 3 hours - at age 72??! Sure, I'd love to come on your show. I can't do anything before mid-next week, so want to schedule something? Email me.
Not only does he still do 3 hour concerts, he even crowd surfs at some of them! His voice, guitar and harmonica playing, and dance moves are as good as ever (maybe even better). He's also clearly loving every minute of every show and more energetic than much younger musicians. He also encourages fans to support the local food bank and has food bank reps inside the concert venue next to the concession stands collecting $. He's a great role model for multiple reasons!
He is! But he still crowdsurfs on this tour? I have covid now after my trip, so I hope he takes care - sounds super risky.... but hoping I can see him again this year!
He didn't crowd surf when I saw him live on this tour but other fans who saw him in other cities have shared videos of him crowd surfing. I got Covid within a couple of days of the concert I went to, and know other fans from various cities who did, too. Several E Street Band members have also gotten it and had to miss some shows. Hopefully Bruce won't!
I won't be able to see him again this year, sadly. If I could afford to, even if every time I sat in the nosebleed section behind the stage, I would go to every single concert! I hope you get to see him again.
Sorry you can't see him again. Maybe he'll surprise you and show up in Hawaii!
I wish I still lived on Maui, but am now in Texas. One of very few good things about living here is that I could drive to a Bruce concert. If I had the $, I actually could have driven to three of them.