Where Personal and Professional Life Collide...

I am very tempted to go to one of the 2012Concert for Sandy Relief simulcasts being shown in theaters locally, tomorrow night. Seeing the entire thing on the large screen - I couldn't justify the expense of a MSG ticket right now* so I didn't even try for one, but going to the theater? I could spring for some popcorn, even at NYC prices, and have cash left over for another donation to the recovery ...

On the other hand, watching it from the comfort of my own sofa has appeal, too.  And more money toward that donation.

Hrm.





*anyone scalping those tickets should be staked out and left for the next storm, IMGDO. And I include StubHub in that. When even Ticketbastard does the right thing.... 

Ok, not Boston, sort of 20 minutes outside of Boston, at Gillette Stadium. Those of you who followed my Twitter feed last night can probably skip this...

The rain had been threatening/appearing all day, but we joined up with my sister and brother in law and tailgated anyway. When we spilled some of the wine (ack) we decided it was a libation for the weather gods. And sure enough, by the time the second song started, the skies had cleared and stars appeared. So yay for libations to the gods and the power of BruceJuice!

Stadium concerts are not for getting up close and personal (unless you're lucky enough to win the lottery for the stage GA area) but they have their own kind of energy-giving/energy taking magic. April and I had clear line of sight, great sound, and a rockin' group to hang with in our section, including some Happy Happy drunk people in front of us. Seriously sloppy-happy best-buds-with-the world kind. Thankfully their female companion seemed to be nursing one beer through the entire concert, and would see them home safely.

Random notes:

-Bruce seemed a bit slow, if happy, when we started, but by the time the concert was over was in his usual exuberant form.
-The piano of "Racing in the Streets" is still, always, magical.
- and this is why I am Not Impressed by bands that go on tour and 'only' promote their new album. The key to longevity may be to remember your entire catalog, and have fun with it...
- he's taking an awful lot of sign requests. No way he can play them all (he didn't But hell, it got us "Open All Night!").
-I've decided "Wrecking Ball" is a damn good song to claim for my 45th birthday song. Bring it, middle age!
-Old pros know when to play to the jumbotron rather than "from the stage." There are no bad seats in this stadium.
- "His ass broke the jumbotron!" "And rightfully so, that is an amazing ass." (actual conversation when the jumbotron fritzed slightly after a rather spectacular turn)
-We were trying to decide if this was a guitar night, a drums night or a piano night. It was finally decided that this was a party night, because everyone was spectacularly ON (incl the horns section). But oh, Professor, how I could listen to you play all. night. long.
-And we ended with Bruce and a side of Ham -wet (water-soaked shirt and hair) ham- as he proclaims his utter inability to get up off the stage and play any more, and Little Steven coaxes/shames him back onto his feet.
- except no, that's not the end! You have to admire a man who is confident enough to end a show with not one but two songs made famous by other people.
- and I am too old to twist and shout on concrete steps. Ow.

We ended up stopping in a nearby bar for a drink after, to let the crowds thin out, but an hour later, the Gillette stadium parking lot was still a disaster. Makes the Meadowlands look good, and that's not-good.

RtA: The funny thing is that, normally, I'm not a huge concert-goer. I love music, but I love it within a certain context of personal enjoyment, and all too often sharing the experience with Many Other People detracts from that enjoyment. But with Springsteen concerts, it ADDS to the enjoyment.

RtA2: and it wasn't just me thinking the crowd came to party... from the Backstreets report: "Perhaps buoyed by the fact that afternoon showers had transitioned to a beautiful evening sky, the crowd at Foxboro came with their game faces on. From the pit (twice the size of Fenway's) to the upper rafters, the audience energy was palpable...Bruce and the band were keen to engage the audience early, and the crowd was quick to answer the call."

Set List:

My Love Will Not Let You Down
Night (an audible)
Out in the Street
Hungry Heart
We Take Care of Our Own
Wrecking Ball
Death to My Hometown
My City of Ruins (he talked about all the things this song has been about, and dedicated it to the ghosts who walk with us, and remind us of what's worth living/fighting for)
Spirit in the Night
Open All Night
Growin' Up
Lost in the Flood (April an I may have both squeed a little. OK, a lot.)
Because the Night
She's the One
Working on the Highway
Shackled and Drawn (this. rocked. ROCKED, I say.)
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Racing in the Street (pretty piano. so so pretty. Oh, Professor...)
The Rising
Radio Nowhere
Badlands
* * *
Jungleland (2012 tour premiere?)
Born to Run
Bobby Jean
Dancing in the Dark
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Drift Away (this was as much a crowd performance as a band performance. We, I think, rose to the challenge)
Twist and Shout


(photo of me writing this post, courtesy of fireun)

...and now I need to drink more coffee, stretch out my poor abused muscles, and contemplate the last leg of RoadTrip back to NYC...

this was written last night but, since I'd had several glasses of very red wine at that point, I held over to post until sober judgment had been passed...
-------------------------------

I freely and willingly admit to being a Jersey Girl. Putting my entire Springsteen library on random play is like letting my entire life flash back at me. I'm not the most musically oriented person, but he wrote the soundtrack to my life, sometimes at the exact moment, more often years ahead of when I'd need it.

Sometimes, it's a rockin' memory of being 18 and watching the sun rise over the ocean, exhausted and exulted.

Sometimes it's the memory of my heart breaking, shattering inside me and hurting like nothing survivable.

Sometimes, it's a first-day-of-spring dance party that's never going to end.

Sometimes it's solemn pain, the memory of soot and smoke and sirens that will never end.

Sometimes, and these are the best times, it's "fuck you" and "rock on" and a reminder than no matter what comes, a rough grin and a rockin' band and the willingness to give yourself over to your passion can get you through any damn thing.

There's a more serious essay in there, somewhere, but for now, with the music blasting and the wine flowing and life beating, this is all I've got. And it's enough.

-------------



( The tweets that prompted it )

That. Was. A Smokin'. Hot. Show.

Top 5? Maybe not. Top 10? Absoflippinglutely. The band came on-stage and they were HOT like hotness. Plus, we got not one but TWO stories, and a classic NY/NJ shout out ("I am an ambassador between two lands.... There are many things in NY that NJ folk like. The Statue of Liberty... which is actually in NJ. A great theme song...sung by a NJ boy...)" As a Jersey girl-turned-New Yorker, I was all on that.

Dear Universe: When I am 62, I would like HALF of the energy, activity, and enthusiasm Bruce Springsteen displays, sez she who, twenty years younger, who was beat into the ground (happily) during last night's three-hour show.

Knees hurt. Feet hurt. Throat hurts. Hands hurt. Shoulders hurt. Happy meerkat.

And we blew the roof off.

( the playlist )


EtA: and once again, the age range was remarkable. I was next to a guy who went to his first show back in the late 70's, and there were ten and eleven-year olds at their first show, having an absolute blast. As I oft-say, the only people who dismiss Springsteen are people who've never seen him live.
EtA2: Backstreets has their take, with more details I missed, being too damn busy partying down. :-)
EtA3: I didn't take many photos, but here are a few of my faves:

You can't see it behind the mike, but he's got the BEST we're-havin'-fun-tonight! grin on his face.


Possibly the best photo I took all night. And yes, that's how close we were, and how clear a sightline we had. :-)


It was April's first show, and she got a good'un. Not to mention that we were dead center, on the risers. The only better seats would have been just behind Max. Spoiled rotten, she is now.

Also, it has been determined: still one of the great backsides of rock'n'roll. And for those of you who enjoy such things, ( of the Happy Place )


As before, I reserve the right to add things, incl photos, as my brain regrows and I remember

I just threw in my "Born to Run" CD. It got stuck & refused to play "10th Avenue Freeze Out." Oh, Clarence....




"...When the change was made uptown
And the big man joined the band
From the coastline to the city
All the little pretties raise their hands
I'm gonna sit back right easy and laugh
When scooter and the big man bust this city in half
With a tenth avenue freeze-out, tenth avenue freeze-out
Tenth avenue freeze-out...

...And I'm all alone, I'm all alone
And kid you better get the picture
And I'm on my own, I'm on my own
And I can't go home."


(© Bruce Springsteen)




(fans will note I mixed up the order of the lyrics, with sad intent...)

1. It's Jackie Kessler's fault... she started talking about the remake of Jaws, and asked "what's next?" My answer: A remake of The Sound of Music. With rappers.

"The hills, the hills, oh yeah the hills they are a-Live, they're alive, come on, y'all say it 'cause you know it, uh-huh, the hills are a-Live with music..."

I'd say I'm sorry but I'm really not. [I thought about going hardcore but there are delicate flowers and underage kids who read this blog...]

2. Haynes to publish Wallace & Gromit manuals!

3. "An overwhelming majority of publishers believe that e-books should be less expensive than the printed version, but only 15% support Amazon.com flat-rate of $9.99 on front-list titles". Hrm. I'd like to see it at least 25% cheaper, but people really do need to understand that e-books yes really do cost $ to produce and, perhaps more to the point, are considered along with all other editions in the overall costing of a book. Discuss in comments.

4. I am taking Senior Feline to the vet this morning. She used to be pretty good about that...not so much anymore. Pray for me...

5. After that, I will be off to see Bruuuuuce at Giants Stadium, where it is reported he will perform the entirely of "Born to Run." I have sort of mixed feelings about this, but the fact that this means I will get "Meeting Across the River" makes me a very very very happy camper. [trivia point: B2R was released on my birthday]. I may or may not Tweet the concert, depending on how crazy it gets and how cold my hands are...


and a bonus! 6th thing, to remind you that the voting is open for the feline picspam caption contest, and the open thread is still running, downstream...

And lo, we did go to the Olde Stomping Grounds, and did have us Some Bruce Juice. Not, IMO, one of the top five Bruce shows, but when you've been to as many as I have (I lost track after 35 or so we recalculated. Closer to fifty. Eeeek) it's tough to match some of the shows from the '99 tour, or '85, or... well, you get the idea. But this was a Damn Good Show in the top ten, and a rockin' house party par excellence. The band was hot, and they went a full three hours without a break. And we got "Growin' Up" and "Jungleland" and "Rosalita" and "Thunder Road." While I might have hoped for an old chestnut like "Serenade" or "Santa Ana" and I really really really wanted to hear "Meeting Across the River," there's no way I can be unhappy with the set list.

EtA: and vincam has finally experienced a Jersey Bruce show, which is unlike any Bruce show elsewhere...

Notable was the inclusion of Jay Weinberg for his dad Max (considering they have two 2nd Generation members now, I suggested next tour would be E Street 2.0). While I was sad not to see Max (we grew up in the same town/went to the same high school, if a number of years apart, so he's very much a home town favorite), Jay was...

Okay, prodigy isn't overstating the case. And he's only 18. As Keith said, "imagine what he'll sound like once his voice breaks!"

We got home around 1am, I was asleep by 2am, and up again at 5:45. What happened after that is another post...

Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!

Snow, yes. No idea how much (the weathercritters keep changing their minds) but definitely snow -- already 2-3 inches in less than two hours, and falling hard. New Haven has declared a State of Emergency (AKA "get OFF the street, you idiot, so we can plow") which means they expect 4-5" by rush hour. The felines and I have made a nest on the sofa, there is hot cocoa made, and a pile of books to be read.

ETA: and OMG, this is so cold and cruel but FUNNY...

Meanwhile I am having a mild crisis. Springsteen tickets go on sale this Saturday for a July show at Giants Stadium. This should be a no-brainer. Bruce, on home ground. In the summer. And yet...
( a Quandry. )

It rains, and is cold. Hel-lo, October! Where you been?

Springsteen last night, down at the Meadowlands. Ticket karma held up -- excellent side view seats, clear line of sight on the opposite side of the stage from Hartford. I, on the other hand, was a bit woozy from the 100+ fever I had been running all day. Oh well, nothing short of contagion keeps me from my Bruce... A much looser band, more playful if less intense, than what we saw at Hartford, and a nicely shaken-up playlist (including a flubbed audible that my companion was gnashing his teeth over later). We got "Brilliant Disguise" and "Dancing in the Dark," two tunes I haven't heard in a while, so that was nice. And it was a drums night, absolutely -- everyone else was in excellent form but Mighty Max was holding it steady and ready. The crowd, however.. I hate to say this of my former home state, but half the crowd looked like they could have been at a Jackson Browne concert, they were so laid back and whatever-ish. *kicks them all, hard* Our section was pretty rockin', tho. On the shuttle home, a guy was telling me that there were still singleton seats available in the (SRO) pit for tonight, and he offered to protect me (he was 6'4" to my 5'4") if I felt brave enough. Alas, while bravery was there, the energy level -- not to mention the credit card juice -- was not.

Oh, and I got interviewed on-the-scene by a reporter from a local-to-NJ newspaper, so we'll see if anything comes of that.

Writing continues apace. I seem to have sold "Clean Up Your Room!" to a German podcast. Details as they are nailed down. Likewise, an interview with yrs trly will (I am told) be appearing in an outlet to be named later at a date to be named later.

Meanwhile, we are closing in on Draft of BLOOD FROM STONE, and much research for New Project That Eats my Brain, and a couple of short stories wedging their way into the mix, and CGAG meets tonight, so I leave you with some thoughts on ( the brain chemisty of my writing schedule )

EtA: on a challenge from alfreda89, I am about to go ten days without diet coke (or any other 'diet' foodstuff, including gum). In honor of that, I am retiring my default icon of DC the meerkat for the duration.