We saw Springsteen Tuesday night in Charlottesville, at the pirate arena.
It wasn't so much a concert as it was a religious experience. First off, he's just amazing. He's 63 years old, and performed over three hours, hard and non-stop. To say he's "gifted" is an understatement. He's a talented performer and musician, but his writing is what I most admire.
For folks in my age bracket, plus or minus 10 years or so, Bruce provided much of the soundtrack of our youth. Listening to him perform Jungleland tonight I was transported back in time a good 35 years or more, I'm loath to put an exact number to it.
The crowd reflected that too. There were some young people there, of course, probably a good many of them seeing Bruce for the first time. But there were also middle aged parents there with their children, and a lot of gray hair. Perhaps the most telling sign of all was a group of EMTs we saw patrolling the halls outside the arena, carrying a defibrilator.
At the very real risk of sounding like an old fart, it was one of those times when I felt sorry for young people, realizing that they missed out on growing up with Bruce's music, each new album better than the last, and maturing along with you.
The line from Badlands: "It ain't no sin to be glad you're alive" was for me, and probably many others like me, a one-man, one-line "It Gets Better Project" that undoubtedly saved lives. That song, on the album "Darkness on the Edge of Town," came out two years after I graduated from high school. I'm not sure where I would be without it.
It was a great show and it was done as a tie-in with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. We took a bag of groceries. Earlier in the day, Bruce appeared and performed at an Obama rally on the downtown mall in Charlottesville. There's just nothing not to like about this man.
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1 comment:
You and me both, my friend. I was in college in Philly when Bruce was just breaking big the first time. There is no one like Bruce, and no experience like one of his shows.
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