Opening Day!
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Entry #8
This was the day of the much anticipated opening night of the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2023 tour, what will be their first concert since 2017. I decided early on that I wanted to experience the four concerts I would be attending in the general admission, “pit” section, the standing room only area closest to the stage. Although I have been going to big act arena concerts for decades, I came to the GA world fairly recently, with U2 in 2005. Before that, it honestly didn’t occur to me to buy a ticket that didn’t include an actual seat. I am a convert at this point, what a revelation to witness live music at that level so up close and personal! When it comes to my “upper echelon’ acts (Springsteen, U2, Michael Franti, Neil Young) in large venues, at this point it’s hard for me to imagine doing it any other way.
It’s a lot of standing, in the line to get in through the special entrance, waiting for the concert to begin once inside (the entry time for GA is earlier than for people with seated tickets), and then standing (dancing, jumping) through the concert itself. But, I don’t tire easily.
I hadn’t yet experienced a Bruce Springsteen concert from the pit, so I read what I could about the precedents and set out early from Miami Beach back north to Tampa, the city chosen to be the site of the inaugural show of the tour.
I arrived at noon, parked, made my way to the arena and found the GA already populated by Springsteen fans from near and far.
Turns out there is a fan-run GA honor system that goes like this. The first person who shows up (either the night before or very early on the day of the show)is keeper of the list and signs people in as they arrive. The arena managements apparently agree to honor the order when they take over to check tickets, hand out the GA wristbands and let everyone in, usually around 6pm, a few hours before the start of the concert. #1 fan in Tampa was a woman from Sweden, one of quite a few international Springsteen devotees. I was number 129. Once checked in and given a number, we are free to roam as wanted, but we are asked to “check in” at at 2 (if someone doesn’t show up, they lose their place), and then at 4, everyone is expected to line up and stay put until the doors are opened.
Day 4