Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Entry #10
The video above is from the moment the GA pit line, myself included, was let into the arena to scope out our spots on the floor. But, before I go there, I want to take a step back. Because, let us not forget, concerts, like a good chunk of society, were shut down for over a year during the worst of the COVID pandemic. And while, live performances have been back now for over a year, I can still remember the uncertainty I felt in 2020 around when and if live music, something that was always incredibly life-affirming for me, would return.
It definitely crossed my mind during the lockdown. Would I ever get the chance to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band again? Had I taken the dozen or so times I saw them in the past for granted? Springsteen’s brash new album called Letter To You (letter to us?) focusing on mortality seemed to beg those questions. The Boss was in his 70’s, (albeit in great shape) as were many of the core members of his band. Two had already passed away, Clarence “Big Man” Clemons and Danny Federici. I hoped, but I couldn’t help but wonder.
Springsteen himself was talking with a sense of urgency about these matters during the the void. As I prepare to describe my experience at opening night, I want to build to it by revisiting some of Springsteen’s comments leading up to the incredible new beginning, a drama of struggle building to triumph actually befitting a Bruce Springsteen song.
“Now empty and unused time, I don’t care for, especially at 70. I’m counting my days, my friends, I’ve got things to do that involve me and you.”
“Our tour was supposed to start in the spring of 2021. Now, my antenna tells me, at best, 2022. I’m gonna consider myself lucky if I lose just a year of touring life. Once you hit 70, there’s a finite number of tours and years that you have. And so you lose one or two, that’s not so great. Particularly because I feel the band is capable of playing at the very, very top of it’s game right now. And I feel as vital as I’ve ever felt in my life. It’s not being able to do something that is a fundamental life force, something I’ve lived for since I was 16 years old.”
“But when these days (of the public health lockdown) end, and they will end, there will be a spiritual celebration…All I can tell you is, when this experience is over, I am gonna throw the wildest party you have ever seen, and you, my friends, are all invited!”
“I’m just aching to play full tilt rock and roll shows,” Springsteen said in a recent interview, “And to actually not just play, but to travel and see our fans in our different cities and feel that life again and see their faces again.”
“We’ll be out there in the world next year, I hope. And I guarantee, if you bring your children and younger brothers and sisters, or grandma for that matter, they’re going to see the band at its peak.”
So, all of that was jumbling and tumbling inside of me as I showed my ticket, received my GA wristband, and was let into the arena for the first concert of the tour.
And I was in! Still a couple hours more to go, but the stage was set, and I was going to be up close and personal!
Miraculously (thank you Science!), the quote on the back of the shirt I chose very deliberately to wear at this concert had actually come true!
Day 4
"The Waiting Is The Hardest Part"