When Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band played their first stadium shows at Giants Stadium, I wasn't super interested in going to see them - it was the concert that "everyone" was going to. It was on the Born In The U.S.A. tour, and those songs were unavoidable. Last night, at night three of their five night stand - which will be the final concerts at the current Giants Stadium before it is torn down, Bruce and Co. played U.S.A. from start to finish. Wow.
It's no secret to No Expiration readers that I'm a huge Bruce fan, but until a few years ago, I didn't spend much time with Born In The U.S.A. The production always bugged me as being a bit too dated (as opposed to his albums both before and after, which I feel have aged better, production wise). But a few years back, I listened to it on a plane ride, I don't remember why I chose it, but I was blown away. I made my peace with "Born In The U.S.A." years earlier, but that song has only gained power. "No Surrender," "Downbound Train" and "Bobby Jean" have gotten better as the years go by, and "Dancing In The Dark," "My Hometown" and "Glory Days" are just not songs that I really "got" as a teenager, but they resonate with me now. Bruce and The E Street Band performed the songs, not as a period piece, but as an album that is still just as relevant, if not more, 25 years on. And I appreciate that, just as I appreciate the inclusion of songs like Magic's "Long Walk Home" (maybe my favorite performance of the night), "The Rising" and The Seeger Sessions classic "American Land." To me, those songs show that he's just as vital in the '00s as he was in the '80s and '70s. On his debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, New Jersey he had a song called "Growin' Up," and he's shown us how it is possible to do that with dignity and class... and at the same time, to be able to do it in a way where you don't mellow out or fade away.
So thank you Bruce, see you Friday, and here's hoping that Patti's back for that show.
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