Bruuuuuuucce!!!!
We got tickets to the Springsteen show, sort of our last hurrah before Rebecca has to fly home after having been here a month. We are all very sad that she is leaving, but she has to go home to get a job and earn tuition for next semester at BYU. She can't work here.
Interesting crowd, every age represented from little kids, to rockers, to families, to grandparents. You know what to expect with his shows, they will be clean, high energy, high quality, and a ton of fun. Plus, with Bruce, you always get your money's worth. (at least compared to other rock shows) He doesn't take an intermission mid-show like most groups, and he gives you a good, solid 2 1/2 hours every night. Most acts go 60-90 minutes these days.
In the first picture you can see the interior of the arena. It is a soccer field for the Arsenal Football Club, on the north side of London. As you can see from the view, we had the most inexpensive seats, and yet they still cost in the neighborhood of $100 per seat. (Repeat after me, "everything costs more in England")
The third picture is a funny one. Brittany is the pink lump asleep on Shirleen's lap, while Shirleen is trying to hold the binoculars in front of the camera lens, to get a picture of the show. After Brittany got her nap, she was ready to party, dancing the show away. The next shot is the whole crew, left to right, Amanda, John, Rebecca, Brittany and Shirleen.
FAN ZONE
The last picture is fuzzy, but is just for the Springsteen fans. Bruce's line up has changed a little since I saw him last a few years ago on the 'Born in the USA' tour. From left to right, sitting on a very fuzzy golden throne is Clarence "The Big Man" Clemmons (hilarious that they got him an actual throne - at the end when Bruce introduced the band he called Clarence "the biggest man in the world"), then Gary Talent on keyboards, then Nils Lofgren on lead guitar. Nils is new, and a great surprise. His has always been one my obscure favorite artists that never got the recognition he deserved, and now he is touring as part of the E Street Band. Got to pull out some of his music to hear again. He was fantastic. Then Bruce at center stage. Next is 'Mighty' Max Weinburg on drums. Now that Max is the bandleader on the Conan O'Brien TV show in between tours, he's really very clean cut looking. Next is 'Miami' Steve Van Zandt, looking pretty good. The last time I saw him he was shot on one of the final episodes of 'The Sopranos.' And then Patty, aka Mrs Bruce Springsteen. She rocked pretty well for a mother of three teenagers. The last time I saw them she stayed in the background, this show she was up front beside Stevie on every song. She sang, played guitar and violin. Interestingly, the final song of the encore was a folksy sounding number from 'The Pete Seeger Sessions' called 'American Land' whose lead instrument was a violin. So Patty got to shine. The piano player, Danny Federici, died a few weeks ago of cancer. They did not introduce the replacement, but he / she did a great job. The show was excellent. He played 5 songs (that I spotted) from the new CD. Interesting omissions, he did not play 'Glory Days', 'Born in the USA' (understandable, I suppose), 'Brilliant Disguise', 'Dancing in the Dark', or the real shocker, 'Thunder Road." I would never have guessed that there would be a Springsteen show without 10,000 fans getting to sing, "The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves, like a vision she dances ..." - truly a goose bump moment. Sorry the kids didn't get to hear that.
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