My parents saw Bruce at Madison Square Garden Friday night. Posting with permission is this video he took with his phone and a little blurb about the concert. It should be noted this song was the beginning of an hour long “encore”. Yea, he’s still got it.
Take it away Dad.
//
Date: April 6, 2012 – Location: Madison Square Garden – Event: The Boss. 2 words are all that is necessary to describe the event “The Boss”.
Adrienne and I have seen Bruce a few times over the years. I first saw him in concert back in 1982 in Cleveland. I was able to take Chris (@iam_spartacus) a couple of years ago so that we could keep it going for another generation. We saw him Friday and he did not disappoint.
He opened up with Badlands to get everyone on their feet. Except for a couple of slow songs, most everyone remained on their feet for the whole concert.
Some quick observations, even at 62 he was performing like a 30 year old. He sang several songs (old and new), nonstop for almost 3 hours. At one point he was dancing with his 85 year old mom to Dancing in the Dark (where was Courtney Cox?). He had Clarence’s nephew (Jake Clemons) as his replacement on the sax. He had a great tribute for Clarence whereby when he got to the part in Tenth Avenue Freeze Out when he says “When the big man joined the band” the music stopped and several pictures of Clarence were shown on the screens. Nice touch.
I captured some of the Born to Run song on my phone.
He told a story about how he loves New York City. NYC has great statues, like the Statue of Liberty (but wait, that is actually in New Jersey), NYC has the greatest theme song (but wait, that was song by a gentlemen from New Jersey – Frank Sinatra); but NYC is the home of the world champion NY Giants (but wait, they play in New Jersey). Very funny and the crowd roared by the time he had finished the salute to NYC (or was that New Jersey) 🙂
It was a great show and seeing him at MSG (Madison Square Garden) made it even more special. He said it was a time of hellos and goodbyes.
Goodbye Clarence, hello Bruuuuuuuuce.
// Thanks Dad.
A Consequence of Hypoglycemia. 
I am big a Boss fan. I also first saw him back in the early 80s but I saw him at the then Cap Center outside of DC. He was the only person I ever stood outside in line overnight to get tickets to see – I didn’t get the tickets for that one.
LikeLike
I saw Bruce at the Meadowlands Arena once. I’m not sure if it’s because I was born and bred in New Jersey, but there is always something about him that make him different. He’s not the best vocalist, but his lyrics are powerful and everything about him is genuine. Bruce is an everyday guy who you might meet in a bar and share a beer with. I don’t mean the kind of guy you could picture meeting in a bar, but someone you really might find yourself sitting next to (a friend’s husband did, he autographed a sonogram picture of their yet-to-be-born son). I’m just surprised that his praise for New Jersey went over so well on the other side of the river.
LikeLike
I saw Bruce in Cleveland in August,1982. I ducked out of my HS reunion to see him. He was fantastic. He set the bar for so high for any other concert. The only one that ever reaches that level is Bob Seger, my all time fav.
LikeLike
As someone who dragged my dad to see INXS in 1985 and my mom to see George Michael in 1988, and who took my daughter to her first show at Lollapalooza in 2005, this post brought a huge smile to my face. Tell your dad thanks for sharing and keep on rocking!
(Also, let him know I saw Jake Clemons and his band perform a couple times in 2010. He’s a fantastic musician in his own right, but I imagine it’s something very special to see him playing with Bruce.)
LikeLike