60 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Magic Tour
Giants Stadium
28 July 2008, 2030

In point of fact, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are a New Jersey institution. The E Street Band has been together with various members since 1972, and currently includes: Springsteen's wife Patti Scialfa, Nils Lofgren, Little Steven Van Zandt, Garry Tallent, Clarence "Big Man" Clemons, Soozie Tyrell, Charles Giordano, Roy Bittan (aka The Professor), and Max Weinberg. I have seen them perform once before a handful of years ago also at Giants Stadium. At that concert, Bruce actually did a handstand on the microphone stand. In all honesty, he has only improved with age in talent as well as physique. The camera man seemed to pick up on this because the jumbo screens were showing views of his ass for a majority of the show (no complaints here...I have never seen a pair of blue jeans, a black leather belt and a button down black shirt look so good). Although there weren't any acrobatics on Springsteen's part during this show, Nils Lofgren made up for it by doing a somersault on stage while playing his guitar and he didn't miss a beat. I actually saw Nils play last winter at B.B. King Blues. He was awesome and incredibly entertaining (Dear Mr. Lofgren, Please do a solo tour once you are finished with the Magic tour. Thanks. Your friend, Lauren). The music went on for just over three hours. Yeah. They played some of the hits including one of my favorites, Thunder Road, and some of the tracks from the new album, Magic.

I had two issues with the show. The first was the khaki-wearing preppy in front of me who had to be at least 20 feet tall...or at least seemed that tall (see photo).

The other was the band's closing song, Twist and Shout. A great tune, but I really would have preferred to hear an actual Springsteen song as a closer. After three hours of performance though, no one could really complain.

Aside from the phenomenal music, I was lucky enough to see this concert with three of my favorite Jersey girls, Mary Jane, Mary Jane's sister Mo, and Suzy (aka Smother). The ladies have been going to Springsteen shows together since the Born In The USA tour circa 1981. We arrived just in time to hustle ourselves into the stadium and buy a drink before the notes of the first song blasted through the sound system. In our mad dash for the stadium, we unfortunately didn't get to partake in Mo's tailgate nibbles and vino, which she always has a knack for bringing along whereas the rest of us slouches are lucky if we remember to bring our tickets. After the show, the diehards were not ready to call it a night, so at half passed midnight, the gals cracked open a magnum bottle of wine, cranked out a few butts (Marlboros for Mo, Tarrytowns for Jane and Capris for the Suze), and we preceded to post-concert tailgate until 2am. We were finally forced from the Meadowland's parking lot when the parking lot sweeper truck came threateningly close to Suzy's car and one of the security guards inquired whether we would be 'okay' or not. I assured him I was the designated driver.

Thanks to my brother, Marc, for scoring seats on the floor, twenty rows from the stage.

For more insider news about the concert, check out Backstreets, a dedicated Springsteen fan page. For a set list from the show, check out Springsteen's site.



Video clip from Waitin' on A Sunny Day.