I Survived a Bruce Springsteen Concert

Good Lord.

The Boss never took a fucking break.

I was just standing there for most of the concert and *I* was the one who ended up with a leg cramp. Or was that a pulled muscle? Either way, I was fatigued.

I went deaf in my left ear. I woke up this morning with it still ringing. Anybody got a cure for that?

It was a goddamn religious experience.

It was the opening night of the E Street Band's tour, starting in my backyard of TAMPA FLORIDA HOME OF THE TOM BRADY LED BUCCANEERS, FIRE THEM CANNONS (oh God, time for another rebuild /cries).

So, in the interests of preserving history for future generations, I documented much of the night.

Outside the hockey arena (TAMPA IS A HOCKEY TOWN DAMMIT)
with my SIL Karen. She's not A Karen, she's sweet and polite
and never demands to see a manager.

This was the crowd getting in to the show. 
Traffic actually more backed up than I-4!

Brother Phil with Karen, in line at the security check-in

I'm usually not a fan of orange, but of the tour t-shirts for sale
this had IMHO the best look, the best style.
I need to wear Friday at work to prove I was here.

Settling in for the show

HOLY SHEET, IT'S SPRINGSTEEN.
BRRRRUUUUUUUUCCCCCEEE.

A cleaner picture of this would work
as cover art for a live album.
...Is it just me, or should EVERY Bruce Springsteen concert
be released as a live album...?

Do they make smartphones with better than 4x zoom?!
Asking for a friend who'll wear earmuffs to the next concert.

During the encore part of the concert.
Actually, there was no encore, the E Street Band just kept playing.
Like I said earlier, there were no breaks. The only time the band left the stage
was when Bruce did his only solo performance of the night with
"Last Man Standing."

Hell, I need to share you the playlist for the Tampa show. Not as many songs from Bruce's latest albums - Western Stars, Letter to You, Only the Strong Survive - but a lot of early years stuff, especially from Darkness On the Edge of Town, which is a personal favorite of mine. (EDIT: A quick review of the songlist revealed Letter to You album DID get prominent play, my bad. I need to go re-listen to that CD). When Max starting off the opening cymbal riff for "Candy's Room," I squeed and hopped up and down. Maybe that's where I got the pulled muscle/cramp.

SET LIST

21 SONGS

1 NO SURRENDER

2 GHOSTS

3 PROVE IT ALL NIGHT

4 LETTER TO YOU

5 THE PROMISED LAND

6 OUT IN THE STREET

7 CANDY’S ROOM

8 KITTY’S BACK

9 BRILLIANT DISGUISE

10 NIGHTSHIFT

11 DON’T PLAY THAT SONG

12 THE E STREET SHUFFLE

13 JOHNNY 99

14 LAST MAN STANDING

15 HOUSE OF A THOUSAND GUITARS

16 BACKSTREETS

17 BECAUSE THE NIGHT

18 SHE’S THE ONE

19 WRECKING BALL

20 THE RISING

21 BADLANDS

ENCORE

7 SONGS

1 BURNIN’ TRAIN

2 BORN TO RUN

3 ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)

4 GLORY DAYS

5 DANCING IN THE DARK

6 TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT

7 I’LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS

I am now moved to write up a HARK! review of Springsteen albums later this month. Once my ears stop ringing.

...Seriously, that performance should be released as a live album. It'll give me a chance to lower the volume on the headphones when I re-listen to AAAAH NOPE STILL TOO LOUD ACH MY EARS...

Update: I uploaded a video from the opening moments of the concert, when the band emerged to play "No Surrender." And... well... I am not happy with the video quality. :( I need a smartphone with a better zoom and camera. Sigh. Anyway, ONE TWO THREE FOUR: