Tramps Like Us

I am a lucky, lucky girl. The husband and I saw Bruce Springsteen on The Seeger Sessions Tour on Wednesday night. I was about as close to him as I may ever get--maybe 50 feet away or so. It was fantabulous. Even the husband--who does not like loud concerts, crowds, or even most Springsteen music--had a great time. So much so, in fact, he suggested we fly to New Jersey to catch one of the last shows on this tour leg. (He has been converted!!! And, no, we're not going.) Bruce Springsteen is the hardest working man in show business (sorry, James Brown) and, at a time when many of his contemporaries are coasting on their past achievements or phoning it in and collecting their checks, he is bringing fresh, creative, and meaningful work to the stage. The 16 assembled musicians were truly fine and the new arrangements of the old stuff (particularly "Atlantic City") were revelatory. The Bradley Center is a pretty small arena and there were a lot of seats to be had. I know that it is very expensive to buy tickets to these things, but one has to wonder if this tour has not been selling as well as past tours because he's not playing "Born to Run". I love the E Street stuff, too, but it really is great to see him go out on a limb. (For the record, I wouldn't kick him out for eating crackers in bed, but if he never played most of the "Born in the USA" album again, I'd be okay with that so long as I still got to look at the album cover. The man can wear a pair of jeans...)