Reflections on the Way to Work

While I consider myself a Bruce Springsteen fan compared to his typical fan I pale in comparison.  Nevertheless I have the same amount of passion, respect and awe for the man and his legend.

One day I received an email from a friend in London.  She said “tickets go on sale tomorrow for the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band River concert in London why don’t you come for the weekend and go the concert.”  I thought that is an expensive weekend especially since I can never get tickets to his concert in the primary market.  So instead I bought tickets for his March 28th make-up concert at Madison Square Garden (MSG) for his snowed out January concert.

Not really knowing the history behind the 2016 River Tour, I walked into an empty MSG thinking to myself I wonder what it must be like for Bruce to reflect on his life and look back on his humble beginnings to the legend he has become.  I believe in some respects the River Tour is Bruce’s musical and lyrical gift to his fans.  A journey of sorts through his self-reflective and philosophical thoughts on his own life and on what life is all about in general.

What makes the The River Tour stand out above all of Bruce’s other concerts is the reflections the Boss shared.  After sitting through the concert, which was incredible, I felt like we saw a side of the Boss that we don’t typically see and  despite the silence in MSG during the delivery of his messages, I am not sure that his message resonated or that everyone really appreciated the simple but powerful message he was delivering.  And so this reflection is dedicated to the E Street Band, and in particular to Bruce, in appreciation and thanks for the gifts he has given us;  as well as to share the message I took away from his concert, as it is a life lesson for all, irrespective of our place in the world and each one of us, old or young, would be wise to take note of it.

Bruce began the concert explaining, that the River was his coming of age record, prior to than, he  explained that he and the E Street Band were part of marginalized community on the streets of Asbury Park.  But on the River record (written over 30 years ago), he wanted to take notice of things that bond people to their lives, work and commitment to their families.  He wanted to imagine, if he could write about those things, he was hoping he could  come one step closer to those things in his own life.  If he could write about them, if he could make a record big enough to feel like life or an E Street Band show, a record that was  fun and included dancing, jokes, good comradeship, love, faith, sex, lonely nights, tear drops, then he would come closer to the home he was searching for – he invited his fans to come along as he and the E Street band went  down to the River and down to the River we went and it was beautiful!

The most poignant  and sentimental moment  and message at the concert  was when he finished singing the songs on the River album.  Bruce shared that the River was about time, time slipping away and how once you enter the adult life and you make your own choices of your partner, of your work;  the clock starts clicking,  you walk along side the people you chose to live your life with but you also walk along side of your own mortality; and you realize you have a limited amount of time to do your work, raise your family, and try to do something good.

I believe that Bruce has come of an age when he recognizes the reality of his own mortality especially given the deaths of Clarence Clemons and Dan Federici, some of his dearest colleagues and friends.  It seemed that the Boss, throughout the concert was reflective on his own journey in life, his destiny, mortality and immortality.  No one really wants to think about their own mortality even though we know  at some point it is a reality for each of us.  For Bruce’s loyal fans, no one ever wants to think of Bruce’s mortality but I felt like Bruce was sharing his feelings on how fast we pass through the world as we know it and his concert was his gift to his loyal fan base of this message.  Reflecting on Bruce’s life, he clearly has has lived a full life personally and professionally, no one can ever deny that he has done somehting good for so many people with his music.

We all hope that Bruce lives to be as old as his Mom, with the same amount, if not more spry and that he will rock concert halls and shake as good as his Mom.  (Click to See A Tender Moment – Bruce Springsteen and His Mom Dancing March 2016)  If not, his music will still rock generations to come and his legend will live on as he made an indelible mark in the world with his incredible gift of music and lyrics.  After all, Springteen’s fan base transcends generational divides.

No matter what I do, I am reminded of a Bruce Springsteen song – when I am traveling the Alaska Highway or am in Middle America, I start singing Born in the USA; Food Shopping, Supermarket Queen; Scanning the Radio, Radio Silence; Telling a Story, Outlaw Pete; Someone’s Birthday, Surprise, Surprise; Bored at work, Can’t Start a Fire; World Terrorist Act,  Rising; and the list goes on and on………with every one of his songs.

The River concert was all what he described in his introductory remarks when he opened the concert and then some.  Maybe what makes his concerts so special is that not only does he sing and let you experience all of those emotions.  He also lets his fans experience life moments right on stage with him – engagements, dancing with Patti, singing with the Boss, and helping a student getting out of trouble with a note from Bruce Springsteen himself!  Despite being in a different space from his average fan he has never forgotten his humble beginnings and he never stops relating to the ordinary person. In fact, it is that connection that makes his fans identify with the lyrics he writes or better yet, it is what makes him able to write the lyrics that touch on the experience we call life.

In introducing Independence Day, Bruce went on to explain, it was the first song about  fathers and sons and when you are young, you realize and are at first startled at your parents humanity;  he went on to say that as a young person you are shocked to realize that your parents had their own dreams and desires that did not pan out so perfectly;  and you realize that as an adult you make compromises; He continued to say that when you are young you do not yet get that idea; how frightened you are to see the world they were locked in and there is a desire to escape that world; he went on to explain, it was a  simple setting; a late night conversation around a kitchen table; two people struggling to understand each other – who can’t relate to that, in any relationship?

Bruce makes the concert look effortless but the perfection with which he delivers his concerts is not by happenstance;  you don’t really think about it because it all feels like it is so impromptu, however, you know there is a lot of orchestrating and practice that goes into making his concerts a success.  I watched most of his River Tour concerts posted on YouTube and at one of his MSG concerts, he was waiting for the band to do something during the performance of “Here she comes walking….” and the band didn’t do what he was waiting for them to do so he passed a comment about even the most well seasoned and practiced band screws up, so he starts to play again and waits for the band to do their part on cue, but again it doesn’t go as planned,  finally, during the third try, Steve Van Zandt, the loyal friend and band member, walked over to him, turned his back to the audience,  reminded him of what Bruce was supposed to do and then Bruce made some comment that even the Boss screws up at times,  again, admitting and showing that even the Boss is human!

It was beautiful to see Jake Clemons carry on the legacy of his uncle yet establish his identity with his own talent and accomplishments on the stage.  Jake is an incredible saxaphonist and his uncle had to be looking down from heaven proud of Jake’s musical performance.  If Clarence gave Jake the gift of inspiration, then Jake took that gift and shared it a million times over with his own musical gift and talent on the saxaphone.

Despite all of the Boss’ success and wealth, it doesn’t really seem that Bruce Springsteen cares much about his fame or fortune, which may be part of why he connects so well with his fans.   When he is on stage, it is about having fun, entertaining and interacting with the audience.  For three hours you are lost in his world and you feel like he is interacting directly with you even though you are one person in the riverbed of people.  At the end of the concert, you could see Bruce didn’t really want to leave the stage, he could have played all night and his fans would have stayed.  The reality is  that long after the lights go out, Bruce’s presence will be forever on the stage in the hearts and minds of his loyal fan base.

I recently saw a bumper sticker at the train station that said  “My Boss is in New Jersey”, it took a second to get  but after I realized what it was referencing, for those of us that are his fans, our collective “Boss” is in New Jersey and in our loyal hearts forever!

Thank you and kudos to Bruce Springsteen and the entire EStreet Band and support crew of for taking us down to the river and back in an incredible concert that continues to play in both my mind and soul!