Missed Connections m4w - Thanks for letting us move in front of you at Springsteen

[Part of the Concerts of the Year recap on RooYCD]

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
United Center
September 20, 2009

We got there pretty early, cause we had floor tickets. It was gonna be a long night, cause Bruce Springsteen plays for two-and-a-half hours at least, and it's been a while since my mom's stood for that long [oh yeah, that was my mom with me at the Springsteen concert].

Ninety percent of the people on the floor had probably seen Bruce multiple times. We were rookies, and you could probably tell. The floor was starting to fill in, and you could tell that only one of us could see, and you said that we could move in front of you, which was incredibly nice. We moved up, and exchanged a little bit of conversation. I think I recall you saying that you had seen them before, but I don't recall if you said the number of times.

I had regretted not seeing him when he came to town back in May. I had tickets in my cart on Ticketmaster, but I probably didn't have enough money in my checking account to justify it. You were probably at that one, and at the one before, and the one before, going back probably at least a decade.



Started off pretty strong at the beginning [holy shit, Johnny 99!]

Then he cut into Born to Run [the album, and later the song], and I was just fixated on the stage. Absolutely nothing was going to take me out of that moment, and it was the most incredible hour or so. "Thunder Road" is in the running for "best song ever," and to finally hear it was just an amazing experience. The piano and voice to start, and then the explosion of sound that stays through the rest of the record. The entire crowd sang along the entire time, and usually that's really annoying, but this was something else. "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" explodes when played live. "Night" and "Badlands" are, of course, awesome, and though I had only recently, at the time, started to gain appreciation for "She's the One," seeing and hearing it live made me love it ever more. Even "Meeting Across the River" was a great setup to "Jungleland" when I feel that I too often hit >> on record. Never again. All of this goes without mentioning "Born to Run" the track, which might be the best live experience in rock and roll. You knew that already, and you've probably seen these songs countless times, but do you remember how you felt the firs time? That's how this felt. All I can say is "wow."

Of course, there were other songs other than Born to Run, but when it was announced that he was playing Born to Run in its entirety, for the second time ever [it's since been done more times] that put me over the top. I said "yes, I am fucking going." Now, you were probably going anyway, which is absolutely awesome. I used my graduation as a reason to justify my buying tickets, but honestly, I probably would've gone anyway.

On our way out I realized I didn't thank you for letting us move up. I might've said something at the beginning, but I feel like I should have looked back at the end and given you a nod, or a wave, or even a high five. We just left after American Land, still missing out on "Rosalita" and "Dancing in the Dark," but I don't feel that that in any way detracts the experience, [and hey, we beat traffic!] but forgetting to say something to you does. So, let me take this opportunity: thank you, and maybe I'll see you next time. I will be going back.