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Mar. 26th, 2003 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcBruuuuuuuuuuuuce!!!!!!!!!!!
Shortly after I arrived in Sydney I noticed posters for a Bruce Springsteen concert in Sydney in mid-March. Tickets had already been on sale a month; by the time I could look online for 1 or 2, all that remained were nosebleeds. If you’re gonna see Bruce (we’re all his pals, so we all call him Bruce. He loves that.), you wanna see him. So I let go of the idea. Sorta.
But I kept visiting the ticket web site. Then I though, “where else in Oz is he playing?” Sure enough there were dates in Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bun) and Brisbane (Briz-bun, or Brizzie), both of which are a mere hour’s flight away. Hmmm.....check out what’s available in Melbourne. Shit seats, same as Sydney. But Brisbane’s got some good’uns, just off the floor about half-way back.
Next task was getting to Brisbane. There are two national airlines in Oz, Qantas and Virgin Blue. And Virgin Blue has tickets to Brisbane for AU$66.00 return, including taxes--about 75% off the regular discount fare! So I booked a late afternoon flight to Brisbane, and a mid-morning return to Sydney. And a room at an airport hotel.
The concert was last night. Wow
First the wee drama: I got to my hotel and mentioned I needed to get to ANZ Stadium for a Springsteen concert. “Oh no you don’t”, said Caron the reception goddess, “it’s been moved to the entertainment centre, so you’d better go soon and get your new seats.” Fuck! “We’re going right now” a lovely woman’s voice chipped in behind me, “would you like a lift?” In my best Milhouse voice I replied, “Would I???,” ran to my room, jumped into jeans, and we were off.
Marguerite and Paul are a commuter couple (she Sydney, he Lennox, a 10 hour drive from Sydney). Marguerite is (like me) a fan; Paul is along for the ride. We got to the new venue--which was much closer than the ANZ--and swapped our tickets without incident. After some drinks and chatter, we picked a rendez-vous spot for the post-concert (we sitting on opposite sides of the venue, which held about 15,000 I’d guess), and took our respective seats.
The concert
The last time I saw Bruce was in 1980, New Year’s Eve, at Nassau Coliseum on Lawngue Oyland. Back then I paid US$100 for nosebleeds with a face value of $20. He played 4 hours, nonstop (no breaks), until 1am. One of the best New Year’s Eves ever.
In 1980 I was 16, Bruce was probably early 30s: how would he be some 20+ years later?
Awesome
From the beginning--an acoustic version of “Born in the USA,” played on 12 string guitar, followed immediately by a rowsing, double-barreled version of Edwin Starr’s “War”--he seemed keen to prove he still had his chops. Over the next 3 hours--with no break--he played most of the stuff from The Rising (with which I’m semi-familiar), and a lot of the old standards. Of my 3 favourite Bruce songs, he did 2: “Jungleland” and “Thunder Road” from Born to Run, but not “Rosalita.” Much of the older stuff was from Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town.
What perplexed me was how many folks stayed in their seats, like they were glued or something. I mean, you don’t go to a Springsteen concert and sit there with your hands folded in your lap. You stand up! You dance! You yell “Bruuuuuuuuce,” which sounds like booing to the uninitiated! You sing! At one point Bruce cajoled the audience to “get your Australian asses outta ya seats!” Lovingly, nurturingly of course. And most did. But in my section 4 of us (out of maybe 200) were on our feet most of the time. Strange, but I didn’t let it piss on my party.
He did 3 encores. Going to a Springsteen concert is like sex with an intense lover--he makes sure you’re the one who gives in.
So he’s still got it. And short of him switching teams and asking me to elope with him--or maybe if I got his sweaty blue tux shirt he wore/wore out during the show--it was a perfect night. As it were I did capitulate and buy an overpriced concert t-shirt. For the memories.
After the show we three rendez-vous’d without incident (the venue actually keeps its food and beverage outlets open after the show) and had a drink before we drove back to our hotel. I was pumped and hungry, so I feasted on mini-bar Pringles until sleep came.
Shortly after I arrived in Sydney I noticed posters for a Bruce Springsteen concert in Sydney in mid-March. Tickets had already been on sale a month; by the time I could look online for 1 or 2, all that remained were nosebleeds. If you’re gonna see Bruce (we’re all his pals, so we all call him Bruce. He loves that.), you wanna see him. So I let go of the idea. Sorta.
But I kept visiting the ticket web site. Then I though, “where else in Oz is he playing?” Sure enough there were dates in Melbourne (pronounced Mel-bun) and Brisbane (Briz-bun, or Brizzie), both of which are a mere hour’s flight away. Hmmm.....check out what’s available in Melbourne. Shit seats, same as Sydney. But Brisbane’s got some good’uns, just off the floor about half-way back.
Next task was getting to Brisbane. There are two national airlines in Oz, Qantas and Virgin Blue. And Virgin Blue has tickets to Brisbane for AU$66.00 return, including taxes--about 75% off the regular discount fare! So I booked a late afternoon flight to Brisbane, and a mid-morning return to Sydney. And a room at an airport hotel.
The concert was last night. Wow
First the wee drama: I got to my hotel and mentioned I needed to get to ANZ Stadium for a Springsteen concert. “Oh no you don’t”, said Caron the reception goddess, “it’s been moved to the entertainment centre, so you’d better go soon and get your new seats.” Fuck! “We’re going right now” a lovely woman’s voice chipped in behind me, “would you like a lift?” In my best Milhouse voice I replied, “Would I???,” ran to my room, jumped into jeans, and we were off.
Marguerite and Paul are a commuter couple (she Sydney, he Lennox, a 10 hour drive from Sydney). Marguerite is (like me) a fan; Paul is along for the ride. We got to the new venue--which was much closer than the ANZ--and swapped our tickets without incident. After some drinks and chatter, we picked a rendez-vous spot for the post-concert (we sitting on opposite sides of the venue, which held about 15,000 I’d guess), and took our respective seats.
The concert
The last time I saw Bruce was in 1980, New Year’s Eve, at Nassau Coliseum on Lawngue Oyland. Back then I paid US$100 for nosebleeds with a face value of $20. He played 4 hours, nonstop (no breaks), until 1am. One of the best New Year’s Eves ever.
In 1980 I was 16, Bruce was probably early 30s: how would he be some 20+ years later?
Awesome
From the beginning--an acoustic version of “Born in the USA,” played on 12 string guitar, followed immediately by a rowsing, double-barreled version of Edwin Starr’s “War”--he seemed keen to prove he still had his chops. Over the next 3 hours--with no break--he played most of the stuff from The Rising (with which I’m semi-familiar), and a lot of the old standards. Of my 3 favourite Bruce songs, he did 2: “Jungleland” and “Thunder Road” from Born to Run, but not “Rosalita.” Much of the older stuff was from Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town.
What perplexed me was how many folks stayed in their seats, like they were glued or something. I mean, you don’t go to a Springsteen concert and sit there with your hands folded in your lap. You stand up! You dance! You yell “Bruuuuuuuuce,” which sounds like booing to the uninitiated! You sing! At one point Bruce cajoled the audience to “get your Australian asses outta ya seats!” Lovingly, nurturingly of course. And most did. But in my section 4 of us (out of maybe 200) were on our feet most of the time. Strange, but I didn’t let it piss on my party.
He did 3 encores. Going to a Springsteen concert is like sex with an intense lover--he makes sure you’re the one who gives in.
So he’s still got it. And short of him switching teams and asking me to elope with him--or maybe if I got his sweaty blue tux shirt he wore/wore out during the show--it was a perfect night. As it were I did capitulate and buy an overpriced concert t-shirt. For the memories.
After the show we three rendez-vous’d without incident (the venue actually keeps its food and beverage outlets open after the show) and had a drink before we drove back to our hotel. I was pumped and hungry, so I feasted on mini-bar Pringles until sleep came.
