Tramps Like Us

 

I have been a Bruce Springsteen fan since I was about 5 or 6 years old. A much older neighbor boy was belting out the lyrics to Born to Run as his sisters and I played with our Barbies; he was doing his best to be an annoyance but the lyrics somehow stuck with me. I don't think I quite understood all of the imagery portrayed in the music but I was hooked nonetheless.

Last night Bruce played the United Center in Chicago for the second time in the last 5 months. I had skipped the show back in May because I’m less of a fan of his newer material and having seen him a number of times before, I was content to take a pass. I didn’t feel any different when the September show was announced and had no plans to attend. I admit, everyone raving about the May show and the debut of Jay Weinberg filling in for his Dad on drums did stir some interest, but I still felt no overwhelming desire to get tickets. Until . . . it was announced that at this particular show Bruce and the E Street Band would be playing the Born to Run album in its entirety, something they had done only once before.

Because of the risk of sounding like even more of a super nerd (and because I live with someone who absolutely loathes Bruce and I don't need to give him any further ammunition to skewer my musical preferences) I won’t describe in detail how I feel about this album. In short, I think that every song stands well on its own but the collection of music together makes a powerful statement and the album is still culturally and musically relevant 34 years later.

I was impatient as the show began and they didn’t launch right into the album (I have a defense mechanism firmly in place that prepares me for soul-sucking disappointment so I was sure that perhaps they had changed their minds) but after a few warm-up songs Bruce casually began rolling-up his sleeves. He stepped to the mic and started talking about the album and the cross-roads it represented for the band. Having released two critically-acclaimed, yet commercially overlooked albums in rapid succession, Born to Run at the time represented the last shot they would be given by Columbia Records.

The album was played in sequence beginning with the lonely whine of a harmonica on Thunder Road and ending with the poetic heartbreak of Jungleland. As all music has the power to transport you to another place and time, this was no different. If you pay attention it is easy to hear the pain-staking detail that went into this album. The images portrayed by the lyrics coupled with music that evokes feelings of despair tempered with hope are a potent combination. Every song was executed flawlessly and this show now easily ranks among my all-time favorites (Bruce or otherwise).

The night continued once the album portion was finished and the rest of the show felt like the appropriate combination of reflection and celebration. Bruce turned 60 this week and while he seems to be defying the effects of passing time, his band is aging around him. Clarence now requires the assistance of a cane and electric lift to leave the stage, Danny is now gone and this show had the feeling that the long and glorious run of Bruce and the E Street Band was now coming to a close. For one perfect night though, it seemed like 1975 all over again . . .