There’s really no reason for me to have been at this show, and coming off of the previous two shows in Philly, my expectations were set pretty low for what I was sure would be a return to a “normal” set.
But when you’re on a two-week-long, cross-country, drive-all-night (see what I did?) bus tour with a bunch of Microsoft colleagues and a couple of Microsoft Certified Professionals we’d never even met until we picked them up along the way (a story for another time), and you just happen to be in the same city on the same day as Bruce, the opportunity to get off the bus and catch a Springsteen concert–regardless of where–was too good to pass up.
So there we were… in Greensboro, North Carolina. And dang if it wasn’t one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
Who knew that Greensboro consistently has the best concert audiences in the U.S.? I sure didn’t–but Bruce did, even if he had to shake his head in amazement and muse, “Why?!? Why are Greensboro audiences so great? I don’t know why!”
The energy level was off the charts from the get-go, even if the opening third of the concert was pretty standard. By now, I was starting to very much appreciate Jay Weinberg’s contributions, and I was happy to see him open the show, and delighted that he played over half the show. Clearly Bruce was gradually testing him and the audiences, phasing Jay in over time until he was able to carry the show.
I have to admit, I was taken aback by the European energy level of the crowd–it pains me to admit it, but they put Philly to shame. And that was before the wild cards came.
First request: “Seventh Son,” a cover of a 1965 Johnny Rivers song. Another confession: it was the first and only time I didn’t know a cover request, and neither did any of my colleagues. It was pretty darn obscure, but the crowd ate it up:
But it was the next song that blew the lid of the place. I’m talking an encore-level, house-lights-on, deafening sing-along to “Hang on Sloopy.” Watching the crowd, you’d swear he must have been playing “Born to Run.”
Rare outings for “Growin’ Up,” “I’m on Fire,” “Human Touch,” and a set-closing surprise “Cadillac Ranch” made for a fantastic main set. “Cadillac” was one of several songs performed with full house lights on–Bruce was clearly enjoying watching the crowd that night.
For the final encore, Bruce gave us a fitting “Glory Days,” with a surprise, brief “Louie Louie” tacked on to the very end.
As we left the show and got back on the bus for the long drive to wherever the heck we went next (Virginia, I think), my friends were stunned by what they’d seen–for almost all of them, it was their first Springsteen concert. “Is it always like this?” they asked; I told them yes, absolutely, every time.
But I made a mental note: never, ever, miss a Greensboro show again.
Steensboro, indeed.
(photo credit: Guy Aceto)
