I’d already seen one Springsteen show in Italy, the year prior in Verona. I thought I knew all about Italian fans and their legendary zeal for Bruce from that first-hand experience.
I was wrong.
Nothing–absolutely nothing–prepared me for the intensity of the crowd at this Magic show in Milan, nor its impact on Bruce’s performance that night. Each fed off the other, resulting in show unparalleled in its energy level across my entire concert-going “career.”
Also, nothing prepared me for the unusual seating chart (from an American’s perspective, anyway): the entire arena was GA, except for a solitary lower-level section directly across from the stage (for which the sole purpose of sitting there seemed to be so that you could be see and be seen by VIPs).
It was a cold, damp day in Milan, and my wife and I lined up early to make sure that we could get decent seats when the gates opened. We waited all through the long, frigid day as the crowd amassed–by the hundreds in the morning, and thousands as the afternoon progressed.
By the time the gates finally opened, we were pressed forward by the throng and almost lifted and carried forward. The stampede (not exaggerating) that followed separated us from each other, and my wife got mildly trampled. (The experience was scary enough at the time that it soured her on ever seeing a Bruce concert again.)
Inside the arena, fans climbed over seatbacks, row by row, to make it as far down toward the floor as possible. We settled for a nice pair of seats a few rows above the floor near Clarence’s side of the stage. Once we sat down, we didn’t move from our seats–it took us almost until showtime for the adrenaline rush of fear to be replaced by one of anticipation.
And it was definitely a show worth anticipating.
It was only Charlie’s third show ever, and I was concerned going in that the set list might be relatively “safe” since he was probably still learning Bruce’s catalog. I needn’t have feared.
Although the show started off very similar to my last show in Oakland just a few weeks earlier, Bruce soon took a turn-off for a more scenic route, returning “Adam Raised a Cain” to the set list (ironically, for the first time since my last show).
But the highlight came toward the end of the main set, when Bruce played a double-shot from his second album: “Incident on 57th Street” and “The E Street Shuffle.” Both were personal premieres for me, and I was over the moon. All of the pre-show drama was forgotten and forgiven.
The crowd interaction during “The E Street Shuffle” was amazing–it looked like the entire floor was pogo-ing, waving, and moving as one. All through the song–the whole show, really–the crowd sang every note. Not just every word, every note. Bruce ate it up; the band’s intensity increased song by song throughout the show.
(“Incident” was on the set list, but “E Street Shuffle” was an audible–a dealer’s choice of “Working on the Highway” or “Darlington County” was slotted instead, and I was very happy for the substitution.)
Another pair of audibles came during the encores–this one a mixed bag: out went “Growin’ Up,” and in came “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” That one I was fine with–it seems funny to think about it today, but at the time, “Tenth Avenue” was a semi-rarity; I hadn’t heard it live since the Reunion tour seven years earlier.
But the last substitution was a blow when I learned about it later: Bruce had planned to play “Kitty’s Back” but opted to grant a sign request for “Thunder Road” instead–and as much as I love and will never tire of that song, “Kitty’s Back” was at the very top of my chase list at the time. I’d have to wait another two years to finally see it.
Logistical chaos aside, this show hooked me on seeing shows in Italy. I’d return again, and I’ll continue to do so for as long as Bruce tours. If you have the chance and the means, I highly recommend you do as well.
