Re: 28 Years
- From: "Steve" <sjf@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 12:03:50 -0400
Great Story Jeanne!!!
Out of curiosity, did you see a SSB show? If so, what did you think?
"Jeanne" <jmcolm@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1155116019.297609.310870@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
S U M M E R T I M E B R U C E
... This is not a dark ride ...
My life changed somehow on August 9, 1978. Well, the way I looked at
life
perhaps, is a better explanation. That's a heady statement, but .....
that
was the first time I saw Bruce Springsteen live.
It was at the Agora Ballroom on the outskirts of Downtown Cleveland.
Capacity
900. Nine hundred of the luckiest people in the City. A local radio
station,
WMMS was celebrating their Tenth Anniversary and held a mail-in contest
for
free tickets to a special celebration concert featuring Bruce
Springsteen & The
E Street Band. I had enjoyed Springsteen from afar.. just what I'd
heard on
the radio, yes, I liked it.. but I hadn't at this point purchased any
of his
music. I decided, what the heck, why not send away. The Agora had
always been
one of my favorite places to catch live acts.
So I sent in 5 entries, to 5 different addresses of family and friends.
One was chosen.
Tickets arrived in my name at my sister, Gerri's house. I felt pretty
lucky, the response was enormous according to all accounts on the
radio. Two tickets to a free Bruce Springsteen concert; and, as an
added bonus, at a small venue. I invited Gerri to the show.
It was a typically muggy August night. As the humidity slowly gave way
to the
beauty of a Cleveland thunderstorm, we methodically made our way
through the
lobby of the bar, past posters and photographs of past performances:
David
Bowie, Talking Heads, the displays, a veritable Who's Who of rock and
roll
legends.
As we eased closer to the ticket taker, I could sense the anticipation,
like
something tangible. Overhearing one young man behind us as he spoke
quickly
and excitedly to his friend regarding his good fortune of having won a
ticket,
I began to realize I was in for something special. As I turned to look
at him,
I could SEE it in his face, like the face of a child on Christmas
morning
spotting THE gift. Like that gift, this impending evening had the feel
of being
wrapped in shiny gold paper, just waiting to be opened, enjoyed ...
shared.
This night was to be a holiday like no other holiday. Even the long
haired, cherubic
gentleman collecting the tickets had that sense of excitement. As he
politely took our
tickets and returned our stubs to us, he looked at me, as if he KNEW
this was
my first time, and said, "Enjoy the show, as if you could help it,"
with a
smile that lit up his face. He seemed almost envious of me, as if he
were
reliving his own eager anticipation of his first Bruce concert. I'd
been to
many a concert, my first the Beatles at Cleveland Municipal Stadium at
the
tender age of 10. I had witnessed.... hell, been PART of that hysteria.
This
was, of course, on a more "adult" level, but the sense of something big
about
to happen was very similar. Gerri and I made our way to one of the
large bars
that lined each side of the ballroom. As we ordered our beers, we could
hear
the thunder outside crashing, even over the blaring jukebox. The
thunderclaps
getting everyone's attention, as if to say, "Hey, get in here, there's
something big on the horizon!" We took a stroll throughout the bar,
checking
out the stage, a very small stage and noticing the crowd already
jockeying for
position in front of it, an hour and a half before show time. You could
feel
the energy level steadily growing. Even not knowing what I was in for,
I had
that warm nervous feeling inside; Gerri was feeling the same way.
At precisely 9:00 p.m., as the lights dimmed, as if on cue, everyone in
the bar
turned and their attention was riveted on the stage. The roar was
deafening....
Broooooooooce....... Broooooooooce... The local deejay, Kid Leo....
himself an
avid Bruce fan ... on stage. He could hardly contain HIS excitement..
"Round
for round, pound for pound, there ain't no finer band around... BRUCE
SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND!!!!" As the then very lithe Bruce
Springsteen
appeared center stage, I could see it in HIS face. WE were that
beautiful shiny
gift waiting to be unwrapped. He was as elated to be with US as we were
to be
with HIM. One had the sense that he could just STAND there, holding
court, his
head back, laughing, and the crowd would have displayed their adoration
for as
long as he just stood there. We saw men hugging men, women being hugged
and
lifted into the air as the excitement just swept through the crowd.
Before one
note had even been played, I was in, hook, line and sinker.. I was his.
Tears
of wonder in my eyes, I looked deliberately at the faces near me - eyes
shining, smiles broad. Charisma: Bruce Springsteen held the patent on
it that
night. As the first strains of "Summertime Blues" began, all 900 plus
people
began to dance and sing, and revel in the energy he was giving off. I
have
never seen anything like it. He had a way of making each and every
person feel
as if he was there performing, just for you. Gerri and I had positioned
ourselves at the bar; our backs leaning on the bar, facing the stage.
Hell,
we'd be comfortable, had a pretty good angle on the stage, positioned
so we
could see over the heads of the throng standing directly in front of
it. Also
extremely convenient for the thirst factor.
A minute into the show, I didn't care if I'd ever drink another beer in
my life
-- I knew I had to get closer, it became my mission. Grabbing Gerri by
the
hand, I looked at her; a look that said it all. She knew to just follow
me. We
slowly and politely made our way, no DANCED our way through the crowd.
At 20
feet away, we paused, stood and just drank in the magnificence of what
this man
was giving.... his all, this was personal. Slowly we inched towards
him, until
there was nothing between us but the blackened elevated stage. Looking
up at
him, only a mere foot or two away, I could feel the energy, surging
through
every inch of me. At that moment, he looked right down at me, our eyes
met
briefly and he met my smile with his... It was as if he had awakened
something
deep inside of me that had been laying dormant; his words filling a
void. He
took me on quite an emotional ride that night, through the rebellion of
"Growing Up," the colorful human descriptions of "Spirit In the Night."
He
brought me along for the fun during "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)." Warm
memories of my own yearly family vacations to the East Coast beaches
came
flooding through during "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)." The summer
crushes,
the ensuing heartaches. Then, the sheer beauty of "Thunder Road," with
some of
the best storytelling of our time, in any medium. So emotionally
charged, it
has become one of my all time favorite stories; I can hear that screen
door
slamming every time... He so easily conveyed the uncertainty and
desperation in
"Backstreets" and "Born To Run;" the longing for human touch in "She's
the
One," the passion in "Jungleland." His raw sensuality right OUT there
with
"Fire," and his cover of "Not Fade Away," simply put, just blew me
away. Ever
the showman, his keen sense of humor shining brightly during "Sherry
Darling."
As I listened to his stories, both narrative and in song, I realized
this man
has a GIFT. He had somehow found a direct line right to my very soul,
it
seemed. You knew immediately that these were stories from the heart.
Stories of
his childhood, recollections of his father and the love/hate
relationship they
shared. How he was urged by his father to become a lawyer; told by his
mother,
"You should be an author.. you should write books.." And indeed he
has.. he has
written VOLUMES ... I don't think either parent has come up
disappointed. As
the night drew to a close, the magic coming to an end, it was as if we
had all
been guests at his private party. All of us taken on a ride we'd never
forget.
After several encores, the lights went on ... many refused to leave..
the
stubborn, lucky ones, we weren't going anywhere..yet... About half of
the
audience was left, standing, drenched, strained vocal cords, crying out
for
more.. and he came back...and he gave it to us.. with a rousing
rendition of
"Twist and Shout," introduced as, "the first song I ever learned how to
play on
the guitar." The choice of that song, how apropos - seemingly bringing
me full
circle musically from that day so long ago, when a little girl's dream
was
realized and she sat there in awe only yards away from the Beatles.
That night at The Agora, now 28 years ago, is one of my most magical
memories. My only regret was that he was already booked to play the
"large arena," The Richfield Coliseum on August 30th, (my birthday),
only a few weeks away, and sadly, I had no ticket. But I had the next
best thing... a ticket to see Southside Johnny that night, at, again,
the Cleveland Agora. You can imagine my elation when, at the end of
Southside's show, he introduced a
"special guest" -- and Bruce came out with his friend of many years and
they
gave an exhilarating performance of "We're Havin' a Party." My birthday
wishes
had come true.
I have, of course, not let this happen again. I have caught Bruce's
show each
and every visit to Cleveland since.. always both nights. I have
traveled to
Tacoma, Washington, during the Human Touch tour. When Bruce decided to
get the
E Street Band together again in 1999, I was fortunate enough to attend
both
"Rehearsal Shows" in March in Asbury Park. That was the FIRST time I
saw Bruce
Springsteen performing in his home state. I again had that opportunity
in July
and August of 1999 when I caught four of his shows at the Meadowlands.
I was
also lucky enough to be in attendance at the "50th Birthday show"
(9/25) in
Philly. THAT show rivaled even this beautiful 1978 Agora show. Don't
EVEN get
me started on the shows I've seen since. What a ride..... Bruce
Springsteen has a
unique gift, he has such a way with his words, his feelings to just
reach right
in and GRAB you. He writes and performs with such unbridled passion.
extraordinary storytelling on "Incident on 57th Street" to the heartFrom the
wrenching
drama of two brothers wanting a better life in "Sinaloa Cowboys": take
those
roads, and you'll feel his passion, his total understanding of life, of
LIVES.
He also commands the great power of being able to turn that
understanding into
novellas with each of his songs. Bruce Springsteen has indeed matured,
grown..
and as he has grown, he has shared with us.. his life... That beautiful
August
evening so many years ago, the night this ride began, we floated into
the night
air which had been cleansed by the thunderstorms that had raged
outside. I
headed home, feeling cleansed and somehow changed, by the sheer passion
that
raged inside the Agora that evening.
~Jeanne Coleman
*An abbreviated version of my story was published in
Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection by Deanna R. Adams
The Kent State University Press, Kent and London, 2002
See pages 597-599
.
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