BRUCE!

The last rock concert I was at was waaay back in 1999 - August 6th to be exact. I know this because I still have the ticket stub. It was that summer that Bruce Springsteen set a record for the number of consecutive shows he did at what was then known as Continental Airlines Arena (now, if you're a New Jersey lifer, like I am, it's probably still known to you as the Brendan Byrne Arena. It's now called the Izod Center and don't even get me started on what I think of that. Or, I could just make it easy on ya'll and call it the Meadowlands. And yes, the air really does kind of stink up there. It's Jersey, whatdaya expect???)

I've been a die-hard Bruce Springsteen fan since 1984, when I was 12 and I bought Born in the USA, but I'd never had the opportunity to see him live and with the E Street Band. I was too young when Born in the USA came out, and then the E Street Band disbanded. So when 1999 came around and the E Street Band was back together again, you can probably guess how thrilled I was to score tickets to one of those shows.

Since 1999, I've had two children, so my concert going has been pretty much non-existent. But, when tickets went on sale in February, my husband and I figured "Why not?"

I ran into the same problem a lot of others did with the online Ticketmaster site, where people were directed to a sister site owned by Ticketmaster, but offering tickets at a super-inflated price. But, fortunately I like to cover all my bases, so in addition to the computer, both of us were dialing like mad as well. And we got tickets. Insert happy dance here.

And it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Ever.

Bruce still kicks ass and the energy at one of his shows is astounding. There's nothing in the world like a Springsteen concert. Nothing. At. All. He did a great blend of old and new stuff, and even took a few requests. He opened with Badlands, which fired the crowd right up. Born to Run was played with the house lights on and the crowd drowning him out. Rosalita was the last song of the night, with the house lights on and the crowd drowning him out. I lost my voice on Thunder Road, but managed to still sing along with The Rising and Prove it All Night. Outlaw Pete and Working on a Dream were awesome, and Sunny Day is as good live as it is on the CD. Seeing him live reminds me of why I love his music, and why I'm such a Springsteen fan. It was hard to stay still and impossible to remain seated. The moment he took the stage (an hour late, but it was well-worth the wait), thousands of people were on their feet. When he left the stage, they were still standing.

And get this, the drummer for the E Street Band is Jay Weinberg. He's the son of the original E Street drummer Max Weinberg. Now Max has been unable to play all the concert dates because of his commitment to Conan O'Brien's show, so his son's stepped in to fill the role. This kid is phenomenal! He's 18 years old. Yep, 18. And he about blew me away.

It was amazing. It was incredible. It was one of the best concerts I've ever seen (did I say that already???) and I can NOT wait to see him again.