Arts/Cultural Response: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

           When it comes to music, I tend to look at myself like a 50 year old man. That is the kind of music I like. Classic rock is my thing. If it was made before the 90s I’ll probably like it. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of recent music I like too but sometimes I hear songs that come out and I just cant help but think what happened?! This is why when my brother told me that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band was coming to Penn State, I needed to go. I have never been such a huge Bruce fan, but being from New Jersey, I know a lot of his songs. In addition to that, I know A LOT of die-hard Bruce fans. I’ve heard that his concerts were awesome so there is no way I could pass up the opportunity to see him perform. 

            My mom bought my brother and I tickets (he’s a senior here at Penn State) and I couldn’t wait. I started listening to his music a lot to get myself educated on all his songs. There’s nothing I love more then belting out a song with hundreds of other people at a concert. The more and more I listened to his songs, the more I realized how much I actually loved his music! I knew most of his famous songs such as, “Born in the USA”, “Dancing in the Dark”, and “Born to Run”, but what surprised me the most was how many other really good songs he had. Listening to his music almost everyday in the week leading up to his concert got me so pumped that when the day came it was all I could think about.

            When we got to the Bryce Jordan Center, almost everyone was wearing the same attire: cut off shorts, anything with an American flag on it, and bandanas everywhere. Our seats were behind the stage, however it was a 360-degree stage and we were really close. We were in the sixth row back from the stage right in the middle, and there were only people in the two rows in front of us so we had a really good view.  When the concert started everyone was immediately on his or her feet.

My favorite part about this concert, besides the music and his performance, was that it had some meaning behind it. The concert was about a week or two after Hurricane Sandy and since Bruce was from New Jersey, he basically dedicated the concert to that. He played a lot of songs that were New Jersey based and talked about the band’s roots from the Jersey shore that was now destroyed. It was inspiring hearing him talk about how he believed it was going to be rebuilt and back to new in no time. This was especially important to me because I spend my summers at the Jersey shore and saw so many places that I had been just a few months ago now destroyed.

The atmosphere of the concert was just so much fun. There were many songs that I had heard before but didn’t know too well and even ones I had never heard before. However, since it was all such good music, I didn’t stop dancing and cheering the entire time. He is easily the best performer I have ever seen. He went into the crowd so many times, hugging, kissing, and shaking hands with fans. He pulled up little kids on stage and one of them even took the microphone and sang a solo in front of everyone. At one point, he pulled at least twenty women onto the stage and danced with each one of them. It was such a big concert, but when he came to the back of the stage and looked at us I could swear he was singing just to me. He made everyone in the building feel like they were part of the concert and I had never seen anything like that before. The E Street Band was also really impressive. They were all so talented and when they played solos I felt like I could listen to them play forever. I am so glad I got to experience this concert and it is something I will never forget. If he comes around again I would go in a heartbeat. I suggest anyone else who has an opportunity should go too. Even if you don’t know his music too well, it is still tons of fun and a really great experience.