The video below reminded me of the last time I saw U2...
It was May 30, 1983 in California... at The US Festival. Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul opened that morning... how wild! Along with U2 that Monday were Berlin, Quarterflash, Missing Persons, Pretenders, Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks and David Bowie... U2 came on at 12:20 that afternoon... the part of the story that I so fondly remember was when the stars aligned I found exactly what I was looking for. U2 was on the stage... but there was this guy standing at the back of the stage... he was so... captivating. I didn't know who he was but suddenly I wasn't interested in the "bands". :) I smiled his way... and well I suppose I caught his eye... and felt an instant connection... every move I made he seemed to be making... unconsciously... it was like I was looking in the mirror but the mirror was a man. I reached up and pulled down on my bangs... a nervous habit I had back then... and at that very moment he reached up and did the same... He was soooo cute... :o (am I allowed to say that someone other than Bruce "was soooo cute"?) Anyhow... he was. I giggled and looked away... and when I looked back he was gone... I was so disappointed... he had stolen my heart and disappeared! Then I notice him under the (high outdoor) stage coming toward me... well actually he was coming out to the front of the stage... I'm sure it was too watch U2... I watched him closely as he walked crouched down so he wouldn't hit his head on the stage... I felt myself blush... as butterflies fluttered in my tummy... my heart rejoiced. He hopped up on the rail next to me... smiling down at me, there was magic in his eyes... but suddenly I realized who he was... and fear's a powerful thing. It's been 26 years, 5 months and 1 day since that "encounter." At times I think about that man and I wonder if he ever found what he was looking for.
"A warm and sensitive person, he was beloved by Bruce, the Band, the crew, and the entire Thrill Hill family." ~ brucespringsteen.net
"Leonard Daniel Sullivan III, 34, of Manasquan, died Monday, Oct. 26, 2009, in Kansas City, MO. Lenny was the Assistant Road Manager for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He attended East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., and was a member of the Fraternity TKE at the University. He was born in Long Branch, and had been a lifelong resident of Manasquan. He also lived in Hollywood, CA for a brief time. Lenny was one of a kind. Through his life long love of music, he was able to travel the world four times with his cousin Bruce Springsteen. As assistant road manager he cared for and was loved by many. As one of his friends said, "If there is a stage in heaven you are behind it making it happen." He was warm, funny, and loving. He loved to laugh, and his smile was truly contagious. He will be missed by many." ~ Asbury Park Press
Lenny's family has requested that donations be sent to: The Boys and Girls Club of Ocean County, NJ. The website is: http://www.bbbsoc.org/ There is a donation button on the left side... Thanks for taking time to look.
I got lucky in Philly at the 3rd show... finally! They took us lucky lottery winners inside while sound check was still happening... and I really was lucky... cause right when I walked into the venue... just before we are supposed to turn to the left... I looked straight ahead and can see into the arena and there's Bruce on stage... I had a perfect view of him singing Bishop Danced! He was wearing beige pants and shirt. The guard had opened the curtain so a small group could watch sound check and they let me join them. There'd be plenty time to get back in line later. Bruce played through the song a couple times... I wondered if he had noticed us watching when he waved as he left the stage... or if he was just practicing. I picked a nice place near the back of the pit... and chatted with the very friendly guards... waiting for showtime. I was fully expecting Bishop Danced to start the show but got a stunner... When You Walk In The Room... which was the first time they've played it since 1976! God he looked good. :o I was too swept away with the moment to pull out my camera... but MagikRat took stunning video!
This was a night for lovers... broken hearted lovers... as Bruce and his band convinced us to grow up and dream again... cause Two Hearts are better than one... then came the promises... MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!! The show could have ended there and I would have floated out of the building... but we were still getting the full Born To Run album! One more chance for Bruce to break out into a wild interlude during Backstreets! We were all anticipating... and he took it just a bit further than the last time... leading us on. But it was She's The One the stood out tonight!
Then came the requests and they were humdingers! The first I have seen... It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City... in Cleveland... but the next hadn't been played by the E Street Band since 1981... another shock... I Wanna Marry You.
Next we got a request from The King, himself.
It was a wonderfully fun night... I found myself once again leaving the show saying of Bruce and his E Street Band, "That was the best show I've seen in years!" wondering if night 4 would measure up... being Born In The USA. Well I have to tell you, The Born In The USA Tour, back in 1984 was an incredible tour... so full of energy... it was so powerful... I loved that tour... but the album I had heard live many times... most of it... as encores... so I was wondering what Bruce would do to shake things up... who would have expected the show to open with The Price You Pay?! The song that the whole Springsteen world has been waiting and praying to hear since... The River Tour? I don't know why I question him... and it was amazing... though as you can hear in the video... sign ediquette was lacking.
I had missed the pit and was standing at the GA rail behind the pit... and hadn't yet figured out how to use my new camera... but thankfully MagikRat was at the show!! What a great videotographer!! Anyhow since we had gotten the usual encores at the beginning of the show... there was lots of room for goodies after the album was played... and the requests were great... starting with a request that may have been the highlight of the night... giving Price You Pay a run for it's money... This one could very easily close every show... it took us Higher & Higher!
The next request was Loose Ends...
Then came a major highlight of this tour for me... Vini "Maddog" Lopez joined the E Street Band... sitting in for an "old school" Spirit in the Night... and I was soooo glad that I hadn't let this oportunity pass me by!! I have always wanted to see Vini play with the E Street Band... and in Philly that dream came true!
I left Philly higher than a kite! Thankfully I had gotten over my hurt feelings and made the trip... because this was again one of the best shows ever!! One of the most tender moments... was when Bruce personalized Save The Last Dance For Me to his buddy Jerry. I happen to catch Jerry's reaction... and it was adorable!!
It's 10 days later... Bruce and his band are playing Philly... and my good buddy, Johnny aka STREET SCENE keeps on talking, urging me... "You don't wanna miss Philly, Gina!" But how could I go? I seriously needed to slow down and save some cash... but I was having way too much fun... even my sister told me that it was time to come back to "reality"... and stop chasing a 60 year old man around the country! "Around the world!" I corrected her! What she didn't realize was that... I wasn't chasing him... I was using him... to see the world... or at least parts of it. I was using the tour to live a little... it had been so long since I had enjoyed the fuck out of life!! You can only live for everyone else for so long before you have to break free and... well... damn it... I was having so much fun... I guess it should have been against the law... So to please the "real world" I didn't go to Philly... I stayed home... in their "reality." The bad time I had at Giant Stadium helped me make my choice... but it's hard to make a good choice when you let your emotions or hurt feelings be the boss... but since I had chosen to come back to reality and had all my home "duties" done... I went ahead and put up the "Official Set List Thread" and set up the stream so my Bruce-friends could listen to the show with me. Holy shit!! :o Seaside Bar Song? Jesus... they hadn't played that since 1973!! They were bout to cut loose and I WASN'T THERE!! Johnny was right again... Yes it was another Born To Run show... but the "fillers" were off the hook! By the time The Fever ended I had left the world of "reality" and decided to head to Philly for another round of Darkness On The Edge of Town! Then came the battle between the angel on my left shoulder and the devil on my right... or was that the devil on my left and the angel on my right? I guess that depends on whose world you are in. ;) So far the one on my left shoulder was winning... I didn't have a ticket... I better not go... then I got a pm from Robb... the ticket was no longer an issue... but now time was. It was already near noon and if I was gonna go... depending on how fast I drive it takes about 6 or 7 hours... with no traffic... I wasn't even close to being ready... and what was I gonna wear? Oh hurry, Gina... I drove faster than normal... :o and got there with 15 minutes to spare... looking for a sign that I had done the right thing. Thundercrack... Baby's back... well we were off to a great start... The Ties That Bind... WHAT LOVE CAN DO!! A sign... I had done the right thing!!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!
What Love Can Do! That was all I needed... but I got so much more that night in Philly... I got my fire back!! I realized that there was so much more I wanted... and needed from the band... so many songs I hadn't heard and there was only a little over a month left of the tour. This would be the last time that Darkness On The Edge Of Town would be played in it's entirety... What an incredible album... listening to it reminded me of the pain and confusion I was living in 1978... and how the music saved me from wallowing in that pain... it helped me to realize that I wasn't alone... and that we were all hurting... but together with the healing balm of the music I could overcome the darkness... and live in "reality" again... with the rest of the strangers... walking down Streets of Fire.
What an album... I stood in awe so glad I hadn't missed this last performance of it. I was up along the side of the stage... looking down at the band... on Patti's side... Yes, Patti had slipped out of "reality" too, to join the band and we were graced with Human Touch... a very nice touch... but it was Stevie who brought down the hope of glory in friendship... and new beginnings... in Long Walk Home. (video from the night before.)
As I drove home right after the show... I told the devil on my left shoulder to "STFU" and assured the angel on my right that we would be going to the next two shows in Philly to see the Born To Run and Born In The USA shows... hoping and praying for FOR YOU solo on the piano... and of course... Life Itself!
I needed to make a choice... Philly... Madison Square Garden or Giant Stadium... I could NOT do all three and really needed to save for the shows that were coming to my hometown and surrounding areas... How could I travel to Europe and all around the states, yet miss the shows in Cleveland... Detroit and Buffalo?? I decided that I wouldn't go to Giant Stadium... but Rachel and Maaike were coming over from Holland and Angela. Melania, Frankie and Tony were coming from Italy!! Jeremy had an extra ticket and since I was picking up tickets for the girls... he could even "front" me my ticket... well... I had to go. I had never been to Giant Stadium... and this might be the last chance I'd get to see the E Street Band there... since I had missed the Reunion and Rising Tours... I had so much catching up to do. One really cool thing I had heard about these shows was that with the GS GA procedure the first 1000 people to show up for pit lottery wristbands would automatically be in the HUGE pit! I guess that was one good thing... Rachel and Maaike had seats... so Leticia and I got there early... meeting up with Dana, Sheila, Heidi and Liz... Angela, Melania and many of my Italian friends also showed up... bringing their joy and excitement with them!! Leticia speaks fluent Italian which was cool. She fit right in! We got a nice spot a few rows behind the middle cat walk and another really tall guy let us stand in front of him... he was very sweet! There were a group of Italians right in front of him and how adorable they were... the men were shorter than their wives so they stood in front of them and the ladies stood with Leticia and I behind them... They reminded me of my Grandma from Sicily. It was a beautiful night so far. The show started with a new song... an interesting new song that Bruce supposedly had written the night before in honor of the tearing down of Giant Stadium.
One thing is for sure...
The mosquitoes and the bites they leave are frickin' HUGE!! :(
Wish I could say that the mosquitoes were the only negative that night... but woe was me. After Wrecking Ball the band went right into Seeds and the Johnny 99... we were rockin' when suddenly out of nowhere the Italian couples in front of me were mowed over by a camera man followed by his "dog" who was assigned to "keep people like us" back... as they took our wonderful little places at the foot of the catwalk to get another "angle" for the DVD(?) perhaps or maybe just for the big screens. I was dismayed and shocked at this "dog's" behavior and so I asked him wtf he thought he was doing... joking how Bruce was just about to sing to me... when he yelled in my face that Bruce wouldn't sing "a fucking note" to me... and threatened to throw me out... I told him to give me back my money and I would leave on my own!! Though he did apologize the next night for his rudeness brought on by lack of sleep... I was very hurt and unsure why I hadn't listened to myself and skipped Giant Stadium. What could he have been thinking to say that to a fan? What made things even worse is that Bruce was singing the very song that I had just told myself on the drive to NJ that I wanted to hear... Atlantic City. By the end of Outlaw Pete they had left... thankfully.
We got the Born To Run album that night... It was an 8 hour drive to Jersey from my home... and on the way while I was driving I was thinking about how wonderful it could be... if Bruce would just take his time... and not rush it... like in the old days... when it didn't feel like a song... it felt like he was breathing life into each word. I so hoped that he would take his time... and he did... from the very first notes of Thunder Road through to Meeting Across The River and into Jungleland... it was amazing.
The rest of the show was a lot of fun... though some don't understand how they can go from Jungleland into Waitin' On a Sunny Day... I love the song. It's so sweet to watch Bruce interact with the kids... So... I'm taping it for Summer Breeze and security tells me to stop so I take it down but it won't shut off for some reason... so why not record... since it's on... might as well. It turns out that the kid Bruce is singing with is the nephew of my friend Ashley... and I got it on tape!! Good thing it didn't shut off. ;)
Then Bruce shared his "Birthday Dream" with us...
or was that a "Nightmare!!"
Willie Nile joined the band for a few songs... and Bruce took another opportunity to dance with the lady of his choice... she was flattered by his charm! As sweet as he is... how did he come out of Jersey? :o The next two nights we got Darkness On The Edge of Town and Born In The USA in full... and while the shows were as always, great... Darkness AMAZING... I was in a funk... I'm not sure why... but it was tangible... at least from where I was standing. Maybe I should have skipped the shows... but then I would have missed Bruce's cover of Tom Wait's Jersey Girl. :) It was beautiful.
After Jersey Girl left... Kitty came Back... and the show took off! Detroit Medley led us into American Land... and to close with style... they sprung for fireworks!! What I found most interesting... was that with all the yuck and funk I was feeling... the music was able to break through... and take me to that place again... where everything is alright. The highlight of the night for me was when Stevie came over to the catwalk at the far end... where I was standing... and at the end of Thunder Road he slipped his pick into my hand! Thanks, Stevie!!
Now... come what may... I would have to skip Philly. :(
My girlfriend, Kit (yes the same Kit) invited me to Florida for Tampa and Sunrise... As you can imagine... I couldn't say no!! lol And I'm so glad I didn't: Kit picked me up at the airport and we called Leigh and easily talked him into meeting us over at the venue to check out the tailgating possibilities. First we stopped at the box office to see how many GA had been sold... 1700... ut oh. Well we thought we would walk over (inside) and check out the pit area... we didn't get far before we were asked where we thought that we were going... we explained that we were just looking around... asking him if he would give us a lift (tour) in his golf cart. He pointed to the gate and told us he would drive us to the exit... which was about 10 yards... we laughed and I asked him if he would take us the long way! He told us to get in!! He then took us on a tour of the venue riding us all around the seated area... pointing to the pit... he explained that seats had been removed to make it bigger. We praised him as he dropped us off at the exit... He was so sweet. Once we saw the size of the pit we knew that where ever we wound up it would be great!! So the next morning we took our time and Kit showed me the Golf coastline before we headed to meet up with her baby sister for the show. It is lovely... the sand so soft... It reminded me of how much I love the ocean. What I am doing living inland again, I'll never know. Kit has a lovely home and family... it was so cool listening to their stories of moving to Florida from Bruce's hometown. Off to the show where we met up with Bill aka Weak Knees Willie... who had even many stories to share as we waited for the lucky lottery number to be drawn. 599... shit... just behind us... that put us at the back of the line... but wait... they had only given out 590 bands... how could that be? After much turmoil the number was redrawn and we still missed the "front" of the line. When we got inside I wound up behind a 6' guy who let me stand in front of him but the guy and his dad in front of him was even taller than him but they were very kind and let me stand next to them!! It was My Lucky Day as I was moved into the second row!! It was a very friendly crowd... where I was standing... with Mike (the school teacher who leads the Jukebox Graduates) and his son right in front of me and Ken to my left... Bruce and The E Streeters gave Tampa a beautiful show... even though it was very hot and sticky... but Bruce assured us that they LOVED hot and sticky!! There was definetly a bond between Bruce and Tampa brought on by the SuperBowl "roadies"... his "calvary." Kit was one of them. Then came request time... we held up our signs... this time... I asked for What Love Can Do... Bruce looked right at it and pointed as he assured me, "We're not gonna do that one!" :o Humph... I didn't think he would... but I had to try!! Bruce picked rather cool requests... one a total surprise that no one possibly could have expected especially me... since I had just been saying how cool it would be to get All Or Nothin' At All!!
Then Bruce choose another request... one that I never thought I'd ever get to hear... Jole Blon. Once again... with their magic... Bruce and his band took me back 30 years... I was so glad that I had my camera with me!!
The tour was just getting better and better... remaining steadfast with She's The One and Born To Run... Thunder Road... and Racin' In The Streets. Racin' has always held a special place in my heart cause... well... they called my dad, "Sonny" even though his name was Sal... everyone called him, "Sonny" and I always imagined that she wasn't an engine that Bruce and Dad were building straight outa scratch. ;) Then another of my favorites... Point Blank... it was perfect... making the heat an essential part of our night.... yes, I do still say my prayers... little darlin'.
The band was tight... and in a good mood. It seemed as though they really were enjoying the "hot & sticky!" and time flew by way to fast... the encores were almost over when Bruce motioned for several of us to come up on stage to dance with him... and many did! Of course... I didn't! Maybe someday I'll get up the nerve! :o
When one man seemed like he wanted some "extra" attention... Bruce swept him off his feet to help him exit the stage!! We roared with laughter!! Clarence played wonderfully... he looked so big from where I stood... at his feet!! What an amazing presence he possesses... I am still in awe of The Big Man! He smiled all night... occassionally stopping to add a little E Street Attitude as he wiggled... I giggle... He was so cool... flirting and dancing with his fans!
The show closed with a beautiful beautiful Thunder Road... which left me in tears waving goodbye to the band... and to my medicine... I took a deep breath and knew it was all gonna be alright. I slowly left passing the soundboard on the way... hoping for another setlist for my collection... this time there were none left... my ticket stub would have to do. After the show Kit, Terri, Bill and I hung out in the parking lot... ooowin' and awwin' over the last 3 hours as we helped Leigh and Jan finish off the Margarita's... we didn't stay late cause we had a show the next day... and a long drive to get there!! The next morning we were up and on our way to Sunrise, Florida craving more E Street Magic!!
Sunrise, Florida
Would Bruce pull a rabbit out of his hat at Sunrise? I soon learned the trick to paperless ticketing is to bring the correct credit card with you! Which I had not done. It dawned on me shortly after I had gotten my wristband for the lottery. When I realized it I went to the box office hoping that there would be something that could be done. They told me which card I had used and sure enough I had purposefully left that card at home... not wanting to travel with all of my cards... they also told me that it was totally up to Tom... who was "in charge" of the lottery... so there I was at the mercy of Tom... who right from the very first time I had met him DID NOT like me... I had tried to introduce myself to him and give him one of my ginagiambone.com cards... and he told me, "I know who you are and I know what you want." LOL Holy shit... and I was at his mercy!! Well I tucked my tail between my legs and went to him and told him I had left the correct card at home... I was on his list as an original ticket buyer and was obviously not a scalper... and he had already given me a lottery wristband... but did that matter? Not at all... he looked at me and said with no regard to the miles or money I had spent getting there, "then you are disqualified from the lottery." :o "Fuck YOU!" was my first thought... but I suppressed that thought and tried to talk reason to him... I tried to explain that I wasn't conning the system... but he didn't care... I was out... and he "dismissed" me... :o Well... I didn't buy his answer and got back in line where my number was and started praying... with my hands on my hips... now what was I gonna do? I knew that because I had the wrong card my number would be picked to be in the pit... but I was gonna get left out cause Tom had no idea WHO I AM!! Does he not know that I was born with the power or a locomotive?! And sure enough I was one of the "lucky lottery numbers" and so I prayed some more. Then I remembered Dana showing me her cut up credit card and her telling me that she had to just tell them the number on the card... they could enter it and BINGO!! I called my son, Joshua, and he read me the numbers off of the card... I wrote them down and waited for my turn to be let in. No tricks... but definitely like magic I was in... Tom who? :p Yes I can look back and it seems funny but at the time I was in tears... it was not a very good thing to go through before a "Dream" show. A couple deep breaths and maybe I could shake it off... I had a good spot in the pit... mid way back... between Bruce & Clarence... right in front of Nils... let it rock!! And rock it did! I love Night... and tonight it was so appropriate... Max's fierce banging helped to crush some of the "paperless" bricks.
Right into Cover Me... wow!! This was gonna be a good one!! Everyone seemed to be in a good mood... but to be honest the signs were starting to annoy me. There was one in particular that kept going up each time I wanted to record or take a picture... time after time it went up during Working On A Dream... and like I said... it was pretty annoying... then much to my surprise and pleasure Bruce yells to the person holding the sign, "Give me that sign!" takes it... and we get Sherry Darlin'! (and the sign is out of the way!)
We got some real treasures like Be True, So Young & In Love, and Then She Kissed Me.
When my daughter's favorite song, Waiting On A Sunny Day began I quickly called her so she could listen... oh how she loves that song! Thunder Road once again closed the show... and once again I waved goodbye to the band... tears streaming down my face.
What a wonderful time I had in "hot and sticky" Florida...
Leaving Torino proved to be quite the challange... as we raced to do things I should have done before the show... such as finding a money machine & filling up the gas tank. So we raced around long after midnight... figured out Italian enough to pull money out of the machine and then much to my surprise couldn't figure out how to turn on the "automated" gas pumps or where to put the money. Finally we find an all night gas station and off we go toward Udine. By now I'm wiped out and having quite a hard time staying awake and so I pull over to rest my eyes... 3 hours later I wake up with a gasp...
OH NO! The Italians got a 3-5 hour head start!! I was wide awake as I raced once more toward our final European Show mad at myself for falling asleep. The rental car had an alarm that would sound if I dared to go over the speed limit that kept going off for some reason... Rachel would wake up each time... just long enough to inform me what the alarm meant... "your speed." she'd mumble... and I'd answer back, "I know." lol We were quite surprised, as were our new Italian Bruce buddies, when we pulled in at #74 - 76! I was so mad at myself for falling asleep. We could have been front and center rather than front between Nils & Clarence. :D Just imagine, front row... IN ITALY!! and with such a wonderful group of fans... from all around Europe. Udine was very hot... but dry... like Nevada... and like Kuwait City... where Mijbel is from... he too had traveled to Italy just to see the show!! The Italian fans had been such wonderful hosts... even with the hot hot sun there were smiles and excitement all around... that is unless someone tried to cut in line... which was taken very seriously. You earn your spot by coming early... if you don't come early... you stand in the back. Respect!! Mijbel had a really cool Kitty's Back sign... a great request!! After the firetruck came through and "watered" us... security went down the line explaining the rules of entry. We were to WALK. They pointed out the official police and warned us that if there was any hint of running or excitement to run that they would shut down the show instantly... and added that they were looking for a reason to shut them down... so what ever we do... DO NOT RUN. So we calmly entered the venue... and I walked all the way... right up to the front row!! Rachel was taken to the handicapped vip seating again. I was very very close to the same spot in Roma and Milan (Magic Tour)... in Milan I stood behind a young man named Fabio... this year in Udine he and his girlfriend Roberta were standing right next to me!! How cool is that? Roberta spoke very good English and we chatted for hours... as we melted in the sun. Finally the sun decended behind the stadium seats...
Badlands... after 17 shows I finally got it... the message for The Dream Tour... "it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive." It's not a sin... and I sure was glad to be alive and in Udine!! Amazing... The song selection was in general very "up beat" but Murder Incorporated brought a haunting reminder to not trust Bobby!! Check out Nils' killer solo.
It was a beautiful night... hot... hot... hot... No Surrender... Summertime Blues... Be True... Streets of Fire... My Love Will Not Let You Down...
Another incredible show from the boys (& gal, sista soozie!) whom I have grown very fond of over the months! Her expression is a joy... she looks so happy to be there with her smile so bright! She is very animated as well and her attitude fits perfectly filling the corner in front of Roy's piano with good vibes and cheer!
To the crowds great pleasure Born in the USA started off our encore set... sticking close to hits off the same album before closing out with Twist & Shout! The E Street Band fulfilled it vow... and brought the music!! Udine brought the noise! On the way out I tried my luck and asked for a set list... I was so thrilled to score!! They said that they were all gone but then suddenly the guy from back puts one in the air and says here! Oh my goodness, I got all three ITALIAN SET LISTS!!! What a great keepsake!! Thanks to all of Bruce's staff as well as his fans for the great memories!!
In this massive world of the Internet... with multitudes of blogs to sort through... all reaching out to the masses... pouring out vast amounts of knowledge to literally thousands of readers... with site meters registering numbers as egos are fed... I have to stop myself from being sucked into the vacuum of blogging for numbers.
