My Love Will Not Let TURIN Down!

Crutches!! That's it... we'll rent crutches!! Rachel loved the idea!! We picked up our rental car and programmed the navigational system... and off to the Olimpico di Torino, but first crutches. When we got to the pharmacy we found that is was 50 euros to rent (for a week) but it was only 25 euros to buy them. What a deal!! Just hurry!! We got queued up late... but it could have been worse... I had #124... damn... oh well... but my concern was Rachel... she couldn't stand for 3 hours... and I needed to make sure that she'd be okay so I could escape into The E Street Band for 3 hours... I spoke with Graham about handicapped seating... hoping I wouldn't have to stay with her... lol... I wanted to try for a good spot in front again. Thankfully they moved her to the special soccer handicapped seating, where she had a great seat on a platform above the crowd just behind the pit... security was much more adamant about us not running and the queue is walked slowly into the venue. It was amazing... so opposite Roma's entrance... and I got a spot off to the side... Clarence's side again... but farther off center. It wasn't the best spot but it was front row... on the rail... it could have been much worse. Right before they let us in... Corrado and his friend told me about their idea for the Drive All Night signs... this time they would put three Drive All Night signs in three separate envelopes... marked with #1, #2 and #3. Then they paid a child to hand Bruce the envelopes so that Bruce wouldn't suspect any trickery! lol What a great idea!! He handed me another of the printed off Drive All Night signs. As I sat waiting for the show the guy next to me asked what song I wanted most... (he spoke very good broken English!) and I told him that (besides FOR YOU which he played in Dublin) I had been following Bruce around for 2 years hoping for My Love Will Not Let You Down... and that's what I really wanted to hear... and I looked at my sign... and I thought... why not... and I turned my Drive All Night sign over and asked the girls making their sign on a big water float if I could borrow a marker... and I made my sign... one like the one I was holding when Bruce shook my hand in Greensboro... (remember?) The one with a heart as the O in LOVE... but I only had one color... so it was all black and very generic... and very plain. He wasn't going to play it anyway... but what the heck... would plain be good enough? The lighting guys came out and taunted us once more... the show was about to begin... I gasped... a tour premiere... LOOSE ENDS!

The crowd was lovin' it... these crowds were unlike any of the crowds I'd seen in America... the energy was so high... and the love tangible... there was no judging of the set list here... just a hunger for more... "every body's got a hungry heart" the crowd sang... before another dramatic Outlaw Pete... Bruce switched up this time, replacing Seeds with another premiere, Murder Inc... followed by Johnny 99 and American Skin... and then it was time to RAISE YOUR SIGN!! I was so far away from the stage... way down... but not far enough to be at the end where he would stop for signs... it was hopeless but I held it up anyway. He stopped about 3 people down from me and grabbed the floatation raft from the girls before walking past me... as he headed toward the end catwalk he glanced down at my sign and looked straight at it... but he kept walking... like he wasn't interested in it... I was disappointed but not surprised... I held it up one final time as he passed me heading back toward the stage... not so much as a glance... I threw it down on the floor between the stage and the pit... and took my mind off it as they premiered another with Traveling Band! Then Bruce opens an envelope with a request in it: Drive All Night!! The crowd cheers but Bruce shakes his head no and goes for the #2 envelope! OH NO!! He opens it: Drive All Night!! He knows he's been tricked and he rips open envelope #3: Drive All Night!! He looks at us like we are nuts as he counts it off our 4th premiere!!

Amazing!! There was such an amazing vibe going on... a connection... bond of love... between Bruce and the traveling fans... who followed Bruce throughout Europe... Drive All Night was for them!! On to the next request: Two Hearts... which seemed to speak louder than usual on this warm Italian night... sometimes it does feel like it was planned for me to roam empty hearted through this land... but not tonight... I was surrounded by not only 2 hearts that understood... but thousands... what a great time we were having... so much so that I hadn't even realized that there was no sign for the next request... but as the opening notes rang out to the 5th premiere of the night, the girls who had loaned me their marker turned to me & we screamed in each others' faces! It was my request! Thank you, Bruce!

I chose this video to share because amazingly enough... this is where I stood... the filmer must have been right behind me as this is my view... and pretty close to what I heard... LOL That bass amp in front of me was soooo loud... it pounded through me... thankfully Max & Garry were in sync with my heartbeat!! Tonight in Turin, Bruce and his E Streeters did NOT let us down!! Bruce gave us 6 premieres in all including My Hometown... and one "extra" that had us breathlessly waiting for more as Bruce offered us tiny taste of the old days when he teased us with a hint of a "sad eyes" insert during Backstreets... Bruce was definitely feelin' it!

On the way out one of the "crew" gave me Clarence's copy of the set list!! I had come so far... and waited so long... and got both of my requests... in Europe!! I left Torino floating on cloud 9... What's left for Udine?

Did I say, "Thank you!" yet? Well...