When You Walk In The Room

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!!