54326jj@hou2f.UUCP (J.JOHNSON) (08/20/85)
I just read Evan Marcus' comments on The Boss' concert, and I too, would like to make some comments. I also saw Bruce at Giants Stadium on 8/18. Four of us arrived there at 5:00, and we didn't do any tailgating! We waited an hour and 15 minutes before the gates were opened. This is where I'd like to flame a bit. The Meadowlands has the worst system I have ever seen for letting people in to see a concert. They have all sorts of gates that could be opened, so people could stroll in. Instead, they wait forever to open the gates, and when they do, one gate will open instead of two. As a result, 20,000 people are trying to squeeze through a 20-foot wide space. And you wonder why problems can arise! The same thing happens at the Byrne Arena. It's a shame the disrespect we rockers receive from the officials! Anyway, now that I got that off my chest, back to the show. Bruce was great, as usual. I have seen him a few times before, at the Byrne Arena, and at Nassau Coliseum. I think Bruce is just as intimate with a crowd of 65,000 as he is with a crowd of 20,000 or less. Since my seats were behind the stage, pretty high up, the sound could have been a little better, though I was surprised at the quality of the sound for such a big place. The screens were absolutely no good for us fans behind the stage. Because we were behind the stage, the BIG MAN's sax playing didn't come through as clearly as in an indoor arena. We also got an echo, which I don't know if people in other parts of the stadium heard. I would have liked to have heard more from The Wild ..., but I guess we can't hear everything! Everything he played was fabulous, and he is a great storyteller, and a real sincere man. The E Street Band is a great band, they have just as much energy as The Boss himself. The show ended at 11:55 p.m. (as opposed to the 11:45 that Evan stated). The only thing that surprised me was that the crowd did not try to get him back out after his second encore. Most shows I go to the crowd tries their best to get the performer back out. But as soon as Bruce ended with Sherry Darling and said good night and walked off, everybody started to leave! This is the first time I have ever witnessed anything like this!! By the way, I am going back to see Bruce on Thursday, 8/22. One can never get too much Bruce Juice!! I am also interested in seeing more comments on his shows! Jo-Ann Johnson AT&T Bell Labs Holmdel, NJ hou2f!54326jj
evan@petfe.UUCP (Evan Marcus) (08/21/85)
In <515@hou2f.UUCP>, Jo-Ann Johnson responded to some of what I had to say
about Bruce Springsteen at the Meadowlands.
One gripe she had was that it was slow getting inside, because they led
everybody thru these little gates. I was under the impression that they
frisked everybody as they went in. (I had field seats, and so had a special
gate to go in--no frisking, but other people had mentioned this to me.)
Even so, they had to do something about people rushing the gates, and people
without tix getting in. Also, they didn't start letting anyone in until
about 6. That's because (at least on Sunday) the stage wasn't done yet.
Thusly the rumors about extra tickets going on sale.
Forgive me for my error as to when he went off. I estimated 11:45, as it was
just midnight when I got outside, and it sure seemed like 15 minutes I was
stuck in that crowd. (Jo-Ann said 11:55)
I have spoken to a few others who were there, and they agreed with me that
he was certainly good (and a bad Bruce concert would be better than many
other artists' best efforts), but they were (and so was I) disappointed that
he left out so much of the stuff that helped him make his mark. Do you
need a list? How about Jungle Land? Rosalita? Growin' up? For more recent
stuff, how about Point Blank?
One other gripe, and this is certainly NOT Bruce's fault, but in the parking
lot after the show, the hibachi I had used to make lunch/dinner, and was too
hot to put in my car was stolen. I had left it right against the side of my
car, against a tire, and it was gone. So were 3 coolers that some people
near me had accidentally left out. That sucks!
Don't get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed the show. As I said, a bad Bruce
concert would be better than most artists' best effort. All I am saying is
that of the 3 times I've seen him, I enjoyed this show the least. In my eyes,
playing only your newest stuff is succumbing to commercial pressures.
Bruce shouldn't do that!
Besides, I love to gripe!
--Evan Marcus
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