I first saw Bruce Springsteen in the Summer of '85, during his Born in the USA tour in the Orange Bowl. Wifey and I saw way up in the cheap seats, and agreed it was amazing -- he held the 70k fans in the palm of his hand as we sang and danced.
Since then, I saw him probably another 6 or 7 times -- twice without Wifey. The last time was "The River" tour at the hockey arena in Sunrise. The most memorable was "The Rising" tour in '02 or '03 at the AAA in Miami. As Wifey and I waited for the show, she said there were precious few acts she would see any more -- U2 was one of them. Sure enough, as if on cue, Bono came on stage later, as did Dion, and the 3 greats played some songs together. That was magical.
I read that his new tour included a stop at the Hard Rock Casino theater, a smallish venue, probably less than 10k. I assume the Seminoles, who print money at that place, just paid Bruce whatever the take would have been at a double sized venue. I decided I wanted to go.
I went online at Ticketmaster, and scored. I bought 4 tickets at the low price of $500 each. Paul and Patricia had never seen Bruce, and so we invited them. By show time, the seats could have been sold for $2200 each. Paul wanted to sell. I reminded him he was a rich old fuh, and $4k wasn't going to change his life. But I expected transport, alcohol, and dinner, and so we agreed to meet at Denny's in Hallandale, our muster spot for Broward and points North excursions, and John, a Williams Island worker, came and fetched us in his Hyundai, dropping us at the newly re-opened Runway 84.
They did a fab job with the reno, to use hip speak. The airplane bar is gone, but the place now looks like the supper club from Goodfellas. The food was great. By the time we arrived, I had two Stoli Elits and ice, and so was feeling fine. Wifey and Patricia drank Prosecco. I toasted our wonderful combined 5 kids and 5 grandkids -- and may they all leave us alone tonight! They did.
We piled back into the Hyundai,and John dropped us at the facility. It was buzzing. The demographics of the casino are classier than Atlantic City, but a bit below Vegas. I'm not a casino guy, but enjoyed the vibe. We went to the theater, and found our excellent seats. Bruce began at 745, with "No Surrender."
I chatted with the guy next to me, about 10 years younger, from Boca, there with his 23 year old son. He had seen the shows in Tampa and Orlando. I asked him how many he had attended -- tonight was to be his 75th!
Wow -- I felt like an amateur. He explained that Bruce's music and lyrics got him through a tough young adulthood. He also had a friend in the front row -- sitting next to BonJovi. We wondered whether he would take the stage. He did not.
What followed was 3 solid hours of awesome music, banter, and dancing. It's why you say you attend a Springsteen show -- never a concert. He went old school -- playing the E Street Shuffle, from his first record, in '72.
He also played one of my favorite songs, "Because the Night," which he wrote with Patti Smith, and usually leaves for her to perform. To me, the lyric captures the longing and intensity of young love better than any poem.
He also sang some soul tunes, like "Night Shift," from his latest homage to the greats in that genre. It's funny, though -- I didn't spot a single Black person in the audience. I guess the Boss has his audience.
The show ended, and we met John right at the valet. Paul thanked me for encouraging him to attend -- he loved it. Patricia did, too, as did Wifey.
The vodka had worn off, and we had a nice drive home. I would have said it was nice to get off the reservation, but we actually went ON the reservation. I am so politically incorrect -- especially about a tribe of people who have more money than Hashem.
The musical beginning to the year continues. Edna and Marc are coming late February, and we're off to Key West to see 89 year old Willie Nelson. I take any excuse to visit Key West, and that was a fine one.
But all in all, dinner at Runway 84, my favorite musical performer, and dear friends. Not a bad Tuesday night at all in the 954.
No comments:
Post a Comment