Faithful Man
Apr 26th, 2008, 11:17 PM
My son and I had this weekend circled on the calendar for several months. A 3-pack of shows within a drive of our new home in NC -- Atlanta on Friday, Charlotte on Sunday and Greensboro on Monday. It's not 10 shows in the friendly confines of Giants Stadium, but it's not a bad consolation prize for leaving the mid-Atlantic region's abundance of shows. Plus, it's another show with my son, who is just a month away from being a college graduate. I've been going to Bruce shows since 1973, but most of the many since 1993 have been with my son alongside me. Experiencing Bruce's music with him right there with me is one of parenting's special treats and something that is to be treasured. I know from posts on this very board that many of you have had this joy a few times so you can share my joy.
Anyway, armed with GAs for Atlanta (courtesy of brucegroupie's ticket procourement efforts) and fellow fan's urging (courtesy of NJ Devils Fan), we focus on Atlanta as our best bet for the pit. We also have GAs for Greensboro, but realize that the first show offers the best bet since I would be at my strongest. That may not be a prime thought for many fans, but since I have been an esophageal cancer survivor for less than one year, I'm still wary enough to keep it in mind. The back-to-back shows (plus a great tailgate before show #2, thanks to Mike and Keri) in Philly last October showed that I had rebounded from everything quite nicely, but I wasn't quite ready to take on the pit at that point. We enjoyed the Dallas show with family from the back of GA and had set our sights on Atlanta.
Arriving in Atlanta around 4PM, we checked into our hotel and bolted for Philips, collecting wristbands 650 and 651. When 402 was called, we knew we were in and quickly planned to go for as close as possible on the Clarence/Nils/Charlie side, directly in front of C's throne. When we wind up 3 people back, we're psyched for the evening and have lots of time to kill.
Thanks to four women having a Bruce reunion in Atlanta (and a few other nice folks around us), the time went quickly as we had fun making signs, sharing stories, talking about kids in college and learning important info for an upcoming trip to Chicago. We protected each other's pit turf and shared lots of laughs. In sum, a fun time, and the show hadn't even started!
As for the show itself, standing all those hours drained me a bit, but it was well worth it. Being up so close, you feel even more alive and see the intensity and tightness of the band up close and personal.
Lots of highlights:
- the video tribute to Danny was a walk down memory lane, a nice tribute and an emotional renewal that we will definitely beat cancer someday (hopefully soon);
- No Surrender is a song that I have loved for a long time and I adopted "no retreat, no surrender" as my mantra through my chemo and radiation treatments last spring and summer. I will never tire of hearing it;
- Blinded for Danny. All of us loved it and Bruce and the band had loads of fun with it;
- Trapped/Murder/Prove It/She's the One -- wow, wow, wow and wow, enough said;
- Point Blank was the holy $%#& moment of the night for me. I had feared that this was as retired as any Bruce song could be, but there it was in all of its splendor (Tommy, it sounded great!);
- Last To Die/Long Walk Home/Badlands may be every night standards for this tour, but I never get tired of them;
- Thunder Road is another song that is incredibly special and so moving. I fall in love with the song, and the flood of memories that it conjures up, everytime I hear it.
to be continued on next post
Anyway, armed with GAs for Atlanta (courtesy of brucegroupie's ticket procourement efforts) and fellow fan's urging (courtesy of NJ Devils Fan), we focus on Atlanta as our best bet for the pit. We also have GAs for Greensboro, but realize that the first show offers the best bet since I would be at my strongest. That may not be a prime thought for many fans, but since I have been an esophageal cancer survivor for less than one year, I'm still wary enough to keep it in mind. The back-to-back shows (plus a great tailgate before show #2, thanks to Mike and Keri) in Philly last October showed that I had rebounded from everything quite nicely, but I wasn't quite ready to take on the pit at that point. We enjoyed the Dallas show with family from the back of GA and had set our sights on Atlanta.
Arriving in Atlanta around 4PM, we checked into our hotel and bolted for Philips, collecting wristbands 650 and 651. When 402 was called, we knew we were in and quickly planned to go for as close as possible on the Clarence/Nils/Charlie side, directly in front of C's throne. When we wind up 3 people back, we're psyched for the evening and have lots of time to kill.
Thanks to four women having a Bruce reunion in Atlanta (and a few other nice folks around us), the time went quickly as we had fun making signs, sharing stories, talking about kids in college and learning important info for an upcoming trip to Chicago. We protected each other's pit turf and shared lots of laughs. In sum, a fun time, and the show hadn't even started!
As for the show itself, standing all those hours drained me a bit, but it was well worth it. Being up so close, you feel even more alive and see the intensity and tightness of the band up close and personal.
Lots of highlights:
- the video tribute to Danny was a walk down memory lane, a nice tribute and an emotional renewal that we will definitely beat cancer someday (hopefully soon);
- No Surrender is a song that I have loved for a long time and I adopted "no retreat, no surrender" as my mantra through my chemo and radiation treatments last spring and summer. I will never tire of hearing it;
- Blinded for Danny. All of us loved it and Bruce and the band had loads of fun with it;
- Trapped/Murder/Prove It/She's the One -- wow, wow, wow and wow, enough said;
- Point Blank was the holy $%#& moment of the night for me. I had feared that this was as retired as any Bruce song could be, but there it was in all of its splendor (Tommy, it sounded great!);
- Last To Die/Long Walk Home/Badlands may be every night standards for this tour, but I never get tired of them;
- Thunder Road is another song that is incredibly special and so moving. I fall in love with the song, and the flood of memories that it conjures up, everytime I hear it.
to be continued on next post