In July 1999 I drove 627 miles from my home in Charlotte, N.C. to New Jersey to see my first Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert.
Five days later I did it again.
Since then I've seen Springsteen with his "heart-stopping, pants-dropping, hard-rocking, booty-shaking, Earth-quaking, nerve-breaking, Viagra-taking, history-making, legendary E Street Band" 25 times. I've also caught another 15 Springsteen shows where he's played solo or fronted other musicians.
I've read about him. I've written about him. I've even made my way into a scholarly book about Springsteen fans.
And while I haven't killed Springsteen's house pets, it's more because of a lack of opportunities and my shortcomings as a chemist than due to ethical reasons.
This Wednesday, Nov. 18, Springsteen and E Street make their closest stop to Louisville on the Working on a Dream tour when they play Nashville's Sommet Center. Tickets cost $35 to $98 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Lower-level and general admission tickets, which can get you up front if you're at the Sommet Center by 4 p.m. for the lottery (check the Sommet Center's website for more information), are still available.
The start time is 7:30 p.m., although you've got a little longer to make the drive down I-65 as the band usually takes the stage around 8:20 p.m. (there is no opening act).
Part of the appeal of a Springsteen show is that the set lists are much less predictable than for other musicians. That'll be different tomorrow when they play the Born to Run album in order, in its entirety, from the screen door slamming to poets winding up wounded. But I'm not complaining.
For more information: Read about when I saw one of my other rock gods play a local show: Roger Daltrey.
(Photo: Danny Clinch)
