Somewhere in the Swamps of Jersey

As I reported last May, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band returned to the Meadowlands for five shows at Giants Stadium before it is torn down. I wanted to go, of course, and even had gone so far as to look for tickets and put them in the "cart" before deciding to think about it a little longer. Then they announced that he was coming to Madison Sq. Garden in November and I knew I wanted to go to that show, so I got tickets for MSG and decided to skip Giants Stadium.... Until.... I was listening to the radio yesterday morning and heard that he planned to play the entire album of "Born to Run" from beginning to end during the show. This is (probably) my favorite album of all time. Months ago, I heard that he was going to do this in Chicago and I thought that was a fantastic idea and I had to be a part of it. But again, I looked for tickets and then changed my mind before I actually went through with it. Now that I heard he was going to do the same thing in my neck of the woods, that was all I needed. I got to work, found a ticket, and that was it. I was going that night! The only regret I had is that since I didn't know I was going before I left for work, I didn't bring my Jersey Girl shirt to change into (too cold anyway).

Typical things that happen at most of the shows, and this one is no different: I'm waiting in a long line for the bathroom and thus miss the band taking the stage, he starts off slow (read: boring) and ends on a high note which makes me want to go to the next show (e.g. Friday he's playing "Darkness on the Edge of Town" from beginning to end--still tempted), I sit next to annoying people, he plays for over three hours and therefore I get home in the middle of the night.

Bruce Springsteen performs his new song Wrecking Ball at Giants Stadium

Set list:

Wrecking Ball (new for this show)
Seeds
Johnny 99
Atlantic City
Outlaw Pete
Hungry Heart (here's where it starts to get good, according to me)
Working On A Dream

*Thunder Road (Track one, side one, Born to Run)
*Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
*Night
*Backstreets
*Born To Run
*She's The One
*Meeting Across The River
*Jungleland (Last song on Born to Run)

Waiting On A Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Into The Fire
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Badlands
No Surrender (then Pretends to leave, but dispenses with the formality and goes straight into the encore because "it's cold")
Raise Your Hand (collects posters with song titles)
E Street Shuffle (by request)
Growing Up (by request -- my first time seeing him perform this one)
American Land
Dancin' In The Dark (pulls up an old lady to dance with on stage -- quite a difference from Courteney Cox in the 1984 video)
Hard Times
Rosalita

Highlights for me (i.e. the times I went totally mental): Jungleland, Thunder Road, Growing up, E Street Shuffle.