By Johan Van Rooyen
Upon arriving at the Bruce Springsteen concert on Saturday, I felt like I could relate to the way Bilbo Baggins must have felt in that last Hobbit movie. After making an epic journey, Baggins looked with a mixture of pride and nostalgia at the Lonely Mountain that had once been his home. Similarly I looked over a stretch of Joburg veld to the looming FNB stadium, excitement piquing with the anticipation of hearing the familiar sounds that had blasted from my dad’s radio speakers since childhood, the sounds of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
The crowds of Baby Boomers who had grown up with anthems like Born To Run and Dancing In The Dark formed queues hundreds of meters long to enter the stadium and relive the zeitgeist of the 80s. The atmosphere was electric, and one had a palpable sense of the significant space that Springsteen and his music holds for all these forty-thousand aging rockers.
The show was kicked off by local Blues guitarist Dan Patlansky – an oddity for Bruce Springsteen’s shows, as he usually does not have an opening act. Patlansky had obviously impressed Springsteen enough to be included in the show, and proved his right to the place with his exceptional guitar playing ability, well-crafted songs and a tight and professional delivery. If the pressure of such a large show was getting to him, it did not show, as he delivered song after song with the confidence and grace of a seasoned performer.
(Image Credit: Big Concerts Official Twitter Account)
Well primed and ready for the night, the crowd was lifted in a roar of cheers and applause as The Boss walked onto stage and entered into a spirited cover of “Free Nelson Mandela”. From this starting point, Springsteen, supported by his faithful E Street Band, launched into a highly energetic performance covering songs from his early repertoire up to his most recent releases and had the audience singing and dancing late into the night, regardless of the rain. Rather than retreat to the safety of shelter The Boss brought his microphone stand to the front of the stage, embracing the rain alongside his fans, and took some of the hand-made signs from the crowd, placing them on the stage.
