No. 181 – The River

Performer: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen

Original Release: The River (Bruce Springsteen)

Year: 1980

Definitive Version: Live in New York City, 2001.

Debbie was more of a Bruce Springsteen fan than I was. I didn’t like most of his stuff with The E Street Band. Instead, I preferred my Boss stripped down. Give me Nebraska. Give me The Ghost of Tom Joad.

Debbie loved Tom Joad, too, and when Bruce toured in 1996, he made a stop at Vets Memorial in Columbus. That would be an intimate (relatively speaking) venue to see such a rock legend play, but to my surprise, Debbie didn’t want to go.

Just like when it came to seeing a game at Wrigley Field—I only want to see the Reds play there—Debbie wanted to see Bruce only with The E Street Band. Considering that he hadn’t played with those guys in eight years, and it didn’t seem as though he had much interest in putting the old band back together, that seemed like a pipe dream.

Of course, nothing’s forever any more when it comes to rock and roll and money. In 1999, Bruce reunited with The E Street Band for a greatest-hits album and a tour. Best of all, they’d be in Columbus at the new Schottenstein Center at Ohio State just one day after Debbie’s birthday. It made for an easy birthday present to say the least.

Unfortunately, my luck at getting tickets held, so we were in the upper bowl about a mile from the stage. At least we had a straightaway view of the stage.

The night of the concert, we arrived early to beat the traffic and get a decent parking spot, because we knew it would be fairly crazy. In fact, we got there so early that we arrived before they opened the doors to the arena, because Bruce still was running his sound check. We were the first ones in what was sure to be a jam-packed section.

I’d heard that Bruce Springsteen never sells the first row of any of his concerts. Instead, those seats are reserved for the hardest of hard-core fans—the folks who sit in the crap seats. Before the show, Bruce’s roadies would trade tickets with those folks, and they’d get an unforgettable experience.

It was one of those rock legends that you imagined existed only in the minds of those telling the tale. I was going to tell Debbie about this legend, but as we plopped down in our seats, I held my tongue, because I didn’t think our seats were bad enough to qualify, and I didn’t want her to get her hopes up.

Well … I no sooner had consciously shut my yapper when a guy who wore a black Bruce Springsteen concert T-shirt and who looked a bit like Doug, my music-writer buddy from Flint, sat down next to Debbie. I’ll never forget what he said: “Would you guys like to sit in the front row?”

No way! The legend was true?!

Debbie, thinking the guy was a scalper and surprised that he would be so brazen as to hawk his goods INSIDE the arena, asked, how much? The guy just laughed. It’s free, he explained. Put on this green wristband. You give me your tickets, and take these tickets instead.

Debbie told me later she thought it was a scam, that we were going to hand over our tickets to this stranger and then we somehow would be screwed out of seeing the show. But I knew the legend and knew it was legit. I already was handing over my ticket with a huge smile on my face.

Debbie was stunned by this shocking turn of events. “How can you do this?” she finally asked in a daze. “I work for Bruce.” With that, he slapped the wrist bands on us, and we swapped ducats, which clearly said Floor, Row 1, Seats 1 and 2 and a price of $0.00, and he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

As you can imagine, Debbie was beside herself. As we headed downstairs, she was jumping up and down like a little girl, and I told her of the legend and that I was just about to tell her but stopped myself for the reasons I noted. Then there we were, in the front row, stage right. How’s THAT for a birthday surprise?

So, the best seats I ever purchased were third row for Toad the Wet Sprocket at Vets Memorial. The best seats I ever had were front row for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at the Schottenstein Center. I was no more than 10 feet from Gary Tallent and Little Steven Van Zant, whom I revered more for this new show he was on called The Sopranos. When Bruce prowled the stage, he was three feet from us.

I have to admit, I felt guilty the whole concert for not being as big of a fan as I should have been to be sitting where I was. I mean if it were for Rush or Pearl Jam or CSNY, it would be obvious I deserved those seats. But for Bruce? If he plays Tom Joad, I’m good, but, Born to Run or Thunder Road or, say, The River? Fugedaboudit.

It was an amazing show, and if I were a fan, it probably would be my No. 1 concert of all time. Bruce played his usual three-hour-plus high-intensity set, and it was cool that Patty was sick that night, so it was like seeing Bruce & The E Street Band from the old, old days, pre-Born in the U.S.A.

I can’t say I became a bigger fan, but Bruce at least converted me on The River that night (as well as a completely unrecognizable Born in the U.S.A.). When the live album from that tour came out just before Debbie and I broke up, I bought a copy (and another for myself after the split), and The River became a regular play for the next 2 years.

But I guess you could say that Bruce gave me a big assist for making Debbie’s birthday that year memorable.