Saw Springsteen for the first time last night

[SterileEyes1]

Always been a Petty/Mellencamp/Seger guy, but never Bruce. Definitely respected him but could never get past how campy and earnest his stuff is. Bought a ticket to the Chase Center SF show a year ago thinking “go see what the big deal is once while I still have the chance”, it got postponed, and I went in last night to the rescheduled show thinking I’d give it an hour and bail.

…goddamn that dude is badass. Officially a fan and officially understand why he’s called The Boss.

Any Bruce people here and anything I have to check out beyond the 70s and 80s albums?

[eddie lee roth]

If you watch Curb Your Enthusiasm you’d know he has Covid and sadly will die soon thanks to Larry David.

[DangerZone]

Always been a Petty/Mellencamp/Seger guy, but never Bruce. Definitely respected him but could never get past how campy and earnest his stuff is. Bought a ticket to the Chase Center SF show a year ago thinking “go see what the big deal is once while I still have the chance”, it got postponed, and I went in last night to the rescheduled show thinking I’d give it an hour and bail.

…goddamn that dude is badass. Officially a fan and officially understand why he’s called The Boss.

Any Bruce people here and anything I have to check out beyond the 70s and 80s albums?

‘Ghost of Tom joad’ is my favorite album of his.
It’s very quiet and takes some time to sink in

I actually prefer his solo stuff, songs like ‘brilliant disguise,’ ‘human touch,’ ‘tougher than the rest.’

[LAglamrocker]

Dude is a 5/10 at best live
3 hours of Axl way better than 3 hours of The Fake Boss
If you are going be a dwarf in music at least be Dio

[keyofgee]

Bruce has a great catalog of music and a great story teller. "Outlaw Pete" is one I spin constantly.

[VinnieVincentsVag]

He didn’t click with me until I was in my mid 30s.
Good stuff

[TooOldToCare]

I appreciate him now but did not back when Born in the USA came out (though I always liked Born to Run and Thunder Road). I've never seen him live and wouldn't, but I enjoyed his Broadway show.

[Bono Nettencourt]

Much like the Dead, the cult-like behavior of his fans and the local (Philly) radio stations put me off him. There are some songs of his that I do like.

[Spongie]

I’ll never ‘get’ Springsteen. Ever. He’s truly awful.

[GreatWhiteSnake]

It's mostly his song arrangements that keep me from enjoying him. I love what Mannfred Mann does with Bruce's tunes. Especially Spirits in the Night. And yeah the earnestness gets to me also...

[EzyRider]

I’ll never ‘get’ Springsteen. Ever. He’s truly awful.

Count me in with this guy

It seems like he's always in character or something

Is he really like that??

[rubysdad]

I’ll never ‘get’ Springsteen. Ever. He’s truly awful.

Count me in with this guy

It seems like he's always in character or something

Is he really like that??

He talks about it a bit in the Netflix show, his stage persona is a character.
I’ve seen him live three, maybe four times.
Once, just him by himself.
Always a great show.
But I rarely listen to his music.
On stage is where it makes sense.

[ijwthstd]

I’ll never ‘get’ Springsteen. Ever. He’s truly awful.

Count me in with this guy

It seems like he's always in character or something

Is he really like that??

It's like that for a lot of people

[skinni]

saw him live many times

great band, amazing songs

[inextrem]

Great songwriter, one of the best live experiences you'll ever get.

Post 80's stuff?

Well, the much maligned "Human Touch / Lucky Town" records are quite good, but you should go for "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "The Rising".
If you want something more recent, try with "Letter to you" which may be his best since "Rising".

[jens]

Bruce has a great catalog of music and a great story teller. "Outlaw Pete" is one I spin constantly.

This might be the meanest post I've seen on these boards!

[VicStelly]

I cannot get past the fake bellowing singing snd awful bass sound.

But when you add in his fans, especially the lawyers and professionals that think Bruce is their connection to a blue-collar life, then i start getting pissed.

[Roody]

Always been a Petty/Mellencamp/Seger guy, but never Bruce. Definitely respected him but could never get past how campy and earnest his stuff is. Bought a ticket to the Chase Center SF show a year ago thinking “go see what the big deal is once while I still have the chance”, it got postponed, and I went in last night to the rescheduled show thinking I’d give it an hour and bail.

…goddamn that dude is badass. Officially a fan and officially understand why he’s called The Boss.

Any Bruce people here and anything I have to check out beyond the 70s and 80s albums?

‘Ghost of Tom joad’ is my favorite album of his.
It’s very quiet and takes some time to sink in

I actually prefer his solo stuff, songs like ‘brilliant disguise,’ ‘human touch,’ ‘tougher than the rest.’

100% agree. Tom Joad is a brilliant album.

[superglide88]

Listen chronologically to:
Born to run
Darkness on the edge of town
Nebraska
Born in the Usa
Live ‘75 ‘85
Ghost of Tom Joad
The rising
Devils and Dust
That’ll give you a pretty good overview
And the DVD Blood Brothers which gives a pretty good insight in the band dynamics and why he is called ‘the Boss’
From there, explore the rest.

His work ethics and live shows are next level, haters gonna hate.

[jens]

I cannot get past the fake bellowing singing snd awful bass sound.

But when you add in his fans, especially the lawyers and professionals that think Bruce is their connection to a blue-collar life, then i start getting pissed.

What's wrong with the bass sound?

Springsteen grew up lower working class and didn't get rich until well in his 30's. It's bullshit to claim he doesn't know what he's talking about.

[MetalSludgeCEO]

Never got into him... and think (thought) pretty much what you have for the last 40 years...

I am sure he's next level, as you don't get to that point, across the board for decades, without being that good.

But... if I never sit through 3 hours of that... I will live I am sure.

$tEvil

[Silentbutdeadly]

First time I was able to see him was on The Rising tour, and it was some kind of religious experience (minus the pedophilia and hypocrisy). Wish I would have seen him earlier. Tons of great tunes too.

[uwec95]

One of my favorite artists ever. For post 1980s Bruce, I love The Rising album. It still sounds great today, but when you listen with the context of when it was released in your mind, it is amazing.

[Bono Nettencourt]

I cannot get past the fake bellowing singing snd awful bass sound.

But when you add in his fans, especially the lawyers and professionals that think Bruce is their connection to a blue-collar life, then i start getting pissed.

What's wrong with the bass sound?

Springsteen grew up lower working class and didn't get rich until well in his 30's. It's bullshit to claim he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Except he never worked a day in his life. So he really doesn't know. It's a pose.

[ijwthstd]

I cannot get past the fake bellowing singing snd awful bass sound.

But when you add in his fans, especially the lawyers and professionals that think Bruce is their connection to a blue-collar life, then i start getting pissed.

Or the people crying because now that Bruce is asking for what his tickets are worth they can't be in the pit 27 times in a row now.

That said, his songs are stories much in the vain of folk singers, etc, he is claiming to be the characters he is singing about. It was Jon Landau helping tighten up his sound, add some bombast and simplify the lyrics a bit for Born To Run that pushed him to a new level. Until then he was being marketed as a successor to Bob Dylan.

[LAglamrocker]

Ok best memory of Bruce tour
Saw at Sports Arena got hooked up with wristband for last 2 hours of show
Best- wore my Ariana Grande The Honeymoon tour shirt- had buy XXL that all was left.
Going to pit was so depressing all old-ass grandads was depressing- they all dressed and looked like failed dudes that sell houses for living- a few of these idiots wanted to talk to me after the show asking me where I came from and how I have fun. These dorks didn’t get the truth..I remember I told them I came from MotleyCrue land 1989.
Went to Dames and Games after

[ijwthstd]

I went to the Forum last night.

The show is just chugging along at like a 7. Someone I know who has gone to hundreds of the shows since the 1970's says now he is good not great. Then after the duets with Patti, who never shows up anymore, he steps on the gas and takes it to a ten for the rest of the night. That's a the magic of a truly organic live performance, from someone who long ago excelled at the craft. Show was 200 minutes total with no break.

He's made a few improvements since the last time I saw him. Now he's charging a fair price instead of running his tours as a charity case for spoiled and entitled boomers. And he's sticking to the hits with even the "deep cuts" mostly off albums that have sold millions so he can keep the crowd energy in tandem with the band's.

But if he is releasing audio of everything on Nugs he should be live video streaming too so the people crying that they can't do 87 shows in the pit because he is finally charging what he is worth might cough up $39.99 to watch from home while crying he isn't doing 20 setlist changes each night.

https://youtu.be/5oUFr5JYA3Q?si=DPGx9Ifn4p6TuWUM&t=395

Tempted to go again Sunday even if it's not really in the budget and will likely cost me a lot more than the $100 I paid.

[SterileEyes1]

This has been a fun thread to read, thank you for the insight and the recommendations! On it.

Gotta love the “he was great, now he’s good” sentiments from old time fans - uh, yeah, a 74 year old is good whereas a 30-50 year old is great. That’s sort of how it works!

[HoldenSSV]

I can respect him for putting on 3 hour shows and surrounding himself with much better musicians. Even if he has an off night, the music will still be solid.

I would only go if someone gave me tickets.

[Bono Nettencourt]

I cannot get past the fake bellowing singing snd awful bass sound.

But when you add in his fans, especially the lawyers and professionals that think Bruce is their connection to a blue-collar life, then i start getting pissed.

Or the people crying because now that Bruce is asking for what his tickets are worth they can't be in the pit 27 times in a row now.

That said, his songs are stories much in the vain of folk singers, etc, he is claiming to be the characters he is singing about. It was Jon Landau helping tighten up his sound, add some bombast and simplify the lyrics a bit for Born To Run that pushed him to a new level. Until then he was being marketed as a successor to Bob Dylan.

And boy howdy was he marketed - not many artists had a critic from Rolling Stone producing their records. There was a massive multimedia blitz behind Born to Run, and Born in the USA was conceived because his handlers wanted to catapult him from arenas into stadiums. Some "working-class hero".