Bruce Springsteen: Lost Time is Never Found Again

At this point, at 20 years of age, I was really still a concert newbie. I had not been to a real concert outside seeing Neil Young 10 days earlier. I was pretty stoked too. I loved Nebraska (still do) and saw Springsteen as this undeniable force of nature. The concert blows into town at a hurricane velocity, spins chaos for at least 4 hours, and veers away again, leaving fans drenched and exhausted.

Weeks before, my high school friend Gus and I waited in line overnight in London Ontario to get tickets to the show. We had been living the summer of Springsteen, and were psyched to see him play. The shows themselves were these infamous marathon experiences.

10am arrived and the line moved disturbingly slow. We stuck it out, becoming more nervous as the hours passed. By the time we got to the ticket wicket, we were looking at seats at the top rim of the Exhibition stadium. It didn't matter... we got tickets.

Gus drove us to the show, and brought his sister and cousin. We got to our seats just as the show started. I remember loving the whole vibe of the place, the merchandise vendors and the sheer size. And that was as good as it got.

Once Springsteen started, my heart sank. This show just blew. From the opening notes, it reeked of some passionless, choreographed and maudlin antic. Bruce and Clarance were hamming it up like kids in some after school special. And the songs that I thought were cool sounded really insincere and a sell-out. They had these rotten, stinking segues between songs, and someone found them poignant enough to record for posterity. You can be the judge: folksey, down-homey, or just moldy. Phooey! http://www.brucebase.org.uk/stories/270885.htm

I left the show a changed man, musically. I vowed I would never again go to a stadium show. I still listen to Springsteen and admire some of his work, but that show, along with my then recent discovery of the Velvet Underground and Nico, cemented my musical path as an adult.
I am reminded of something Neil Young said about his success with Heart of Gold: "'Heart of Gold' put me in the middle of the road. Traveling there soon became a bore so I headed for the ditch. A rougher ride but I saw more interesting people there."

I headed for the ditch that night.