Since I'm a Bruce fanatic and (cough cough) have met him, people have been asking me what I thought about the Super Bowl performance. I got some people who thought he "sold out" by even doing it, and some who think he "sold out" by playing karaoke-ready hits like Glory Days.
First of all, as a Bruce snob, of COURSE I was hoping he'd come out with My Love Will Not Let You Down/Lion's Den/Land of Hope and Dreams. Deep super-slices that I love because I am an uber-fan who has all the albums, and the outtakes, and the shows etc etc etc. They are MY slices, whether they've ever even been released on a record or not.
The first time I ever saw Bruce live, I was absurdly lucky to be in the VIP-ish section right in front of the stage. If I wanted, I could've reached up and grabbed the 19-pound ham Clarence was working on throughout the set. At one point during the show I noticed Bruce has slipped knee pads on, and then BOOM! there he was, jumping on the piano, on his knees. While I liked the showmanship, I was a bit turned off by such a calculated move - how spontaneous could it have been if he thought "okay, before Out in the Street, put on the kneepads for my piano bit."?
But then I noticed Bruce wasn't looking at me, he wasn't singing to me. He was waving his arms and singing and dancing for those poor bastards in the last few seats in the back of the arena; ones who had paid money, maybe brought their kid, and could barely see him from their seats. Yeah he had to put on knee pads (he is 97 years old), but if that's what it took to get on top of the piano and let the people in the back know that he knew they were there, and they meant as much to him (maybe more) than the lucky fucks like me in the front, well then that's what he was gonna do.
Bruce famously once said "it's aint' a party unless EVERYONE'S invited." And that's what halftime was on Sunday. Yeah, playing Dollhouse woulda made my day. But playing Glory Days ensured that EVERYONE was in on it, EVERYONE could sing along etc. Nobody was an outsider. It was a party, and you better believe everybody was invited.
5 comments:
-sobbing uncontrollably-
got to j's superbowl party just in time. i was runnin late and had to stop into a bar, without drinking, to make sure i could make it. i was not disappointed. i like 10th avenue. i was surprised with that one. but i hope bruce's knees made it out ok.
true story: whilst sitting at watty's party, i initially didn't realize i'd picked the final 3 bruce songs correctly (cough ... a week before), cuz when they started the finale, i thought to myself, "cadillac ranch", that's an odd choice.
read more about it on backstreets.com.
signed,
rain man
The referee bit was a little much even for a spectacle.
He sucked. Jeez you guys have been blinded by the myth. I love the man Bruce wishes he were.
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