I am going to definitely make it through this year. Now the lockdowns are behind us, it is great that bands have come out of tour hibernation and brought live music to the global audience.
So Bruce Springsteen decided to do one of those epic tours that he is famous for. Wendy and I spent some time touring round New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts finally to see my lovely sister.
Belmont Park, Long Island, New York was the first concert of this tour for us. I will write about the stays again, but this is about the music
Bruce Springsteen with the heart-stopping, pants-dropping, earth shocking, hard rocking, booty-shaking, love making, Earth Quaking, Viagra-taking, history making, testifying, death-defying, legendary E STREET BAND!
Whilst in the US, my Swedish friend Annika contacted me. I had met Annika at the Springsteen on Broadway gig a few years back and we chatted via social media. She say’s she has a spare ticket for Dublin! I agree and so a few weeks later, I am astride my Triumph Tiger catching the ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare
So the second gig of this tour for me is at the RDS Arena in Dublin. I meet Annika, get my ticket, but she is lucky enough to have got into the Golden Circle. So we say our sad goodbyes and I stand back to gather in my surroundings. I have travelled down to the stadium from my hotel on the Tiger and I had managed to chain it to a coffee wagon, so I know it’s safe. I meet some new friends to share this experience with. This time I am so close I can tell the difference between Stevie and Nils’ guitars, I can see Stevie snacking whilst Bruce goes acoustic!
The rain holds off until it is time to get back on the Triumph and the Garda shoo me back to the hotel so I don’t get too damp.
The third music fix of this tour is Ferarra in Italy. This time I have Wendy in tow and we have the festival experience. Sadly, this area of Italy had suffered massive flooding and it was a real worry if this was going to happen at all! But it did and we had a fantastic time in the beautiful city. We met Erin and her husband, who have travelled from Asbury Park, New Jersey! We had met them on our American trip some months previous, but it really was good to meet some friendly faces. Erin swapped a lovely American bracelet for a copy of my book and we had a great dinner the night before the gig.
Sam Fender (another favourite) came on before The Boss and it was a different feeling gig to the others I had enjoyed so far this tour. Bruce brought happiness, entertainment and the great feeling Ferrara needed after the great rain
The ice cream, food and wine in Italy are pushing my belly outwards. But all too soon we have to travel back to the UK to meet new and old friends. Bel (on my left in the pic) is the biggest Springsteen nut I know, and is a dear, beautiful friend. She frequently brings new E street friends to meet me and get a copy of the book. I live through the power of friendship and as I had missed Bel in Dublin, it was great to catch up before the Villa Park gig
My travelling partner for the Villa Park in Birmingham is my writing partner and mucker, Alun Gibbard. It really was good after getting through the experience of writing the book, to have some downtime and to witness Bruce singing The River for the first time this tour.
This is where I fell in love with Jamaican curry and dumplings.
This is where I celebrated friendship.
This is where I Danced in the Dark all over again.
