2 People, 4 Cats and a Dream: The Only Boss I Listen to...

Jodi: Last time we left you, Randy was really excited because we were going to see Bruce at the Wells Fargo Center.

This was our view into the arena from....

Our box seats! We are not fancy-pants people. We're usually in front of the stage with all the other crazy Bruce riff raff. In fact, everyone out there who knows us is probably laughing at that notion. I mean we have a blog about how dirty our house is for heavens sake. When the Bruce tickets went on sale, they sold out quicker than our browser refreshed, for BOTH shows!!! We were incredibly lucky to get our tickets at a reasonable price through Randy's company's box. I have never sat in a box before. It was super cool. We were completely humbled by how serendipitous it was.

So as you can see, we were behind the stage, so we had a fabulous view of everyone's backsides. I'm going to hand the computer over to Randy for the rest of this because I love Bruce, but Randy loves Bruce like bees love honey, like fish love water, like my dad loves to be right. You get the idea.

Randy: First, let me tell you how much I hate the internet. Be patient. You'll understand the point I'm trying to make. The internet is great because it allows information to be transmitted farther and faster than ever before. Hell, look at this blog. But whenever there is something good, there is always a way to take advantage of the situation. In this particular case, I am going to rant about concert tickets. Yes, Jodi and I are big concert goers. We love live music and we probably spend what normal families spend on vacations. So Bruce tickets go on sale for Philadelphia. And by the time the show is available to the general public... there are no tickets available. WTF!? This is very new to me. I would be ok if we got bad seats... but no seats?! C'mon. Yes, I ranted about this for quite a while. But then I got an idea. Let's go on vacation. Let's go see Bruce Springsteen somewhere that we've never gone before. But let's make a vacation out of it. So I first suggested the south of France. There were two problems with getting Springsteen tickets. First, despite what people say about English being the most dominant language on Earth, you must be literate in French to buy tickets in France. You might say, "well, duh," but I would have some comments back to you... and Jodi might demonstrate her dexterity with a single finger (no, not the thumbs up). So, France is out. Jodi has some family in Finland... so I tried to get tickets for Finland. You're not going to believe this... It was sold out before tickets went on sale. It has to be. I was on-line (at work) and ready to go when the tickets went on sale. And I got nothing. Finally, Bruce announced dates for San Jose, California. We have friends out in Sacramento (big-up to Sac, if you're reading). And finally, I was completely shut out for the Bruce Springsteen tour of 2012. I have not missed a Bruce Springsteen tour since my first concert in 1984. I've seen album tours, Amnesty Internationals, Rock for Change tours, and reunion tours. Then, a co-worker of mine told he about his connection in human resources. This woman, who I never spoke to, is responsible for selling the tickets for special events. For face-value, I could buy these luxury box tickets. So, I handed my credit card over to my coworker and he read the numbers. NEVER TRY THIS AT HOME! Yes, this could arguably be the dumbest thing I've ever done. It was a calculated risk. If he were to have screwed me over, first, I'd have called the bank/police, and then I'd have hit him with a 2x4. Please note, he's much bigger than me and could easily beat the snot out of me. Before any of my coworkers think that I was given these tickets, I was not. I bought them... because I am a dedicated fan. And the show was awesome.

So, now that we've given the background... the show was great. It was the first show since Clarence Clemmons passed. Danny Federici died a couple of years ago, but (which is a shame) he was not as well known to casual fans. The show had a different kind of feel. It was both exciting and somber. You'd have to go to understand. This was my 30th show. This was Jodi's 10th show. Yay! Milestones! Typically, he'd introduce the band late into the show with Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, but this particular night, he introduced them to My City of Ruins. See, totally different! And he did play Tenth Avenue and had a moment of silence "when they made the change up town and the Big Man joined the band." It almost brought a tear to my eye. 20,000 people chanting "Clar-ence!" I loved that Bruce acknowledged a family that was at the show the night before and played, "Thundercrack for my dad in Iraq." I loved that he danced with his mom to Dancing in the Dark. I loved how he mixed 40 years of music with his new album. And though this was not the first time I sat behind the stage, it was awesome to see the crowd from Bruce's perspective. And to see Bruce in Philly (yeah, its not N. Jersey or NYC), but this is a 2nd home to the Boss.

Finally, I'd like to end this with the gentlemen sitting in the box with us. They were my company's senior managers and executives. Some I met for the first time, and some I already knew. But they were very nice to Jodi and I. They let us sit in the first row so we could see better. I did try to schmooze while talking about Bruce, but I'm still a level 0 at work... so it didn't work. But these "smart men" now know that Bruce's sister appeared in both Sleepaway Camp II & III. We own it. So much for being fans... sheesh! My point for mentioning them is this... their wives had no interest in coming. And that's why Jodi is great. Whether it's Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Megadeth, or whomever, Jodi is always interested in sharing the experience. Sure, we've seen shows separately... I gave Jodi and her friend tickets to see Lady Gaga as a thank you for helping me with school. Jodi got me tickets to see Megadeth, Godsmack, and Disturbed when she had a girls' weekend. But we genuinely enjoy doing stuff together. And I feel badly for my executive coworkers who do not have that. No, Jodi and I don't need to be tied to the hip, but we always know the other is ready to go. I dragged her to the Bangles. She dragged me to George Michael. Our friends dragged us to Hank Williams Jr (which was awesome).