So last night I was lucky enough to accompany Kris to the Bruce Springsteen concert. I will get to the concert in a minute, but first a detail of the days events. We arrived in Richmond around 3:20 pm. The plan was to go to the Richmond Coliseum and get a wristband for a chance to get into the pit at the concert. For those that don't know that is the area down in front of the stage where all the crazy fans go and stand the whole concert for the chance to get very close to the artists. I had never been down there and Kris heard from her "source" that the pit was where you had to be for this show. So Kris says that there will be maybe 150 people in the pit. By the time that we got there, we were numbers 481 and 482. It was hard to believe that many people had already been there but it's all about the draw so it didn't really matter. After that we walked about 4 blocks (6 total because of bad directions but hey all part of the experience) to the Capital AleHouse. It was a huge restaraunt/bar and we were rushed for time since we had to be back to the coliseum by 5:00pm. We both had salads and mine was very good. It would be nice to go back there and sample some of their other foods and beer.
So after eating we rushed back to the venue and were placed in line to wait for the drawing. In talking to the crowd we found that over 1100 wristbands had been given out! I was kind of down because I really wanted to get in the pit for Kris. We then found out from people in the crowd that they were taken 700 people for the pit! At that point we were anxiously awaiting the draw. They pulled a fan out of the 500-599 group next to us and he pulled out number 7. After a some quick math we realized that we were going to get in the pit and we along with everyone else from 7 to 707 all started celebrating. It was 5:20 now but from this point on the excitement was unbearable. We finally we allowed in the coliseum at around 6:00. We went in staked our territory in the pit and then begin several trips to restrooms and vendors for water and souvenir shirts. I knew in advance that the show was scheduled to start at 7:30 but Bruce would not be on until around 8:30 based on Kris's "research".
At exactly 8:29pm, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band walked onto stage at the Richmond Coliseum and the next 3 hours were a complete showcase of vocal supremacy, masterful instrumentation, and rock and roll like it should always be enjoyed. I did not know as many songs as Kris did and yet every song they played sounded like something I had known all my life. When Bruce is on stage he commands the entire stage. He commands it but he doesn't overpower as every member in the band has their place and their moments. And Clarence Clemons, what else can you say. This man is the epitomy of cool, soul, rock and roll, and he is clearly the heartbeat of the band. Everytime he busted out one of his famous sax rips the entire crowd cheered. Dressed in all black with shades on the whole night and a purple chair to sit in on stage I wanted to be Clarence Clemons, at least for one night.
During the show, Bruce never left the stage. He sang 28 songs that night and never left the stage! He played for 3 hours! No artist today does that by themselves and this man has been doing this for 35 years. I don't have the words to express what I experienced last night. Kris, thank you so much because I know that if it wasn't for you I would not have gone. Once again you prove that you are awesome!
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