"Ain't no sin to be glad you're alive..."

springsteencz_july_23
Originally uploaded by dlew022.

I'm a pretty big fan of Bruce Springsteen. I'm certainly not as "fanatical" about him as I am about other bands , but I do love The Boss. I was always a fan of his but it wasn't until the 9/11 tragedy that he became a hero of mine. While everyone was off using their limited brain power and oh-so-hillarious punditry to analyze and try to come to grips with what had happened, Bruce just remained Bruce. He let his music do the talking.

I know I was really shaken by what happened on 9/11 and it was Bruce's opening number "My City's in Ruins" on that national TV broadcast that helped me get past feeling scared, confused, sad and generally despondent. Then a year or so ago I was going through another funk (not related to national tragedies as much as personal ones) and my Aunt got me and my wife tickets to see Bruce and the E Street Band at Dodger Stadium. The show completely uplifted me and drew me out of the major state of depression I was in. So when I heard Bruuuuuuce (!) was coming on a solo acoustic tour, I was super excited to go. However, I found out what date he would be here about a week after it went on sale. D'oh.

Never one to take no for an answer (unless it has something to do with making money or furthering my career) I latched onto Satan-in-a-website, ticketmaster.com all week, trying to score some last minute tickets. No luck. I kept trying and trying like a chump at a poker table trying to snag one measly ticket. Finally, last night, I told myself it ain't gonna happen. I did what every good junkie does and said, "one more hit and I'm done." I logged onto ticketmaster and my call was answered! I got ONE $80 ticket in row X of the balconey at the Paramount Theater in Oakland.

For those of you who follow the alphabet, X is 2 rows from Z and Z is the last row in most cases. In this case the seating followed that logic. But it didn't matter! I was IN! I left work in Calistoga and raced to the venue. I got there about an hour before the 7:30 show and found the most ridiculous line to get in I've ever seen.

To be continued.....