Metro/State
The Pantagraph
October 2, 1996
Bruce
Springsteen shows Normal just who is the Boss
By Karen Strawn
Special to The Pantagraph
It was Bruce
Springsteen’s idea to come to Normal and perform at Illinois
State University’s Braden Auditorium because he was specifically
seeking intimate arenas with excellent acoustics to share music
from his latest album “The Ghost of Tom Joad.”
Although
the concert was sold out in record time (only two hours), there
were 200 tickets available at the box office before the show Tuesday
night. It seems that Springsteen had some tickets saved for personal
use that he let go at the last minute.
Lucky for
the 200-plus people who got in to see this one-of-a-kind, truly
magnificent performance – and lucky for the other 3,200 or
so who already had their tickets in hand.
Because
Springsteen’s lifestyle (oh sorry, he said he hates that word)
has changed since becoming a parent (he’s the father of three),
his music has changed, and Tuesday night’s performance was
a perfect example of how awesome life can be when you’ve lived
long enough to appreciate the finer things.
Between
songs (which are really short stories), Springsteen talked to the
audience, and it was such an intimate setting it felt like he was
sitting around just talking to you.
He started
playing at 8 p.m. and didn’t stop until 10 p.m. Then he came
back on for two encores – the first he played four songs.
He gave the audience his heart and soul.
It was just
Springsteen on stage, alone with his guitars (he had four which
he kept switching between each song) and harmonicas (he had several
of them too), singing from his heart about what he said were issues
that concern this deeply fractured nation where compassion and justice
mean nothing and the hearts of men are filled with greed and selfish
ambition.
Even though
he never sang it, the title track off his latest compact disc “The
Ghost of Tom Joad” set the mood for the entire evening.
The song
borrows from the character, Tom Joad’s final speech in John
Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”
“No Tom said, ‘Mom,
wherever there’s a cop beating’ a guy/wherever a hungry
newborn baby cries/where there’s a fight ‘gainst the
blood and hatred in the air/look for me Mom I’ll be there.”’
His first
song was an old Woody Guthrie tune, “Tom Joad.” He then
went on to sing “Atlantic City” from his “Nebraska”
album.
He did give
the audience a hard time about living in “Normal” and
joked about it for a while between the second and third songs. But
by the end of the concert, Springsteen told the audience how much
he enjoyed being here and thanked the audience for “giving
me the space to do this,” he said. “It’s your
gift to me.”
The whole
concert was perfectly orchestrated – right after Springsteen
started getting a little rowdy with his songs, he sprung “Red-Headed
Woman” on the audience, which is a song honoring the finer
things in life - red-headed women (by the way, Springsteen’s
wife, Patti, has red hair.)
The 46-year-old
Springsteen seems relieved to be touring solo without his E-Street
Band. In an interview with USA Today, Springsteen said, “It’s
an adventurous evening for me. I really get to sing the way I like
to sing, which I haven’t completely done in years because
I’m usually shouting over the band.”
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