Complex Numbers

Bruce!

10. I've seen Bruce Springsteen live eight times this decade (10 times total). I hope to go to another concert in May, if I can get tickets tomorrow.

I wrote that on Feb. 1 - the next day, I tried to get tickets to his show in my town on May 5.

Why my town? If you look at the tour schedule, there are a lot of big-name cities on it - cities that you don't have to put states or countries after, because everyone knows what you mean: LA. Boston. Chicago. Albany. Washington. Pittsburgh. Stockholm. Dublin. London. And Charlottesville?

He's played here twice, once last year, and once in 1974. That's it. Richmond, down the road, is another story; his band in the 60s played there a lot, his second home after the more-famous Asbury Park, NJ. No dates in Richmond, this time.

The Washington show sold out, I've heard, in ten minutes.

Fortunately, our local venue doesn't use Ticketmaster (those weasels), but Live Nation (who is supposed to get bought out by Ticketweasels, in a clear antitrust situation).

I got on the internet and I had three tickets within three minutes.

If you have a few moments, Bruce's account of his Superbowl XLIII experience is worth reading:

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

Six Air Force Thunderbirds have just roared overhead at what felt like inches above our backstage area, giving myself and the entire E Street Band a brush cut. With 20 minutes to go, I'm sitting in my trailer trying to decide what boots to wear. I've got a nice pair of cowboy boots my feet look really good in, but I'm concerned about their stability. Two days ago we rehearsed in full rain on the field and the stage became as slick as an ice pond. It was almost impossible to stand on. It was so slick I crashed into Mike Colucci, our cameraman, coming off my knee slide, his camera the only thing that kept me from launching out onto the soggy turf. When Jerry the umpire in "Glory Days" did his bit, he came running out, couldn't stop himself and executed one of the most painfully perfect "man slips on a banana peel" falls I've ever seen. This sent Steve, myself and the entire band into one of the biggest stress-induced laughters of our lives that lasted all the way back to our trailers. (A few Advil and Jerry was okay.)