Seeing Springsteen in his home state

There's something special about seeing Bruce Springsteen perform in his home state. If you ride New Jersey Transit, the excitement begins long before you arrive at MetLife Stadium. Transit staffers carry placards reading "Bruce!" and "This Way to the Boss!" as you make your way to the Meadowlands. In the Garden State, fans don't merely tailgate in the vast MetLife parking lot; they're lugging 12-packs as they board the train, pregaming all the way to the show, Jersey-style. As the anticipation builds, veteran concertgoers swap stories about their favorite shows, engaging in good-natured, beer-fueled one-upmanship about how many Springsteen concerts they've attended over the years. Wearing a faded concert tee from The River tour, one rider proudly boasted about seeing Bruce more than 200 times.

At the stadium, visitors were treated to a moveable feast of characters. The "Spring Nuts" were out in force. I caught up with Asbury Park journalist and Jersey Shore tour guide Stan Goldstein, who was holding court near "The Pit," the raucous, standing-room only section in front of the stage. Springsteen and the 17-member strong E Street Band are more than halfway through a 90-show tour and as Goldstein pointed out, it's been difficult, at times, for the musicians to mount the post-pandemic tour. Early on, there were the well-reported frustrations about ticket pricing and several shows had to be cancelled because of Covid-related illness.

Goldstein made particular mention of the tour's fairly static setlist in lieu of the sense of spontaneity associated with previous tours. Like many, he was concerned that the tour's carefully curated set might sacrifice some of the show's magic. "Many long-time fans who traveled to multiple shows in different countries realized they didn't need to see as many shows anymore," Goldstein lamented. Even still, he seemed optimistic after taking in the soundcheck, in which Springsteen and the band warmed up with "Spirit in the Night," "The Ties that Bind" and "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)." Any of those songs would be a welcome addition to the standard setlist.