Bruuuce!

Bruce Springsteen played at Parc des Princes last night. We were there! I had purchased the tickets in January as we are big, big Bruce fans and the thought of seeing Bruce, Born in the U.S.A., in Paris, My Hometown, seemed like a fabulous opportunity! And it was!
If you have not seen Bruce Springsteen, and he was accompanied by the E Street Band, you need to know that he has the most energy of any performer that I have ever seen --he wore out the crowd! He was Born to Run! And he has a great time playing his audience as he has that Human Touch.


I knew all of this, and I wanted to see the concert! (the anthropologist in me!) It was an opportunity to see thousands (maybe 20,000??) francais acting like les americains! Well, like Americans in moderation! (I wondered what the Institut de France thinks about French acting like Americans at a concert given by The Boss!) Yes, they do sell beer and hot dogs (but no hot dogs inside!). And there were certainly no all you can eat seats!
Everyone was clapping and singing and Dancing in the Dark and waving (which was different and makes the wave at Fenway seem pathetic --imagine the whole floor of the stadium waving their arms in the same direction in time to the music for the entire song!) I think we should institute a French wave!

We have attended a number of Springsteen concerts at home. I must comment that the crowds in Paris are similar in ages and numbers as in the States at his concerts --as are the ticket prices. However, the quantity of beer consumed (and food) is about 1/1000 of what is consumed at a concert at home. Thus, no sticky stands, no beer spilled on you by the guy behind you who is on his 6th 32 oz. cup, people stayed at their seats, and no drunks shouting out... but everyone was having a great time. (And --going home was civilized, jovial, and organized-- the Metro had extra trains and controlled access to the platforms so there was no overcrowding, and everyone used a ticket... the car behind ours was singing the refrain from Growing Up all the way back!)
Being that Bruce is Bruce, he did give a little political twist as he was playing and the song that he closed with questioned the anti-immigrant sentiments in the US --which is also appropriate in Europe these days-- and spoke about the loss of liberties following 9-11 as he introduced Livin' in the Future. I have always wondered if the Bruce Springsteen fans have ever paid attention to his lyrics --he is the balladeer of the American experience for our generation. Barack Obama has listened --and the French paid attention.