“THAT’S HOW GOOD I AM?”

I watched Bruce On Broadway, his one-man show, and heard him say, “Because that’s how good I am,” a few times.

It was Springsteen On Broadway from 2018.

I saw it this week because I like to keep up to date.

It’s important to stay current in the second by second blogosphere.

Here’s what I learned:

Bruce invented New Jersey proud, the Jersey way, and biggest of all, the Jersey Shore.

There was none of that before Bruce.

 

Springsteen said of the performances, “I wanted to do some shows that were as personal and as intimate as possible.

I chose Broadway for this project because it has the beautiful old theaters which seemed like the right setting for what I have in mind.

In fact, with one or two exceptions, the 960 seats of the Walter Kerr Theatre is probably the smallest venue I’ve played in the last 40 years.

My show is just me, the guitar, the piano and the words and music. Some of the show is spoken, some of it is sung.

It loosely follows the arc of my life and my work. All of it together is in pursuit of my constant goal to provide an entertaining evening and to communicate something of value.”

 

It’s no small thing to stand, or sit, and provide an entertaining evening and communicate something of value.

There I was on the couch in front of a screen with another in my hand feeling entertained and communicated with by Bruuuuuce.

Was it something of value?

 

Entertaining Communication Of Value

Bruce talked about his resume, his work history, his education, the works.

He talked about the Vietnam draft, guys he knew who didn’t come back.

He confessed that every song about hard won respect and determination he wrote came from someplace other than direct experience because, as he said, “that’s how good I am.”

Did he come from down in the valley where mister when you’re young you’re brought up to do what your daddy done?

New Jersey is pretty flat with its high point of High Point at under 2000 ft on the Kittatinny Ridge.

His learning stopped with a poor man wanting to be rich, a rich man who wants to be a king, and a king who ain’t happy ’till he rules everything.

He said he wore working man clothes on stage to honor his dad, which is a nice tip of the hat.

I sat and watched a man in black navigate a dark stage between guitar, piano, another guitar, and back, an older man explaining things like a fireside chat.

With every,”That’s how good I am,” I thought, ‘that’s pretty damn good right there,’ while he listed every kind of place he played his guitar and sang in, then the cross-country run, before finding his bigger audience.

And it’s a big one.

Some guy with connections in the business saw young Bruce and the band and said they were the best unsigned act he’d ever seen.

For most bands a compliment like that is as far as they get, then when their Bruce’s age now they’re sitting on a couch watching a screen and telling their wife, “Yep, we could have been great.”

 

Professor Springsteen’s History Class

Bruce talked about the revelation of watching Elvis on TV for the first time as a seven year old.

For me Elvis is a revelation every time I see him or hear him.

Elvis is the one, the first one, and everyone else trying to provide an evening of entertainment lives in his shadow.

This feeling was more than reinforced after watching the Fall And Rise Of Elvis.

Bruce was in there with his lessons learned, one rock and roller to another.

The difference between the two of them is the difference between folk music for Bruce and spiritual music for Elvis.

Bruce mentioned his appearance compared to Elvis came up short, which might be anyone compared to Elvis.

Watching clips from the 1968 Elvis special shed new light on young Bruce’s stage presence.

They were both all shook up.

 

What’s in store for Bruce in the future?

I see him following the concert path of Bob Dylan, playing until there’s nothing left in the tank, playing until they can’t stand, then sitting and playing more.

Music people have to play, need to play, and feel weird if they don’t, if they’re not surrounded by guitars and music.

A room without a guitar is not properly appointed in my book.

My wife’s book reads more like, “Don’t leave guitars on the couch for someone to sit on.”

 

PS:

No matter where you are in music, tell yourself this every time you play your guitar, “That’s how good I am.”

 

PSS:

No matter what you play, what instrument or music, you’re a better person when you finish.

We like better people? Yes, we do.