This is an authorized translation in English of a post in French by Vincent Le Roy (
): Je t'ai raconté comment j'ai rencontré Bruce Springsteen?
Note that the person that speaks here is NOT me, Vincent Celier (
), but Vincent Le Roy (), a French guy.
It is true that in France, Bruce Springsteen is not very well known. Of course, everyone will quote "Born in the USA" which we remember was the theme of the Ronald Reagan Republicans, resulting in a huge confusion for the French who do not understand the text and a huge frustration for the Boss. And for the more ignorant to add that it is the American Johnny Halliday, which obviously does not lack of irony when one wrote more than 600 songs and texts while the other only collected the covers of Gala (a French magazine). The only common point that we could give them is the initial love of a certain Elvis Presley. This being said, it is out of the question that I'll write a bio, others have already done that. Personally, without considering myself as a groupie, I must admit that I have a special relationship with this man, his incredible career and his repertoire. And I wanted to tell you all that, illustrate by some live tracks that we find on Youtube to enhance my purpose. You may be surprised by this post.
The day I met the boss
If you are asked when exactly you have discovered an artist that is important to you, it is usually difficult for you to give a precise date. I will have the same problem with the majority of the artists I love, but for Bruce Springsteen, the date is engraved in my memory for life. January 8, 2008, I'm driving, coming back from Caen where I just finished a few days of work to return to Paris and join my family. On the highway, I take the opportunity to listen to a CD in MP3 that a friend sent me and recommended. Live in New York. Initially, I'm pretty skeptical but he has really insisted so I listen. This album, I had already tried to listen to it a few years ago and I did not find anything giant in there outside of "Born to Run" that I already knew. It was my grandmother of 80 years who had passed it to me saying: listen, it's the best of my darling! In short, at the time, I was not hooked, but there on the road, I give the album another chance. I am in a very good mood and for good reason, I have my first mission as a Judicial Expert and I will finally be able to change everything, to comfortably earn a living and to devote more time to my family that I have neglected for a long time, as I will be working mainly from home. And there, a song will challenge me. "41 shots". I will be very honest, I can speak English correctly, but I do not understand much of the text, but it transports me. The music is more than simplistic and takes me to the guts. I have tears in my eyes. I listen and listen. Each time, the effect is the same. My heart is in knots. The next one is even sadder but even more powerful: "Lost in the flood". I can tell you this today: January 8, 2008, Bruce Springsteen shook me.
One day I cannot forget
I arrive at home around 21:00, the children are already in bed. With their mom, we settle in the living room, with a little cheese and a bottle of wine as we have done for 15 years; well the nights when I am there or when I come home at a reasonable time. I have things to tell her! Of course, the first mission and the change of work but I remember very well that that night, I especially want to share with her what I lived and felt in the car. I put the iPod (yes at the time we have iPods) and I make her listen. She finds it very good and she looks radiant. I find her very beautiful. She, too, has something important to tell me. Without fuss, she calmly announces to me that she met someone and that she is leaving me ... Lost in the Flood. While the music is murderous in such a situation, I see in her eyes that I already lost her. It's not even worth fighting. I do not know who this asshole is but she is crazy in love with him. I will tell her in fact. And I give her back her freedom without any trouble. And so we're going to sleep in separate rooms for the first time in 15 years. That night, the iPod will play these two songs of the Boss again and again, and take me deep within myself.
41 shots, in concert, first performed in 2001 in New York. The first time the Boss is booed. He asks the crowd to calm down but he continues to the end! He tells the story of this black student who wants to show his wallet and his ID at a police control while he was going to university, and he received 41 bullets in the thorax. The policemen are acquitted on the day of the concert, for self-defense. For the Boss, it is no longer acceptable, and the lyrics are the words of the mother of this young black guy ... The emotion is noticeable even without understanding the words ...
A slow discovery until the concert
The day after the announcement, I left. An atrocious and bizarre feeling, the feeling of giving up my children, of having lost an extraordinary woman and of erasing suddenly 15 years of my life. And at the same time, this incredible feeling that it is a chance that life offers me: I can start all over again. Experience, it is useful for that. Do not repeat the same mistakes. Besides, I took almost nothing. Some clothes. My Mac. And my iPod. During the next months, I moved to Normandy to be closer to work and it is clear that my methodology and my ability to work is quickly noticed. The shelves are filled with folders. On the other hand, the mother of the children has kept the children but is thoroughly in her love story. And I go back and forth every weekend to see the kids. That will make thousands of kilometers in what we will call the "papamobile", at least for two years. And continuously in the car this album of the Boss and another: The Ghost of Tom Joad. I really like it, but I have not become a fan either. This is my new companion who will accelerate the movement. To please me, she bought two tickets to go to the Vieilles Charrues Festival. Bruce Springsteen is the headliner and the 45,000 tickets are sold in less than twenty minutes. On site, the usual "vielle charrue" atmosphere. Smokes and beers as much as possible. Sitting in small groups in the field. Everyone is waiting for the main event at 8:00 PM.
July 2013, in front of 100,000 people in London, the day before at the Stade de France near Paris, in front of 65,000 people; each time three hours and a half of madness ... and there, beyond this unavoidable title that you all know, his wife is on stage, his Mom too and at the end his daughter! Welcome to the family.
The Boss in concert
Forget the lights and the oompahs. It's not his style. As Michel Audiard would say: it's rather Brutal at the outset. And what can surprise is his band: the famous e-street band. Inseparable from his career, the twenty or so musicians have followed him for 40 years. Indefectibly even if there was a slump in the 90s. We're not going to squirm: the scene is his thing. Always. This guy before being known played every day in clubs. In fact, it took him a long time to accept the large venues where he did not feel close enough to the public. Because some of the magic is there. His relationship with his audience. Not a concert where he does not makes spectators come on stage; every time a kid sings with him "Sunny days"! When he does not dance with his mom that all fans know. You're in a family of sorts. I have an anecdote quite remarkable elsewhere during his stint at the Stade de France. It is 5:00PM so three hours before the concert and the stadium is 25% filled up except the pit that has been stormed. We are there but far enough and my daughter says to me: "Dad, there is a guy in a white shirt on the stage". It's him. Acoustic guitar and harmonica. He settles on a stool on the edge of the stage and plays 5 titles... He just came to thank his audience who has been there for hours, and he tells us this little joke: "I'll see you again soon". We know, there is a three hours and a half concert to follow! At a concert at Bercy, I was there the evening when there was a general power outage. Do you think he's gone? Not at all! Same scenario, an acoustic guitar (which nobody heard of course) and presto! he makes the public sing for half an hour.
At each concert, the Boss sings this joyful song and brings up a child who will sing in his place, and relaunch the e-street band. This is also that a concert of the Boss! You'll find lots of videos on the subject because it has become a must.
A lyricist more than a musician
This is often the mistake one makes when one does not know the Bruce Springsteen repertoire. In the United States, he is considered a lyricist before being a musician. And there is a good reason for that. The texts are powerful, they deal with real everyday matters, social misery, without ever falling into miserabilism. It is also a committed and political discourse that he writes. Known to regularly support the Democrats, it is above all a fierce opponent of Republicans and America that folds on itself. Musically, he is a very good technician, an undeniable leader, formidable in rhythm. Do not expect a transcendental solo from the boss, honestly, there is none. He is not the one who ensures the show for that, he has two guitarists more advanced than him in this area. I highly recommend this moment with Tom Morello, guitarist and leader of Rage Against the Machine, where we see the boss struggling and take a guitar lesson. Admiration is in his eyes. But the fact remains that he is a laborious musician, a purist musically. Everything is set to the comma and nothing happens without it. We could easily believe that this is what earned him the nickname "The Boss".
2009 with Tom Morello as a surprise guest, you will see how the boss take a guitar lesson... remember that this song originally is strictly acoustic (guitar and harmonica)
Why the Boss?
There are as many stories about this nickname as there are biographers. Not one more credible than the other. Still, he hates that. Certainly, this nickname sticks to his skin even before his first real album, released in April 1972, the month of my birth and which is an absolute killing. Sold only 20 copies, it's a total flop. The second in 1973 does not do much better. And yet, the editor of the Rolling Stones magazine will write: "I heard the revival of Rock'n Roll". Better he will let go of everything to become his manager. It was only in 1977, with considerable effort that Bruce Springsteen will explode with the album "Born To Run". Today, he must have thirty albums but in concert, what everyone expects are the first three albums. Can he do better? On a personal level, the guy is also interesting: lifestyle irreproachable, far from the media, faithful to his group as his wife (his violinist) for decades. He commands respect and on stage, you feel it. My short column ends but I hope that I gave you the will to go a little further, also through the links that I selected.
Probably one of my favorites to finish, the second part, strictly acoustic, gives a star role to his pianist ... It's just to die for.
