The Boss rules.

I mentioned this in a Facebook post but it bears repeating. At the tender age of 43, I don't really know how many concerts I have seen in my life. Hundreds, for sure. In just the last 18 months, I have literally been witness to a who's-who lineup of rock and pop:

The Eagles
Aerosmith
KISS
Britney Spears
Steve Miller
Kings of Leon
Peter Frampton
Katy Perry
Drive-by Truckers
Roger Daltry
Bryan Adams
Elton John
Collective Soul
Guns N Roses
Steve Winwood (once solo, once with Eric Clapton)

That's a pretty decent 18 months. There is no question, despite that wealth of talent, that I saw the best two shows of my life on back to back nights. Nothing will likely EVER be able to live up with Sunday's love-in with Paul McCartney. Last night, however, Bruce Springsteen came pretty damn close.

It took about 45 seconds to realize that Springsteen meant business. By the third song, Hungry Heart, he was out in the crowd, and in fact, returned to the stage BY CROWD SURFING atop a sea of outstretched arms.

Songs ranged from the classics (Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark) to the obscure (Red Headed Woman, which I have been told has been played in concert exactly TWICE since 1990), the old (Spirit of the Night, from his '73 debut) to the new (several tracks from his new album, Wrecking Ball). Oh, and let's not forget Santa Claus is Coming to Town. It wouldn't be a Springsteen concert without having a fan dressed as ol' Saint Nick pulled up onstage to sing along to a Xmas classic.

I had a pretty good excuse for having not had seen Paul McCartney before now; the last time he played here was 5 years before I was born. I have no such excuse for Springsteen, as he has been here many times. Not sure what kept me from going in the past; but after last night's show, I feel like a fucking moron. I will never miss another Springsteen show, you can take that to the bank.

The ultimate showman, Bruce spent as much time in the crowd (and I mean IN THE CROWD) as he did on stage; once taking a lady's coonskin cap (seriously, who wears a coonskin cap anyway???) and wearing it for the rest of the song, then passing it along to another fan in the front row. He pulled a young girl up on stage to help him sing one song (and she did very well) and during the encore, he helped an 80 year old lady up on stage to dance with him. Throw in Santa Claus and that's a lot of time spent directly interacting with fans (not to mention that he actually fell off the boards into the crowd at one point).

If I was amazed at the amount of energy the 70 year old McCartney had, the amazement was surpassed last night as Bruce, only 7 years McCartney's junior, put on a high-octane, full-on, ass kicking rock n' roll show, the likes I've never before witnessed.

Only one word can really sum it all up, and it's one we heard a lot from the crowd last night:

Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce