Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, 12/02/04

Drove 5 hours without a stop, to get to a theater in downtown Pittsburgh. Allergies raging, eyes tearing, half wondering what in hell I'm thinking.

So I arranged to meet up with Bill at his office and head out to dinner and the show. Calling from the car as I got close, I realized -- a little too late -- that I had successfully followed the instructions to get to the theater. I saw someone holding up a sign saying "I Need Tickets." Later I saw the same person pretty desparate to get rid of tickets. Somehow I managed to get out of the gridlock and over to Oakland.

Heinz Hall -- very nice little theater. Reasonably ornate inside, stately. Many volunteers, and egg nog for those who wanted. For four bucks. No security whatsoever, though not totally surprising there. Not much in the way of souvenirs -- just t-shirts and little posters. There was also a silent auction going on -- the big numbers seemed to be for an autographed Ben Roethlisberger jersey. By the time Bill and I got there, scalpers were asking $20 for $100 tickets, and Johnny Grushecky was on stage.

As Exit 105 (that's a band and a location on the Garden State Parkway), I decided to peruse the items for sale while Bill availed himself of the facilities. Bill's ticket being located farther upstairs than my own, we had decided to go in together. I had already noted that a seat two down from my own had been wasting away on btx, so I figured the other guy's eaten ticket would end up being Bill's seat. The concert was on the closed-circuit system of the hall, so I could keep an eye on it while at the stand.

So, I'm looking up, and I hear a cheer from inside. Outside, not many people are moving from their drinks. It's kind of a weird crowd, at least for me. Older, and quite a few looking like they were dressed for the Pittsburgh Symphony. Me, I looked up at the monitor. And there's a guy who kind of looks like Bruce, setting up. Kind of, I say, because it's not a very big monitor, and the hair looks different -- floppy. Good floppy. Gray shirt. Straps on a guitar, and... I don't have to wonder much anymore. Plays a note and I'm off to the nearest entrance door. Bill picked a fucking good time to take a piss!

After a minute or so, I saw Bill looking around for me. Decision time. ok, ok I can miss a few seconds of Bruce. "Bill, we're going to our seats. NOW." Bill didn't even need to do much bluffing to get that empty seat, just said, "I'm two over." okey-dokey was about all the usher said. The ushers were very nice, I think they're more used to the Symphony crowd.

The song was "All Along the Watchtower," and Bruce just smoked it. Just went after it, jammed, slayed, knocked it out. Midway through the song, I noticed that the guy next to me -- who Bill had just climbed over -- was viedeotaping. As we were in the front row of the first balcony, pretty much dead center, the camera angle was perfect and unobstructed. Well, except when Bill walked in front of him. But that was only for a second. When the song ended and Bruce left the stage, I asked my new neighbor if he got it. He gave a big thumbs up. Then we switched seats -- he over a bit more to the center.

That was it for Bruce until intermission, but not for the night. Meanwhile, local Pittsburgh bands played, and for me, it was very scary: The audience knew the songs, and the words, and were up and dancing. A song called "Love is like a rock" came on; I don't know quite what that's supposed to mean, but the audience was way into it. I felt like the local Martian. Or at least the local guy from Michigan.

Bruce's main portion was after intermission, beginning with a 3-song acoustic mini-set. As Bruce took the stage a little after 10pm, the orchestra section lit up as a sea of viewfienders illuminated. Cell phones, still cameras and video cameras all well represented down below. My new neighbor had his video camera on and stabilized, viewfiender nicely hidden.

The highlight of the mini set was an acoustic rendition of Land of Hope and Dreams. A first for me, hearing it done that way, and much sweeter than the too-bombastic version from the last two ESB tours. Book-ending the mini-set were "If I Should Fall Behind" and "For You."

After the mini-set, Bruce called up Joe Grushecky and the House Rockers for the main set. Starting with Grushecky's song "Talking to the King," and then mostly trading off Springsteen and Grushecky songs, along with a couple of the co-written piece. Joffo having a grand time at the back (I like him well enough so long as he keeps his drumsticks to himself). My first ever live listen to "From Small Things." Johnny Grushecky displaying his stage manner -- let's just say it needs a little refinement -- during "Never Be Enough Time." A nice "This Hard Land" (despite Grushecky's harmonica player picking out the harmonica in the wrong key when Bruce signalled him to play -- oops), a bit of a sloppy surprise with "Lucky Town," and closing with a dangerous "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" -- dangerous, as volunteers were whipping candies, t-shirts and other projectiles through the crowd. No new ground, but Bruce was in fine form and it was a fun time throughout. Which I guess is the hell what I was thinking, teary eyes and all.

The show ended a bit after midnight. My neighbor the taper was ecstatic. The DVD will be on a website in a day or two. And I have another email to send tonight...