A Tribute to The Boss

Bruce and Paul: 'I saw het standing there'

My brother invited me for an evening at the movies all the way in Haarlem. The weather was still hot and I found a dead sparrow on the pavement. Seriously. I was about to take a picture but I saw the tram approaching so I risked my life crossing the road to catch it..

Anyway Thijs and I were on our way to Haarlem in his new car. The movie we were about to see was a documentary, a tribute to Bruce Springsteen by his loyal fans. I had no idea what to expect, a lot of Bruce Springsteen and the E-streetband and hysterical fans?
We had seats on the last row. There was a guy sitting in front of us. A man approached and said politely to the guy: Excuse me, I think you're sitting in my seat. They compared their tickets and indeed, the guy has held his ticket upside down. Row 9, seat 6? No, Row 6, seat 9.

The movie was a nice surprise, funny stories by fans, but also philosophical ones. A female truckdriver said: 'Bruce makes me feel important, the backbone of America.' A street-musician noticed Bruce and Clarence walking in London and asked Bruce to play. And he did. During a concert a young girl held a big sign: Bruce, I want to dance with you like Courtney Cox (Dancing in the Dark video). And she got invited on stage. The craziest fan was an Elvis-impersonator whose goal it was to perform with Bruce. 'Allright', Bruce said when he spotted him in the audience, 'get on stage, King.' There were big stories and little ones. All touching because that's what music does to people, it spreads happiness. Bruce is a very generous guy.
The stories of the fans were followed by a part of a concert in Hyde Park. With a surprise appearance of Paul McCartney.They sang: 'I saw her standing there'. The first Beatlessingle I bought back in 1964! And all the way at the end of the documentary Bruce met the people featured in the documentary. A happy end.
It was nice to talk to my brother one on one. That rarely happens.



trailer Bruce & I