Spring Dreams of Springsteen
Had me a dream about the Boss. Not a "sheets soaking wet and a freight train running through the middle of my head" kind of dream, but one of seeing Bruce and co. in concert. I've never been a huge Springsteen fan - I appreciate him more than I like him per se. Yet I would still go see him if someone where to donate a couple of tickets. Regardless, the dream was peculiar because Bruce and the E Street Band were doing a full show of covers. It was weird - it was Bruce giving props to artists that influenced him, like Dylan and Guthrie, and artists that are his contemporaries and younger. It was weird hearing him sing Van Morrison's "Madame George", and Talking Heads "Blind"; though Clarence Clemons ripped the sax section Stax style, and Little Steven took the bridge - "No sense of harmony/No sense of time/Don't mention harmony/Say: What time is it?"
He played for hours, and the set peaked with a cover of Billy Bragg's "She's Got A New Spell." He sang the first verse just accompanied by his own electric guitar; rocking back and forth, legs splayed wide on the balls of his feet, leaning into the mike with each line, teeth clenched, singing out the side of his mouth. He revved up to the end of the first verse: "Something you don't understand/Something you cannot command" - quick look over his shoulder to the band - "That's how I know" - and Clarence played the riff on his sax - "She's got a new spell" - Max lays in with a snapping snare, Nils and Little Steven smile - "Yes, that's how I know" - Three guitars, bass, drums, piano, organ and saxophone hold court, Little Steven, Nils and Clarence step to mics - "That she's got a new spell". The song becomes a boogie blues, raw and pre-cambrian in essence. Terrifying, hypnotic, true.
I was shaking when I awoke - it was visceral, my gut feeling the reverberation of bass, drum and guitar feedback, the clapping of tens of thousands, the roar and vibration of the arena itself. I rubbed my eyes, held myself, arms crossed and grabbing shoulders. It was real. I knew somewhere this had happened, would happen, was happening as I dreamed. Reality bent, and Springsteen tore me down.
He played for hours, and the set peaked with a cover of Billy Bragg's "She's Got A New Spell." He sang the first verse just accompanied by his own electric guitar; rocking back and forth, legs splayed wide on the balls of his feet, leaning into the mike with each line, teeth clenched, singing out the side of his mouth. He revved up to the end of the first verse: "Something you don't understand/Something you cannot command" - quick look over his shoulder to the band - "That's how I know" - and Clarence played the riff on his sax - "She's got a new spell" - Max lays in with a snapping snare, Nils and Little Steven smile - "Yes, that's how I know" - Three guitars, bass, drums, piano, organ and saxophone hold court, Little Steven, Nils and Clarence step to mics - "That she's got a new spell". The song becomes a boogie blues, raw and pre-cambrian in essence. Terrifying, hypnotic, true.
I was shaking when I awoke - it was visceral, my gut feeling the reverberation of bass, drum and guitar feedback, the clapping of tens of thousands, the roar and vibration of the arena itself. I rubbed my eyes, held myself, arms crossed and grabbing shoulders. It was real. I knew somewhere this had happened, would happen, was happening as I dreamed. Reality bent, and Springsteen tore me down.
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