The Boss Rocks Atlanta

I recently had the good fortune of seeing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band once again (April 25, Philips Arena, Atlanta). Reflecting on the show, I double-dog-dare anyone to find a better set of encores regardless of artist. An absolutely fantastic show (Including one of my all-time favorites "Blinded by the Light") that culminated with what I consider one of my favorite moments in my concert-attending career: Rosalita.

To begin with, "Rosie" is one of the great rock n' roll songs of all-time, a barreling, thunderous tale of the courtship of a woman with parents uncertain as whether young Bruce is appropriate for their daughter. A seven-plus-minute song with tons of sax and guitar that's easy to sing along to; it's just plain fun. Anyway, The Event freaked when the opening notes were strum after which I lept from my seat and proceeded to do that silly white man's dance (I later found out that he dedicated it to New Orleans - Which just made my appreciation that much greater). My wife thought I was the biggest goofball in the arena until I pointed out the other 17,000 people looking just as stupid. At least I had company.

Why was this such a fantastic moment for me? Well, Bruce has not played Rosie live in decades and I had seen from the published setlists leading up to the show that he had sporadically included it in his encores. I had my fingers crossed but didn't tell anyone since I didn't want to jinx anything. Thus, seeing Bruce play Rosie might be the biggest score of a Springsteen concert and, considering he's one of my favorite artists ever, the moment was somewhat transcendent.

Thanks Bruce.

Do you have any similar concert moments?

Setlist (Courtesy of Backstreets.com):
Reason to Believe
Out in the Street
Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Blinded By the Light
Your Own Worst Enemy
Trapped
Murder Incorporated
Prove It All Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Bobby Jean
Point Blank
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

Encores:
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Rosalita
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
American Land