Just the Boss

Philips Arena, 2 rows back off the floor, center...He simply walked on stage as I did when cast as the inspector of that sherlock-like play in the 4th grade...he had no pipe.

"I guess I just need you to be quiet so I can perform my best for you...thank you." There might've been 7000 that shared the solo acoustic set but it seemed so much more intimate than that. He moved with purpose from piano, to organ, to the hallmark rustic guitar that bellowed the sounds of "Devils and Dust", "The Rising", and an unpreviewed version of "Dancing in the Dark" which was just the narration of the state of our spirits in that very moment. All the time he danced in between instruments like the university lothario juggling women with the most sincere devotion to each within its moment, he donned an harmonica...reed-whistling complexities that matched the harmony dispelled from his fingers; inhaling the enigmatic energy we emanated and exhaling the contrition of all the painful, unknowing years; expiring the air with the painful expression written between the lines of a middle aged musician still in control, still in production, still in love with everything it represents. This is how I saw The Boss.

It was really so much more than a concert that had people innebriated and shouting their animated affinity for a performer; rather an operatic mood that held people in their seats, unfettered and in awe. Apart from the 2 blonde barbies in front of me that seemed to find their cant more interesting than the bond between a man and his device, the entire audience had their focus upon one character in his own element. Being a part of it made my Saturday night, thanks Lease.

Today I'll bear the heat characteristic of Atlanta and head to the outdoor ampitheatre that hosts John Mellencamp and John Fogerty. This too, I'm sure will provide me with memories of a summer I spent in Atlanta while growing up...yep, still just growin' up.