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I first saw Springsteen in the mid-70's at Virginia Tech when he was touring college campuses...promoting his "Born to Run" LP. It was a small auditorium..about 3 to 4000 seats. I was anxious to see what the fuss was about...Time and Newsweek had just come out with his picture on the cover at the same time...unheard of hype at that time for a mere rock musician. But it was no hype...this guy could entertain...a tight ,well practiced band that knew how to work an audience and wring the most out of old and new music styles...Orbison,Dylan,soul,you name it.
I continued to follow his career after college...when he dropped out of sight during his lawsuit against his former manager he re-emerged in the summer of '79 playing at the Naval Academy ,touring his "Darkness at the Edge of Town" LP. He was even better than I remembered him,laying down tortuous,sinewy guitar licks...he could play!
The last time I saw him the show had become so big,so "in demand"that only the big sports arenas could accomodate him...and that's the kiss of death as far as I'm concerned...the music and the interplay with the audience is lost to the spectacle...and he becomes an imitation of himself. I haven't been to a show since '84's "Born in the U.S.A." TOUR. Too bad...I really liked him when he started out...