On Nov. 5, 1980, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band were jumping onstage at an ASU show the night after former President Ronald Reagan took office. Since then, Springsteen has been accepted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, been featured on 24 Rolling Stone magazine covers, released 17 studio albums, won 20 Grammy Awards and even an Oscar. It is no wonder Springsteen has been dubbed “The Boss.”
Springsteen will be performing for a new generation of ASU students as well as some long-time fans at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale on Dec. 6, one month after he campaigned for the newly re-elected President Barak Obama.
Springsteen gained mainstream success with his “Born to Run” album in 1975. By that time, rock ‘n’ roll was slowing its pace and becoming less popular. The Beatles had been broken up for years and heavy metal rock was garnering more attention from young crowds. It can be debated that Springsteen and his E Street Band revived the true rock ‘n’ roll sound and saved the genre from fading into the background. With his all-American and boyish charm, Springsteen lifted the spirits of rock ‘n’ roll fans while still inventing a unique sound of his own, mixing brass instruments and rock rhythms.
In light of Springsteen’s newest album “Wrecking Ball,” which was released on March 6, he and the E Street gang have been on a world tour.
Since the heartbreaking loss of Clarence Clemons back in 2011, the band has been featuring Clemons’s nephew, Jake Clemons and Eddie Manion on the saxophone.
In a statement on his friend and band mate’s death, Springsteen said, “With (Clemons) at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music.”
While Clemons’s absence is sure to have an effect on the show, fans can have faith that Jake Clemons will play the saxophone as skillfully and passionately as his uncle.
The storied career of the band and the stories it shares through its songs will remain sacred to fans of all ages. Hopefully the Jobing.com concert will be performed for an eclectic audience of fans that have been around since the beginning and those that have only recently been introduced to the timeless music.
With finals week ahead, a Springsteen concert might be what the overstressed student needs. Springsteen’s many anthems for the free-spirited are sure to inspire anyone to calm down and remind them they still need to “get out” while they’re “young.”
Unfortunately, the show is quite pricey. Currently, general admission tickets are still on sale at Ticketmaster.com for $119.85. However, seeing a legend like “The Boss” is a priceless experience as it is difficult to say how much longer the musician will still be touring.
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and attendees should arrive on time to ensure they will not miss a single second of Springsteen making his guitar “talk.”
Reach the reporter at arts.statepress@asu.edu
