RIP, Big Man

@99GR81

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SPRINGSTEEN MAKES CAMEO IN ENGAGEMENT PHOTO

OK, so this is ridiculously cool. Like, I would kill to meet the man, let alone have him in my engagement photo. Just proves that the Boss is a really down-to-earth, cool guy.

Last year Will Ferrell popped up in a couple’s engagement photo (the groom was a PA on his movie The Other Guys), and now The Boss is following his lead. Ed Dwyer and Jennifer Smith recently shot their announcement photo on the beach in Manasquan, telling APP they “kept putting them off” due to the crowds there all summer.

On September 20th they headed over to the spot they picked out only to notice that Bruce Springsteen was sitting on one of the benches. In what sounds like a scene from a rom com, the groom happened to be carrying a guitar and Bruce said to him, “Play that box,” to which he responded, “No, you’re Bruce Springsteen, so, here, you play.” And he did.

The couple described the rocker as “real laid-back and chill,” and the photographer said the shoot “happened organically, nothing was forced.”

@99GR81

Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band - Giants’ Stadium 9/30/09

The show was AMAZING! One of the best I have seen in years. Even though Bruce is 60 (Man, we are all getting old!), he rocked the place like he was 25. We had General Admission tickets and were dead-center, about 40 rows back (standing of course) from the front of the stage.

The set list was kicked off by the world-premiere of a song called “Wrecking Ball” that was written specially for the final shows at Giants’ Stadium (they are tearing it down after Bruce’s run.) In addition, the show was a treat because the band played the entire “Born to Run” album from (as Bruce says) “top to finish.”

Bruce is playing a full album set at each of the Giants’ Stadium shows. In addition to the entire BTR tonight, the other shows will feature:

10/2 - Darkness on the Edge of Town
10/3 - Born in the USA
10/8 - Born to Run
10/9 - Born in the USA

The show ran about three hours and twenty minutes with NO BREAK for an encore. Bruce decided it was “too cold to stop.” During “Growin’ Up,” the audience serenaded Bruce (or tried to) with a rendition of “Happy Birthday.” During “Raise Your Hand,” Bruce went out into the crowd and gathered signs with song requests for the rest of the show.

The entire set list is below:

Wrecking Ball
Seeds
Johnny 99
Atlantic City
Outlaw Pete
Hungry Heart
Working On A Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Night
Backstreets
Born To Run
She’s The One
Meeting Across The River (trumpet solo: Curt Ramm)
Jungleland
Waiting On A Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Into The Fire
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Badlands
No Surrender

Raise Your Hand
E Street Shuffle
Growin’ Up
American Land (with Willie Nile)
Dancin’ In The Dark (with Willie Nile)
Hard Times (with Willie Nile)
Rosalita

All told, I think the show was a 9/10. I have tickets for the next four shows and can only imagine that they will get better as we get closer to the last one. Bruce loves playing in New Jersey and since he is closing Giants’ Stadium down, I am expecting the October 9th show to be….I N S A N E !

@99GR81