Bruce Springsteen
01.6.2010
Bruce Springsteen sweat on us. That’s how close we were.
I won’t pretend like this shoot was no big deal. I pretty much freaked out the entire time. I mentioned in the Bon Iver post that my buddy Drew at Aloompa had received the 2nd best pass that Bonnaroo hands out for designing the festival’s iPhone app. We had been chilling in the hospitality tent eating food and rolled up to this special gate to see the Springsteen show about an hour before he went on. We got right in and maneuvered into position stage right, about 7 people deep from the barricade (which was still quite a way from the stage). As I also mentioned in the Bon Iver post, I had NO IDEA what kind of passes we’d have, so all I brought with me was a 4GB flash card (fairly small) and a 50mm lens. I never imagined being so close to the action!
It had been a long day and my buddies and I were tired. A full day of hot temps, bright sun, loud music, standing longer than we’re used to. We were tired. We figured we’d stay for about an hour of the Boss’ show. Then he started playing. And that thought went out the window. The energy in Springsteen’s show was IN. SANE. He played for about 3 hours and 15 minutes, covering 25+ songs in his catalog. To say it was a memorable show is a massive understatement. On a personal note…from the beginning I’ve wanted these photos to find a home – meaning I’ve wanted them published somewhere. If you know someone at a publication, would you mind passing this link along to them? It’d mean a lot to me trying to start my career as a concert photographer!
Max Weinberg was there.
The Boss takes requests from fans in the form of signs people make. Here, someone had requested Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - a Springsteen staple!
Springsteen pulled this lucky fan onto the stage and hugged her. People went absolutely bonkers! This shot was a total hail mary - camera above my head to get above people's hands (and under the sign on the right).
He closed the concert with about 7 around-the-body guitar tosses. The perfect end to this raucus show!
- Springsteen came over stage right a number of times. They had built a small little performance stage there. To my knowledge, there was one stage left but he only ventured over there once or so. Our decision to park ourselves where we did was perfect!
- When The Boss would come stage right, the crush of people behind us would push everyone toward the barricade. There was no stopping it. But it wasn’t suffocating. It was a total blast. It made me laugh out loud every time it happened. Then, when Springsteen would head back on stage, everyone would uncompress. It was like an accordion every time he ventured stage right.
- Springsteen said this was only the second festival he and the E-Street Band had EVER played. The first being in
SwitzerlandThe Nethlerlands (Pinkpop) [Thanks to Springsteen fan, Fabian, for correcting me]. - It was really cool to see how many 18-35 year olds LOVED him. You’d think Springsteen would be an act for the older generation. Not so. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. At 60 years old, he dominated!
- I have more cool photos from the show that I haven’t posted here. But I want to save those for a publication. If any pub is interested, get in touch me through the Contact form or by clicking the little email link above on the right!
Throughout 2009, I shot a crazy number of photos but never posted them. For 40 consecutive days, I'm going to post these shoots. Something new every day!
I wish I could hire you to come and take pictures of our family.
whoa. just whoa.
these. are. amazing. wow. dang.
I think I see my hand in one shot — I was right beside the NJ girl who he pulled up on stage….if anyone knows her name, please post. These shots are GREAT!!! what an amazing time!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice dude! You impress me!
Actually, the first festival he did was in The Netherlands (Pinkpop), but great shots!