?Drinkin? warm beer in the soft summer rain?
Sunday May 11th 2003, The Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium.
As some of you guys may know, I?m on a mini e-street band tour this summer, going to see 14 of 24 shows. Still got Gelsenkirchen, Paris, London, Manchester, Dublin, Gothenburg & Milan to go! Then off to the US to see a few more shows later in the autumn.
The first leg of my travels found me in Rotterdam (First SPL meet, though I met quite a few SPL members last October in London, CJ , Pete etc. but not all together)
Big thanks to CJ, AAlias , BloodBrother , TheBrotherOfTheFonz , JimmyB , kklaus , Maikel ?, RedBossFan , WebGhost0815 and all the other usual suspects for making me feel so welcome and to all the other fans I met that post on other boards. After all I had a shitty time on the first night as I didn?t meet anyone I knew etc. Also a big hello goes out to Evelina, Haarvard, Natalie aka On Fire and PanJay, as these are my new found Bruce tramps who have been escorting me on my travels.
It?s Sunday May 11th and I?ve just arrived in Brussels from Ludwigshafen via train, I sms my friend and ask him what the plan is? He explains that Panjay & PiWi have gone to try and find Bruce?s hotel and that he is just strolling around Brussels doing the tourist thing as he doesn?t want to hang outside the hotel all day waiting for bruce to get his autograph (we?d already done that in Amsterdam short video clip ). He tells me to meet him in the Grand Place. So I get a tram from the Gare Du Midi and get off at Bourse/Beurs. Now it?s only a short walk from the tram stop to the Grand Place, but not really knowing the route I take the long way! And just as well as my timing was perfect.
Point blank (Your face was in the shadows but I knew that it was you)
18:50 11th May 2003, Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium.
So there I? am standing in the Grand Place square in Brussels with my backpack, just arrived and this is the first place I go, and wow what a place! I?m looking around for my friend Haarvard, I send him a sms to tell him I?ve arrived. Standing there on my own I?m looking around to see if I can see him, when I spot a familiar looking baseball cap wearing dude stroll into the square from the direction of ?Rue De La colline Heuvelstraat?. It?s Bruce Springsteen, out for a quite walk on his own in Brussels. I immediately start walking in his direction. I stroll up next to Bruce and ask him if I can walk with him for a while? ?Sure? he announces after sizing me up to see I wasn?t some beggar or the like. So there I am walking down the street chatting with the Boss. I tell him I?ve just seen the shows in Rotterdam and Ludwigshafen. He asks if I enjoyed the shows. At this point my friend Haarvard strolls over next to me and says Hi! I introduce Bruce to Haarvard. Now at this point I don?t think I?d told Bruce my name or any thing like that, yet he now knows this is Haarvard from Norway (lives in Sweden). We stop strolling and stand chatting for 2-3 minutes about the shows we?d seen and how much we?d enjoyed them. I notice there are two other guys approaching (fans) and we thank Bruce and wander off.
The two guys go up to Bruce and start chatting (I think these guys were German or Dutch? if you know who these guys are? Please get in touch with me)
they spend about 3-4 mins chatting with Bruce and get there photo?s taken. A small crowd gathers near them, I begin to think it looks like Bruce is goin? to get mobbed. However it turns out to just be tourist and they don?t even recognise Bruce!
At this point I decide I?ll take a few photos of these guys meeting Bruce, I didn?t want to take a photo of Bruce when we were with him as I thought it would be a bit too ?in yer face? and I didn?t want to draw any attention to him, I guess I just assumed everyone would recognise him! Then the two other fans thank Bruce and leave.
Bruce then leaves the square and goes down boterstraat and slows down and looks like he might buy a newspaper from the shop,
but then turns and walks around a guy who was doing a caricature or painting a picture. Then he starts walking back up Boterstraat into the Grand Place.
Now Haarvard and I are still a bit hyped for ?bumping? into the guy like this, it really is the best way, better than stalking the guy. He?s obviously a lot more relaxed when he is like this. In fact it?s the perfect way to meet him, and for me this was my first time. I did go to his hotel in Amsterdam with my friends on Friday morning, but I never met him as I just kept my distance at the back of the Q and took some photos of everyone else meeting the guy, there were 30 people there that day and it was too many for him to say hello to each one and give autographs etc. In fact I don?t know if I really wanted to meet him as I have my own impression of who Bruce is as a person and artist and didn?t want to have them tainted if I found out I didn?t like the guy etc (does that make any sense?) Anyway back to the story???
So Bruce has turned around and is walking back up Botterstratt. This is where I decided why the hell not, ?I?m going to ask Bruce if he wants to kill some time with us and get a beer? I tell my friend Haarvard of my planned intentions; ?No, don?t? replies Haarvard, who thinks it a bad move.
I could kind of sense from Bruce?s body language that he was feeling really relaxed and at ease. Maybe he even wanted to get a table at a restaurant and sit down and watch the world go buy for a while, sometimes it difficult when you are on you own to just go and do that as you have to enter a place on you own and sit there, it so much easier if you have companionship.
Something in the Night (figuring I?ll get a drink)
Anyway I see Bruce coming back up the street, I catch his eye from maybe 20 feet or so away (I guess he sensed I was going to ask him something again after we had just met less than 5 mins ago, and he still recalled me) so I get nearer to him and Bruce smiles, the pace slows down and I ask the killer question.
?Bruce do you fancy getting a beer or a drink with us? (Slight pause) Hey I don?t Wanna hassle ya it just were going get one, but we?ll leave you alone if you want because we understand?.?
Bruce stops walking rolls up his Jacket sleeve and looks at his watch (BTW: he wears a really nice IWC, nothing too flash, I think it was a ? Mark XV with buffalo strap ) then he says.
?Sure, OK. I?ve got 15 minutes with you guys?
Unbelievable, I?ve just asked Bruce if he wants to take a beer, and the guy says ?sure? like were all old friends!
So we all start walking (I?m smiling, feeling really happy, but really nervous at the same time, thinking he might change his mind or walk off etc). We walk about 10-15 feet and Bruce say?s.
?So, do you guys have a place??
I explain not yet and ask if wants to sit inside or is it ok to sit outside? I see the nearest bar, (El Greco) and tell him and Haarvard we should try this place.
They both agree, I ask Bruce if he wants to sit here, so he says ?sure this spots fine?
In Freehold (I can usually find a free beer somewhere)
Now this El Greco bar/tavern is in the grand place square with magnificent views of the all the surrounding buildings etc. I pull up my chair and sit down first, Bruce goes to the other side of the table and sits down (faces S/E) and Haarvard sits next to me. We both sit facing Bruce. After 2minutes of idle chit chat where I ask Bruce about Patti (can?t recall what he said, but she?ll be over soon) the waiter still hasn?t come over to ask us what we would like! So I raise my hand and get his attention. The Waiter arrives at out table. I tell him I?d like a Hoegaarden, I ask Bruce what he wants. He looks at the list, then points to a table across from us where a couple are drinking, he points at the lager that they are drinking and says ?I?ll have one of those?. Haarvard orders a Hoegaarden like me. We briefly discuss beers, me telling Bruce that Hoegaarden is a Belgium wheat beer that is cloudy and can give you a really bad hangover if you have too much. We laugh and Bruce explains he prefers pilsner type lagers and that he hasn?t been drinking much recently? The beers arrive and I raise glasses with my acquaintances and ?cheers?
Bruce, Haarvard and I sit there drinking beer for the next 28mins, we discuss a whole manner of things, a lot of them just idle chat like you would normally with anyone else.
The Shows Bootlegs
I told Bruce how we?d been to all the shows so far in Europe and that how I thought Rotterdam second night was the best. Haarvard told Bruce he thought Ludwigshafen was his favourite. We discussed Racing in the street, and I told Bruce how much we enjoyed the song and that I had met the lady who gave Bruce the letter requesting it!, He said he recalled and that how he really took pleasure from that performance and how much it means to him. We discussed how cool it was when Gary came up to the Microphone during ?Out in the Street? and sang last night (Ludwigshafen). Bruce told us that he was surprised as Gary is normally real quite and doesn?t get involved like that; I guess Gary was really enjoying the crowd.
I brought the big man, Clarence into the conversation and made a reference to ?I didn?t think the big man was as active on stage as he used to be, he didn?t seem to goof around that much?. I asked Bruce whether it was anything to do with the Hip replacement he had. Bruce laughed and found it really funny, that I thought the big man was getting on and had had both his hips replaced. I guess I got it wrong about the hips replaced, maybe he just had surgery! Either way he said he was going to let the big man know, so I should watch out.
We discussed the European tour and I told him I was really enjoying these stadium shows as these were the first time I?d seen the E-Street Band in such large venues. I tell Bruce that I was looking forward to the going to the Stade De France as it was a great stadium, also mentioned it has a large capacity of around 80?000. He said he didn?t know that one. I told him it was where the World Cup Final was in ?98, he said he hadn?t seen that! (I guess he doesn?t like football, maybe it was just a huge event for us Europeans?) I also mentioned I was looking forward to going to Milan to the San Siro. Bruce knew about this one and agreed that that was a great venue with memories. Bruce asked which other shows we were going to see, we reel of the list of shows. I mentioned how I was enjoying the goofing around during Darlington County, and told him it was funny with the cell phone incident in Rotterdam and the Security girl that he got to sing with him in Ludwigshafen. Bruce recalled and jokes around that it was a lot of fun. We then start talking about the shows in Gothenburg at the Ullevi stadium and how he hasn?t played it since he broke it last time, we joke about this and I tell Bruce that I?ve heard rumours that the crazy Swedish fans are going to be camping out 5 days in advance to get front row for these shows. Bruce looks amazed and assumes I?m joking again with him.
Bootlegs
We discussed how fortunate the band had been with the weather so far on the shows, Bruce stated that they played ?rain or shine? He told us how it got really cold sometime on his hands when he is holding onto the microphone as the wind blows straight at you. I made reference to the Philadelphia August 14th ?85 show (widely available on video) and told him that I recall seeing that and that that was meant to be a tough show due to the heat. Bruce remembered it very very clearly and told us about how humid it was that night and he thinks it was the toughest show (due to the heat) that they had played. I mentioned that I?d seen the show as it was available on a video bootleg. Bruce smiled and joked about that night in Philly and little more and explained some more about the heat from the lights etc and how they rigged up some air conditioning after that night.
Brussels
We talked about Brussels, I explained how this was my first visit to Brussels and that I had just arrived in Brussels minutes earlier myself. I?d just got of the tram and walked into the square when I met him. Bruce said he?d been here many times before and that he really enjoyed it. We marvel at the 17th century architecture and magnificent building.
Bruce mentioned that last time here was here in Brussels he saw a street musician that was playing guitar and harmonica and some form of percussion? (I can?t recall exactly what he meant) but Bruce was real impressed with the guy and how he was managing to play like that. I think he was looking for the guy again whilst he was in the square?
I asked if he had given the guy any loose change, Bruce said he was sure he probably did, and laughed about it. Bruce also made a reference to Roy Orbison at this point, I can?t recall what it was, I remember thinking to myself I was going to ask him about the Coconut grove show and whether he and Roy ever laid down any tracks in the studio? Unfortunately I didn?t and the conversation changed track. We mentioned the Manneken Pis Status of the little boy taking a leak, I didn?t realise it was only a small statue, this was explained and I was told it was just around the corner, I thought it was quite a large statue in the middle of a square? Either way it turns out that it was on the corner of stoofstraat (only 100 yards from Bruce?s hotel)
The Fans
Bruce asked us how old we were, we explained Haarvard was 35, and I was 30. then we told him how its amazing how he has got such a wide spectrum as a fan base, from little kids way up to people in there 50?s, he laughed again as we realised what we had said and how old the band were these days etc. We discussed how Haarvard and I had met in Rotterdam and that there were others travelling with us but they had gone somewhere else today. We mentioned that he had met some of the other guys. We named Natalie and Evelyn (whom he remembered) and the Pankaj (the Indian dude) and the Dutch twins. We explained how there were lots of other fans who were travelling all over Europe to see the shows and how we all kind of meet up and you recognise familiar faces at all the different shows.Bruce state that the fans over here paid more attention to the requests for quiet during the slow songs and that he appreciated that a lot.
Songs
Some of the song we asked for (now I know these are going to be controversial, but I wasn?t prepared for a meeting with Bruce, and trust me you are a bit over aught with the whole thing) If I knew I was going to meet Bruce that day then I can assure you the questions and songs I asked for would have been completely different (except for I?m Goin? Down) But at the end of the day this is how it happened and that?s that, do I regret any of it, Hell NO! It was a moment in life that I will treasure forever. It?s even changed my outlook on life.
So Bruce asks us if there are any favourite songs we?d like to hear, we start reeling of a whole bunch of them, Bruce asks if I?ve got anything he can right them down with. I get him a pen and he starts to right them down on the back of the travel insurance page I printed out.
I tell bruce how we were surprised he was opening the shows with acoustic numbers, but we really enjoyed them. Born In The U.S.A on the opening night, Darkness on the Second and This hard land last night in Ludwigshafen. He made some comment about opening the shows that way. I tell him I think it'd be a good opener if he did the River as the opener? Bruce replies " yeah thats a really good idea", and repeats himself a few times. I could tell he was really considereing this one!.
I'm Goin' Down I told Bruce that I don?t think they have played this since the last night in LA ?85. he says that that was a really fun song to record, he recalled how the band had recorded, and says how they had a lot of fun with that one performing it. He also mentioned something about that one nearly didn?t make it? Did he mean the album or live? He then said that they hadn?t played that one in a long long time. I?m hoping we might get this one in England!
Downbound Train another song that I thought he?d be playing for the European shows, as I?d enjoyed it on the Tunnel of Love tour and he seemed to alternate this song and Cadillac ranch a lot in the sets)
Pink Cadillac Bruce said ?that?s another real enjoyable song to play, but again we haven?t played that in a long long while?. I said to him you played it on the reunion tour (I was sure they did, but after checking, I?ve discovered I?m wrong!) Bruce said ?are you sure? ?, he couldn?t recall playing it with the band in a long while, I told him I?m sure of it, or at least I think so anyway! Bruce I think then agreed with me (what a guy), then the conversation digressed into another field of conversation.)
Meeting Across The River
Sandy
Jungleland
Loose Ends
Where The Bands Are
Point Blank
The Promise
Johnny Bye Bye
In Freehold Bruce explains that this is one of his favourite stories and he likes this one a lot but wasn?t sure it?ll work well over here? A true story of comin? of age in new jersey
New Zealand
We talked about New Zealand, and he told us that he enjoyed going there as it was somewhere the guys hadn?t been, and then he mentioned he was looking forward to Finland as they hadn?t been there before either.
As Bruce left he shook are hands a few times, and wished us look and said he would see us around at the shows. He then left to meet up with the guys for a meal (Presumably back towards his hotel) as he left he got talking to a small crowd that had gathered just outside the El Greco, he signed a few autographs and posed for some photos and then disappeared out of the square in the direction of Rue Charles Buls (back to his hotel). I took a quick photo as he had left (but it didn?t come out that well)
After he had left Haarvard and I just sat there smiling, we ordered another beer. Haarvard smiled at me and thanked me for asking Bruce after all, he couldn?t believe that I had, and that Bruce had come and joined us for a beer.
I pick up the tab and stroll of to find my hotel.
Final thanks goes to Haarvard for suggesting we meet in the Grand-Place, I guess it was a lucky shot that we were in the right place at the right time, and that Bruce was loose that day.
If after you?ve read this story you doubt it happened (due to the fact we have no photo?s) next time you meet Bruce, ask him if he recalls going for a beer with 2 fans in Brussels!
BTW: I?d really appreciate it if you were one of the people who took his photo that day in the square if you could get in touch with me.
Cheers Skipjack
?And I hope when I get old I don?t sit around thinking about it but I probably will Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture a little bit of the glory of, but time slips away and leaves you with nothing mister but stories of glory days.?
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