The Last Laugh: Bruce Springsteen and Joe Grushecky in Pittsburgh
For almost two weeks now, I've been meaning to write about my latest concert experience--two nights of Joe Grushecky and the Iron City Houserockers with special guest Bruce Springsteen. The shows were excellent--does Bruce ever give less than 200%? And the setting was thrillingly intimate--"a lovely little jewel box of a venue" as promised by my friend Diane, who had seen Bruce and Joe at Pittsburgh's Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall before. It was Diane who talked me into this outing, who scored us excellent tickets, and whose company made the long trip to and from Pittsburgh go by in a flash. After the shows, I struggled to find a way to write about the experience. First I thought I should discuss how different the Soldiers and Sailors shows were in feel from E Street Band shows; I could focus on the acoustic mini-sets he played at the start and finish of both shows, and how, in this setting, Springsteen the storyteller really came out to play. ...