Friday Is Boss’ Day: Dallas, 1992

When Bruce Springsteen broke up the E Street Band and left the Jersey Shore for the California sun it seemed like the end of the world as we knew it. Some fans didn’t think he could pull off a career without them, others were pissed off that he decided to try and there were still others like myself who didn’t really care as long as he was still making music. After the two albums, Human Touch and Lucky Town, released in March 1992 tanked on the Billboard chart, I guess folks like me were in the minority.

I didn’t care how many records he sold or he brought with him on tour, I just wanted to see him live. He decided to bypass Houston, so I made the trek up to Reunion Arena in Dallas in early December with my girlfriend (soon to be wife) and the guy who went on to become Michael Cole, the announcer for the WWE.  We sat in the last row about as far away from the stage as you could get, but it didn’t matter, I was just happy to be there.  Although the sound was pretty horrible the entire night, the show rocked. “Light of Day” and “Roll of the Dice” were highlights, “Glory Days” was great and so was a solo version of “Soul Driver.”  “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” was played after the lights came up and people were heading out. Bruce donned a Santa hat and said….”Don’t leave. We’ve got one more for ya.”

The only weird moment of the night came during “Badlands.” When Bruce ripped into a guitar solo where the sax solo should be, it felt like the air had been let out of the balloon and you realized how much the you missed the “Big Man” and how much the E Street Band brought to his music. However, I will say this, Crystal Taliefero (who can play anything), did one hell of a job on the sax solo during “Born To Run.”

While you could tell Bruce was feeding off the energy of the new, young band, he still appeared nervous and out of place during various points of the show. Unlike previous tours, when he spoke to the audience it was brief and he would often scratch his head like he was trying to find the right words. It was almost like he was trying to keep the talking to a minimum so no one would talk back. With all that said, Springsteen delivered a great night of music as always, and as we would find out a few years later, he found his way back to E Street.