A first-timer’s guide to a Bruce Springsteen concert

POSTPONED: Hours ahead of his first of two shows at Citizens Bank Park, Bruce Springsteen announced his two Philadelphia shows are postponed citing personal illness. Read more here.

“Who sang the hit song ‘Born in the U.S.A.’?”

It’s the early 2000s in Calcutta, India, and I am representing my school in an inter-school quiz competition. “Bruce Springsteen,” I hit the buzzer and blurt out. I had seen that cassette in my father’s collection pile. Red, white, and blue. And a very pretty gemstone-encrusted belt.

Beyond this contest (which my school won), I grew up with some Bruce playing in the periphery of my teenage soundtrack. I didn’t quite reach the “plough-through-every-album” phase until I watched Gurinder Chadha’s Blinded by the Light in 2019. To see the protagonist Javed Khan (Viveik Kalra), the son of Pakistani immigrants in Luton in Thatcherite England, singing and dancing along to “Born to Run” was a watershed moment in my education in Bruce Springsteen.

By the time the film ended, Springsteen stopped being “white people music” to me.

I’ve been told (mostly by my colleagues at this paper) that every Bruce show is both a sociocultural experience and a cultural education. And dare I say, I am ready.

I am seeing my first Springsteen concert on Aug. 16 at Citizens Bank Park and of course, I reached out to fans of the Boss in and around Philadelphia, on and off social media to find out what to expect.

In case, you too are joining this pilgrimage late like me, don’t fret. I am told the Church of E Street is ever-welcoming.

Here are my top tip finds.

At least 10 people suggested watching Springsteen on Broadway on Netflix before my first Springsteen concert. It did help me appreciate Springsteen’s relationship with Clarence Clemons more. The Boss’ vulnerability opened up the human behind the celebrity.

Springsteen’s 2016 autobiography, Born to Run, is on my reading list, and is said to complement the show perfectly.

A veteran fan and a friend who is cutting her family vacation short to watch the concert this week asked me to “bone up on some of the b-sides for the Philly shows.”

“At CBP,” she added, “he tends to do some deep cuts.”

Yeah, I am not doing that. Primarily because I don’t have a bandana personality. I will, however, wear a T-shirt that says “I Heard Bruce Might Show Up.” It’s loose and comfortable.

“No need to dress up for [the concert] unless it makes you feel more excited,” said Sonali Chakravarti, professor of government at Wesleyan University and a fan who went to her first Springsteen concert in 1999 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia.

If I have to take away one thing from my colleague Dan DeLuca’s encyclopedic writings on Springsteen, it’s the fact that if it’s a Bruce show in Philly, it’ll be long. And since I will be standing through most of it, I will not be wearing cute shoes. New Balances seem to be the crowd favorite, but I will stick to my Hokas.

I know. You’re going to hear Springsteen so why would you wear earplugs? “Even if you don’t want to use them (I believe you will) in the long run, you’ll be happy you brought them with you,” said Roxborough resident Art Reilly, who helped produce around 75 of the Boss’ early Philly-area shows.

“It’s a bit crude, but be prepared to look at a lot of people’s behinds,” said Reilly. “As soon as he gets up on stage, every single person in that stadium will stand up. And because everybody’s standing up, they’ll start standing up on their chairs. And if you continue to sit, that’s all you’re gonna see.”

Since that is definitely not what I intend to see, I will take Reilly’s advice and carry a little periscope or a pair of binoculars.

Singing at Bruce concerts, I am told, is not just encouraged but recommended. Everyone apparently sings “Hungry Heart,” so I have been memorizing those lyrics.

“The ‘woah oh oh ohs’ are important,” I am told. “Sing them mostly when it’s in your heart, BUT see what people do on the first chorus and just repeat that on the second” is the advice I am going with.

This is a no-brainer, but it’s nice to be reminded. “I fainted during my first Springsteen concert” is not a sentence I’d ever want to write. I am told you are allowed to carry one sealed bottle of water, and the concession stands will be selling water too.

This is kind of contradictory to the last advice, but we’ve all walked this line before. If you do have to go, it’s good to have a “bathroom song.”

“So this is controversial,” my fan-friend said. “I hate the song ‘Meeting Across the River.’ It’s a terrible song so that’s my bathroom song. That or whenever Patti sings.”

My friend remains unnamed for a reason.

Appropriate conversation topics to have with strangers include: What was your first show? How many times have you seen him? Who is your favorite member besides Bruce? What was your best show?

Bring a sign only if you’re in the pit. “Otherwise you will be annoying,” one fan told me. Also, if you’re in the pit, do not eat or drink — you can’t go to the bathroom or you’ll lose your spot.

Chakravarti is often one of the few women of color in the crowds of a Springsteen show. “When I see my experience in some of his songs, I don’t know if the other fans recognize that type of connection,” she said. But, there is always “an intense experience of community fervor and respect for the Boss.”

“I’ve never really been able to strike up a good conversation with a random person there,” she says. “Yet, I still [always] leave feeling full of generosity.”

An earlier version of this story was published before being fully edited. It has been updated.