Orel Family

Springsteen in Columbus, April 21, 2024 There are times when words and pictures really can't do justice to the thing just witnessed. For example, a total eclipse of the sun . Or when Bruce Springsteen gets really good.  And now, within an easy drive to Ohio, I've been blessed to experience both of these in a span of less than two weeks. Bruce was originally scheduled to play Columbus on March 9, 2023, but it was postponed to September 21st due to an undisclosed illness. All three of the March shows rescheduled to September were then rescheduled again when Bruce's peptic ulcer disease forced postponement of all 2023 shows after September 3rd. The Columbus show last night was the final make-up date. Solo all night. Columbus, April 21, 2024 Nothing against last year's shows: I went to three of them consecutively, and I had a great time. But the setlists were static, the ticket prices were high, and despite the high  performance  quality, the shows seemed somehow less than ...

The Diamond at the End of Totality I wore my shirt from Cedars of Lebanon in 2017 . That was my way of communicating I'd seen a rotal eclipse brfore. That invites the inevitable question, "how did it compare?" Look at the sun! (with eclipse glasses) For one thing, this time I knew it was coming. This time, it was reachable with a relatively short drive from home. This time, Aaron wanted to see it, and was willing to fly in from Baltimore to see it with us. This time, Ezra decided he wanted to see it too, wherever we were going with Aaron. This time, Lori's mother decided she, too, wanted to witness it, and would come with us wherever we went. This time, I somehow managed to convince several friends that pinholes and eclipse glasses are nice and it's pretty awesome to see a 99% eclipse, but really, there's just no substitute for totality. Beginning of partial, just before 2pm. But also, this time would be in early April. The eclipse path would come well within ...

Since Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band last played in Cincinnati in March, 2008 , the United States has gone through two presidential elections and a great recession. Two cherished members of the E Street Band have passed away. Bruce has released two powerful studio albums and, along the way, has enabled new voices and new sounds for his Hall of Fame-bound band. During those six years, while the rest of us aged, Bruce somehow became younger. We can conjecture from what or where his fountain of youth came. Was it from the booty shaking? The love making? The earth quaking? Perhaps it was the Viagara taking. He has mentioned Viagra taking. Whatever the elixir, whoever the alchemist, the results have been spectacular. But what about Cincinnati? Bruce's 2008 Cincinnati show didn’t pass the two-hour mark until the evening’s last song. Tonight’s show could have come with a warning label: For a show lasting longer than 3 hours, audience members should call their doctors...

On the final day before the 2012 presidential election, Bruce Springsteen appeared along with Jay-Z in support of President Obama at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. This was Bruce’s second of three campaign appearances in support of Obama on this Monday, and his sixth overall. It also marked a return for Bruce to Ohio, where he made his first 2012 campaign appearance in support of Obama on October 18th. Thousands filed in early, enthusiastically cheering a variety of songs on the P.A. including Bruce’s “We Take Care of Our Own” (a song that has taken on dramatic new meaning in the days since Hurricane Sandy). When Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” came on, the lower bowl became a dance party. Due to substantial security measures outside the arena, including closure of major roads and garages closest to the venue as well as security checks on the way inside, the arena was slow to fill. I made it in just minutes before the scheduled start time, and arriving right alongside m...

Forward, and Away We Go!!! In an interview for the UK paper  The Guardian  in February 2012, Bruce Springsteen said, "I campaigned for Kerry and Obama, and I am glad I did. But normally I would prefer to stay on the sidelines. The artist is supposed to be the canary in the cage."  When he reviewed Obama's performance at that time, his response was measured:  "He kept General Motors alive, he got through healthcare – though not the public system I would have wanted – he killed Osama Bin Laden, and he brought sanity to the top level of government. But big business still has too much say in government and there has not been as many middle- or working-class voices in the administration as I expected. I thought Guantanamo would have been closed but now, but he got us out of Iraq and I guess we will soon be out of Afghanistan." That was then.  That was before Obama had an opponent in the general election, one who opposed the very things that Springsteen praise...

GOOD EVENING OHIO!! It's national news, now. And, yes, tonight Milwaukee got "Good evening, Ohio," too. Guess he needs to write a new song. Call it "In Ohio." I even have lyrics he can use. He wrote 'em in Kalamazoo, Ohio.

I'm a sucker for going to see Bruce shows... even if they're far away and not really full shows. Today's performance at The Main Oval at The Ohio State University was one of 3 scheduled performances over this weekend, coinciding with voter registration drives in battleground states. Yesterday's was in Philadelphia, and tomorrow's will be in Ypsilanti. It was a beautiful Sunday, and for a change I had had no plans at all. Columbus is a 3 hour drive, and with the concert scheduled for 4:30, I could easily make it a day trip. For less than a tankful of gas (tickets being free), I could get a bit of a Bruce fix (and see Chris and Bryon). And so I did. Also, a bit of a difference from normal Bruce concerts in that there was no prohibition on photographic equipment, so what the heck, I brought a camera. As for the show... er... rally: The line-up to get in stretched around a couple campus buildings by the time we got there. Not really all that many people,...