Siri, Play “Nebraska”

Every road trip I have ever been on has been soundtracked officially by Bruce Springsteen.  I’ve always thought Born to Run has to be my number one.  But then again, specifically under a cross country circumstance, Nebraska plays the moment my wheels roll over the Iowa state line.  For 40 minutes I recount of being 19, skateboarding in the Streets of Philadelphia, running from Highway Patrolmen and day trips to Atlantic City.  But when I hear Born in the USA or any other hit off of Born in the USA I’m taken back to Glory Days and one of the best experiences of my life.

I was working on the electrician crew as a casual for IATSE and I got a last minute call to work Bruce Springsteen during the Wrecking Ball Tour.  I was driving my Pearl Blue 1997 Jeep Wrangler at the time, short circuiting electrical issues with rips in the softop as the only working air conditioning during the brutal humid New York summer.  I was hauling down back country roads rushing to a county fairground somewhere east of Syracuse.  I made it in time to be told we had to wait in a staging area about 100 feet from the stage and not behind the scenes like we normally would. It was such an amazing view.  Here I caught about 45 minutes of the concert before myself and about 5 others working on the electrical crew were called back to for breakdown. Shows over. The end.

(Encore)

One by one the E Street Band returned to roaring applause.  Bruce Springsteen returned.  I was trapped (willingly) watching my all time favorite musician on stage.  They went on to play every song I had missed for well over an hour.  I have photos trapped on old phones with dead batteries and a “Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball Tour Crew” shirt lost in a box somewhere in a garage in New York.  I found two photos of the day.

Myself and 14 others worked tirelessly through the night, nothing but cold water and colder pizza, breaking down electrical equipment, the entire stage, loading enough tractor trailers where I lost count after 20.  Exhausted, I headed home 24 hours after the start of my shift.  The sun was getting low and my headlights worked when they wanted to, just not that day.  To end my night, I was pulled over by a State Trooper that led to 98 other problems down the line, one of the best days of my life. The more I realize it, Nebraska plays the moment anywhere.

<3 Matthew Johnny 99 Driscoll