Bruce Springsteen Brings the "Wrecking Ball" to Giants Stadium

Bruce Springsteen just turned 60, but he's still running rings around performers half his age. I saw the Friday show at Giants Stadium from Springsteen and the E Street Band, the second of their five-night run of shows to close out that venue. And not only did they play another of their famous three-hour shows, they didn't even take an intermission.

Springsteen is doing something new on this tour: playing an album in its entirety. Friday's was one of my favorites: 1978's "Darkness on the Edge of Town." (Other albums performed have included "Born to Run" and "Born in the U.S.A.")

The show began with six tunes before "Darkness," starting with "Wrecking Ball," a new song Springsteen penned specifically about the end of Giants Stadium. After that first group of songs he performed "Darkness on the Edge of Town," from "Badlands" to the title song. (For a song-by-song chronicle of the show, Jay Lustig's in-depth review from the Newark Star-Ledger and Stan Goldstein's review from NJ.com.)

I expected a brief post-"Darkness" set of tunes, but Springsteen delivered a longer group of songs, many of them requests from signs held up by audience members. He ended the show with one of his oldest songs, "Rosalita," from his second album (one of the few songs from that set to be performed live regularly). It's one of his most rousing tunes, and he's used it to close a show many a time.

So Springsteen will outlast Giants Stadium, but that isn't the only venue in his home base of NJ and New York City that he's outlived: he played several shows at the now-defunct Shea Stadium in Queens a few years back. The Boss also was the first musical act to play what's now called the Izod Center (the arena next to Giants Stadium), which is on its last legs but will be around at least until the NJ Nets get their new home in Brooklyn built. I was fortunate enough to see one of those shows back in 1981.

This was a very satisfying show from The Boss and the E Street Band, and although I've never seen them give a bad show, they seem extra motivated to give Giant's Stadium a rousing sendoff. There are two more shows at "the old girl," as Springsteen called the Stadium, on Oct. 8th and 9th, and if you'll be in the NY/NJ area, you might want to go. You're in for a real treat if you do. (I'm not sure if the shows are officially sold out, but even if they are there are usually quite a few people outside the gates trying to sell extra tickets.)

Bruce Springsteen at Giants Stadium: Must-Know Info on Parking, Transit, Policies, and More

A few days ago I posted some information on getting to the Bruce Springsteen concerts at Giants Stadium. Now Springsteen has gone one better and put a detailed information sheet on what to know about attending his Giants Stadium shows on his Web site, www.brucespringsteen.net. Titled "GOING TO THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND SHOWS AT GIANTS STADIUM? HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW," the document is available in both PDF and Word formats.

The info sheet covers everything from parking location and cost to tailgating policy, tips for traveling by bus or train, items prohibited from the Stadium, and much more. It's great that Springsteen's people put all this together in one place to save fans from scrounging around trying to find it in various places. You'll definitely want to read it before you head out to the concerts.

Here's a quick look at some of the pertinent info from the document:

• Dates are September 30, October 2-3, 8-9, 2009
• Parking lots open at 1 PM for all 5 shows
• General Admission line is at gate B
• Stadium gates open at 6:00 PM
• Show time is 7:30 PM
...
* Patrons with tickets located in lower tier (100’s) mezzanine (200’s) and
upper tier (300’s) may enter through gates A, C or D.
* All patrons with General Admission (GA) field tickets may only enter through gate B.

And, at each date he'll be playing an entire album in full (as well as material from additional albums), according to Brooklyn Vegan. Here is the schedule they have their Web site:
Sept. 30 - playing 'Born To Run'

Oct. 2 - playing 'Darkness on the Edge of Town'

Oct. 3 - playing 'Born In The USA'

Oct. 8 - playing 'Born To Run'

Oct. 9 - playing 'Born In The USA'

Seeing Bruce Springsteen at Giants Stadium? Plan Ahead for Getting There

If you're going to one (or more) of Bruce Springsteen's run of farewell shows at NJ's Giants Stadium Sept. 30th to Oct. 9th, you'll want to plan ahead and allow extra travel time. New Jersey Transit now offers train service to Giants Stadium, a long-awaited option for visitors, but are some kinks to be worked out. Namely, how to get 80,000 people onto trains efficiently without unduly long waits.

(The recent arrest of a man who was allegedly wanted to carry out terrorist attacks on sites in the New York area, including sports stadiums, means that security measures might well be more strict at events like this. So you may face longer delays on screening to get into Giants Stadium... another reason to allow more time.)

The U2 concerts this week at the Stadium have seen long waits for the trains, so provide a good idea of what you can expect if you're taking the train to the Springsteen shows. (I'll be taking the train to and from next Friday's show, so I took notice.)

Among other things, the article mentions that a NJ Transit spokesman recommends buying your return trip ticket before entering the concert... this will save you from having to stand in line after the concert. For more information, check out NJ Transit's Web page for the Meadowlands train to Giants Stadium, including parking details, directions, timetables and maps, and more.

If you're driving to Giants Stadium, make sure you check in with one of the NYC news radio stations, WCBS (880 AM, www.wcbs880.com) and WINS (1010 AM, www.1010wins.com) for traffic updates, alternate routes, accidents, acts of God, and other delays.

And speaking of Bruce Springsteen concerts at Giants Stadium, a couple of extra shows were added, and with the large capacity of the stadium, you can probably still get tickets. Check the Web page here for Bruce Springsteen Giants Stadium tickets.

Here are the dates. (Showtimes for each day are listed as 7:30 pm, but the show actually starts later, around 8 pm.)
Wed., September 30
Fri., October 2
Sat., October 3
Thu., October 8
Fri., October 9

Bruce Springsteen Final Shows at Giants Stadium - On Sale Now

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are closing out the concert history of Giants Stadium in style with three concerts this Fall, and tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. Monday morning, June 1st.

Here are the details:

• Link to the Springsteen Giants Stadium tickets page (Note: Tickets will not be sold at the IZOD Center Box Office on this date)
  
• There are three shows: September 30th, October 2nd, and October 2rd
  
• Ticket prices are $98, $65, and $33
  
• Field tickets are General Admission standing only, no seats
  
• There is an eight-ticket limit per person, per show. (Tickets can be all reserved, all GA or a combination of the two)
  
• Giants Stadium is located in the Meadowlands sports complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey
  
• Tickets will not be sold for areas behind the stage

These concerts by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be the last concerts at Giants Stadium, which will be retired at the end of the 2009-2010 NFL season.

You can find more information and Bruce Springsteen tour dates at the official Bruce Springsteen Web site.