Black boobs, Hot Carl and the Principal's Office - Part I
We've been back from Barcelona for a week, but I didn't find the time to update yet. So here it goes. It's quite long, as usual. :P
We arrived in Barcelona on Friday night. The plane ride was perfect. At Schiphol Airport we met up with 3 fans from the Dutch Tramp Like US (TLU) forum: Michelle, the Steve fan, her friend Dennis and Jan Hoekstra. The latter we had told could stay in our room on Saturday night, because we were anticipating spending the night at the stadium. It was a weird group, but okay to spend a few days with. Michelle and Dennis had booked a hotel near the airport and Jan was not sure where he was going to stay.
As soon as we got off the plane, we felt the difference in temperature!! And we loved it!!! I mean, Holland seriously sucks during summer. Especially these last few years. Anyway, we took a cab to our hotel and we were met there by Saomi and his pal. He told us that the rooms at that location were booked, but that he would drive us to another hostel. Both Es and I were a bit reluctant to get in the car, but we had no choice. Fortunately, Saomi was legit and brought us to our hostel. This one was a little further from the beach, but closer to the stadium. Everything was great and the next day, we were up and out around 10.30. We decided to walk to the Ramblas. It was quite warm and we had to drink a lot of water. After a while, we got to the shore. It was absolutely stunning and I immediately wished I had brought my bathing suit with me.
The band's hotel wasn't far from there and we decided to take a look and see what's going on. There were quite a few fans waiting and when we saw Charlie Giordano leave, we knew it was the right place. We both didn't want to waste the day, so we left soon after. Michelle and Dennis were there and we got a call from Jan that he was at the stadium already, and that he had scored GA tickets for that night. He would be staying there, so we had all the freedom in the world. We walked back along the boulevard and had some nachos and just chilled. We both couldn't believe that we were actually in Barcelona. To see 2 Springsteen shows. We were on cloud #9. We decided to get some provisions for our stay at the stadium. We got some drinks and some small things to eat and decided to go to the venue. By then, we had already developed a nice tan. I jokingly referred to my tanned boobs as black boobs. More on that later...
It was now a little before 5 and we were both a bit tired from having walked around all day carrying heavy backpacks with our 'survival kit'. We arrived at the stadium from the side. The backstage side. There were a lot of men walking around and stuff and because it was around the time the band usually soundchecked, we set up camp right across the street from the entrance, in the shade. It was quite nice there and we were on the look-out for expensive cars when a guy on a BMX bike drove by. He had a pass on his side saying 'Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band'. When I noticed that, I guess I got excited and said: Hey! Es did the same and even though it wasn't our intention, the guy looked up and turned around and came toward us. We talked for a bit and we told him we were from Holland to see the shows. And when I told him I had already seen 3 shows on this leg of the tour, he couldn't believe it!!
His name was Carl, even though it wasn't until later that we asked again, because we hadn't heard it at first. Carl asked us if we had any guitar picks yet and if we had a setlist. We had neither and he promised us he would go get us some. He left and Es and I weren't sure if we would ever see him again. But it was nice he offered. Lo and behold, about 20 minutes later, Carl had ditched the bike and came out walking with two other men. He introduced Todd and John to us and he each gave us 2 picks from Steve!!! So amazing! He invited us to come along with them to McDonald's that was just around the corner. I don't know why, but we declined. I guess because we were still hoping Bruce would show up. The guys went ahead and it wasn't soon after that Es and I were kicking ourselves in the butt for not having gone with them. So we went after them after all. lol! They were surprised to see us there and we ate with them.
This was so cool! Todd is the Lighting Director and John is the Grand MA Operator. Carl is an allround Lighting Technician. He's the guy that would climb up the ladder before the show or would help the other guys climb up. They were all very nice, but they didn't have a lot of time, so we left soon after. There was a store on the way back that sold weed, equipment to grow it and seeds and stuff. Of course, they had to go in there. They didn't buy anything, but it was so much fun. Carl wrote down in which section our seats were, and he promised he would look us up during the show!
We went inside and found our seats. We had an excellent proximity to the stage, even though we were on the complete left side. There were some other Dutch fans in our section and they had their two little boys with them. Turns out they were also from TLU. We saw Carl at work and at some point he noticed us. He told us he would be able to give us some passes that would allow us to walk around and go in the pit and stuff. But because our seats were great as it was, we didn't really felt like we needed that. But it was awesome to have somebody offer it!!!
In true Spanish tradition, the show didn't start until 22.19. The stadium was huge and it was absolutely amazing to see everybody, even the people at the top in the back dance and sing along. The crowd was amazing and like nothing I've had ever seen before. The setlist wasn't exceptionally great, but to me it was amazing. Mainly because Bruce did a few songs I had never seen him do before and that were high on my list, including Brilliant Disguise and Jungleland. The entire setlist was as follows:
1: No Surrender
2: Radio Nowhere
3: Out in the Streets
4: Promised Land
5: Hungry Heart
6: Summertime Blues
7: Brilliant Disguise
8: The River
9: Atlantic City
10: Candy`s Room
11: Janey, Don't You Lose Heart
12: Waitin' on a Sunny Day
13: Backstreets
14: Because the Night
15. Livin' In The Future
16. Mary's Place
17: Tunnel of Love
18: The Rising
19: Last to Die
20: Long Walk Home
21: Badlands
22: Jungleland
23. Born to Run
24: Bobby Jean
25: Glory Days
26: Dancing in the Dark
27: American Land
28: Twist and Shout
No real suprises, although it is a rarity to have both Backstreets and Jungleland at the same show. So, I was blown away by that. Mostly because I wasn't expecting Jungleland after Backstreets. It was such a wonderful song, though and Clarence nailed it that night! Brilliant Disguise was of course a duet with Patti and I loved their interaction and the little kiss at the end. The whole family was there and what we didn't see, because we were on the wrong side of the stage was that during Waitin' On A Sunny Day, Bruce jumped off the stage and hugged his son Evan and watched the screens with him for a little while. So great to see these two together, also because every Bruce fan knows the horrible relationship Bruce had with his own dad. The set ended with all the kids on stage, including Max's son and Garry's daughter. Such a party!
During the show, Carl had found us and showed Es some pictures he took from the top of the stadium. He would definitely be sending us those when he had the time. The show ended around 1.30 and Carl asked us if we would like to go with him to his hotel and have a drink there. Of course, we were planning to spend the night at the stadium, so we asked Carl if that was necessary for us to do, or if he could arrange something so we wouldn't have to spend the night. He told us he thought we shouldn't spend the night there. By now we were so exhilarated that we went with him. The crew's hotel wasn't far from the venue, but as we walked over, we passed by many vendors with bootleg t-shirts. Carl went up to a few of them, trying to get some free shirts, but no such luck. So, in the end, he just bought one. lol.
It was after 2 when we got to the hotel. We went with Carl to his room. He showed us some photos on his laptop of previous shows and he also showed us some videos. Pretty amazing. He also gave me the setlist for the Antwerp show!!! Carl told us he likes to get a ticket for each show, because they all look different. Because he didn't get one for tonight's show, I gave him mine. We went down to the bar, which stayed open an hour longer for the crew, but we would have to leave at 3. Half of the crew of the Bruce Springsteen tour was there!! That was insane. Carl introduced us to some of the guys and we had the best time. One of the guys made a big impression on me. We thought his name was Lane, but when I looked in the tour program to find the guys' names I only found a Blayne, which would make more sense. Anyway, this guy was hilarious!! So fucking amazing. He made me laugh so hard. We were also introduced to the Noise Boys aka the sound men. They were all very nice. :)
At 3AM, we got kicked out and we were told there was a bar not too far from there called the Elephant Bar and we would get in. Apparently, some of the guys had already gone down there before and were denied entrance because they were wearing tennis shoes. Since half of the crew and Es and myself had on sneakers, there was a slim chance we would get in. But the bartender assured us that if we mentioned the name of the hotel, we would definitely get in. So off we went. Turned out, mentioning the name of the hotel didn't help at all and nobody got in. By now, an exhausted Jan had joined us. We had told him we would be sleeping at our hostel after all, but he was welcome to join us, but we were gonna have a drink with the crew first. Jan was too tired and really wanted to go and at one point he got so agitated that he just left and we never heard from him again.
Lef, one of the teleprompter guys went to talk with the bouncer. Es made a remark that I should go over there and show my black boobs around and that that would get us in. Now Blayne was cracking up, making sure Es knew I was far from black, even going into a act to show her how I would be behaving if I were black. Man, that was hilarious! In the end, some of the guys just left, but Carl tried one more time, convincing the bouncer he was here with two lovely ladies ( ;) ) and he himself was wearing flip-flops. That got us in. This wasn't for us though, but since we already had something to drink back at the hotel bar and this was a once in a lifetime thing (at least that's what we thought then) we went ahead. After a short while, three other crew guys joined us. We talked a bit and after some beers, Carl told us he would get us in before the doors opened the next night. Now, this seemed highly unlikely, especially since he was just a technician. But it was awesome of him to offer and Es and I were again on cloud #9. It was getting late and after 3 Bailey's each, we decided to head back to our hostel. It was now almost 5AM, so we left. Carl made sure we knew how to contact him and we were happy we didn't have to spend the night at the stadium.
We walked back towards the stadium and saw a lot of people already there. But the avenue was also used for something else. There were hookers everywhere. And not all of them were female!! So funny to see. I hailed the first cab I saw and was glad to see the guy stopped. It wasn't until 5.30 that we were in our own bed. Thoroughly exhausted, but with so much energy at the same time. We couldn't wait for Day 2.
We arrived in Barcelona on Friday night. The plane ride was perfect. At Schiphol Airport we met up with 3 fans from the Dutch Tramp Like US (TLU) forum: Michelle, the Steve fan, her friend Dennis and Jan Hoekstra. The latter we had told could stay in our room on Saturday night, because we were anticipating spending the night at the stadium. It was a weird group, but okay to spend a few days with. Michelle and Dennis had booked a hotel near the airport and Jan was not sure where he was going to stay.
As soon as we got off the plane, we felt the difference in temperature!! And we loved it!!! I mean, Holland seriously sucks during summer. Especially these last few years. Anyway, we took a cab to our hotel and we were met there by Saomi and his pal. He told us that the rooms at that location were booked, but that he would drive us to another hostel. Both Es and I were a bit reluctant to get in the car, but we had no choice. Fortunately, Saomi was legit and brought us to our hostel. This one was a little further from the beach, but closer to the stadium. Everything was great and the next day, we were up and out around 10.30. We decided to walk to the Ramblas. It was quite warm and we had to drink a lot of water. After a while, we got to the shore. It was absolutely stunning and I immediately wished I had brought my bathing suit with me.
The band's hotel wasn't far from there and we decided to take a look and see what's going on. There were quite a few fans waiting and when we saw Charlie Giordano leave, we knew it was the right place. We both didn't want to waste the day, so we left soon after. Michelle and Dennis were there and we got a call from Jan that he was at the stadium already, and that he had scored GA tickets for that night. He would be staying there, so we had all the freedom in the world. We walked back along the boulevard and had some nachos and just chilled. We both couldn't believe that we were actually in Barcelona. To see 2 Springsteen shows. We were on cloud #9. We decided to get some provisions for our stay at the stadium. We got some drinks and some small things to eat and decided to go to the venue. By then, we had already developed a nice tan. I jokingly referred to my tanned boobs as black boobs. More on that later...
It was now a little before 5 and we were both a bit tired from having walked around all day carrying heavy backpacks with our 'survival kit'. We arrived at the stadium from the side. The backstage side. There were a lot of men walking around and stuff and because it was around the time the band usually soundchecked, we set up camp right across the street from the entrance, in the shade. It was quite nice there and we were on the look-out for expensive cars when a guy on a BMX bike drove by. He had a pass on his side saying 'Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band'. When I noticed that, I guess I got excited and said: Hey! Es did the same and even though it wasn't our intention, the guy looked up and turned around and came toward us. We talked for a bit and we told him we were from Holland to see the shows. And when I told him I had already seen 3 shows on this leg of the tour, he couldn't believe it!!
His name was Carl, even though it wasn't until later that we asked again, because we hadn't heard it at first. Carl asked us if we had any guitar picks yet and if we had a setlist. We had neither and he promised us he would go get us some. He left and Es and I weren't sure if we would ever see him again. But it was nice he offered. Lo and behold, about 20 minutes later, Carl had ditched the bike and came out walking with two other men. He introduced Todd and John to us and he each gave us 2 picks from Steve!!! So amazing! He invited us to come along with them to McDonald's that was just around the corner. I don't know why, but we declined. I guess because we were still hoping Bruce would show up. The guys went ahead and it wasn't soon after that Es and I were kicking ourselves in the butt for not having gone with them. So we went after them after all. lol! They were surprised to see us there and we ate with them.
This was so cool! Todd is the Lighting Director and John is the Grand MA Operator. Carl is an allround Lighting Technician. He's the guy that would climb up the ladder before the show or would help the other guys climb up. They were all very nice, but they didn't have a lot of time, so we left soon after. There was a store on the way back that sold weed, equipment to grow it and seeds and stuff. Of course, they had to go in there. They didn't buy anything, but it was so much fun. Carl wrote down in which section our seats were, and he promised he would look us up during the show!
We went inside and found our seats. We had an excellent proximity to the stage, even though we were on the complete left side. There were some other Dutch fans in our section and they had their two little boys with them. Turns out they were also from TLU. We saw Carl at work and at some point he noticed us. He told us he would be able to give us some passes that would allow us to walk around and go in the pit and stuff. But because our seats were great as it was, we didn't really felt like we needed that. But it was awesome to have somebody offer it!!!
In true Spanish tradition, the show didn't start until 22.19. The stadium was huge and it was absolutely amazing to see everybody, even the people at the top in the back dance and sing along. The crowd was amazing and like nothing I've had ever seen before. The setlist wasn't exceptionally great, but to me it was amazing. Mainly because Bruce did a few songs I had never seen him do before and that were high on my list, including Brilliant Disguise and Jungleland. The entire setlist was as follows:
1: No Surrender
2: Radio Nowhere
3: Out in the Streets
4: Promised Land
5: Hungry Heart
6: Summertime Blues
7: Brilliant Disguise
8: The River
9: Atlantic City
10: Candy`s Room
11: Janey, Don't You Lose Heart
12: Waitin' on a Sunny Day
13: Backstreets
14: Because the Night
15. Livin' In The Future
16. Mary's Place
17: Tunnel of Love
18: The Rising
19: Last to Die
20: Long Walk Home
21: Badlands
22: Jungleland
23. Born to Run
24: Bobby Jean
25: Glory Days
26: Dancing in the Dark
27: American Land
28: Twist and Shout
No real suprises, although it is a rarity to have both Backstreets and Jungleland at the same show. So, I was blown away by that. Mostly because I wasn't expecting Jungleland after Backstreets. It was such a wonderful song, though and Clarence nailed it that night! Brilliant Disguise was of course a duet with Patti and I loved their interaction and the little kiss at the end. The whole family was there and what we didn't see, because we were on the wrong side of the stage was that during Waitin' On A Sunny Day, Bruce jumped off the stage and hugged his son Evan and watched the screens with him for a little while. So great to see these two together, also because every Bruce fan knows the horrible relationship Bruce had with his own dad. The set ended with all the kids on stage, including Max's son and Garry's daughter. Such a party!
During the show, Carl had found us and showed Es some pictures he took from the top of the stadium. He would definitely be sending us those when he had the time. The show ended around 1.30 and Carl asked us if we would like to go with him to his hotel and have a drink there. Of course, we were planning to spend the night at the stadium, so we asked Carl if that was necessary for us to do, or if he could arrange something so we wouldn't have to spend the night. He told us he thought we shouldn't spend the night there. By now we were so exhilarated that we went with him. The crew's hotel wasn't far from the venue, but as we walked over, we passed by many vendors with bootleg t-shirts. Carl went up to a few of them, trying to get some free shirts, but no such luck. So, in the end, he just bought one. lol.
It was after 2 when we got to the hotel. We went with Carl to his room. He showed us some photos on his laptop of previous shows and he also showed us some videos. Pretty amazing. He also gave me the setlist for the Antwerp show!!! Carl told us he likes to get a ticket for each show, because they all look different. Because he didn't get one for tonight's show, I gave him mine. We went down to the bar, which stayed open an hour longer for the crew, but we would have to leave at 3. Half of the crew of the Bruce Springsteen tour was there!! That was insane. Carl introduced us to some of the guys and we had the best time. One of the guys made a big impression on me. We thought his name was Lane, but when I looked in the tour program to find the guys' names I only found a Blayne, which would make more sense. Anyway, this guy was hilarious!! So fucking amazing. He made me laugh so hard. We were also introduced to the Noise Boys aka the sound men. They were all very nice. :)
At 3AM, we got kicked out and we were told there was a bar not too far from there called the Elephant Bar and we would get in. Apparently, some of the guys had already gone down there before and were denied entrance because they were wearing tennis shoes. Since half of the crew and Es and myself had on sneakers, there was a slim chance we would get in. But the bartender assured us that if we mentioned the name of the hotel, we would definitely get in. So off we went. Turned out, mentioning the name of the hotel didn't help at all and nobody got in. By now, an exhausted Jan had joined us. We had told him we would be sleeping at our hostel after all, but he was welcome to join us, but we were gonna have a drink with the crew first. Jan was too tired and really wanted to go and at one point he got so agitated that he just left and we never heard from him again.
Lef, one of the teleprompter guys went to talk with the bouncer. Es made a remark that I should go over there and show my black boobs around and that that would get us in. Now Blayne was cracking up, making sure Es knew I was far from black, even going into a act to show her how I would be behaving if I were black. Man, that was hilarious! In the end, some of the guys just left, but Carl tried one more time, convincing the bouncer he was here with two lovely ladies ( ;) ) and he himself was wearing flip-flops. That got us in. This wasn't for us though, but since we already had something to drink back at the hotel bar and this was a once in a lifetime thing (at least that's what we thought then) we went ahead. After a short while, three other crew guys joined us. We talked a bit and after some beers, Carl told us he would get us in before the doors opened the next night. Now, this seemed highly unlikely, especially since he was just a technician. But it was awesome of him to offer and Es and I were again on cloud #9. It was getting late and after 3 Bailey's each, we decided to head back to our hostel. It was now almost 5AM, so we left. Carl made sure we knew how to contact him and we were happy we didn't have to spend the night at the stadium.
We walked back towards the stadium and saw a lot of people already there. But the avenue was also used for something else. There were hookers everywhere. And not all of them were female!! So funny to see. I hailed the first cab I saw and was glad to see the guy stopped. It wasn't until 5.30 that we were in our own bed. Thoroughly exhausted, but with so much energy at the same time. We couldn't wait for Day 2.