Springsteen & I

Just a quick post..... but wanted to let you know about a great documentary I took my daughter to this week.

Being a HUGE Bruce Springsteen fan I have had this event in my calendar for months. Plus 2013 has been a big year for me as I was fortunate enough to see him in concert (Melbourne 24th March). 

You are talking about someone who has worshiped him all my life and whose nickname at school was 'Springy' (for obvious reasons). All my life I have only had one item on my bucket list - to see Bruce in concert before I die and this year I did it.......WOW!

I know he has been to Australia before, but unfortunately I was never financial enough to go, but when I heard he was coming this year, well that was it, I was going no matter what.

And what an experience! .... it was virtually indescribable, all I can say is it was as close to heaven as you can possibly get (and still be alive). 

Anyway I digress..... 

Springsteen & I is essentially from the fan, about the fan, for the fan and of course all about Bruce - what he (and his songs) mean to us die-hards. Fans had the opportunity to submit home-made tributes which were spliced together with associated footage from concerts which told the story of how he has affected their lives.

At times it was funny (especially the English guy who has suffered through eight concerts in eight different cities due to his wife's love affair with The Boss and at one stage pleads with the Boss to please shorten his concerts), while others were quite cringe-worthly (the woman who used a photo of the Boss to convince her newborn he was 'daddy'), but all were straight from the heart and passionate and very entertaining (and struck a cord with me!).

Being a true fan I absolutely loved it, and yes I will be buying the DVD when it is released  . My daughter (not a 'real' fan - she did not know every word to every song!) did enjoy it, and happily stayed in the cinema with me until the end. However she was sure the shot of the huge crowd at one of his concerts was photo-shopped (I had to explain no it is real, these are his famed outdoor concerts and just recently he performed at a stadium event which had a crowd of over 54,000).  

I really enjoyed the frankness (and lack of embarrassment)  of the fan's contribution - how they talked about their thoughts and experiences, and  to then have it followed by the actual event/concert/song they were talking about. The Elvis impersonator who spoke about his life-long wish of singing with Bruce, then footage was shown of him at a concert fulfilling his dream ... and the reaction of his wife ... magical!

A street performer spoke of the day Bruce drove down his street - stopped - got out, and jammed with him for about an hour. It showed Bruce's connection with his fans and how that simple act meant so much to so many people. It was heart warming.

The documentary concluded with a mosaic of Born to Run - one song sung over various concerts at different times and venues.... different but still the same (and with Clarence there too!). 

My only complaint was the (lack of advertising). A friend (also a Bruce fan) had no idea this was on at the cinemas and missed out on seeing it (he will definitely be buying the DVD). Even when we got to the cinema it was not listed on the board - a real shame. 

Springsteen & I  was edited by credited director Baillie Walsh and produced by Ridley Scott