Springsteen Superbowl Smash
Yesterday's Superbowl halftime show by Bruce Springsteen didn't impress Todd Martens at the LA Times, but it's a hit with just about everyone else. Fans of the Boss expect a lot of clowning and by-play at his concerts, and he and Steven Van Zandt did all their usual shtick, capped by Springsteen announcing "I'm going to Disneyland" at the end, just like all MVPs but Martens thought it was a plug for ABC/Disney.
Slate's Stephen Metcalfe (who likes Bruce, cuz he's a fellow depressive) felt Springsteen didn't capture the mood of the country. That the Superbowl hired some extras to clap and cheer bothers him too. Jobs are getting slashed and he's complaining about people getting work?
Metcalfe thinks Springsteen is an "odd ball favorite", which is news to the rest of us who've been fans since the early days. Metcalfe might have been in middle school when he first heard the music, but I saw Bruce at the Guthrie Theater in 1975, and he didn't look all that odd to me, my friends or the rest of the world. We thought he looked sexy, dangerous and cool.
Bruce Springsteen isn't an unlikely rock nerd-god, dragged unwillingly into the spot light. He's an entertainer, and he throws himself into the act. That's what you're supposed to do, remember? And I promise, this is the only Bible verse I'll ever quote here:
Whatever thy hand finds to do; do it with all thy might.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
B-R-U-U-U-U-C-E!