beaukiniry:

Yesterday, Josh, Kevin, and I rented a car and drove to Asbury Park, NJ. The home of many legendary Asbury Park, New Jersey bands (“The Sound of Asbury Park”) and of course a mecca for Bruce Springsteen fans. There are a plethora of Springsteen landmarks to visit, including 10th Ave/E Street, the Boardwalk, the casino, Convention Hall, Madam Marie the Fortune Teller the Stone Pony, the Wonder Bar, even the house he wrote “Born to Run” and “Thunder Road” in.

Even though I was able to go to Asbury Park in 2009 (and had an awesome time visiting all these places, as a true Bruce fan would) I was still super excited to visit again, this time with Josh. Josh basically had the same reaction to everything I did, except he knew a little more than I did. Of course we walked up and down and the boardwalk, took tons of photos, and I noticed Josh kept an ever-watchful eye out for any person that resembled BRUCE. Keep in mind that Josh and I live in California, so being on the east coast and being able to visit Asbury Park, New Jersey, was very special and exciting for us.

We had tickets for a show at the Stone Pony called “The Light of Day” in which local Asbury Park bands pay tribute to Asbury Park angels, including Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band. The doors opened at 5, and the first band was to go on at 6.

We drove to Belmar, the next little town over, and saw the intersection of 10th Avenue and E Street (titles in the songs “10th Ave Freeze-Out” and “E Street Shuffle” and the name of the E Street Band). Then this old guy with no front teeth told us where to find the best 5pm buffets in town.

At about 4pm, Kevin and I decided we needed a little power nap. While parked in front of the Stone Pony, Josh checked out his favorite Bruce message boards to see if anyone had anything to say about the show tonight. 

“BRUCE FILMING A VIDEO IN ASBURY PARK TODAY?!” Josh read from a headline of one of the posts. Josh quickly typed a reply asking where the shoot was. We had been on the boardwalk all day, one of the most prominent Asbury Park locations, where Bruce has shot videos before. We didn’t see anything that looked like any sort of shoot. 

“Mattison Ave” was the reply we got. Faster than you can say “Rosalita” we fired up the Garmin and drove towards what we thought could be a glimpse of Bruce. After some stealthy spying, Kevin spotted what he thought was a production van. We inched the car up the street. I saw a young guy with a coffee carrier walking in the same area. He was a PA, I knew it. We watched the man with the coffee walk into an unmarked building…

Josh jumped out of the now-parked car and booked it over to where that man went in the building. There were 2 other men outside. After some prying, Josh found out Bruce was filming a video and doing a photoshoot INSIDE THE BUILDING.

I get my bearings and get out of the car to go meet up with Josh, who was down the street. Josh walked over to me and with a shaky voice and hands says:

“I just shook his hand. He just went in.” WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. I almost, ALMOST, didn’t believe it. I HAVE NEVER SEEN BRUCE BEFORE AND I NEVER WILL. I MISSED MY CHANCE. 

Did I mention that on that day, all day there was a 20 mph icy, sandy wind with the temperature of the day being about 30 degrees? Joshua and I were not made for this type of weather.

We decide that we must wait outside the building for Bruce. What if he didn’t show up to our show that night, like he was rumored to do? We could miss Bruce all together. There weren’t any bands playing that we NEEDED to see until much later in the night. It was 4:30pm. There was an Irish guy. There was an old guy who owned a restaurant down the street. We stood in a little nook that partially blocked the wind. There we were…waiting for Bruce. 

Bruce’s car was parked right in front of us. He drove himself to the shoots for that day. It was a black Range Rover. It was so weird to just be standing there in front of it. We saw many PAs go in and out of the building with camera bags, coffee, and dinner menus. I had never had to pee so bad in my entire life.

BUT WHAT IF HE CAME OUT RIGHT WHEN I FOUND A BATHROOM? I would never forgive the universe. I would dedicate my life to destroying it. I decided I would wait it out. We had a nice time chatting with our new Irish friend, Paul, who flew in from Ireland that morning just for the music festival going on in Asbury Park that day. He was also a huge Bruce fan. 

About 20 minutes later, the old man decided he was too cold and his restaurant was too busy for him to wait without knowing if Bruce would even come out. He went back to his restaurant, but told us to stop in for drinks after we were done waiting. He owned the restaurant right down the street called Fish.

It was down to Paul, Josh, and I standing in the freezing, windy cold. Kevin had gone off to find a coffee shop to warm up. Can I just take this moment to give Kevin mad props for driving us around Jersey all day, and waiting for 2 hours in the cold with us? A few other fans who had heard Bruce was also there were waiting in the comfort of their warm cars. OBVIOUSLY NOT TRUE FANS WHO WOULD WAIT IN THE ARCTIC COLD FOR BRUCE. (Edit: Some of the ladies were longtime Bruce fans, from before Josh and I were born. They’ve done their fair share of waiting, like Josh and I were doing.)

An hour passed. A few people from the shoot would come out once in a while, I think to inspect the crowd. Well, the crowd only seemed to be three people, so I don’t think he was too concerned. However, he kept telling us that it would be HOURS until Bruce was done. This did not faze us. In the meantime, Paul had some really cool stories about seeing Bruce in Stockholm, Dublin, and London, and that his friend who was with him was actually friends with Clarence Clemons. 

The dark of night fell, and we remained on the sidewalk. I had a full bladder and was numb below the waist. A man came out and told us it would be 1-2 hours until they were done with the shoot. I took this opportunity to find a restroom very quickly. I decided to go to Fish, the restaurant owned by the fellow Bruce fan, to see if he would let me use his bathroom. We walked into Fish, a swanky, nice restaurant and I already felt weird. The owner is standing with the hostesses and instantly recognizes us as “the guys from California.” He graciously let me use his bathroom. The hostesses chatted with us for a minute, but we were eager to get back to waiting. 

We get back to waiting, and Kevin decides to wait in the car (which he pulled around in front so we could keep an eye out from the car if we wanted to.) As soon as he’s in the car, Josh tells me to call Kevin, because Kevin had our camera. I dial the number, ask Kevin for the camera, and 

GUESS

WHO

WALKED

OUT

IN

FRONT

OF

ME

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IT WAS BRUCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My entire life flashed before my eyes. I hung up the phone. Bruce was wearing some jeans, a leather jacket, and scarf. He walked out and said to everybody in his cute, sweet, gruff voice,

“Hey, what’s goin’ on out here!” (I EXPLODED) 

I could do nothing except smile uncontrollably. At this point, all those fans in their cars decided to come out. THEN HE TURNED TO ME AND HELD HIS HAND OUT. He initiated the handshake. What just happened. He looked into my eyes for the shake. They were….so deeply brown. And so warm…like brown sugar. That’s what I loved about it. He may have grown older from the start of his career, but his eyes were exactly the same. When he looked into my eyes, it was as if a rapid montage of every photo I’ve ever seen of him since the start of his career till now played in my mind. No matter how long he had been making music and changing lives, his eyes were exactly the same. So much in those eyes…and I got to stare right into them. IT WAS SUCH A MAGICAL MOMENT THAT I WILL CLING ON TO FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.

AND I REACHED OVER AND SHOOK HIS HAND.

My only regret is I was wearing gloves and could not feel his skin. 

Bruce then TURNED TO JOSH and said,

“Hey, all the way from California!” (Josh had mentioned he came from California when he shook his hand earlier. BRUCE REMEMBERED HIM!) Josh went in for HIS SECOND HANDSHAKE and replied,

“Yeah, and it’s my first time in Asbury Park, too!” 

“First time in Asbury!” says Bruce, in his CUTE GRUFFY VOICE. (I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW CUTE AND GRUFF HIS VOICE WAS. I WISH I RECORDED IT SO I COULD LISTEN TO IT OVER AND OVER.)

At this point, one lady kind of stumbled over her words and almost yelled at Bruce out of nervousness. She said something about working for him once…then asked for a hug. Bruce kindly obliged. I WAS A JEALOUS BITCH.

I was standing only 2 feet away from him this whole time. HOW DID I NOT COLLAPSE I WILL NEVER KNOW.

I thought Josh and I had lost our chance for a photo, since Bruce was talking to some of the other fans. To our surprise, after saying hello to those other fans, Bruce turns BACK TO ME AND JOSH. I ask, in my feeble, most polite voice I could muster…

“Do you think we could take a photo?” I do a little half-shrug. I wanted him to know that I know he is a busy man with lots of stuff to do, BUT I ALSO WANTED A PHOTO WITH HIM AND I WAS GOING TO GET IT. Bruce says:

“Sure, get on over here!” and he opened his arms to welcome Josh and I to his sides and therefore, into his soul. At least, that is how I am going to describe it in my mind for the rest of my life. Josh and I quickly rush to his sides. Bruce puts his arm around my back. FOR SOME REASON I DECIDED TO PUT MY ARM UP AROUND HIS SHOULDER. WHY BEAU. WHY. THAT WAS THE MOST AWKWARD THING I COULD HAVE DONE.

OH WELL BECAUSE GUESS WHAT THAT MEANS I GOT TO GET CLOSER TO HIM SO I GUESS IT WAS WORTH IT HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~

Kevin, who appeared out of nowhere, was ready with the camera. Kevin said to Bruce,

“Okay, there’s gonna be a flash…”

Bruce said,

“Yeah, fire that thing up!” IN HIS IMPOSSIBLY GREAT, GRUFFY VOICE.

We take the picture, and after that, it’s a blur. I think I thanked him. We watched him as he took pictures with the other fans. 

Josh and I were the youngest fans there. I think that’s what made Bruce kind of turn to Josh and I when he first came out. Also, I think that PA must’ve told him that 2 youngins (in addition to Paul) were waiting outside for 2 hours for him. Well…this is what I’d like to think.

At this point, my only regret is that I didn’t tell him how big a fan I was, or how much I loved his music and what his music means to me. What if he thought I was just some ho who likes to get photos with celebrities? THAT IS NOT ME, BRUCE! I AM NOT JUST STANDING HERE FOR MORAL SUPPORT FOR MY BOYFRIEND! YOUR MUSIC CHANGED ME AS A PERSON!

God………………………………………………..

This feeling, however unsatisfied I feel with myself, kind of makes me believe that Bruce and I will meet again. I swear, I want to be famous just so I can be friends with Bruce. That is the driving force of my ambition for my career. 

Step 1: Be famous.

Step 2: Become friends with Bruce.

Anyway, so Josh and I were walking on sunshine for the rest of the night. We met our idol! That was the FIRST TIME I had ever seen him in person! I will be seeing him in concert this year! This is the year of Bruce. I can’t wait until the next time I see him. I’m going to tell him how much I love his music next time. Or something. At least something, and not just stand there and smile like a doofus. 

Bruce didn’t show up to the show, so we thanked our lucky stars we got to see him beforehand. The show was pretty fun. 

I will post some photos of it when I get back home! For now, all I have is the photo I took of the photo from the actual camera. Enjoy:

EDIT: real photo below!