It’s just not possible.

After going to two shows (Cleveland and Pittsburgh) 10 days apart during the 2007 Magic Tour, I thought I had a decent idea of what would happen. This would be the part were the people who have seen him dozens/hundreds of times tell me I’m young and naive. Maybe I just thought to myself I was naive in my head after the first song, then covers, then the go home sequence.

It should be noted that this time around I didn’t check the setlists, but rather the covers he does by sign request. So far he’s done “Little Latin Lupe Lu,” “Twist and Shout,” “My Generation,” “You Really Got Me,” and “Expressway to Your Heart.” There are others, but I’ll spare you. Tuesday though, a request would be played that blew the roof off the Mellon Arena. Good thing they’re building a new place right across the street.

However, starting at the beginning, I was patiently watching the time wondering when the Igloo would FTB, signaling the start of the show. The tickets say 7:30 p.m. on there for whatever reason. It didn’t hold too much value considering doors were opened before and the concert still didn’t start at the 8 p.m. mark.

Finally, at 8:24, all the lights went out and the “Bruuuuuuce” cheers came out in force. It wasn’t too long after you could make out E Street Band taking their places on stage. Then you heard the 1! 2! followed by the drums as the band went into “Badlands.” The last time I heard this song live, it marked the end of the first part of the set. Opening up the show though? I’m already believing.

“Candy’s Room” was next and was unexpected but still good because it was something I hadn’t heard before. “Outlaw Pete” is one of the new songs and was great live with some wonderful, albeit small, theatrics with lighting and a cowboy hat. “Jackson Cage” was next, followed by “She’s the One,” and “Working on a Dream,” the title track off the new album.

I never really listened to the next song, “Seeds,” before and didn’t know what it was until I was home and searched it up. “Johnny 99” was a nice treat as it tells an intriguing story about a man who loses his job at an auto plant, gets drunk, kills a store clerk, and is sentenced to 99 years in jail, earning him the nickname Johnny 99. Johnny Cash titled one of his albums after it and covered the song as well. More storytelling followed with “Youngstown.” It’s usually featured in Pittsburgh considering Youngstown is so close to the Steel City.

The next part of the show was nothing I’ve ever seen before. I’ve heard the stories, but never experienced it. The band went into a musical beat, jam session for a few minutes while Springsteen went from one end of the stage to the other picking up signs. After he made two go-rounds, it was time to play again.

The music band was playing quickly turned into “Good Lovin’,” made famous by the Young Rascals. The next song was perhaps one of the best moments in the history of the E Street Band.

As Springsteen picked up an orange sign, I quickly made out the words “Like a Rolling Stone.” He said the band had never played it before and a few seconds later went into it like it was played at every concert they’ve done. I was like a kid on Christmas. I got to hear my favorite band play a song that Rolling Stone magazine called the greatest song of all time. Springsteen even said, as he was inducting Bob Dylan into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, that the first time he heard him he was in the car with his mother listening to WMCA, “and on came that snare shot that sounded like somebody had kicked open the door to your mind.”

After they finished, Springsteen went out and picked up another sign, this time reading “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” a song my buddy Stokes mentioned he wanted to hear live. We both went nuts. Ironically, the next song was “Waitin’ On a Sunny Day,” a song I wanted to hear live with the band backing it. It was one of the songs that originally got me hooked.

From there came “The Promised Land,” “I’m On Fire,” (another song the Man in Black has covered) “Kingdom of Days,” “Lonesome Day,” and “The Rising.” Then came another surprise.

Bruce yelled out 1! 2! followed by the rapid 16th notes on the drums by Max Weinberg and then the chords of “Born to Run” followed. I don’t really remember watching much of this part because I was jumping and dancing all about. I was expecting this song a little later for the encore, but it worked well for the initial set closer.

After the PSA for the Rainbow Soup Kitchen and something for the three cops that were shot and killed in the line of duty, they opened the encore with a song by Stephen Foster from 1855 called “Hard Times Come Again No More.” Upon taking in the lyrics, it’s easy to see why it still works today for a variety of reasons.

Then I hear the harmonica and piano duet. Simply beautiful. Simply enlightening. Simply romantic. “Thunder Road.” The trading of wings for wheels before my eyes. You’ve got to have your feet on the ground if you’re going to make it. It can’t be a dream. It can’t be a fairy tale.

The road leads to a “Land of Hope and Dreams.” Grab your ticket and your suitcase. Thunder’s rolling down the track. You don’t know where you’re going, but you know you won’t be back. Ain’t that the truth. Through the process of the night, I’ve been taken somewhere I’ve never been before, and somewhere I doubt I’ll ever be again. People get ready because there’s a train coming. You don’t need no ticket. You just get on board.

Now it’s off to “American Land.” This song closed the shows for the 2007 tour, so I’m thinking I should jump and dance while I can because it’ll be a while before I get to do this again. The Legendary E! Street! Band! is introduced and the song is completed. It’s time to go home.

Then the Boss gets on the mic and says “We’re not done yet!” The smile, that never left, is still there and even bigger. Invited on stage are two of Pittsburgh’s favorite sons, Joe and Johnny Grushecky. Joe is a regular for any Pittsburgh stop as much as “Youngstown’s” possibility of being sung.

Time for Glory Days! The woo-hoos fill the arena. Bruce takes the first verse, Joe with the second. I think. Everything gets a little hazy as Stokes and I take the chorus and other parts of the song as if we’re on stage. But then Bruce asked Joe if it was quittin’ time. Of course it wasn’t. Everyone knew that when Bruce asked Joe what time it was. As always, it’s Boss time!

“Mony Mony” marked the final song of an amazing show, another oldies cover that filled the request slot earlier in the tour. This time it was added at the last second as the show closer a solid 2 hours 28 minutes later. Then, as Bruce said during “Glory Days, it was “time to get the (something) out of Pittsburgh!”

Before the show I kept thinking what it would have been like to take a sign and have Springsteen play it. I didn’t take one as I knew we were on the opposite end of the arena from the stage. But to be honest, there was nothing I could have done to top what happened.

It wouldn’t surprise me if this was the best concert I’ll see in my life. I went with three people that mean a lot to me. There was someone I wanted to go before, but that didn’t work out. We had a conversation about it and I said she didn’t know what she was missing. She said something along the lines that she did. I told her that I thought I knew what the two previous concerts I’d been to would be like and I had no idea.

Well, I thought I had an idea this time as well, and the shock value of the unexpected easily trumped anything else I’ve seen Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band do.

I was thinking about "Born to Run" not too long ago. This is a regular as we all know. But there is just something about 20,000 people singing along that makes it different. I listen to the bootlegs of my two previous concerts all the time. In fact the “Born to Run” from Cleveland is the most played on my iTunes list, but there's just something about being there. I may be singing my lungs out, dancing about, and not paying attention to what everyone on stage is doing, but I'm temporarily at peace and there's no where else I'd rather be.

If there was anything that could have made it better, it would have been having more friends and family there to share the experience. They may think they know what it was like by reading this, seeing the set list, or some other method, but I guarantee it wouldn’t have been like the actual experience.

Now, pardon me as I go find some ice cream and search for my lost voice while listening to the bootleg of the show, Logan

Start - 8:24 p.m. 1. Badlands [Darkness on the Edge of Town] 2. Candy's Room [Darkness] 3. Outlaw Pete [Working on a Dream] 4. Jackson Cage [The River] 5. She's The One [Born to Run] 6. Working On A Dream [WOAD] 7. Seeds [Live] 8. Johnny 99 [Nebraska] 9. Youngstown [The Ghost of Tom Joad] 10. Good Lovin' [Cover] 11. Like A Rolling Stone [sign request] 12. Darkness On The Edge Of Town [Darkness sign request] 13. Waitin' On A Sunny Day [The Rising] 14. The Promised Land [Darkness] 15. I'm On Fire [Born in the U.S.A.] 16. Kingdom Of Days [WOAD] 17. Lonesome Day [Rising] 18. The Rising [Rising] 19. Born To Run [BTR] ENCORE 20. Hard Times [old folk song] 21. Thunder Road [BTR] 22. Land Of Hope And Dreams [Reunion] 23. American Land [Seeger Sessions] 24. Glory Days (w/Joe and Johnny Grushecky) [BTR] 25. Mony Mony (w/Joe and Johnny Grushecky) [cover] End - 22:52 Total - 2:28

(Photos by Barbara Grinnen)