The Boss is back in town

(Credit: Danny Clinch)

Jason Gonulsen
Special to Metromix

I remember when I thought Bruce Springsteen was just the guy who invited Courtney Cox up on stage in his “Dancing in the Dark’ video. Remember that guy? He seemed cool when I was 6. Seriously, the whole ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ album would be blasting in our house. My dad, who was born in Turkey, always smiled when he heard that song—it was hilarious hearing him try to sing the words in his thick Turkish accent; it was an American anthem for him. (Although, if you really listen to the lyrics, it’s sort of tongue-in-cheek, I think.) I loved that Bruce Springsteen.

Anyway, little did I know at that time that the same Springsteen who I thought was just a cool dude was also a pretty deep dude, too. I’m sure they call him “The Boss” for many reasons (some of which I probably don’t want to know about), but damn, the guy can really write a song when he’s feeling feisty. “Thunder Road,” “The River,” “Atlantic City” and “Independence Day” are a few of my old-school favorites, and they seem miles away from the ‘Born in the U.S.A’ era. Like there were two different Springsteens, or something. Regardless, I learned to love that Springsteen, too.

I bring this up because Springsteen seems to stand for so many things these days—it just depends on who you talk to. There is the fun-loving guy who wrote “Glory Days,” the “Thunder Road” poet, the “Pink Cadillac” guy (not my favorite), the “Post 9/11” hero, the “Jerry Maguire Secret Garden” charmer, the “Streets of Philadelphia” soul and the “Solemn Ghost of Tom Joad” character. But it also seems that there are too many people who only like one of these Springsteens, which is too bad.

So when you see him on Sunday at the Scottrade Center, even though he’s supposedly going to perform one of his best albums, ‘Born to Run,’ in its entirety, along with a host of other tunes, try not to think of him as only one of those aforementioned icons—I believe that is the key to enjoying one of his concerts. Because his shows are not “Greatest Hits" parties. They are not “Dancing in the Dark” videos, either. They are soulful and rocking journeys that hit on every moment of Springsteen’s career, not just the parts that you thought were his best.

Sit tight. Take hold. Thunder road.