Made for me by Kenji, my favorite sushi chef.
Made for me by Kenji, my favorite sushi chef.
This was the weekend dad came in. He arrived Friday afternoon. We went out for burgers (veggie in my case) and beers that evening, and then went of to see Springsteen perform in Saint Paul. I've seen Bruce play four times (three with the E Streeters and once with the Seeger Sessions Band). My dad's seen Bruce about six times. I have never seen Bruce have an off night, and his shows with the E Street Band are always over the top. That said, I've never seen them play like this. They were so on, it was insane, perhaps illegal.
From the opening chords of "Radio Nowhere" things just fired. (As is often the case, the sound wasn't quite right for the first few songs, but was soon on track.) I couldn't say exactly why things went so well. I could point out a few great moments, like the way a bluesy reworking of "Reason to Believe" kicked into a ferocious rendition of "Night" ;hearing "Incident of 57th Street," which I've never seen him do live; or the way the Beach Boys-esque "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was followed by "Thunder Road" (not played a whole lot on this tour) which flew into "Born to Run." But really, it was a great crowd, and there were a bunch of enthusiastic teenagers in the front row who Bruce seemed to connect with. I mean, that was the real magic. Bruce always connects with the audience, but this one just seemed to inspire him.
The other cool thing is this was the first time I've seen Bruce with my father, pretty important as he was the one bringing all of Springsteen's albums into the house when I was a kid.
Here's the set list from backstreets.com:
November 2, 2007
Xcel Energy Center
Saint PaulRadio Nowhere
No Surrender
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Your Own Worst Enemy
Incident on 57th Street
Working on the Highway
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
There's a funny story about the evening as well. On the way to the show, my dad asked if Semisonic was still around. (I know Dan from covering music in the Twin Cities.) I told him that Dan Wilson, the frontman, had co-written a good portion of the Dixie Chicks last album, earning a Grammy for the effort, and had also just released a solo album.
After the show, we went to La Belle Vie to meet some of my dad's friends for drinks. We walk into the lounge and join our party. I look up and someone is waving at me. It's Dan and his wife, who, it turns out, had just come from the same show. So, my dad got to meet Dan. (I mean really. OK, it makes sense that Dan would be at the show, but of all the places in the Twin Cities to go for drinks, what are the chances of us both heading to the same one on the same day my dad flies in and asks about him?)
It's kind of odd. I joked to Dan that I have Dan Wilson karma. Last month, he played two nights at the Bryant Lake Bowl, a venue that seats about 100. A week before the show, my friend Ann told me that she wished she had gotten tickets, but it was too late. Two days after that, Dan's publicist emails me asking if I would like a couple of tickets. Perhaps I'm the conduit between Dan and the universe ... well ... OK, more likely, I've just had some good coincidences.
Tonight I took my father into Azia, my favorite sushi place. It's right next to my house, so in addition to being the best sushi in the area, it's also my neighborhood bar. I know pretty much everyone who works there. I stopped in during the afternoon to reserve a table and told them my father was in town and hoped that Kenji (I'm not sure I'm spelling his name right here), the head chef, could make something special for us. Kenji is amazing, I never bother with the menu, he always just puts together these amazing creation the likes of which will never see a menu. We had edamame, two seaweed salads, 10 pieces of nigiri, and three amazing rolls. (And, of course, nigori (unfiltered) sake. At the end of the meal, the server comes out and tells us their comping the food and only charging us for the sake. (And then proceed to bring out pineapple, orange, and two chocolate-dipped strawberries for desert. I'm a regular there, and they're very generous about comping a drink here and there, but I never expected anything like that.
So, all in all, a good weekend. Dad's back at the hotel, presumably sleeping. He flies out in the morning. For me, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I have a magazine column to write, so it's sort of back to the grind.
Well, being in a bad mood today, I decided to stop in at a local restaurant for a beer. When the friend I was meeting for dinner called to say she was sick, I decided to stay for sushi and sake. I also got to try the daikon pickles that Laural The Person and Ressie have been raving about. In all, my mood has improved.