It had been 30 years since Bruce Springsteen had been in Omaha, so what was another hour or so?
The sellout crowd of over 17,000 at the Qwest Center waited patiently for The Boss and the E Street Band to take the stage. About 70 minutes after the advertised 7:30 p.m. start, the lights went dark and the crowd erupted in anticipation.
It turned out to be well worth the wait.
Springsteen, clad in a black shirt and jeans, bellowed to the crow, "Are you ready to be transformed? Are you ready to be reborn? Are you ready to jump, shout and crawl on your belly like a reptile?" before launching into "No Surrender" and the Grammy Award-winning "Radio Nowhere," the first single from his latest album, "Magic."
The new album got plenty of play during the 2 1/2 hour show. Songs like "Livin' In The Future," "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" and "Devil's Arcade" received a warm response from the crowd, and longtime fans sang along to such classics as "Thunder Road," "Reason To Believe" and "Badlands."
Early in the show, the entire crowd got into "Because The Night," which featured searing guitar work by Nils Lofgren. The rest of the E Street Band was in fine form, including Clarence Clemons on saxophone. Two of the band members were absent, however. Keyboardist Danny Federici is undergoing treatment for melanoma, while backing vocalist Patti Scialfa -- Springsteen's wife -- was at home dealing with the couple's three teenagers.
The band performed for over an hour and a half, but fans didn't have to wait long for the encore. The band came out and performed for another hour, closing with two legendary classics -- "Born To Run" and "Dancing In The Dark."
Springsteen and his eight bandmates kept the crowd energized and on their feet for the better part of 2 1/2 hours, and it was not hard to see that the band not only left everything they had on the stage, but were more than happy to do it.
It was a great show, and hopefully we won't have to wait 30 years for Springsteen to return to Omaha.
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