A Wicked Good Blog: Hershey Comes Now

Well we're waiting here in Allentown

For the Pennsylvania we never found

For the promises our teachers gave

If we worked hard

If we behaved

So the graduations hang on the wall

But they never really helped us at all

- Billy Joel's Allentown

Stop 2 of Springsteen Break 2014 takes us to the land of chocolate, without, you know, the Oompa Loompas and Everlasting Gobstoppers.

It was time to head into the land of Hershey, and the stomping grounds of original E Streeter Tom Beaupre, who's molding young minds amid the steel mills of Bethlehem and Allentown. (We'll check in officially with Tom in our next post.)

Alas, Tom couldn't join us for the trip to Hershey Park for our next Springsteen show, but he was certainly with us in spirit.

The signs were there, we were ready for round two. but was round two ready for us?

We got in position early, just behind the general admission section.

And right out of the gate, the Boss checked off one of the dream songs on my personal wish list, opening the night with a raucous cover of Clampdown, originally performed by another of my favorite bands, the Clash.

With Springsteen and Tom Morello springing off one another's exclamations

Yeah I'm working hard in (nearby) Harrisburg

Working hard in Allentown

Working for the clampdown

Working hard in Hershey!

After taking in nearly five dozen shows over the course of 34 years, I have to say Springsteen's solo piano version of For You at Hershey may have been the single greatest vocal moment of his I've ever been lucky enough to be part of. The guy's crawling up on 65 come September, but his soulful and gut-wrenching version of a song written in 1972 - 42 years ago! - was haunting, iconic, and truly, unforgettable! While it doesn't do it live justice, here's a youtube version of the cut:

For You - Hershey 2014
So yeah, there's that.

A bit blurry, but that's probably because Andrew and I couldn't stand still. That, or the random fan we enlisted was too pumped up himself to focus. (Note the Middlesex swag)

Tour debuts and spotlights of 70s' and 80's B-Sides (that reference hearkens back to the days of hot vinyl for the digital age readers of this blog) Roulette and Be True were show highlights for both veteran and recent add-ons to Springsteen Nation among the 30,000 or so in attendance

For the final song, Thunder Road, Andrew and I moseyed slowly back toward the exit, deftly making our plan to avoid the mass exodus that would clog the exits within minutes. These are the kind of time-saving and strategic maneuvers that come from being card-carrying road trip warriors.

With the house lights up since the anthemic Born to Run, the misty drizzle falling over the open field created a moody, fitting, and truly memorable nightcap to the evening.