I know it's been a few days, but I'm still recovering from last weekend with Bruce.
Yes, he was as good as everyone says and, yes it was worth going to both shows. Each night was completely different, both were brilliant.

Over three hours on stage each night, 48 different songs, 60 songs in all, the whole of Born In the USA in order one night, the whole of Born To Run the next. There was so much that was cool, from that Lorde opener onwards.



And a few things struck me as I watched the shows, some general observations on the hi-end of the rock biz.

The first was that something like Bruce Springsteen On Tour is an operation of a scale that is simply mind-boggling. I was trying to get my head around just how many people must actually be on the road and it's... a lot. For starters there're the 18 band members. Many of them have instrument techs so there's probably about a dozen of those. Then there are the sound people. Heaven knows how many are looking after that. Another dozen, maybe 20?

But that's just scratching the surface. Before the show started no fewer than 10 people climbed ladders 20 metres high to operate lighting rigs way above the stage and up there settled into what looked like kiddie car-seats for the show – each with headsets, five along the front, one on each side and three along the back. That was just a few of the lighting guys. Then there were the camera operators. I counted at least a dozen different cameras. About half of them were fixed, the others were operated by hand. Then they're mixed live by other hidden people for the three big screens.

But, again, that's just scratching the surface. There are the many minders (both PR and physical) and, one assumes, a small army of cooks, masseurs and the same sort of support crew that would accompany the All Blacks. After all, there are several people in the band who cannot afford to be sick, or even slightly off their game for even a single show.

And most of them are over 60.

That was another thing that struck me. The old definitions of age are just melting away. Once upon a time people raised an eyebrow when the Rolling Stones turned 60 and still went on the road. Here you have Bruce (64), Steve Van Zandt (63), drummer Max Weinberg (62), pianist Roy Bittan (64), bass player Gary Tallent (64) and a bunch of others playing for over three hours in incredibly athletic fashion. They are fitter than any average sports team.

That these guys still make it look like they're simply having fun each night is the most remarkable thing and it's enough to make you forget what goes on behind the scenes. They also make it look so easy that you can almost forget that they're not ordinary people.

Unlike what the Idols and X Factors would like you to believe, these are not just regular folk. Bruce is not just another guy who sings well and writes a few songs. He is massively more talented than any musician you or I have ever met. On a different level altogether. And his whole life is dedicated to his craft, whether it's the workouts to keep him fit enough for each night's show or the diet or the continual engagement in improvement and excellence. Going that extra mile. Learning a Kiwi song for a Kiwi gig – who else does that?

This is someone who, at 20, was regarded as the best guitarist in New Jersey (population: eight million). Who for every song he releases has another dozen waiting (at the time of last year's Wrecking Ball album he had written 35 songs for a different planned album, all of which went into 'the trunk”).

That's why he was signed for Columbia over 40 years ago by the same man who signed Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin.

But it's not just him. The guys you see who 'make it” and continue to, do so because they're that good. Look at someone like Prince or Paul McCartney or Bob Marley or Beck. These are not just normal musicians but a bit better – they're people from a different planet.

watusi@thesun.co.nz