Corrections or additions?
This column by Richard K. Rein was published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on July 21,
1999. All rights reserved.
Between the Lines: Springsteen
Everyone has a Bruce Springsteen story. Stan Kephart,
the artist and graphic arts specialist who creates our cover images
every week, looked at this week’s subject matter and remembered the
night in New Brunswick years ago, when he was working for the New
Brunswick Home News. As he and other journalists departed the newsroom
late one night, someone mentioned that they had heard that Bruce Springsteen
was in town, playing a small club round the corner.
Sure enough, at a small club with a name Kephart can no longer recall,
he and the other Homes News staffers crowded in among the youthful
followers of Springsteen for an intimate dose of the Boss’s music
that Kephart has never forgotten.
Our boss (with a little b) has his own story, of course. Richard K.
Rein recalls an evening in the early to mid-1970s, when Springsteen
was scheduled to appear at Princeton University’s Jadwin Gym. Rein
happened into the Hudibras Bar on Nassau Street (site of the present-day
brew pub) and sat next to two attractive young women. The conversation
turned to what do you do (freelance writer for People magazine, among
other publications) and you (college students here to see Bruce Springsteen).
The college students then made Rein an offer of a decade: They had
one extra ticket to the concert, and would give it to Rein if he would
help spread the word about the rising young rock ‘n’ roller with People
magazine’s editors. Rein (obviously as out of touch then as he is
now) turned them down. Several years later Springsteen was the big
star, and Rein was on assignment for People magazine scrounging around
Freehold High School (Bruce’s alma mater) for revealing stories.
And now we have Preview editor Nicole Plett, who also has a Springsteen
story, even though she has never once seen the man perform. She was
preparing her story on Mikhail Baryshnikov (see page 28 of this issue),
and marveled at the fact that McCarter Theater was able to double
the number of dance concerts, from three to six, on the strength of
strong advance ticket sales.
But that was nothing, Plett was told. Bruce Springsteen originally
had had two concerts scheduled for Philadelphia, and — in the
space of just three hours on a Saturday morning — the tidal wave
of sales had forced the promoters to go from two shows to three, four,
five, and finally six. How could that be, wondered Plett. She checked
with some music industry insiders and got the scoop: Six concerts,
in fact, had been anticipated all along. By announcing just two, a
sense of urgency was created and demand built. By the time "new"
shows were being announced, people in line to buy just one show caught
the enthusiasm and bought more tickets for other shows. Others, thanks
to live TV and radio coverage, saw and heard about the long lines
and the new shows, and flocked to be part of the action.
So there’s a third Springsteen story. As for a story about the Boss
himself, well, we go back to our original point: Everyone has a Springsteen
story and so does every newspaper in the state. We at U.S. 1 will
concentrate on Misha’s area debut this time around, and come back
to Springsteen later this summer. Rock on, dance on.
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Health & Fitness
Emendations
Thank you for listing my name in the U.S. 1 Health & Fitness Directory.
However, I should be listed under psychologists, not social workers.
I am a Licensed Psychologist (since 1968) and am listed as such in
the N.J. Psychological Association directory and in the A.P.A. directory.
Your help in correcting this listing will be greatly appreciated.
Gladys Bruner MS
NJ Licensed Psychologist
186 Princeton-Hightstown Road
Knowledge & Power’s phone number was incorrectly reported in the June
16 Health & Fitness issue. The correct number is 609-844-0812.
Corrections or additions?
This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com
— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
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