By Marion Lynch
RED BANK – On the night before he turned 66, hometown rocker Bruce Springsteen gave a special gift to the sold-out crowd during the finale of the Jackson Browne concert at the Count Basie Theatre Tuesday.
To the roar of crowd that rose to their feet at the announcement of “Here’s Bruce Springsteen,” Bruce stepped onstage to join Browne and his band for the final song of his two-show run in Red Bank. Also joining them onstage was singer Teresa Williams, who opened the concert with her husband Larry Campbell.
The Boss walked out with his guitar at 10:55 p.m., in a button-down shirt and trademark jeans, and without a word he began playing Browne’s signature hit “Take It Easy,” written with and made famous by Glen Frey of the Eagles. Springsteen sang a verse solo and joined in on Browne’s “Our Lady of the Well.”
“It was like my teenage fantasy come true,” said Maggie Riker of Rumson, who saw the scene unfold from Row Q in the orchestra, and who attended both Browne shows on Monday and Tuesday. A true fan of both Browne and Springsteen, she’s been attending concerts by both artists since the late 1970s. She even quoted the lyrics to “Take it Easy,” in her high school yearbook.
Count Basie Theatre CEO Adam Philipson has seen a lot of big names grace the stage in his three years at the helm of the theater, but Tuesday was the first time he saw the Boss at the Basie.
“It was great. That’s the first time this has happened since I’ve been here,” he said.
Philipson said Bruce sat in the orchestra section all evening, enjoying the show for an early birthday celebration. Rumors that he would perform spread throughout the capacity crowd, and many in the audience began to move forward toward the stage as the show neared the end.
“It was like electricity going down the rows,” he said.
Browne, Springsteen and the band sang together, and then the microphone was Bruce’s as he sang:
Well, I’m a standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see
It’s a girl my Lord in a flat-bed Ford
Slowin’ down to take a look at me
Come on, baby, don’t say maybe
I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me
We may lose and we may win, though we will never be here again
So open up I’m climbin’ in, so take it easy
The exuberant crowd, singing along, nearly drowned out the Boss.
Philipson went backstage after the show to thank Springsteen and wish him a happy birthday, and Springsteen responded that the Count Basie is one of his favorite places for a concert.
The Count Basie’s CEO’s gratitude was not only for his surprise appearance, but for “helping to make the Count Basie Theatre as beautiful as it is.”
Springsteen’s last show at the Basie was in 2008, when he gave the first show after the theater reopened following a multi-million dollar restoration and to raise funds to complete the project.
“There’s such an energy in the house when our local legends show up,” Philipson said, adding the local stars enjoy the extra energy that a hometown crowd can give.
Riker, who first saw Springsteen perform at University of Vermont in 1978, where she was a freshman, and saw Browne when he played at the Capitol Theater in Passaic in the late ‘70s, has followed both artists throughout the years.
“It was a magical experience,” she says of seeing them share the local stage.
And as soon as Bruce Springsteen announces his next tour she’ll be ready to experience the magic again.
On July 18, Bruce appeared unannounced at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park to join Joe Grushecky for a two-hour set with friends Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers, as well as Eddie Manion. On July 1, he joined the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson onstage at the PNC Bank Arts Center for a concert in Holmdel.
Video: Bruce Springsteen and Jackson Browne at the Count Basie Theatre 9/22/15
(video by Marion Lynch)
