Last Friday, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band played the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, PA. I was there. The highlight of the night was when Springsteen spotted a young girl in the audience singing along to "Waitin’ on a Sunny Day." He knelt in front of her, then eventually invited her onstage and passed her the mic.
You can see in the video embedded below that the crowd went apes— and that the girl, 10-year-old Elisabeth Ketterman, held it together better than any of us would’ve. (You can’t really hear her voice with all the adults singing around the camera, but it was sweet and on-key.) It was such an uplifting moment, the kind that might still surprise Springsteen after all these years and, as cheesy as it sounds, remind us that the children are our future and that their music taste won’t totally suck. My sister and her husband literally cried as we watched from the 200 level. (It was the first evening they weren’t home to put my five-month-old niece to bed, so I forgave them — after I made sure that the two friends with us saw that they were sobbing and mocked them appropriately.)
Elisabeth told the local paper, The Centre Daily Times, that she’d asked her mother before the concert if there was any chance she could get up on stage with Springsteen. (She’s been a fan since she was in the womb, or at least that’s what her sign said when the Boss held it up earlier to the crowd of roughly 20,000.) "And she said, ‘Nah, one in a million,’" Elisabeth said. "And then Idid." Makes you wish you were 10 again, when being a superfan wasn’t a possible precursor to arrest. Anyone have an insanely lucky concert experience like that from their childhood to share?
P.S. I just emailed my sister the link to video and got this response: "Crying again!"
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1.way to give a subtle shout out to Happy Valley
2.200 level isnt bad…tho i cant remember how far away that is cause last time i was at the BJC was for THON this year
3.i like how now after i’ve graduated they get some class acts there, cause for the past two years it’s been country and mediocre rock (aside from Breaking Ben tho)
She is so cute, how precisous. http://cutesinglefriends.com
I was there, too! First major rock concert for me, as well. And that was indeed a heart-wrenching moment. That is an unforgettable experience. The only thing that kept me from crying was my lack of a soul. Long story.
And to know that we got to see Bruce do his first rendition of My Generation and do Jungleland in the encore instead of Philadelphia? Priceless.
I went to the concert in chicago tuesday and he did the same thing with another youngster, gotta love the boss.
Oh wow, goosebumps city… I am so jealous of this little girl, that’s my dream.
This is why he’s the Boss! Seriously, if it weren’t for Bruce, who would the living, working musical legends be? They’d be seriously hurting as a group without Bruce.
Not bad. It’s nice to see Springsteen upstaged by a 10-year-old girl.
Bruce and the Mighty E Street Band are ROCKIN’ on this tour. He’s not afraid of audience interaction like so many groups. I saw him in Charlottesville this month and he worked the crowd, including singing Spirit in the Night to a young woman perched on someone’s shoulders. Sigh.
Bet the 300+ people screwed out of tickets for Bruce’s D.C. show wouldn’t find this particularly heartwarming. Wonder how many thousands of dollars cutie-pie’s parents had to pay to get those seats.
I hear ya’ “harumph.” I’ve been a lifelong fan, and have never once been able to get tickets to see his show. Ticketmaster is one shady company, and he can condemn their business practices (and their blatantly illegal “Tickets Now” enterprise) all he wants – until an artist of his caliber stands up for his fans and says “no more,” this crap will continue. I, too, could have seen him in Charlottesville. No way in hell was I gonna pay $1,000 to do it.
To Ames: what are you talking about? You can get tickets face-value to see Bruce in any city (especially North Carolina, dude). Sure, you might not be sitting on the floor, but you do NOT have to pay $1,000 to get tickets in the bleachers to see Bruce. And believe me, the way Bruce performs (which you’ll appreciate since you’re a “lifelong fan”), you honestly feel like he’s performing very closely to you! Plus the community aspect is great.
How come this was only on the front page of EW for like one hour? It needs to go back on PopWatch so people can read it.
That’s fabulous news about North Carolina, really. Too bad I live in Virginia. I have tried to get tickets for three shows now, right when they become available. Ticketmaster’s online services (forget calling and buying tickets from an actual human) -right after the 10 AM post time – gave me a “SOLD OUT” message, and each time I was diverted to their Tickets Now subsidiary. Of course, the Tickets Now prices are inflated to upwards of 200% face value of the ticket price. I had myself, my husband and two other people trying to order tickets at different computers, and we all experienced the same bait and switch. My other options? I found two tickets for his May 5 Charlottesville show – for $625 apiece. So, $1,200 to sit in two of the crappiest seats in the entire arena. This was my experience, as well as the experience of many 1000s of DC area residents. Ticketmaster is being investigated for this in several states – and Springsteen knows it. It’s shady.
Bruce has class. He once said he’s always written to the age he’s at. And now he’s performing to it, too. It would be a little creepy now to dance with young Courtney Cox, wouldn’t it? It’s just nice how he embraces every phase.
I don’t have any childhood encounters like that, but Van Morrison did once yawn in my face and walk away when I told him “Great show, Van” in high school once.
Hey guys!
This is me, the girl that sang with springsteen in 05 08 09.
Thanks for writing this article and for the complements!
Have a good day!
BRUUUUUUUUUUCCCCEEEEE!!!!!!!!