RAG Week: Just Another Reason Why Bruce Is The Boss

bruce Originally uploaded by bgilmor.

Normally I try not to really compare anyone to Springsteen, for better or worse, but watching Mundy perform this week in our lounge gave me a point of comparison that was just too easy. After playing his first song, this guy (who was looking very Springsteen-esque in his jeans and jean jacket, actually) said he needed everyone to pay more attention to him or else he couldn't play and he would just leave. Hey Mundy, aren't you a professional musician? Don't you understand that you were in a lounge at a college campus with an audience whose attention was split with the bar at stage right? An audience who hired you to play? I've played a poolside show in front of a bunch of strangers and we were avoiding splashes from cannonballs all set. A gig is a gig, and if you have that attitude, I don't know how you got to be where you are today. Life could be a bit worse. Back to my Springsteen comparison. You know how you were begging everyone to be quiet, showing yourself to be quite insecure? On his Barcelona DVD, in front of a full arena, all Bruce has to do is give one "shhhh" and everyone in the house shuts it, just in time to hear his harmonica kick into "Thunder Road." Or did you get that move watching the Live in New York City DVD and seeing Bruce stop a song because everyone was too rowdy? You know, in "American Skin," the song where Bruce is protesting the death of Amadou Diallo? He called for silence because he was making a stand against something he believed in. You called for silence because of a bulging ego. You have some good songs, but come on.