The Big Man

On July 12, 2009 I was standing in a field in Dublin. In the distance a band was up on the stage. They just played their main set, and returned for an encore. Halfway during the first song of that encore, a big, big man with a saxophone stepped forward to do his bit. I stood there, eyes closed, and he just ripped right through me. It’s probably as close to a religious experience as I’m ever gonna get.

That band was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the song was Jungleland, and the big man, of course, Clarence Clemons. The Big Man died last night of complications of a stroke he suffered last week.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band — Jungleland (Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ. 19-9-1978)