Tickets for Bruce Springsteen’s “The River Tour” are on sale.  Back in the 80’s, this was like Christmas morning for me and my buddies back in suburban Detroit. We had to get those tix, even if it meant standing or sleeping in line outside a record store in the middle of the night.

Things are different now. I really don’t think common folks can get great tickets for high demand shows like we used to, with second-hand ticket brokers/scalpers rigging the system. In New York today, there’s an investigation starting that’s looking into how second-hand ticket re-sellers were offering up Springsteen tickets this week that they didn’t have in hand. Read HERE.

One thing is certain, tickets that went on sale were snapped up quickly. In his home state of New Jersey, tickets for his Newark show were sold “in minutes.” Read HERE.  I’m guessing the same story holds true for his January 19 show at the United Center in Chicago and his March 6 show at the Chaifez Arena on the St. Louis University campus.

I’m sure you can find tickets with those second-hand sellers, like Stubhub or Vivid Seats, but you may pay way over face value. On a brighter note, today’s also the release of his “Ties That Bind: The River Collection” box set, a listen back at his voluminous recordings for this great double album. You’ll hear different takes on the songs that were on the album and dozens that did not make the cut.

The original River album came out in 1980, and I saw him for the first time during that tour with my Western Michigan college buddies at Notre Dame’s ACC Arena on a snowy winter night. It was a revelation, an incredible four-hour show. We sat in our seats for a song or two – only when directed by The Boss to do so. Still, the best concert I’ve ever seen.

Doc Watson