I had no choice in the matter. I had to go to Philly. Don’t get me wrong…there’s a lot of great people and things to do in Philly, but I’d just rather be in Jersey. Hell, I love New York too, but ultimately I’m a big fan of my surroundings. Not many things would entice me to visit a neighboring state, but the Bruce Springsteen exhibit at the National Constitution Museum was definitely one of them.
Miss Sexy Armpit mentioned the exhibit to me a while back as an idea for my birthday trip. My first reaction was, “Why isn’t it in Asbury Park??” That would’ve been too easy! I had to work a little for this one. Actually, getting into Philly was a piece of cheesesteak, it was getting out that was the problem, but I’ll get to that later.
If you consider yourself even remotely a fan of Springsteen’s work, you will enjoy this exhibit. If you are a hardcore Bruce fan and you haven’t made it there yet, you NEED to go, seriously it’s that good. And finally for those who don’t love or hate Bruce, but are fans of good music, this exhibit spotlights the career of an American icon, THE BOSS!
From the meager club shows in various local bands to selling out stadiums and getting nominated for awards, this exhibit is an all encompassing tribute. You will witness fascinating photos, memorabilia, outfits, and notebooks plucked from Bruce’s long musical journey. One of the literal artifacts that left an impression on me was the original exterior sign from The Stone Pony in Asbury Park where Bruce played so many of his early shows and still makes surprise appearances at ’til this day. There are also listening stations to hear unreleased songs, early live recordings, and video stations to watch archival footage of documentaries and concerts.
We spent about 30 – 40 minutes in the exhibit. The walk through can take as long as you want it to, or you can breeze right through it depending on how much you want to take in. I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. When we left the building and saw a gorgeous sunny day waiting for us, we wanted to stop at another Philly attraction, but we spent about 2 hours in traffic! Unbeknownst to us, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade was about to take place, so several main streets were blocked off causing major gridlock. Aside from the insane amount of traffic, the Bruce exhibit made the trip worthwhile! I highly recommend going! The exhibit closes on September 3rd, 2012.