Is Bruce at his most relevant point of his career? Few would argue that he is. Though less than one year removed from being a TIME magazine cover boy, catching Springsteen now is not like seeing him live in 1975, when he adorned both the cover of TIME and Newsweek in the same week. But I remember a band I did see at Giants Stadium at the height of its rock prominence, Guns 'n' Roses. That was in 1991, when they headlined for Metallica. The entire audience waited over two hours for a set change and it was far from worth it. Bruce Springsteen could have kicked their ass 12 years earlier and I know he kicked their ass 12 years later.

Friday's July 18 show fittingly started with Who'll Stop the Rain?, a CCR classic that made it unexpectedly into the set list as a heavy downpour, accompanied by lightning, soaked all 55,000 white people in attendance, except for unlucky few who were seated deep within the lower level and mezzanine sections. The first half of the show was dominated by songs off The Rising, a 9/11-influenced album that does not lend itself to stadium rock, aside from Mary's Place, which has always been my favorite track off the record. The Rising and My City of Ruins (written about Asbury Park, not New York) are two of my favorites, too. His version of the former before an MTV awards show and the latter during the ultra-somber Tribute to Heroes Sept. 21, 2001 telethon were, to me, two all-time TV music performances. Jersey shore cheeseball who can't sing? Not sure who you're talking about.

(The only unfortunate sighting was a drunk guy pulling a drunk chick into the aisle to sway to a slow-song with cupped hands in that white-man-trying-to-get-laid-at-a-wedding way. The song was Empty Sky, an obvious reference to NYC's altered skyline.)

The second half of the show was dominated by Bruce classics — American rock 'n' roll, cooked to perfection — and even a three-hour show couldn't fit 'em all. No Thunder Road, no Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out. I didn't have much voice left anyway, even if the 53-year-old on stage did.

Maybe we'll get to hear them when I return on July 27, as the 550,000-tickets-sold Giants Stadium leg of the tour rolls on.