The River runs dry in Greensboro
"Where there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air.
Look for me, mom, I'll be there."
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Bruce Springsteen was in the news over the weekend because of his decision to cancel a show scheduled for Greensboro, North Carolina on Sunday night. His reason for the cancellation was North Carolina's so-called 'Bathroom' Law (officially the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act) which Springsteen (and others) see as an attack against the rights of LGBT citizens. In an attempt to hit North Carolina's economy in the pocket and to make a lot of noise about something that a lot of people weren't aren't aware of, Springsteen's done something he's never done before - cancelled a show for reasons other than weather conditions or illness.
In doing so he's been praised widely by the mainstream media (although it's not all been praise) for taking a stand against discrimination. However in the Springsteen fan community, it's a little more complicated. Essentially, his fans' reactions can be split into two camps. Those with little invested in either the issue or the concert were quick to declare their support for their man. At the same time, people who had planned on going to the concert are very angry indeed and don't see any justification for cancelling a concert when it's a concert that they're planning on going to. It's easy to dismiss this as selfishness on their part (and they haven't been doing themselves a lot of favours in this regard) but, in their defence, a lot of people travel great distances to catch Springsteen shows so, presumably, there's a financial implication as well as the small matter of not hearing Bobby Jean for the umpteenth time.
It's an interesting one. Springsteen has a long history of activism stretching back to the late 70s when he appeared at the No Nukes concerts in New York. Two years later he performed a benefit show for Vietnam Veterans in Los Angeles and, in 1988, he headlined Amnesty's six-week Human Rights Now! tour with the E Street band. Added to that have been occasional concerts in support of organisations like the Christic Institute and DoubleTake Magazine and the benefits he plays for local agencies in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia from time to time. However, it wasn't really until the last 15 years or so that he became more vocal about political issues, criticising the Bush Administration nightly during his 2003 US tour and then organising the Vote for Change tour with REM, Pearl Jam and others to encourage voters to seek an alternative in the 2004 US Presidential Election. So you could never really accuse Springsteen of being quiet about politics or human rights issues in the past. Yet this time is different.
To see why, we can go back to those lines from The Ghost of Tom Joad. "Look for me mom, I'll be there", he promises, adding that wherever there's a struggle, he'll be there, fighting the good fight. And that's what Springsteen's always done. Anti-Nuclear concerts? He showed up and played. Vietnam Vets? He showed up and played. At concerts for peace and concerts for sick friends, he's shown up with his guitar ready to show his support. He's played concerts to elect Presidents and concerts to raise funds for local schools and businesses. In the forty-five years or so that he's been a professional musician he's always showed up to fight for what he believed in. Until now. And maybe he's right. After all, when Tom Joad said 'I'll be there' he didn't mean he'd always be there as a physical presence – but that this spirit could be found in the fight. And by cancelling the show, it seems that Springsteen's done a much better job of raising awareness than he could've done by making a speech in front of 15,000 people who are waiting to hear 'Born to Run. And, for that, you have to applaud him.
But what's next? On Thursday night he's in Michigan playing at a venue about 40 miles from Flint - where communities have been dealing for some time with contaminated water flowing from their taps due to the reckless (some say criminal) behaviour of government officials. Will the show go ahead? Closer to home, he's in Dublin next month and I've already seen comments from people wondering if he'll cancel the shows because of the Repeal the 8th campaign. And who can blame them for asking the question - isn't that about equality too? I'm sure a smarter person than me could come up with a long list of inequalities in the distant and recent past that Springsteen didn't feel compelled to cancel a concert over. So you'd wonder what compelled him to take action this time?
Nobody's arguing that some things are more important than a rock show but figuring out what these things are and what's the right course of action to take from this point on could be a tricky question for Springsteen to answer. For once, by taking a stand, he may also have talked himself into a corner.
Meanwhile there's people in North Carolina who missed the memo about the cancelled show and turned up on Sunday night anyway. Bet they weren't very happy.
