Concert Day. The entire trip was organized around the Bruce Springsteen concert scheduled for tonight, but we woke up in the morning not even knowing if it was going to happen due to trees down and other damage in the park where it was to be held from yesterday's storms. Lisa and I were heading down to breakfast when we received a call from Rose and Maria explaining that they had heard the concert was still on and they were on their way to Monza (their friend in Milan was driving them to the hotel).
We also learned, that the concert was a much bigger event than we realized. Monza has a large walled park (actually the largest walled park in Europe, encompassing 2 and 2/3 square miles) that contains the Monza Circuit, a Formula One auto racing track. Initially, we thought the concert was going to be at the track, but it was actually in a large open field adjacent to the track. The park, however, opened at 8 in the morning and they had decided to make an all-day festival of it with food trucks and such just outside the concert venue. While we didn't want to be there all day, we realized that we should go in the afternoon because with a concert of this size, you can't just show up ten minutes before the event and walk in. I really got the sense that in 2023, Bruce Springsteen is even more popular in Europe than he is in the United States. He was playing to enormous crowds all over Europe and the best estimate we saw of the attendance at Monza was about 70,000. Every time we mentioned the show to people in Italy, their pupils would dilate and they would exclaim with awe, "The Boss."
First, we had to get there. The concert area as about a mile walk in the park from the entrances to the park and our hotel about 2 miles from the entrances. As the concert venue was in the middle of such a large park, I don't think it was possible to stay much closer. The hotel had no shuttle to the venue (we thought they might as they advertised an airport shuttle and we figured many of the hotels in Monza probably had shuttles when there were races, but then again maybe not). There were supposed to be shuttles from the Monza train station to and from the venue. The Monza train station was about a mile and a half from the hotel. A long walk, and not ideal, but doable if need be. However, we learned at the desk at our hotel that there were no shuttles. The additional complication was that in addition to the four of us, Rose's cousin Elena (who lives not far from Milan/Monza) was going to the concert with us and we had to figure out not only how we were getting there, but how to meet up with her. Elena was coming into Monza by train (so initially, of course, we thought we'd meet at the train station and catch one of the shuttles to the concert together). Rose and Elena were exchanging texts to coordinate our rendezvous as the situation evolved (or rather, as it turned out, Rose was sending texts that Elena was neither reading nor responding too) and ultimately decided that we would get a cab from the hotel to the park and meet Elena there. The front desk at the hotel called a taxi for us and it was still early enough in the afternoon that was not too hard to get one. After a few minutes in the lobby, we stepped outside to await the imminent arrival of our taxi when, as we stood there chatting, up walks Elena! She had not looked at any of Rose's texts and had walked to our hotel from the train station. Our taxi arrived very shortly after Elena and she very nearly missed us entirely. Now that we had become a group of five, instead of four, the cab couldn't take all of us. The cab driver left in a huff while we pondered what to do. There was apparently a bus stop near the hotel, but the reliability was unknown. Ultimately, Elena decided to walk to the park and the rest of us would take a cab and meet her there. Crazy, in my opinion, since Elena had just walked from the train station, but what else were we to do? The hotel was able to provide maps of the park and Elena showed us on the map which entrance to meet her.
Oddly enough, this plan worked reasonably well. I was amazed at how quickly Elena caught up with us. There was a small snack bar just inside the park with shaded tables where we decided to grab a bite (Pretty good paninis) before entering the concert venue area. There was an area called a, "comfort zone," outside the concert ground itself where there were all sorts of different food trucks. You had to exchange euro for tokens to buy food or drink either there or inside the venue, although there were much more limited options inside. Supposedly this area was going to be open for additional revelry for a couple of hours after the concert.
The only word I can use to describe the event from here on is bedlam. Complete and utter bedlam. In the comfort zone there were lines for the tokens (which we bought some of), lines for food and beverages and horrifically long lines to get into the concert venue. Having just eaten and seeing the lines to get into the concert, we decided to get in line. People were just joining the line randomly at any point rather than find the end, and ultimately we followed suit. There were no seats or chairs in the venue, it was just an open field. There were sections - Pit A, Pit B, Pit C1, Pit C2, and Pit C3. Perhaps the lines for A and B pits brought people out on the field closer to the stage, but once we entered there no staff directing anyone to their proper section and it just seemed to be a complete free-for-all to find as spot of grass to stay on. I think I have attended my last concert without a seat. I simply couldn't sit on the ground comfortably and had to stand the entire time. My legs and feet were sore by the time the show was over. I wasn't even sure I could make it through the whole thing and at one point, Lisa and I discussed going back to the comfort zone where there were some picnic tables to sit down. I really didn't want to do that, because I didn't want to miss the show and I was afraid we would never be able to find the rest of the group again if we separated. At one point, I left the group to get food. Finding them again in the crowd was challenging, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to.
Despite the endurance required, the concert was fantastic. Springsteen puts on a great show. His voice still sounds great, even in his 70's. I suppose the key of some songs was lowered, but not so as you would notice. The band played tight and sounded great. While I have never been the biggest Springsteen fan, his music is good, solid, rock and roll and very listenable. Springsteen himself has great stage presence and is a charismatic performer. It is easy to see (and hear) why he draws such big crowds. Most of songs that I was familiar with he played toward the end of the show, which rejuvenated my weary legs and the end of the set and encore were amazing. Of note, he did not play, "Born in the USA," in Italy, but so many classics were in the set: Glory Days, Born to Run, Dancing in the Dark, etc...
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| Lisa (lower left), Rose (lower right), Maria (middle left), Elena (midde right), and me (back) ready to see The Boss |
Leaving the concert proved more difficult than getting there. It must have taken an hour or more just to get out of the concert area. Everyone was funneled out of a single exit, all 70,000 people, which created a horrendous bottle neck. I have never walked (spent most of the time standing) so slowly in my life. Normally, I don't panic in crowds and initially this was very orderly but I started to get a bit nervous when fans, who had been drinking, began getting impatient and yelling. Things could have gotten very dangerous very quickly if pushing or shoving had started, but fortunately things remained orderly. I Have no idea if the "comfort zone," remained open as they didn't allow us to exit back that way. On several occasions we asked staff about transportation and were told simply to walk back to the hotel. Elena's husband had driven to our hotel pick her up but he couldn't pick us up at the park because they had closed streets to regular traffic to reduce congestion! We sat for a bit just outside the park, some used the restroom at a nearby pub. We had already walked two miles across the park and back and had been on our feet for hours. At the end of the day (and it was the end of the day) there was nothing to do but walk the two more miles back to the hotel. We tried Uber and waiting at a bus stop for a bit without success. After about another mile hike, maybe slightly further, we ran into Elena's husband Luca, who had driven as close as he could and was looking for us. So, we were spared walking the last mile or so. Still, but the time we got back it was, think about 2 in the morning and we were exhausted. I don't know how Elena did it because she not only walked what we walked, she had also walked from the train station to our hotel and from the hotel to the concert! Fortunately, our only plans for the following day weren't until late afternoon!
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