Bruce Springsteen played a surprise show as he made an unexpected visit to a bar in New Jersey over the weekend. He excited the crowd at Wonder Bar in Asbury Park when he came out on the stage during a concert by Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers.
The veteran musician and Grushecky are longtime pals who have performed together in many occasions over the years including Asbury Park's annual winter "Light of Day" benefit concert which raises money in hopes to find a cure for Parkinson's disease. At the New Jersey bar gig, Springsteen played a two-hour set and treated the audience packing the venue to 15 songs like "Darkness on the Edge of Town", "Because the Night" and "The Promised Land" with scheduled acts Grushecky and the Houserockers backing him. Below is a video taken by a fan while the Boss did the former track.
Raised a Roman Catholic, Springsteen attended the St. Rose of Lima Catholic school in Freehold Borough, where he was at odds with the nuns and rejected the strictures imposed upon him, even though some of his later music reflects a Catholic ethos and included a few rock-influenced, traditional Irish-Catholic hymns. In a 2012 interview, he explained that it was his Catholic upbringing rather than political ideology that most influenced his music.
He noted in the interview that his faith had given him a "very active spiritual life," although he joked that this "made it very difficult sexually." He added: "Once a Catholic, always a Catholic." Often described as cinematic in their scope, Springsteen's lyrics frequently explore highly personal themes such as individual commitment, dissatisfaction and dismay with life in a context of every day situations. When the children reached school-going age in the early 1990s, Springsteen and Scialfa moved back to New Jersey specifically to raise a family in a non-paparazzi environment.
The grounds of his New Jersey home include a large swimming pool. Springsteen is an activist for gay rights and has spoken out many times as a strong supporter of gay marriage. In 2012, he lent his support to an ad campaign for gay marriage called "The Four 2012". Springsteen noted in the ad, "I couldn't agree more with that statement and urge those who support equal treatment for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now."
