Anthony Chic Born to Run

  Bruce was in town again. At this point all you need is a first name, for Bruce has now reached iconic status. Well, he actually reached that in 1975 gracing covers of both Newsweek and Time magazine. But I am at a loss for anything greater than “iconic.” He played the old Boston Garden then added yet another show at Gillette for later in the year. He was amazing (as always) from what I have heard/read. An ageless wonder whose music reaches deep into our collective psyche – no matter what year you were born – grabs your soul and, much like the “walkers” in “The Living Dead,” never lets up.

  I was late to the Bruce dance party. The Boss first appeared on my radar screen in 1975 as a graduating senior at Malden High. We were piled into Paul Coleman’s car that late summer afternoon with no particular place to go when “Born to Run” came on ’BCN. Paul channeled his inner Bruce for the next four minutes 31 seconds, much to our delight – if you knew Pony – and went word for word with Bruce. When I told Paul I never heard of Bruce, he looked at me incredulously: “You don’t know who Bruce Springsteen is?!” I hung my head in shame.

Fast forward to the Bicentennial year of 1976. After a hard day at work (Polygon Corp. in Melrose – they made church candles – hey, it was a first job), the boys and I (Jimmy Damiano, Mike Scibelli, Paul Figelski), along with a fellow candlemaker from Melrose named Jerry, once again piled into a car, but this time Richie Callahan was driving, and the destination was the Topsfield Fair. Jerry was a Bruce fanatic. Jerry had “Born to Run” on cassette. Richie had a really good sound system. We blasted that tape all the way to Topsfield and all the way back home. I was all in. I was a Bruce disciple: through the great years, through the mediocre MTV years, back to the great years.

  On a related note, Richie (Callahan) told a great story of himself and Dave Doyle walking into the Bow & Arrow Pub (Bow Street?) in Harvard Square back in 1977 and running into Bruce and his bandmates holding court at the bar and shooting pool. That’s the story they told me, anyway. Fugazi news? Perhaps, but it was fun to originally hear. Back to our regularly scheduled program….

  City of Malden Human Resources Director Anthony Chiccuarelli aka Mathew’s little brother is a “Bruce Tramp.” A “super fan” of sorts, Chic, as well as most fanatics, has been to multiple shows, to say the least. Example: Chris “Keeper of the Linden Flame” Moro clocks in well over 100.

  Chic was there at the new Boston “Gahden” on Monday night, March 20. The joy he received from “Bruce Live” was contagious. Witness the “Power of Bruce” firsthand. Take it away, Anthony:

  “He was incredible! Still has more energy than most 30-year-olds. Doesn’t run around the stage like he used to but still moves around and plays to the audience like no one else. The band is so incredibly tight and everyone in the band is always laughing and smiling – they love what they do! Max Weinberg is truly amazing. He and Bruce never stop. Their energy levels are off the charts. Nils Lofgren’s guitar solos were fantastic – better than most current lead guitarists!! Little Steven brings so much humor and fun to the group and he still kills with his guitar playing! I still miss Clarence and Danny Federici and always will, but Zack Clemons is a tremendous sax player plus the audience feels a special connection given he’s Clarence’s nephew!

  “I was there with my wife and 2 daughters; the crowd is getting long in the tooth as they say but my kids helped bring the average age down. A cool moment was when we were leaving the Garden walking down the stairs, we were next to this guy with his young daughter or maybe even granddaughter and he was talking to her about the songs, and she knew them all!!! Bruce fans from 8 to 80!! We were even sitting next to an older couple and the wife said this was her first Bruce concert and she was so excited. Still getting new fans!!!

  “My daughter Bailey, she pushes for getting tickets all the time when he’s around!! My son is also a big fan. His first concert was a road trip to Shea Stadium in 2003 at age 8 which was, I believe, the last show of The Rising tour. It was definitely the last show of the tour but I’m not 100% whether it was The Rising.

  “I’ve been to probably 70 or so shows. Most true diehard fans, including my friend Ed Nigro, have been to over 100. My first show was one I think we talked about – The River Tour at the old Boston Garden in December 1980. ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ for the first time for me!! Favorite album is Born to Run – so many great songs. No, ALL great songs.

  “Oh, and I can’t forget my wife being a big fan. We were just talking about it last night. We went to a show in the old Garden in December 1992 when she was 8 months pregnant with Cailyn. Walked up to the 7th floor since there were no elevators back in those days!!!

  “True story – when my daughter Cailyn was born (my oldest) the first time I held her I actually sang Thunder Road to her. No rhyme or reason – it just popped into my head (nobody was around while I sang, by the way!). So, Thunder Road was always our song. She just got married this New Year’s Eve and our father/daughter dance of course was … Thunder Road. Meaningful moment!!”

  Beautiful, Anthony.

  As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – I wasn’t there for the legendary four nights at the Music Hall (now the Wang) in March of 1977, but I was present during his “River Tour” at the old Boston Garden in 1980 – my first Bruce live experience. Thirty or so Edgeworth strong descended on the “Gahden.” We gathered at the corner of Highland and Whitman; the caravan, 10 cars long. We found free parking on streets surrounding the arena, didn’t have to take out a second mortgage for the tickets, and the booze we snuck in was naughty, but it was the tail end of the ’70s: Anything went during the Jimmy Carter era (think “Dazed and Confused.”) Needless to say, the bar was extremely high thereafter for any future arena shows. Nobody has come close since that night. Well, maybe The J. Geils Band in 1981 – maybe Queen in 1982 – maybe Aerosmith/Extreme at Fenway in 2022. But there is only one Bruce and the E Street Band! As Captain Lou (Albano) would say: “Often imitated, never duplicated.”

  Postscript 1: Willie Barron was Malden’s G.O.A.T. Nobody equal, certainly not in the past 70 years. Malden was shocked at the news of his passing. Lest we forget: The 1961-1962 Malden High School Boys Basketball Team is considered one of the best teams of the great era of Malden High School basketball in the 1960s. Led by greats such as Willie Barron and the late Bill Carty, Malden finished as Greater Boston League co-champions with Quincy that year after splitting the regular-season series with the Presidents, including an epic overtime win for Malden at the old Marshall Gym, which featured what may have been the biggest crowd ever in the former Tornado “barn.” Malden would go on to fall to the same Quincy team, in overtime, in the quarterfinals of the Class A Tech Tourney at the Boston Garden, another epic encounter, and finish with a 17-4 overall record. Willie Barron remembered.

  Postscript 2: Malden lost a little bit more of its heart and soul recently. The “Greatest Generation” took another hit with the passing of three pillars of the Malden community: Ermelinda “Mimi” Callahan, Gloria (Iacobacci) Pasciuto and Mary (Cocco) Smeglin. “Mimi” tragically lost her husband, Malden Patrolman Eddie (Callahan), in 1963 when he was murdered in the line of duty. Gloria and her husband, Cosmos, reached Malden in 1960. Mary passed at age 94 and was lifelong Edgeworth. The families they raised and nurtured in Malden – you can connect the dots and follow directly to Malden’s resurgence today. May their memory be a blessing.

  Postscript 3: On a very happy note, Esther Carducci of the Edgeworth Carduccis celebrated her 98th birthday last week. Happy birthday, Esther; Saint Rocco is right around the corner.

—Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate. He can be reached at Pe*****@*ol.com for comments, compliments or complaints.