‘There’s no other place I’d rather be’: Springsteen fans gather outside Red Bank rehearsals

They came to Pearl Street to find E Street.

Fans of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band gathered Tuesday, Jan. 10, outside the Vogel, part of the Count Basie Center of the Arts in Red Bank, to listen to rehearsals for the band’s upcoming world tour, which begins Wednesday, Feb. 1, in Tampa.

“There is no other place I would rather be right now in Red Bank at the Vogel,” said Joyce Carswell of Asbury Park. “I don’t feel the cold — I’m so excited and pumped. They’re rehearsing for the world tour, what’s more exciting than this?“

The sound outside was muffled and the vocals were not distinguishable, but the songs were identifiable.

Bruce Springsteen at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank on Monday, Jan. 9.

Carswell went to the Vogel on Monday, Jan. 9, and returned on Tuesday.

“There was a very strong rumor from many different people and I’m in Asbury Park and I said I’m retired, I’ll take a drive over,” Carswell said. “If they’re not here, I’ll go home and if they’re here I’m staying.”

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Band members came around midday and left late afternoon on both days. Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, the Boss’ wife and a band member, waved to the small group of fans across Pearl Street from the Vogel stage entrance on Tuesday when they left in a sports car.

“I’m thrilled,” said Jason Golub, 21 of Freehold Township. “I’ve seen the E Street Band six times and I’ve seen (Springsteen) on Broadway. I’ve grown up listening to him. It was nursery rhymes in one car and E Street Radio in the other car.”

Fans on Tuesday, Jan. 10, outside the entrance to the Vogel theater of the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, where Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are rehearsing.

Jean Charte of Red Bank was getting her steps in — she’s exercising ahead of her son’s wedding — and detoured over to the center.

“I met all of them and it was fun,” Charte said. “It’s just like the old days.”

Springsteen and the E Street Band have played the main stage at the Basie many times in various configurations since headlining the spot in 1974, when it was known as the Monmouth Arts Center.

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The fans outside were hopeful that a surprise will come at the Light of Day WinterFest show Saturday, Jan. 14, at the Basie’s Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre. The Boss has performed at 12 of the previous 21 live Light of Days, all unannounced.

The Light of Day raises funds and awareness about Parkinson’s and related diseases.

“It does make one wonder!” Carswell said.

The Basie Center is located on 99 Monmouth St., less than a block away from the building that was formerly Big Man’s West, the nightclub owned by Clarence Clemons, and a few blocks east from the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen community restaurant.

Former E Street Band member David Sancious, with Will Calhoun, played the Vogel stage on Jan. 6. A rep for the Basie had no comment on the rehearsals.

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Area shows for the upcoming Springsteen and E Street Band tour include the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 16; Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on Saturday, April 1; the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Monday, April 3; two at the new USB Arena in Belmont Park, N.Y., on Sunday, April 9, and Tuesday, April 11; and the Prudential Center in Newark on Friday, April 14, to close the run.

The band then heads to Europe to play stadiums there. It’s the E Street Band’s first tour since “The River Tour,” which ended in early 2017.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen tour 2023 rehearsals heard in Red Bank NJ