Superfan to see Bruce Springsteen in concert for 61st time in Ottawa

Bruce Springsteen performs with the E Street Band at State Farm Arena, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Atlanta. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)

Bruce Springsteen will take the stage in Ottawa on Saturday night for the first time in 12 years.

For Sean O'Toole, it will be the 61^st time he has seen "the Boss" perform in concert.

"I'd love to hear Racing in the Street, it's one of my all-time favourites," O'Toole said on Friday. "The one I'm really hoping he plays is Darkness on the Edge of Town, partly because I've always loved the song."

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O'Toole says he was first introduced to Springsteen by his friend's brother in 1979, when he was 15 years old and a student at Confederation High School in Ottawa.

"I remember hearing Thunder Road and Jungleland and Badlands and Racing in the Street, and they spoke to me and I thought I found the guy I'm going to be with for decades," O'Toole told CTV Morning Live.

O'Toole first saw Springsteen perform in Buffalo in 1980, then in Ottawa a month later at the Civic Centre.

"We were right on the stage, five rows back from the stage on the floor. It was an amazing show; it so much fun."

O'Toole says he has met Springsteen twice, both in Buffalo. His favourite concert was seeing Springsteen in Rome in 2016 with his wife and two daughters. 

Sean O'Toole says he has seen Bruce Springsteen in concert 60 times. O'Toole will be at Canadian Tire Centre Saturday night to see Springsteen and the E-Street Band. (Sean O'Toole/submitted)

Springsteen and the E-Street Band will perform at the Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday night, one year after the show was cancelled as Springsteen recovered from peptic ulcer disease.

Springsteen had two shows in Toronto this week, with O'Toole in attendance for both shows.

"You're seeing a guy up on stage who is 75 years old," O'Toole said.

"For all the people who are going to the Ottawa show, you're going to think you're watching a 35-year-old man up there. He is very, very resilient. The energy he brings and just the joy in the moment, people will see it tomorrow night and be blown away."

Sean O'Toole says he has seen Bruce Springsteen in concert 60 times. (Sean O'Toole/submitted)

Now, O'Toole will see Springsteen for the 61^st time in Ottawa on Saturday night. He was asked why he keeps going to see Springsteen in concert.

"It's just the way he mixes things up so much. You never know what he's going to play, you never know what he's going to do," O'Toole said. "I think the main thing is the variety of it, but just the opportunity to be there in the moment with someone who's got such a vast catalogue of music. He's just so energetic; so lively."

Springsteen last performed in Ottawa in October 2012.