Hidden on the backstreets

"So which one do you wanna see first?", says _____´s friend before what can only be described as a veritable Bruce Springsteen museum deep in the heart of S*o Paulo-- shelf after shelf filled to the brim from floor to ceiling with every bootleg ever not-released, every DVD mined from the wee hours spent redeyed in and across websites and forums and message boards. An autograph for crying out loud. Then the poster from the Born in the USA tour, nineteen-eighty-whenever.

"Dude, I have no idea where to start!," says the kid in Christmas morning in me.

He selects a CD he´s just burned from atop a shelf, slips it into the player. Says, "Miami, 1992. Check the backing vocals on this live version of Hungry Heart".

"That´s the song he wrote for the Ramones, right?" I ask him teacher´s pet-like, desperately seeking approval from the obviously higher authority.

He gives me the thumbs up.
The music starts.