The sign that said it all to Springsteen and the E Street Band in Buffalo

November 24, 9:29 AMBruce Springsteen ExaminerJane Murphy

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Springsteen picks a quintessential sign out of the audience during his concert in Buffalo Sunday.

Posted on BTX at backstreets.com

One of the more memorable moments from Sunday night's concert in Buffalo came when Bruce Springsteen held up a sign that some fans had brought to the concert. It seemed to touch him more deeply on a night of many touching moments between performer and audience. It didn't request a song as most of the signs fans have brought to concerts this tour did. It didn't ask for anything from Springsteen or the E Street Band. It read in simple, large black and white letters: "It's only rock and roll, but it feels like love."

According to several bloggers, the sign was brought to the show by two women from Princeton, N.J. It hit a perfect note for the moment, for the night.

The sign refers to a line from Springsteen's eulogy for Danny Federici, his longtime organist/accordionist who died in April 2008.

"Of course we all grow up and we know 'it's only rock and roll'...but it's not. After a lifetime of watching a man perform his miracle for you, night after night, it feels an awful lot like love."

The sign so perfectly brought the spirit of Phantom Dan into a momentous night for the band he gave his whole life and talent to. But like all great Springsteen lines, it also harkened another, larger meaning -- Bruce had been referring to Danny alone, but on Sunday night in Buffalo his words summarized the feelings of the entire E Street Nation for Bruce and all the band's members.

These two ladies can be very proud of themselves for thinking up the sign, and then executing on a great idea. Reports say they were in Section 114, and one observer said they'll never forget the look on their faces when Bruce first moved toward the sign, looking like he wanted to bring it up on stage. They hugged each other, reports say, and embraced the feelings of fans everywhere, in Buffalo or not. They also stepped into Springsteen folklore, creating a memory and an encapsulating a moment that will be held close in the collective heart of Bruce fans forever.