It’s a term we hear all too common now. At Facebook’s headquarters they said, “Move fast and break things”. Today entrepreneurs and startups embrace the disruptor moniker to stand out from the rest. Seeking originality and trying to be different in a world of blurred lines. Wanting you to believe they own it.
Sorry. This is not new. It’s what artists have been doing for years.
In 1974 Bruce Springsteen was still the new guy, an unknown with something to prove. And to do that he had to draw the audience in with a mighty force that couldn’t be resisted. He had a plan and it would be evident as soon as he began his set the night of May 9, 1974 at the Harvard Square Theatre in Cambridge MA. He was there to be noticed.
So, what do you do? Deliver the unexpected. Be a disruptor.
The set begins. The house lights dim, and Bruce turns around from facing the band to facing the audience, walks to the microphone and in a hushed tone, addresses the crowd and says, “Meanwhile in New York City”. A single spot finds David Sancious introduce a classical melody and soon another spot finds Bruce filling in the notes on his acoustic guitar. He opens his set with “New York City Serenade” a melodic, sensitive, musical street poem that brings the city that never sleeps to a place of stillness and quiet. I’m mystified. I think to myself, "What is he doing? What is this? Is this how you open a rock show and introduce yourself?" Yes, it was. New York City Serenade brought the house to a standstill.
The audience did not know what to expect but did not expect this. And it worked. Bruce had the audience transfixed and in his grip. And from that moment on, Bruce, the E Street Band and the audience were locked in for the night. And for decades to come.