I danced with a gal with a hole in her stocking
And her knees were a-knockin' and her shoes were a-rockin'
I danced with a gal with a hole in her stocking
And we danced by the light of the moon

Buffalo gals won't you come out tonight
Come out tonight, come out tonight
Buffalo gals won't you come out tonight
And we'll dance by the light of the moon

In March of 2008, my mother took me to HSBC Arena to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. I knew a few of his songs – Hungry Heart, Dancing in the Dark, Born to Run – but wasn’t too well versed in his music. I studied up on his major songs for a good month or two beforehand so that I could heartily sing along to the ones that everyone knew. I enjoyed listening to him, but at this point, he was just another musician who my mother absolutely adored and who I tolerated fairly well.

I now firmly believe that if you are “sort of” a Springsteen fan before you go to an E Street concert, you will be completely converted afterwards. I’m an avid concertgoer and don’t like to throw around the word “best” when it comes to concerts, but E Street is definitely in a league of its own. I was absolutely blown away that night, and have been a passionate Bruce fan since. My mother and I have attended two concerts since that one – one in East Rutherford, NJ, and one in Hershey, PA, because no car ride is too long when it ends with a Bruce concert- and are trying to figure out tickets for the upcoming HSBC gig. When my friends hear music coming from my room, they expect it to be Bruce. Just last night, my housemates and I were relaxing with music from one of our i-Pods, and he told me that I could pick the music, adding, “But I don’t have any Springsteen, so…” I wrote a term paper for a music class last year on Bruce Springsteen. It’s a lifestyle.

At that first concert in March, Bruce announced that they were going to debut a song for the tour that night, and launched into a rip-roaring version of the traditional song that my grandmother would sing to me when I was falling asleep as a child: “Buffalo Gals.”

I named this blog “Hole in Her Stocking” not only as a tribute to that life-changing night at the E Street Band concert but as a tribute to the Queen City herself. I believe that part of the reason that Bruce speaks so clearly to me is because I am a Buffalo Gal. He writes from a working class background and writes about needing to find yourself in a world that isn’t so kind to all of us, and he writes about being true to yourself and still having a good time. And I think that encapsulates so much of what Buffalo is about.

We Western New York women are more than aware of the fact that the City of Good Neighbors and her surrounding areas are not going through the best times right now. The Queen City herself, you could say, has a hole in her stocking.

But through all of the economic troubles, through all of the uncertainties and the hardships, we keep on rocking.

When I realized that Bruce was playing a song that was about Buffalo Gals, about me and about the women that I know, I was filled with pride. And I remain filled with pride. I live in Geneseo to attend the SUNY college there for eight months out of the year, but I am thrilled each and every time I return to the area. I’m proud to represent Western New York out here with those from Rochester and Albany and Long Island, and I’m proud to be blogging for women who know what it’s like to go out and dance by the light of the moon.

Welcome to Hole in Her Stocking.