Chris Christie speaks during a town hall at the Loudon Fire Department Monday, Nov. 30, 2015 in Loudon, N.H. (Darren McCollester | Getty Images)

TRENTON -- Having attended more than 130 Bruce Springsteen concerts, it stood to reason that Gov. Chris Christie would not dare miss The Boss' first tour with the E Street Band in two years.

The only real question was: Would he attend the Jan. 24 and Jan. 27 shows at New York's Madison Square Garden, or the Jan. 31 performance at Newark's Prudential Center?

"I don't know that I'm going to be able to go to either, because of the schedule, right?" lamented Christie, an expression of remorse on his face.

The schedule, of course, is the pell-mell pace of campaigning in the early presidential voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. And so Springsteen's only show in New Jersey on Jan. 31 was simply out of the question.

"It's the night before the Iowa Caucuses, and I can't be in the Prudential Center the night before the Iowa Caucuses," said Christie, a Republican presidential candidate.

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"The Garden is the 24th I think, right?" he asked. "Yeah," I don't know..." the governor said wistfully, quickly realizing he'll be making last-minute campaign swings in New Hampshire and Iowa on or near both of those earlier dates.

"Ah, but how about this: Boston is on the fourth," said Christie, who'd apparently already committed Springsteen's 22-city tour dates to memory.

Boston's TD Garden is, after all, only an hour from downtown Manchester, and Bruce is playing there Feb. 4.

"Feb. 4 in Boston -- that might be it," Christie said again, more confidently.



And with that, the governor strode away, genuinely smiling at the thought of it, and, of course, for the gaggle of TV cameras.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.