Life Itself - Video

Feel like I've seen this before!

I've just got to say......

that even with my doubts about this new record, this image still gives me a little shiver. I guess it's the joy of the thought of new material. I have hope. Season's Greetings!

I've Just Got To Say...

...MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVIiLrpVWl0

Bruce at Bonnaroo?

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/12/16/phish-to-headline-bonnaroo-2009-sources-say/

"Also being buzzed about with some legitimacy: Bruce Springsteen as Sunday night’s closer. No pressure, but there is a deadline approaching for pre-sale tickets and VIP packages."

Happy Birthday!

Glynis!!!!!!!!!!! I hope the boys are treating you right :)

XO!

Preview

Working on a Dream here

The plans they are a changin'

as usual in the Bruce camp nothing is for sure until it is for sure! Now I hear this looks to be a 90 show tour starting in the US in March not Barcelona in February. Stay tuned........

Album Cover

I need to let this soak in for a while

The leader of the group

Who is our leader? :)

In 55 days

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
will take the field for the Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show.
Where will you be?On February 1, 2009 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform in the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show in Tampa Bay at Raymond James Stadium. We're looking for enthusiastic volunteers to be part of the on-field audience for the show.

The details
We'll be registering all participants as members of a group. Groups can be formal organizations such as school groups, fan clubs & community organizations, or something more informal like a group of friends. There are only a few important criteria that each group must meet.

Groups must have at least 10 members
All group members must be at least 16 years old
Each group must have a leader who is at least 21 years old
All group leaders & members must be present and participate during all rehearsals
There are also some other important things you'll want to know before deciding to sign-up.

A word about group leaders
It's important that group leaders understand what they are signing up for.

Group leaders will participate in the show as part of their group, and be responsible for making sure every member of their group is in the right place at the right time. The show staff will rely on leaders to make sure their group members are informed & following the rules. Group members will rely on leaders for rehearsal information and instructions from the show staff.

Group leaders will also be in charge of signing up their group in our online registration system, and keeping group information up-to-date.

Still sound like something you want to do? ... then read on!

The process
Registration alone does not guarantee that you're group will be chosen to participate.

Here's how it will go:

Group leaders will register online providing the name, birth date, phone number and emergency contact of each member of their group.
Our casting representatives will review each registration
Group leaders will be informed via email if their group has been selected to participate
The email from our casting representatives will contain specific information for the group leader, and let them know where to meet for the orientation meeting.

And finally...
Alright, so you've read through the entire site. You're sure that all your group members are available for the entirety of every rehearsal. You've gathered the full name, phone number, birth date, and emergency contact for each member of your group. Great!

Click here to register your group!
Who are we?
The Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show will be produced by Halftime Entertainment Logistics, Inc.

Let's Count 'em up!

Someone started a thread on Backstreets about the different number of venues that someone has seen Bruce perform at. So I decided to play along, for I'd never really kept a count of the Bruce shows that I've been to, and it turns out I've been to 25 gigs at 12 different venues"

Giants Stadium, East Rutherford NJ - 8 shows(5 Rising, 3 magic)
Continental/Izod Arena, East Rutherford, NJ - 4 shows(1 Reunion, 1 Rising, 2 Magic)
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY - 2 shows(1 Seeger Sessions, 1 Magic)
Shea Stadium, New York, NY - 2 shows(2 Rising)
Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ - 2 shows(1 Holiday Show, 1 Magic Rehearsal Show)
TD Dominion Bank Garden, Boston MA - 1 show(1 Magic)
Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA - 1 show(1 Magic)
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ - 1 show(1 Seeger Sessions)
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA - 1 show(1 Magic)
Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ - 1 show(1 Holiday Show)
Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ - 1 show(1 Devils and Dust)
Today Show/Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY - 1 show(1 Magic)

Funny......

I listened to My Lucky Day a few times on Monday but didn't not download from Amazon and have not listened to it since. Very odd for me. It sounds good but overall it is lacking lyrically.
I suppose I am a lyric whore :)

Thoughts? About the song, not me!

My Lucky Day

Like this much more than the first one we heard, love the video. Now we're talking about an album that might be interesting.

Watch it here
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m35RKSO2IS5A7U

Free on iTunes......

today only get the new single on iTunes-------->FREE!

Back Livin In the Future

Hey gang - now that I've reset my password I have returned to Bruce in cyberspace. Thanks for the Birthday Greetings one-and-all by the way (I've been away from the blog for a stretch).

Any new Bruce news in the last week or so??

If anyone's interested...

...the Bobby Bandiera holiday Hope concert will be held on December 22 at the Basie. Going to pass on it this season, even if Bruce were to confirm for this year. You know, wedding and stuff to save for.

Just listened to the stream......

eh.

you can listen to it here http://www.q1043.com/pages/news/brucespringsteen/

Cover Art

Q104 is showing this as the cover art of the new album. Hmmmmmmm

One year ago today...

...was Danny's last full show.

November 19 / Boston, MA / TD Banknorth Garden

Notes: Amid rumors that Danny Federici's health would prevent him from making the trip to Europe next week, Bruce and the E Street Band closed out their North American leg with a stunner of a show in Boston. And while we believe strongly in respecting his privacy, we simply can't talk about this night without talking about Danny. His talent, the band's love for the man, the crowd's love for the man -- all were there for all to see. This show was all about Dan Federici. The setlist (and oh, what a setlist) was clearly crafted with him in mind. There were the two tour premieres -- "This Hard Land" giving Danny a stretched-out solo spot, "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" recalling the formation of the E Street Band, of which Danny was of course a founding member (easy to forget that only he, Clarence, and Garry go all the way back). And then the three songs from those Wild & Innocent early days -- reprising the "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"/"E Street Shuffle" two-fer from Albany, and adding "Kitty's Back" for good measure -- all of which gave Danny chances to shine.

Federici's "Kitty" solo, at Bruce's urging, went on and on. "Sandy," too, was a spotlight moment, with Danny strapping on the accordion; bringing him front and center, Bruce called out, "Ladies and Gentlemen, winner of the Ted Mack Amateur Hour!" Tossed-off ad lib that it was, that remains a significant moment to me as I think back on the show today. It was a night of good humor. It was a night of musicianship, of history, of shared history, and of the joy of making music together in the present moment. It wasn't a maudlin night. There was no overt reference to any leave of absence, certainly no mention of any health issues. What do you do in the face of those things instead? You get up there and play. And they played their hearts out. "Darkness" was ablaze. The whacked-out funk coda of "E Street Shuffle" was a killer, with Max going nuts on the drums. "The Rising" was more determined than I've heard it since '03. "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" was a blast, and wicked tight, even with a way-loose Peter Wolf up there shakin' it with Patti.

And what else do you do? If you're Nils, you spend as much time as you can up on the organ riser, playing shoulder-to-shoulder. If you're Bruce, you head over to Danny during the bows at show's end and throw your arm around him, with a look on your face that says "godammit, I know we said we weren't going to talk about this tonight, but you can't stop me from doing this," and you bring him to the center of the pack, and he takes a bow of his own. And if you're the crowd, you chant "Danny! Danny! Danny!" It was as spontaneous as the "E Street Band" chant at Madison Square Garden on July 1, 2000 -- with fewer dry eyes, I imagine, both onstage and off.

Setlist:
Radio Nowhere
Night
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Candy's Room
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
This Hard Land
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
The E Street Shuffle
Working on the Highway
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Kitty's Back
Born to Run
American Land

Here it is

from last night

So we're getting a new album.......

Press Release

Did anyone watch?

I was busy flipping back from Iron Chef to football to catch the halftime report. I was able to hear the song AND see the Iron Chef winner so I was satisfied.
As for the song......VERY annoying to have the sounds of football running over the top of it. I'd have to say I was underwhelmed.

Got a few extra bucks this season?

DONATE

February 13, 2009

Anyone got anything going that day? I hear the Boss could be playing a gig in Dublin. Who's in????

Bruce and the NFL

word is the new song Working on a Dream will debut next Sunday during Sunday Night football half time highlights.
Why must I be forced to watch football????

RTÉ.ie Entertainment: Springsteen album due in January

RTÉ.ie Entertainment: Springsteen album due in January

New Song

At today's rally

Happy Halloween....

from The Boss

What is THIS all about??????

From the official site:

HALLOWEEN
To our friends and neighbors:

So as not to inconvenience you this Halloween, due to "catastrophic success" (read: too many visitors for the neighborhood to handle) and concern for the safety of kids and parents! we won't be having our usual Halloween display this year in Rumson.

We wish everyone a safe and Happy Halloween!

Thanks,
Bruce and Patti

bIRtHdAy!

Please join me is wishing a big, HUGE, filled with love HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our esteemed hostess around here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MB, we couldn't do it without ya!

Pretty damn cool

Bruce and Billy

geez, this might even be better!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zreaj4hrTo

In case you haven't seen it.....

Bruce's speech in Philly on Saturday. And it sounds like it been pretty much the same at the other appearances he's made. I watched it on youtube. He seems uncomfortable to me ... and he should really lose the flannel!

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S COMMENTS FROM THE STAGE AT PHILADELPHIA'S VOTE FOR CHANGE RALLY
October 4, 2008

"Hello Philly,

"I am glad to be here today for this voter registration drive and for Barack Obama, the next President of the United States.

"I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people, and the meaning of the American Promise. The Promise that was handed down to us, right here in this city from our founding fathers, with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real. Opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all of our citizens, the American idea, as a positive influence, around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape, and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another.

"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who are today losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no healthcare, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities. The distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful.

"I believe Senator Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president, he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning. After the disastrous administration of the past 8 years, we need someone to lead us in an American reclamation project. In my job, I travel the world, and occasionally play big stadiums, just like Senator Obama. I've continued to find, wherever I go, America remains a repository of people's hopes, possibilities, and desires, and that despite the terrible erosion to our standing around the world, accomplished by our recent administration, we remain, for many, a house of dreams. One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.

"They will, however, be leaving office, dropping the national tragedies of Katrina, Iraq, and our financial crisis in our laps. Our sacred house of dreams has been abused, looted, and left in a terrible state of disrepair. It needs care; it needs saving, it needs defending against those who would sell it down the river for power or a quick buck. It needs strong arms, hearts, and minds. It needs someone with Senator Obama's understanding, temperateness, deliberativeness, maturity, compassion, toughness, and faith, to help us rebuild our house once again. But most importantly, it needs us. You and me. To build that house with the generosity that is at the heart of the American spirit. A house that is truer and big enough to contain the hopes and dreams of all of our fellow citizens. That is where our future lies. We will rise or fall as a people by our ability to accomplish this task. Now I don't know about you, but I want that dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back.

"So now is the time to stand with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, roll up our sleeves, and come on up for the rising."

Bruce all over!

Rocker Bruce Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, watched BC blow out URI Saturday from the comfort of the president's box at Alumni Stadium, the Globe's Names column reports. (It was parents weekend at the Heights and the couple's son Evan is a freshman.)

At halftime, the Globe's Mark Blaudschun, who grew up in New Jersey, briefly talked to the Boss about their shared history. "At some point, Patti said to me, 'You have beautiful blue eyes,' " Blaudschun told us. "I put my hand on Bruce's shoulder and said, 'That's why I love Jersey girls.' " Springsteen laughed.

(Broadcaster Bob Costas, whose daughter Taylor is a BC freshman, was also in the box.) We're told Springsteen and Scialfa attended the Pops on the Heights concert the night before the game.

Meantime, there are reports that Springsteen and Scialfa stopped by a grocery store in Newtonville on Sunday

ps - I have NO IDEA what the Jersey Girls comment means!?

Bruce and Billy for 'bama.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/30/springsteen-joel-to-hold_n_130545.html

The Boss and the Piano Man are officially hitting the campaign trail.

On Tuesday, Obama donors were informed that Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel will join the Democratic nominee for his "last event in the Tri-State region before the election," at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

Please join us the evening of Thursday, October 16th for a very special concert with Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and other exciting guests! This is the first time that Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen will play the same concert!

Even in an election year with some historic "firsts," that's pretty notable. And pretty expensive: balcony tickets go for $500, "premiere" seats cost $2,500 per person, and lounge tickets go for $10,000.

New album in January?

Keep your ears open...... Superbowl may just be another stop on the tour!

Superbowl

is official......

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND
TO PERFORM DURING BRIDGESTONE
SUPER BOWL XLIII HALFTIME SHOW ON NBC

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND will perform in the BRIDGESTONE SUPER BOWL XLIII HALFTIME SHOW on NBC Sports at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Sunday, February 1, the NFL announced today.

The Super Bowl halftime show is annually the most-watched musical performance. More than 148 million viewers in the U.S. watched last year's show. The Super Bowl and halftime show will be broadcast worldwide in more than 230 countries and territories.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band join an esteemed list of recent halftime acts that includes the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Prince and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The BRIDGESTONE SUPER BOWL XLIII HALFTIME SHOW is an NFL NETWORK PRODUCTION and will be executive produced by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of WHITE CHERRY ENTERTAINMENT and by DON MISCHER PRODUCTIONS. Don Mischer also will serve as director.

Well this answers some questions....

there was talk at the end of the tour of other band members "health issues". Wasn't expecting to hear it is Nils (and others??)

E Street Band's guitar player extraordinaire Nils Lofgren has announced in his official website that he will have surgery done in New York next Thursday Sept.30th. to replace his hips. These are Nils' words, as published in his site:

"Due to a long, beautiful life on the road (40 years) that's included back flips with guitars, dive rolls, leaping off drum risers and trying to break stage floors with pounding legs due to the amazing energy I gratefully continue to get from you, the audience, in addition to thousands of hours playing aggressive basketball, (my favorite sport to play) on mostly cement, city courts, I have finally destroyed both of my hips and they are both bone on bone with no cartilage left. Thus , I am headed to NYC with my fabulous wife Amy to have bi-lateral hip relacement this Tuesday, Sept. 30th (both hips completely replaced). (...) God willing, it will all go well and I'll recover completely. I hope to be back home in AZ. to continue rehabbing by late October and start more guitar lessons and writing. If all goes well, I hope I can start doing my acoustic show touring by early Spring.".

Thought About Going to "Light Of Day..."

...until I saw the ticket prices. $54-152 a ticket? No thank you, charity or no charity. Shame, for it's not a bad lineup, displeasure for Grushecky aside:

LIGHT OF DAY 2008
at the Paramount Theatre with
JOE GRUSHECKY & THE HOUSEROCKERS
MARAH
JESSE MALIN
WILLIE NILE
JOE D'URSO & STONE CARAVAN and more
Doors at 6 pmTickets: $52-152
(plus applicable surcharges)
On sale Saturday at noon via LiveNation.comOfficial site: lightofday.orgThe annual Light of Day concert series to benefit the fight against Parkinson's disease returns to Asbury Park Nov. 1 and 2. See lightofday.org for past highlights and more info about this great series.

All the cool kids.....

were born today.
John Coltrane
Bruce Springsteen

...... and Janine of course!

Happy Birthday!

Can we hear from the Hotlanta contingent?

Supposedly some guy from Q100 saw Bruce at Borders in Buckhead on Monday the 15th. Whatta ya say? Whatta you know? Whatta ya hear?

Strange as it may seem........

we started this blog a year ago today! the years are flying by aren't they?

As Mick would say .. thinking of you on the day thats in it.

That's a wrap

It started with Radio Nowhere in Hartford and ended with Born to Be Wild in Milwaukee. Not a bad run. Pretty fun show last night to seal the deal.

"We'll be seeing ya...we're only just getting started"

Just Around The Corner To The Light Of Day....Show.

It's going to be held on November 1 & 2 this year at the Stone Pony. Listed at pollstar.com. Don't know the lineup except that Jesse Malin's playing on the 2nd(confirmed on his website) and Joe D'urso is playing both nights.

DNC Rumors

What do you make of the word that our guy will be playing a few songs later tonight in Denver? Do you think there's any truth to that rumor?

So, That St. Louis Show.

My boss was there. Seen Bruce over 175 times. Quote:

"Michael, it was the best Bruce show I've seen in about 25 years."

Only 2 shows left......

Well I don't count that Harley thing as part of the tour. That's just me. So, what did we think of this tour? Not really sure what I think so I have to think about it :)
But the bigger question looming is what's with this blog. Does it die with the end of the tour and we crank it up again next time? Does anyone care? Is there anybody ALIVE out there???????????????

Sorry, GypsyMiker

This one wins my vote for best sign!

Funnest Sign Ever???

So what's next?

First is was Ya Can't Sit Down, then Double Shot of My Baby's Love... what's still to come?
Walkin the Dog
Every Time That You Walk in the Room
Mountain of Love

Bring it on............

Remembering Danny

A nice article from Keyboard Magazine about Danny. Pretty interesting read.

Looks like Pete, HIK and I are going to see Bruce in February...

...when the Jets are in the Super Bowl!!!

http://www.nypost.com/seven/08112008/gossip/pagesix/the_boss_bowl_123968.htm

THE next Super Bowl is really going to rock. This year, Tom Petty rocked the halftime crowd at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. But Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1 in Tampa will feature Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, sources said. "He was just confirmed," a spy added. "Little Stevie (Van Zandt) has already rented out the Hard Rock Café for a party." A Boss rep didn't return calls or e-mails.

GS #3

Swing was in the house!

5 WHERE?????? Oh hell between Monday and Thursday they moved the parking lot all around! What a cluster!


Headin' to the pit!

Proof that I was actually at the shows!

This train........

has just dumped me off in the SWAMPS OF JERSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!
Show started at 9:30 tonight due to an overturn truck shutting down the Turnpike at 16W. Can you imagine? Walking out of GS at 10 to 1 in the morning!
Tonight wasn't the best show of the three but this stand sure has been a fun way to wrap things up! The tour's over now as far as I'm concerned :) These upcoming shows are just child's play! :)

More later today after my dogs stop barking!

Friends & Family

Grill Meister!


MMMMMMMM.... burgers!


Still calling Ticketmaster!


Sisterman!


Linda CO - ONE TIME ONLY


The group shot, which I missed!

The Mighty, MIGHTY..........JAY WEINBERG!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yRxQnnLok4

GS #2

A beautiful day in 5J.

For those of you scoring at home I gave #1 an A for performance, B- for setlist.
Tonight was A+A+A+ all the way!

SO TIRED MUST GET SLEEP!
More tomor....er... later today!

Do it all over again......

It's time. Heading back!

GS #1

A little rain can't keep a good tail gate down! It was ominous to start but as always eventually the skies cleared in 5J. Well maybe not clear but the thunder and lightning stopped!
Strong home opener. Very good show with the hightlights being 10th to open, AC, Growin' Up, TOL and a stellar Jungleland.
Paul DiSturco has been chasing down ADAM for a looong time so it was nice for him to finally catch up with that one!

Another hightlight, when we got to the car the exit road was clear so we made a break for it! Got us home a little before 1am. If we hesitated it would surely have been a 3am night!

I will see you peeps again tomorrow back where it all began!

So.......WHAT? TIME? IS IT?????

Who'll Stop the Rain?

Don't forget to pack your poncho. Looks like we may get a little rain this weekend. weather

So...

...is it time to begin preparations for Monday's tailgate extravaganza???

Just ten days to go...

...'til Giants Stadium!!!

So, anyone got extras for Night 1? Janine and I have tix for 2 & 3, and are thinking that we might want to complete the hat trick.

Headin' out......

Got a lot of running around to do today and then this train is pulling out around 4AM tomorrow to head to the great state of MAINE! Be back soon! CHEERS!

Happy 4th!

Bruce coming up on the radio, live from Sweden
Yankees on TV
Hot dogs on the grill
God Bless America!

Her boardwalk life's through

Springsteen and Asbury Park's Madam Marie is dead
by The Associated Press
Tuesday July 01, 2008, 12:19 PM
Madam Marie, an Asbury Park fortune teller who was lifted from the boardwalk and into rock 'n' roll mythology by Bruce Springsteen, has died.

She was in her mid-90s.

Sally Castello tells the Asbury Park Press her great-grandmother, Madame Marie Castello, died Friday. A memorial service is Tuesday.

Castello told fortunes on the Asbury Park Boardwalk since the 1930s.

She became famous worldwide in 1973 when Bruce Springsteen paid homage to her in the song, "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)."

His lyric, "Well, the cops finally busted Madame Marie for tellin' fortunes better than they do," cemented her fame.

Live from.....

Sweden. For those who have Sirius radio

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Perform Songs Live From Europe July Fourth Only on Sirius Satellite Radio NEW YORK, June 30, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ --

SIRIUS Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) will broadcast exclusively from a concert performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band live in Goteborg, Sweden. The rare broadcast event will air exclusively on E Street Radio channel 10 on Friday, July 4th. Coverage will begin at 1 pm ET.

SIRIUS host and Bruce Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh will lead the special broadcast of a live July 4th-themed show, and will segue into the concert in Sweden to bring listeners selected live songs performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Springsteen and the E Street Band are currently on tour in Europe in support of their twenty-third album, Magic (Columbia Records), which debuted in October 2007 at number one on Billboard's Top 200 Albums Chart. The band will wrap up their 2007-08 series of concerts with twelve U.S. dates, and by the last show in Milwaukee on August 30, Springsteen and the band will have performed 100 concerts for over two million fans around the world.

"SIRIUS' E Street Radio is proud to allow the listeners of E Street Radio a special treat for this Fourth of July," said Scott Greenstein, President, Entertainment and Sports, SIRIUS. "This unforgettable event will give SIRIUS listeners across the country a rare all-access pass to hear one of music's most mesmerizing live performers."

SIRIUS recently extended the run of E Street Radio through mid-2009. This is the second time SIRIUS has extended the popular music channel's limited run. SIRIUS listeners have unprecedented access to all the music of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, including exclusive concert broadcasts, rare archival recordings as well as insider reports and breaking news. To learn more about the E Street Radio channel on SIRIUS, please visit www.sirius.com/estreetradio.

Solo piano

outta nowhere .. go figure!

Milan

Sure looks like a good show on paper.... probably had some clunkers though, right????? ;)

1 Summertime Blues
2. Out in the Streets
3. Radio Nowhere
4. Prove it all Night
5. Promised Land
6. Spirit in The Night
7. None But The Brave
8. Candy's Room
9. Darkness on the Edge of Town
10. Hungry Heart
11. Darlington Country
12. Because the Night
13. She's the One
14. Livin' in the Future
15. Mary's Place
16. I'm on Fire
17. Racing in the Streets
18. The Risng
19. Last to Die
20. Long Walk Home
21. Badlands

Encores:
22. Girls in Their Summer Clothes
23. Detroit Medley
24. Born To Run
25. Rosalita
26. Bobby Jean
27. Dancing in the Dark ( Bruce is kissing Clarence )
28. American Land
29. TWIST AND SHOUT

39...... again

I hear it's GypsyMiker's birthday!
I hear he's telling people he's 39.
Ok, I'll let him have that one.
All I know is that I CAN NOT do another 40th birthday party in Dublin.
It's a miracle I lived through two of those!

Happy Birthday Mike. Enjoy!

Wrappin' up

Looks like this is the end of the road

Press release from Shore Fire:

June 20, 2008

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND END 2007-08 RUN WITH ADDED US DATES IN
AUGUST

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will wrap up their 2007-08 series of
concerts with twelve US dates, seven of which are newly announced. By the
last show in Milwaukee on August 30, Springsteen and the band will have
performed 100 concerts for over two million fans.

Springsteen and the E Street Band are currently on tour in Europe and are
earning accolades for their stellar performances. In a five-star review (out
of five), London's Sunday Telegraph raved, "Bruce proves music can save your
soul." The Observer called a London show "a performance of blood, sweat and
tears." In another five-star review (out of five), Financial Times of London
dubbed the concert "masterly, memorable and utterly exhilarating." The Daily
Mail testified, "as good a show as I've ever seen."

Bruce Springsteen's twenty-third album 'Magic' was released October 2 on
Columbia Records and debuted at number one on Billboard's Top 200 Albums
Chart. Rolling Stone awarded the album five stars, saying, "A firm beat,
some Telecaster sting and the robust peal of Clarence Clemons' saxophone can
still tell you more about the human condition than a thousand op-ed words."

'Magic' has been certified triple Platinum in Norway; double Platinum in
Ireland and Sweden; Platinum in the United States, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Italy, Spain, and Canada; and Gold in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Germany, The
Netherlands, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND US TOUR DATES
* DENOTES NEW TOUR DATE

July 27 East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium
July 28 East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium
July 31 East Rutherford, NJ Giants Stadium
Aug 2 Foxboro, MA Gillette Stadium
Aug 15 Jacksonville, Fl Veterans Memorial Coliseum (onsale 6/28)*
Aug 16 Charleston, SC Charleston Coliseum (onsale 6/27)*
Aug 18 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum (onsale 6/27)*
Aug 19 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium (onsale 6/21)*
Aug 21 Nashville, TN Sommet Center (onsale 6/28)*
Aug 23 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center (onsale 6/28)*
Aug 24 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center (onsale 6/28)*
Aug 30 Milwaukee, WI Harley Davidson's 105th Anniv. Festival

Bruce on Russert

I know politics and Tim Russert and such is WAAAAAY off topic here for the most part but alas it is somewhat related. Tim was a Tramp just like us. Albeit one with a lot more access to the Boss than any of us will ever see. But when the lights went down, so to speak, we all knew how Tim felt because we were feeling much the same.

With Bruce being on tour I figured he wasn't going to be able to take part in the service but I was wrong. Live from Cologne, Germany Bruce was still able to make his presence known. It's fitting that I read in the NY Times today that he was the "final act", if you will, of yesterday's Memorial Service.

I'm sure not many at the Kennedy Center knew the words to Thunder Road but I did and you all do. So take a look and tell me what you think - the ever so slight change in the lyrics: Intentional or Mistake. Discuss.



Bruce video

MMMMMM Chocolate

http://www.livenation.com/artist/getArtist/artistId/58286

No Fall tour????

The fall tour plans are off? What's up with this????

Welcome To The Ritz Carlton Mr. Springsteen...

...may I take your guitar for you?

Give me an E !!!!!!!!!!

Oh heck give me another E!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Birthday EE!
Love ya!

Getting ready for 5J

That Southern Hospitality!

I just got an email from Philips Arena thanking me for attending the Bruce Springsteen show. I kid you not!

Thank You From Philips Arena

Thank you for attending the Bruce Springsteen concert at Philips Arena. We hope you enjoyed the event, and would like to invite you to take a moment to answer a few questions about your experience with us. Your feedback will help us plan our promotions to better suit your needs.

Hmm - what could better suit my needs?
- I always want to Park on Lucky St.
- Can Swing drink less beer next time?
- Please provide better directions for Joe DiSturco
- Bathroooms, we need bathrooms.

I'm sure there's more we need!

Woods, is this your beer?

Did you share your brew with the Boss?

Dublin 3

2 hrs and 45 mins of pure genius .
this show definately stole the limelight of the 3 .
unbelievable from start to finsh .

highlight had to be Sandy 4th july .... As Roy took the accordian it could only be Sandy .
Bruce spoke very highly of Danny before telling the story of him leaving the marajuana plant in his car and Danny then getting locked up trying to claim back his car ?!!

and for sandy to be followed by Growing up ??? well does it get much better ??

Rosalita was awesome folks !! very tight ... lots of fun !!

and to finish with two extra songs after American land ??

no appearance by Bono tonight , his loss i can tell you .

you guys are in for one hell of a treat when he comes round yr way as his energy levels seem to be increasing !!!

Enjoy and take in as many shows as you can !!!!

Dublin 2

So this charming man convince the boss to let him skip the meeting and off i skipped to the show !!

took a 4 month prgenant colleague as well as some others along for the ride .

got to the show and b4 we even got to sit down my friend says she must visit the jon!! the queue for the ladies was about 2 miles long with 15 mins to showtime .. time for some drastic measures i thought . so i called security who brought us to the office and who comes down the stairs NO NOT BRUCE but kev his guitar tech who showed us to the rest rooms ....

and then when we did eventually take our seats who is sitting no less that 10 feet away ?? Bono , the Edge , Larry , Paul thier manager and Brian Eno i'm sure ? wives in toe as well !!

now the important part ... THE SHOW ?? fandazzydoozy folks ....

Murder Inc .... brilliant .... intense .. amazing ...
Jungleland ... the newly converted bruce buddies i had with me were blown away by this and clarence on the sax ....
Glory days ? ..... what a fun song ....

Ah the whole show folks just seems to get better night after night after night ........

Dublin 3 ????? who knows , maybe the Pope will show up its that good ... a religious experience indeed.

Dublin 1

Moving Mick's notes out of the comments to front and center....

Super gig last night ... the boys were really up for it i must say and susie too . so many classic moments throughout the show -- nils again on because the night and then at one stage bruce , nils and steve trading solos with such intensity i thought thier heads were going to blow off !!!super show ... hope to get there again tonight ... have my tickets .. just need to convince the boss that bruce has been my REAL boss for about 5 years more than him .... i'm sure i'll work that Irish charm !!!!

So what gig is next ??????

I'm back !!! Woodsie boy is back in town :-)

bring it on Bruce bring it on !!!!!

Feeding the rumor mill!

This is what is currently circulating as the fall leg of the tour. It fits in with much of what I have been hearing. I'm guessing this list is close but not 100% accurate or at least subject to change.

Aug 30 Roadhouse at the Lakefront, Milwaukee, WI
Sept 2 Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
Sept 4 Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI
Sept 6 Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
Sept 7 Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza, Wilkes-Barre, PA
Sept 9 Sovereign Bank Arena, Trenton, NJ
Sept 12 DCU Center, Worcester, MA
Sept 13 Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
Sept 17-18,
21, 24-25 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Sept 27 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
Sept 29 1st Mariner Arena, Baltimore, MD
Oct 1 Colonial Center, Columbia, SC
Oct 4 New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
Oct 5 Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
Oct 7 AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Oct 8 Ford Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Oct 11 Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
Oct 13 Pepsi Arena, Denver, CO
Oct 16 Jobing.com Arena, Glendale, AZ
Oct 19 MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas, NV
Oct 22 Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, CA
Oct 26, 28 Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood, CA
Oct 31 Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA

2 Albums

played back to back with a few encores thrown in for good measure. Whatta ya think?
Discuss.

NJ State bird

Bruce leaves 'em laughing with his Induction Speech to the New Jersey Hall of Fame

If I Had A Million Dollars...

...I'd go to the Count Basie next week. The benefit show is now a full band gig. BLARGH!!!!

How did McGuinn get there?

This post on a blog from the Orlando Sentinel explains it:


McGuinn and his wife, Camilla, had been on the road and didn't even realize that Springsteen and the band were in town. Until, that is, an email late Wednesday afternoon from guitarist Steven Van Zandt..

"It said, 'Sorry about the short notice, but we're in town and we'd love to have you come by and hang out backstage,' "" McGuinn says. "So we arranged to get down there and then he called and said, 'I told Bruce about it and he'd like to do a song.' ''

Like a couple of teen-age garage-banders, McGuinn and Van Zandt went back and forth a bit -- "What do you wanna do?" "I dunno, what do YOU wanna do?" -- before settling on "Turn, Turn, Turn."

"Steven thought it would be appropriate," McGuinn says.

A car was dispatched to take McGuinn to soundcheck. The band does "Turn Turn Turn," and then Bruce wants to play something else. How about "Mr. Tambourine Man"?

McGuinn first sang the single version, but Springsteen tells him "Is that all? I thought there were more words than that."

"I told him, I know 'em all, if you wanna do 'em all," McGuinn says. "They had a little TelePromTer on the stage, so a guy input the lyrics and I already knew 'em, so we did that, too. It was just an email, a phone call and a little ride down there."

McGuinn, who is preparing to release an abridged best-of version of his Folk Den Project boxed set, says it's not the first time he has played with the Boss.

"I played with Bruce at Tom Petty's birthday party in Encino years ago, so we both knew we knew how to do that," says McGuinn, who was lauded by the Boss on stage for his timeless work with the Byrds:

"I must have listened to those songs over 200 times in the dark," Springsteen told the crowd. "Night after night after night. It's some of the most beautiful music ever written."

McGuinn's reaction on Thursday: "it was heartwarming. I didn't realize the extent to which the Byrds had been an influence on him. I knew I was on his iPod."

Should be glad that we skipped Charlotte.

Yes, it would've been nice to have heard "Wild Billy's..." and "Souls of the Departed", but the songs on the written setlist that DIDN'T get played are why I'm glad we didn't see this show:

Streets of Fire
This Hard Land
I'll Work For Your Love
Independence Day
Kitty's Back
and
STAND ON IT

None of them played.

Someday we'll look back on this......

and it will all seem funny. But for now it's flat out hysterical! Great music and great friends make for a truly great weekend. Thanks Glynis and Ray for making it all happen. See ya further on up the road!

I will get the rest of the photos together in an album and post the link when it's ready.
UPDATE:Here's a link to my Picasa
album

Danny's Eulogy from brucespringsteen.net

Classic.

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

HOT-lanta!

Here we come........

Kitty's Back

If I had to pick one Bruce song that was my favorite I would have to say it's Kitty's Back. I have seen Kitty live twice (including Danny's last full performance). I love the live version fron the Bottom Line show of Aug 1975. this morning I grabbed by lovely wife's copy of that show and loaded it into Itunes. I have to say that is the best rendition I've heard to date. In listening it sounds like Danny lit a fire with his organ and it caught even Clarence's sax riffs were supercharged. You figure at the time this was a bunch of guys who had nothing to lose and decided to go for it. That rendition of Kitty is one of the many ways I will remember Danny.

Beautiful

Eulogy and video montage here

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html

My comments

Which were getting WAY to long for the comments section of the prior post!


ok here goes..... and I will start by saying that I was NOT at either of the FLA shows so I don't doubt the intensity or emotion of either of those shows at all. But....

I thought the Tuesday show was a perfect tribute to Danny. The songs all seemed to be chosen very pointedly to create a theme of friendship, loss, and remembrance of days gone by. And with songs like Sandy and Racin' there couldn't have been better choices to highlight those special "Danny" songs.

Danny was buried Tuesday morning "high on the hill in Flemington" which Bruce recounted during Growin' Up. So how they take the stage that same night is beyond me.

Had no idea what to expect for the Orlando show. Does the video remain? Does Charlie still not take the stage for the first song? All those questions now answered along with the set list that unfolded. But as I was checking Backstreets last night to see what was being played, I said to Charlie (my husband not Giordano!) "wow, Bruce is feeling nostalgic". Nothing wrong with that at all, especially considering the circumstances, but in the long run that isn't what I come to Bruce for. And if this trend continues - which basically has thrown the Magic tour out the window in some respects - it's going to start to feel like a Farewell Tour. And who knows, long before Danny's passing that could have been what this tour is. But it didn't feel that way.

I'm not complaining, I am just observing.

It will be VERY interesting to me to see what happens in Atlanta. I almost feel like the Florida shows are going to be isolated as the tribute to Danny and also to recognize that while not intended some people were inconvenienced by the shifting of dates and what not. I think Bruce has genuine concern about that. A lot of people thought he was going to play on through the Florida shows but I knew that couldn't happen and regardless of how it affects people it had to be done. He did his best to make it up to the ticket holders.

I don't really have a good wrap up paragraph for all this other than to say I've been sad for a few days now. Not all day, every day, but I have my moments. Sad for the loss of Danny, Bruce and the band as well as the people in my own "Bruce community" who have gone from my life. I'm sure everyone won't agree but I don't want to see this turn in to a walk down Memory Lane.

If you thought Tuesday's set list was killer....

....you ain't seen nothing yet. Includes a nice guest appearance from Roger Mcguinn. From last night:

Blood Brothers (Alt. Version)
Night
Radio Nowhere
Out in the Street
Spirit in the Night
The River
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Candy's Room
Prove It All Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Fire
Lost in the Flood
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Turn! Turn! Turn! (with Roger McGuinn)
Mr. Tambourine Man (with Roger McGuinn)
Jungleland
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
American Land

And the show does go on.....

Even on the day they bury their friend they are able to put aside their own pain for a few hours and do what they gotta do. And do it they did it looks like. Bruce, not surprisingly, was able to craft a set list that honored his friend beautifully. Would you expect anything less?

Danny left this world far too soon but look at what he has left behind him. He left an indelible mark on people. He left behind a lot of people who will continue to celebrate his life. We should all be so lucky.

There's tons to read about the show which I'm sure we will all be doing today. But in short here's the set list.

Setlist:
Backstreets
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
No Surrender
Gypsy Biker
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Growin' Up
Atlantic City
Because the Night
Darkness on the Edge of Town
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Brilliant Disguise
Racing in the Street
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
Out in the Street
* * *
I'll Fly Away
Rosalita
Born to Run
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
American Land

Dave Marsh

don't know if anyone was listening to Sirius but he just did a 2 hour call in show, tribute to Danny. He talked about this post on BTX. I had to go find it and read it for myself http://www.backstreets.com/btx/viewtopic.php?t=88493

He's just ended the show with Blood Brothers from the last show of the Reunion tour and he could barely get the words out to introduce the song. Whew, that was a rough one!

Tampa

you know, over the last day or so I have been seriously thinking of heading to Tampa for the return show. At first it felt like something I wanted to be a part of. My own way of mourning maybe. I'm not sure. Told Charlie my thoughts and of course he tells me to do what I gotta do. He's good like that. In fact this morning when I got up he told me that he had been researching flights to Tampa, get a rental car, go to the shows, drive to Ray & Glynis's, I'll meet you in Atlanta. He had it all mapped out for me.
I'm sure it's going to be an emotional night on Tuesday but turning things upside down to be there seems self serving and frivolous to me at the moment. Not to mention that I just feel really sad and I'm not sure sitting at the show, alone, is the best thing for me right now.
So, I think I'm going to take the dough I would have spent on travel expenses and make a donation to Danny's fund. I'll hold on to my memories of those Boston shows for a good, long time!

See you all Friday for a group hug!
Love ya!
Mary Beth

If you want to donate

http://www.thedannyfedericimelanomafund.com/

Read the NEWS page about Danny's trip to Indianapolis.

Dan Federici

DANNY FEDERICI

Danny Federici, for 40 years the E Street Band's organist and keyboard player, died this afternoon, April 17, 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City after a three year battle with melanoma.

Bruce Springsteen's concerts scheduled for Friday in Ft. Lauderdale and Saturday in Orlando performance are being postponed. Replacement dates will be announced shortly.


-------------------------------

The official word from BruceSpringsteen.net
Sad. No other word for it. Sad.

I didn't say this at the time but at that last show in Boston I looked up there at that stage and felt for sure, in my heart, that things would never look that way again. I cried - for Danny, for Bruce, for the band, for the fans, for me. I guess that's the pessimist in me but I just didn't have a good feeling about it all.
I felt an emptiness that night that I don't think I will ever quite be able to explain. Like the things that I had been chasing for the last 22 years were gone. They didn't matter. Where are my seats, how long is the show, how many songs did he play. Who gives a shit? Enjoy what you can while you can with whom you can.

Then there was Indy and I thought to myself well, there's hope. He didn't look great but he was still here. Fightin' it. So when I got the news tonight I must admit I was shocked.

I'm heart broken tonight. For Danny, for Bruce, for the band, for the fans, for me, for us.
Time will move everything forward but the footprint of the E Street Band will never be the same.

Danny was a big part of bringing joy to many. What a great job. Bringing joy to the people.

Peace.

Interesting

but not at all surprising.

bs.net

"....they broke the mold."

Yesterday would've been Terry Mcgovern's 68th birthday. Bruce played "Terry's Song" last night in Houston. I doubt there was a dry eye in the entire building.

She ran down to Tampa in an "El Dorado Grande" ...

Is Anaheim The New Philly?

OPENED with Thunder Road last night. Wow.

LOD - to OPEN

friggin' awesome!

Pick an opener

Ok, so it seems the show opener has become a total wild card slot. Last night in Anaheim he opens with Light of Day?????
That said pick an opener for Hot-Lanta! Whatta ya wanna hear?

The story ......

behind the playing of None But The Brave the other night. Cool story. Good to know there are still cool Bruce stories out there!

The story contains a link to the youtube video if you are interested. Bad video, good audio.

Just because

RR

feel free to get your groove on today!

Oh, you witty "fool"-sters at Backstreets

MARCH 31, VANCOUVER: IT'S A BEAUTY WAY TO GOFor the third of their three Magic shows in the Pacific Northwest, Springsteen and the E Street band were clearly a band on a mission. Mission impossible? We thought so, but straight out of the gate last night came "The Price You Pay," a song Springsteen hasn't touched since the River tour. 27 years later, and no rust on this one.

After "Radio Nowhere" and "Lonesome Day," Bruce reached even deeper into his black top hat to pull out another big rabbit:"Crush On You." Yes, it was a difecta of long-lost River cuts, thought to be lost to the sands of time. When Bruce had trouble remembering the chorus (when is this man gonna get a teleprompter?), none other than Garry W. Tallent stepped up to take over lead vocals for the rest of the song. C'est magnifique, Garry!

Otherwise a pretty standard main set, ticking off Magic mainstays like "New York City Serenade," "Pretty Flamingo," and "Jack and Diane," Clarence hanging upside-down from the mic stand right on cue. Bruce was literally checking his watch between songs (and was seen mouthing to Steve, "What time's our flight?" and "Did you pack the Corn Nuts?"), but just when you thought he'd checked out for the night, out came a wildly unpredictable run to end the main set: "Devil's Arcade" right into "The Rising," with "Last to Die" and "Long Walk Home" hot on their heels, capped by "Badlands." Talk about a quintuple-shot surprise.

The encore is where things really got crazy. Or should we say, they really got crazy, eh? That's right, the advance rumors were true, as Canadian songbird Anne Murray took the stage. After a rousing "Protection," Springsteen told the crowd, "Let's have a big hand for Ms. Anne Murray! This has been a long time comin' -- we opened for her in Central Park many, many, many years ago -- some of you probably weren't born yet -- and, and she got booed off the stage. We thought that was funny at the time. Ah, the folly of youth, the folly of youth."

After encouraging Murray to lead the E Streeters through her own "I Just Fall in Love Again," Bruce and Steve began mugging and cracking each other up, even breaking into a slow dance together, rolling their eyes at their once-headliner. It was classic Bruce and Steve! "You know, Bruce," said Murray, her voice breaking as she stopped mid-song, "It's true what everybody always says about you -- you can be a real bastard." Roy's piano work on this one was truly magnificent.

The Canadian flavor continued, as the Guess Who joined in for an "American Woman" / "American Land" medley, and for the standard show-closing "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" they were joined by Bob & Doug McKenzie, Geddy Lee, and a moose.

Next: The third annual Cabo Wabo Cruise!

Happy Birthday, RR!

One of the most genuine guys I know!
Enjoy your day.....
See you soon!

mbw
xo

Hmmmmmm

still able to pull up rear floors for the Gillette show. Sales sluggish again it seems. Can't recall the last time Boston wasn't a very tough ticket!

Seattle

looks damn good on paper

1. TRAPPED
2. Radio Nowhere
3. No Surrender
4. Lonesome Day
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Magic
7. Reason to Believe
8. Darkness on the Edge of Town
9. Because the Night
10. She's The One
11. Livin' In The Future
12. The Promised Land
13. Waiting on a Sunny Day
14. Your Own Worst Enemy
15. POINT BLANK
16. Devil's Arcade
17. The Rising
18. Last To Die
19. Long Walk Home
20. Badlands

21. 10th Ave Freezeout
22. Rosalita (sign)
23. Born to Run
24. American Land

"Here he comes.......Here he come.......Here he comes......"

"DANNY'S BACK IN TOWN.....HERE HE COMES NOW....DANNY'S BACK IN......ALLLLLLRIGHT!!!!"

March 20 / Indianapolis, IN / Conseco Fieldhouse

Notes: Before opening with "Night," Bruce Springsteen introduced "the biggest little bar band in the world!" And tonight, they got bigger by one. Not Patti Scialfa back from tending the home fires, not yet... but the long-awaited return of Danny Federici. The first half of the show had its highlights: Bruce saying "Let me see that sign!" and using it to call "Prove It All Night" as an audible, the tour debut of "Rendezvous" as another request-by-sign. But when Danny emerged for "The Promised Land," it was a game-changing moment.

"We've got a special treat tonight," Springsteen told the crowd after "Livin' in the Future," "Danny Federici is with us!" Coming out for his first performance with the band since Boston in November, Danny gave Charlie Giordano a hug before reclaiming his old spot on the organ riser (Giordano subtly disappeared). Conferring with Danny after "The Promised Land," Bruce then stepped to the mic and said, "He's gonna make me go old school on you!" as Danny ripped into "Spirit in the Night." By this point, they were flying. And finally -- "We can't let him leave without doing this one!" -- it was "Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," with Danny strapping on the accordion. In a seamless transition, Charlie came back in on "Devil's Arcade," taking over for the five-pack. But in the encore, Danny was back again for the rest of the show. "We're all gonna do this one and dedicate this one to Dan," Bruce said, as they began the encore with "Backstreets." That went into a phenomenal "Kitty's Back," of course another great chance for the Phantom to shine.

Now, the thing is, it's unclear how much of the crowd appreciated the gift that was Danny's presence tonight. With only 10,000 fans filling an 18,000 seater, the energy wasn't exactly through the roof as it was, and there was the sense that many in the building weren't quite attuned to what was happening. But the emotions onstage were unmistakable. During "Kitty's Back," the huge smile on Clarence's face as he watched Danny play said it all. To cap off the night, all three keyboard players were there for "American Land," Charlie coming back out to join Roy for the dual accordions, and Danny at his station on the organ. Welcome back, Dan. Hope you'll make a habit of it.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention Hannah, the little girl whom Bruce brought onstage to dance with him not once but twice on "Dancing in the Dark." A tradition worth reviving, and it don't get much cuter.

Star studded night in Indy

Danny Federici and Peyton Manning in the house last night!
Great to hear of Danny's return for some tunes last night. From the accounts on Backstreets and else where sounds like the band was thrilled to have him back. Bruce dedicates Backstreets to Dan .. he's a good egg that guy! Hopefully it continues .. a few shows when he can until he's back on stage full time. Good for him!

Happy Easter everyone........

Interview with Steve

Always entertaining.... Rolling Stone

Atlanta seems like a good show for Danny to return, huh?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

From the Jersey side!

Can't eat just one!

In Music Commentary
Why Springsteen still matters
For diehard fans, Springsteen shows are as addictive as potato chips. You can't stop at just one.
By Drew Olson
Senior Editor

My personal pilgrimage and patronage continue this weekend, along with the majesty, mystery and mystique; the power, promise and potential; and, of course, the questions:

"How many Springsteen shows have you seen, anyway?"

A couple dozen in eight different states, with two more coming up in a 27-hour span.

"Why do you keep going to see that guy? Aren't the shows all the same?"

They're similar in a way, the core elements don't change much and a lot of the music is similar, but each show has its own unique feel. I could explain further, but not without sounding like Frank Caliendo imitating Bill Walton: "You can hear colors! You can see the music! You can experience the explosion as artists on stage and the audience meld into one cohesive and unstoppable force capable of changing the world for 2 ½ hours... "

Let's just say I like the show and leave it at that.

"How old is that dude, anyway? Isn't he about done?"

He's 58 -- and man I hope not.

Snicker if you will (my friends and family certainly do), but this weekend I'll be driving to St. Paul, Minn., where some I'll catch up with Bruce and the E Street Band Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center. Then, I'll head back home to Milwaukee for the St. Patrick's show at the Bradley Center.

Springsteen is touring in support of the album "Magic," which was released five months ago but already seems much older to the aficionados, many of whom (present company included) had advance copies of the disc several weeks before.

Although it was well-received by critics and fans, "Magic" certainly didn't break any records in a fractured, fragmented recording industry that is waging a losing battle against technology, its own ineptitude and consumer indifference.

But Springsteen's records -- with the possible exception of "Born in the USA," which hit stores nearly a quarter-century ago and rocketed him to rock star status -- have really never been huge commercial successes.

From his beginnings on the Jersey Shore, he's always been something of a cult figure. The fact that he refers to the E Street ensemble as "the world's biggest bar band," even when playing sold out basketball arenas or football stadiums, is an acknowledgement of that status.

In anticipation of the upcoming concerts, and the intimate gathering at which Harley-Davidson will host Mr. Springsteen and about 60,000 fans later this year, I started to question what it is that has led me to all these shows over the years.

It starts with the music. Springsteen's best songs have a cinematic quality that evoke strong and completely unique images in the minds of listeners. Even in the period when MTV and music video dominated the landscape (that's right, kids, MTV used to play videos), Springsteen's videos always seemed to augment and not override the mental pictures conjured by the music. Other bands can't make that claim. Can you listen to a ZZ Top song without thinking of the three bimbos and the red car?

I like the songs. Die-hards may argue about whether "Born To Run" is the seminal work or whether "Greetings From Asbury Park" or "The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle" are a better 1-2 punch than "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "The River," but just about everyone likes to see all of those albums represented at the concerts.

Ah, the concerts...

Springsteen refers to his shows as part circus, part political rally and part tent revival -- a rock and roll ministry conducted without pyrotechnics, pre-recorded backing tracks, elaborate video montages or other trappings of modern arena rock.

Although the Internet age has dulled some of the anticipation and snuffed out some elements of surprise (setlists from each night are posted song-by-song on hardcore fan sites), Springsteen manages to tweak his shows just enough to personalize them for the crowd in-house. It doesn't hurt that he's the best front man in rock, capable of drawing an ovation with a humorous introduction, dramatic pause, an arched eyebrow or a scorching guitar solo.

In most cases, he's preaching to the converted. After more than 40 years of playing shows, the band has created a legion of repeat customers. Newbies are welcome to enjoy the show and invariably leave the concert hall and spread the word. That's how the community grows and sustains itself. Springsteen's crowds skew a bit older than most crowds (the Stones and Jimmy Buffet do, too), but I've seen a lot of teenagers, some with parents, at recent shows.

Unlike the Grateful Dead, which came to town with its own traveling band of fans whose exploits were integral to (and often more interesting than) the action onstage, Springsteen shows are a front-to-back affair. The band hits the stage, usually within about 30-50 minutes of the starting time stated on the ticket, grabs the audience by the lapels from the first note and doesn't relent.

Guitarist Steve Van Zandt said the goal hasn't changed since the band were teenagers - they want to put on the best rock and roll show anyone in the audience has seen.

Some nights, they succeed. Some nights, they fall a little short. But, the journey - the singular and shared sense of purpose that emanates from the stage and pushes to the back of the arena -- is always worth watching.

Don't get any ideas

Several people suggested I post this so here it is!
ARTICLE

How does this sound?

All around on Monday???????


Irish Ice Cream Soda
Posted by Lucy Baker, March 13, 2008 at 3:45 PM

I must admit, I’m kind of a St. Patrick's Day scrooge: parades bring out the agoraphobic in me, I look terrible in green, and I detest shepherd's pie. I usually boycott the holiday entirely, staying in while my friends head out to pubs to guzzle pints of dyed beer.

I do, however, have a soft spot in my heart (stomach?) for Bailey's liqueur. It’s one of my booze shelf staples: I use it to bake brownies, and I often add it to hot chocolate for a special late-night treat. So this year, I decided to see if I could create a festive drink that would put even a cynic like me in the mood to celebrate the shamrock. Inspired by the knock-it-back-fast classic, the Irish Car Bomb, I came up with this beer float, using Guinness stout and Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide. A marriage of alcohol and ice cream—what could be more delicious?

About the author: Lucy Baker is a graduate student in the writing program at Sarah Lawrence College. Before returning to school to pursue an MFA, she was an assistant cookbook editor at HarperCollins. She lives in Brooklyn and is currently obsessed with all things fennel.

Irish Ice Cream Soda
- makes 1 serving -

Ingredients
1 generous scoop of Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide ice cream
1 12-ounce bottle Guinness stout
1/2 ounce Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
Chocolate shavings, for garnish

Procedure
Spoon the ice cream into a pint glass. Pour in the beer, tilting the glass to reduce foaming. Drizzle with Bailey's and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

THEY KILL me!!!

He KILLS me!!!!!!!!

"You Need Some Help ... You Need A Band ... "

... and some cold beer at a ______ price.

What would be The Price You Pay ???

All Night Long,

"CO"

She came out to play last night

March 6, 2008
Rochester, New York
Blue Cross Arena

Night
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Jackson Cage
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason To Believe
Because The Night
Loose Ends
She's The One
Livin' In The Future
The Promised Land
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Racing In The Street
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Rosalita
Born To Run
American Land

Put your money where your mouth is!

$$$

Talking politics on NPR this morning

hear it here.

Silvio Speaks

From Uncut magazine

An audience with Steven Van Zandt
The E Street Band’s gangster-playing guitarslinger refuses to endorse Hillary Clinton, but may make a deal with the Devil

Steven Van Zandt is late, but arrives armed with an excuse that he hopes will win Uncut over: “I’m right on a deadline”, he grins, “and you know how that is.” Among his many other occupations – guitarist, solo artist, activist, disc jockey, actor, producer, record company boss – Van Zandt, 57, is also a rock journalist, filling a regular column for American trade magazine Billboard. Uncut meets him a few hours before he’s due on stage at London’s O2 Arena with the rest of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. He’s already talking at several miles a minute when he bowls into the room, the face between the cowboy shirt and the iconic bandana illuminated by an immovable smile; his rare pauses for breath must be pounced upon by a questioner with the ruthless efficiency of a hawk.

There’s much to discuss, of course: his four decades of friendship and on-off musical association with Springsteen, his long-running weekly radio show (Little Steven’s Underground Garage), his role as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos, a long career as a fan, maker and champion of great rock’n’roll. He’s most enthusiastic, however, about a new project, the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, a serious attempt to make the tenets of rock music a part of America’s high school curriculum.

“Let’s hear it”, he grins, nodding at the print-out of Uncut readers’ questions, “and I’ll order some more coffee”. Like he needs it.

Q: What do you think happens after the screen goes blank in that final episode of The Sopranos? – William Dreyfuss, Aberdeen
A: The cheques stop. Really, it’s up to you. One of the ideas was that we come in and visit these people, then we move on, and they move on. It was left up to the imagination, I think. It wasn’t meant to be definitive.

Q: What’s underneath the bandana? – Pat Stokes, Manchester
A: The challenge of playing Silvio Dante, of course, was not the acting. The challenge was getting all that hair back under the bandana when I was off screen.

Q: You created the protest group, Artists United Against Apartheid. What do you think of those artists such as Rod Stewart and Queen who played Sun City? – Kevin Cochrane via email
A: We discussed this with them at the time. It was a complicated moment. Our organisation wanted to be the thread that connected everyone constructively. There were forces that wanted them to be punished forever, and I took the position that they did not know what was going on, so I defended them in very intense meetings with the UN, our own people, and people in South Africa who had these people on hit lists. We met with Queen, who agreed never to go back. Rod Stewart, just when we were mastering the record [“Sun City”], wanted to discuss being on the record, but it was too late. I think they were a bit naïve about things. My decision was to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, because I fully intended to bring down the government of South Africa, and I didn’t need to be distracted by getting into a pissing match in the press. Everybody was very righteous in the end.

Q: What did you think about Hillary Clinton spoofing The Sopranos to announce her candidacy? – Jane Meadows, New York
A: They asked me to be in that. I declined. I thought it was clever, and funny. I just didn’t feel comfortable endorsing her, or anyone else at this stage. I was hoping for a Gore/Obama ticket. I read Obama’s book, and the guy is frighteningly intelligent. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to try the other side of the coin, and actually have the smartest guy in the room be president?”

Q: Which do you prefer to be called: Little Steven, or Miami Steve? – Bert Epstein, Sacramento
A: Nicknames are a sort of a thing in New Jersey. And in the Mob. “Miami” was because I briefly went there in 1974 to play with Dion. I came back with all these Hawaiian shirts, and kept wearing them, even in January, with one of those straw hats, and Bruce just kept calling me Miami.

Q: What two or three songs in the Springsteen canon are your favourites, and why? – Keith Campbell via email
A: “Fade Away”, and a close equivalent we’ve been playing lately, “The River”. It’s for the same reason – I get to play acoustic 12-string, which comes 100 per cent from Keith Richards on “Good Times Bad Times” and “Congratulations”.

Q: In the first chapter of The Sopranos, when Tony walks in with his daughter after a volleyball match, Silvio Dante is talking to a student. What was her saying to her? – Victor Gutierrez, Mexico City
A: It was my daughter, not a student. The writers wrote into the character that Silvio was totally cool in life and death situations, but would totally lose it at sporting events. So I was there ‘cos my daughter was on the volleyball team.

Q: What was the last CD you bought? – Pete Whitefield, Manchester
A: I have a funny touring habit – usually I buy the same records every tour. I just bought [The Rolling Stones’] 12x5 for the 20th, 25th time, maybe. It’s a ritual. You want some things to be consistent in an inconsistent world.

Q: Did you ever regret leaving the E Street Band just before their greatest success? – Bryan Meng, Nashville
A: Almost immediately. I felt I had to do it at the time. I became obsessed with politics, and obsessed with guilt that American tax dollars were buying all these bullets that were killing people in Latin America. But, career move, not a good idea, and economically, not a good idea. And even thought I learned what little I know since I left the band, one of the things you learn is: don’t lose your power base. After 15 years of work, we start to make a living, and I walk away. Stupid. But it was an absolute compulsion.

Q: What sort of reaction did you receive from the rest of the Sopranos cast as a famous musician – i.e., a rookie actor – being given a prominent role in the show? – Andy Michael, Beaconsfield
A: I was concerned about that, but they couldn’t have been nicer. My idea was to transform myself physically, so they wouldn’t be looking at me thinking: “I saw him play in Cleveland, why is he saying these things?” So I gained 50 or 60 pounds, changed the walk and the clothes and the hair, and hoped the guy would appear from the inside, and that they would believe it.

Q: As a friend of Bruce’s since you were teenagers, to your mind what is the funniest thing Bruce has ever done? – Bryan S. Friesth via email
A: He is quite funny. To this day, he makes me laugh. One day, around 1966, 1967, for no apparent reason, he took up surfing, which was a bizarre thing to do in New Jersey – surfing wasn’t cool at this point. The Beach Boys weren’t cool. So we went to the beach, so he could demonstrate it to me. He goes out, first wave, he gets up on it, falls off it, surfboard comes up and knocks out his front teeth, he comes in dragging the board, bleeding like he’s had his throat cut. I told him I’d take a raincheck on it.

Q: What do you do in your spare time? – Linda Gilder, London
A: I play shows with the E Street Band.

Q If you had the chance to spend one day with someone who was a great influence on you professionally, who is no longer with us, who would that be? And what would you ask them? – David Pilvelait, Kilmarnock VA
A: Robert Johnson. I’d ask: did you really make that deal with the Devil, and if so, where do I sign?

Q: With your support of garage music and new bands, how do you think the record industry should work with getting new music out there? Do you agree with Radiohead releasing their album for a buyer-determined price? – Blair Morgan, Wellington
A: The industry is in the biggest transition since the LP was invented. What concerns me, and we’ll have to find a way to deal with it, is the idea that music isn’t valuable enough to pay for. I don’t like the fact that we’re enabling that attitude to exist – though I don’t think that was Radiohead’s intention. I’ve written many Billboard columns on this… Any suggestion that music is free, and falls off trees, that ain’t cool. It’s a lot of work. Art is not inevitable. Great art is done for the most crass and obnoxious reasons – money, sex, rent, food, ego, power. Take those away and the culture will suffer. It already is.

Nils Lofgren: What’s your favourite live show?
A: Aw, tell Nils to get a life. Uh. The Dave Clark Five, The Who, The Byrds, The Jeff Beck Group introducing this kid called Rod Stewart. The Beatles at Shea Stadium, 1966. They sounded extraordinarily good, and the tapes prove that. No monitors, and the harmonies were spot on. Amazing!

Nick Hornby: I love the idea of your Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, which aims to encourage the study of proper music in US schools. But do you worry that, in attempting to make rock’n’roll part of the curriculum, you might kill it off altogether?
A: A legitimate concern. But, since it couldn’t be more dead, I don’t have much to worry about, do I? Rock’n’roll is a funny thing. You can watch it, but you can’t contain it. It’s a free-flowing virus and I want to make sure the essential bacteria survive [transcriber notes biologically wrong mixed metaphor]. We have a plan that’s going to every middle and high school, to make sure future generations know about pioneers of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Right now, rock’n’roll is an endangered species. Five years on, I could be the only DJ in America playing The Beatles.

Franz Nicolay, The Hold Steady: With so many guitar players in the band, how do solos get shared out? Rock, paper, scissors? Or are certain songs associated with certain players?
A: Drawing the short straw. And Nils is the shortest, so he usually wins. Bruce is the boss, so he gets most of them, and from there, me and Nils… it’s dice, usually.

Patterson Hood, Drive-By Truckers: Is there a chance of another record with the Disciples of Soul?
A: Probably not. I outlined five solo LPs and did them – kind of said what I wanted to say and learnt what I wanted to learn. I’m just too busy, and I don’t have any burning need. Though I’d like to do another record only because, after listening to 20 albums a day for seven years for the radio show, it could be pretty good.

Ed Harcourt: if the sleeve credits are correct, you didn’t feature very much on Born to Run – only backing vocals on one track, no guitar. If not, why not?
A: I wasn’t in the band. Me and Bruce go back 10 years earlier than that – we’ve been friends for over 40 years. At that point, I wasn’t in the band, but I was invited to the sessions to hang around. At the end of the sessions, he said, “We have a few gigs left.” Basically, his career was over – he had seven gigs booked and that was it, back to Asbury Park. So he said come on out for seven gigs. And somewhere in the middle of that we ended up on the cover of Time and Newsweek, which was just ridiculous. To this day, nobody can quite believe what happened.