Springsteenesque.com

Darkness and Born To Run...THE concert

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 08 May 2008 13:18:00 +0000

When I listen to Springsteen on my IPOD I play things in order -- first album, first song, second song, etc. Never have I ever heard of a concert that follows that method...until now.

In something Springsteen described as "something we've never done before and you're not gonna see anywhere else" the Band played their benefit gig for the Count Bassie Theatre in Red Bank and it was just that, Darkness and Born to Run in their entirety...and in sequence:
Setlist:
Badlands
Adam Raised a Cain
Something in the Night
Candy's Room
Racing in the Street
The Promised Land
Factory
Streets of Fire
Prove It All Night
Darkness on the Edge of Town
* * *
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (w/ horns)
Night
Backstreets
Born to Run
She's the One
Meeting Across the River (w/ Mark Pender)
Jungleland
* * *
So Young and in Love (w/ horns)
Kitty's Back (w/ horns)
Rosalita (w/ horns)
Raise Your Hand (w/ horns)

Wow, to have been there...just couldn't come up with the $1000 a ticket.

Springsteen's Eulogy for Danny

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:49:00 +0000

Wow.

An amazing remembrance, delivered by Bruce Springsteen at Danny Federici’s funeral on April 21 in Red Bank, New Jersey:

FAREWELL TO DANNY

Let me start with the stories.

Back in the days of miracles, the frontier days when “Mad Dog” Lopez and his temper struck fear into the band, small club owners, innocent civilians and all women, children and small animals.

Back in the days when you could still sign your life away on the hood of a parked car in New York City.

Back shortly after a young red-headed accordionist struck gold on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour and he and his mama were sent to Switzerland to show them how it’s really done.

Back before beach bums were featured on the cover of Time magazine.

I’m talking about back when the E Street Band was a communist organization! My pal, quiet, shy Dan Federici, was a one-man creator of some of the hairiest circumstances of our 40 year career… And that wasn’t easy to do. He had “Mad Dog” Lopez to compete with…. Danny just outlasted him.

Maybe it was the “police riot” in Middletown, New Jersey. A show we were doing to raise bail money for “Mad Log” Lopez who was in jail in Richmond, Virginia, for having an altercation with police officers who we’d aggravated by playing too long. Danny allegedly knocked over our huge Marshall stacks on some of Middletown’s finest who had rushed the stage because we broke the law by…playing too long.

As I stood there watching, several police officers crawled out from underneath the speaker cabinets and rushed away to seek medical attention. Another nice young officer stood in front of me onstage waving his nightstick, poking and calling me nasty names. I looked over to see Danny with a beefy police officer pulling on one arm while Flo Federici, his first wife, pulled on the other, assisting her man in resisting arrest.
A kid leapt from the audience onto the stage, momentarily distracting the beefy officer with the insults of the day. Forever thereafter, “Phantom” Dan Federici slipped into the crowd and disappeared.

A warrant out for his arrest and one month on the lam later, he still hadn’t been brought to justice. We hid him in various places but now we had a problem. We had a show coming at Monmouth College. We needed the money and we had to do the gig. We tried a replacement but it didn’t work out. So Danny, to all of our admiration, stepped up and said he’d risk his freedom, take the chance and play.

Show night. 2,000 screaming fans in the Monmouth College gym. We had it worked out so Danny would not appear onstage until the moment we started playing. We figured the police who were there to arrest him wouldn’t do so onstage during the show and risk starting another riot.

Let me set the scene for you. Danny is hiding, hunkered down in the backseat of a car in the parking lot. At five minutes to eight, our scheduled start time, I go out to whisk him in. I tap on the window.

“Danny, come on, it’s time.”

I hear back, “I’m not going.”

Me: “What do you mean you’re not going?”

Danny: “The cops are on the roof of the gym. I’ve seen them and they’re going to nail me the minute I step out of this car.”

As I open the door, I realize that Danny has been smoking a little something and had grown rather paranoid. I said, “Dan, there are no cops on the roof.”
He says, “Yes, I saw them, I tell you. I’m not coming in.”

So I used a procedure I’d call on often over the next forty years in dealing with my old pal’s concerns. I threatened him…and cajoled. Finally, out he came.

Across the parking lot and into the gym we swept for a rapturous concert during which we laughed like thieves at our excellent dodge of the local cops.

At the end of the evening, during the last song, I pulled the entire crowd up onto the stage and Danny slipped into the audience and out the front door. Once again, “Phantom” Dan had made his exit. (I still get the occasional card from the old Chief of Police of Middletown wishing us well. Our histories are forever intertwined.) And that, my friends, was only the beginning.

There was the time Danny quit the band during a rough period at Max’s Kansas City, explaining to me that he was leaving to fix televisions. I asked him to think about that and come back later.

Or Danny, in the band rental car, bouncing off several parked cars after a night of entertainment, smashing out the windshield with his head but saved from severe injury by the huge hard cowboy hat he bought in Texas on our last Western swing.

Or Danny, leaving a large marijuana plant on the front seat of his car in a tow away zone. The car was promptly towed. He said, “Bruce, I’m going to go down and report that it was stolen.” I said, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Down he went and straight into the slammer without passing go.

Or Danny, the only member of the E Street Band to be physically thrown out of the Stone Pony. Considering all the money we made them, that wasn’t easy to do.

Or Danny receiving and surviving a “cautionary assault” from an enraged but restrained “Big Man” Clarence Clemons while they were living together and Danny finally drove the “Big Man” over the big top.

Or Danny assisting me in removing my foot from his stereo speaker after being the only band member ever to drive me into a violent rage.

And through it all, Danny played his beautiful, soulful B3 organ for me and our love grew. And continued to grow. Life is funny like that. He was my homeboy, and great, and for that you make considerations… And he was much more tolerant of my failures than I was of his.

When Danny wasn’t causing chaos, he was a sweet, talented, unassuming, unpretentious good-hearted guy who simply had an unchecked ability to make good fortune and things in general go fabulously wrong.

But beyond all of that, he also had a mountain of the right stuff. He had the heart and soul of an engineer. He learned to fly. He was always up on the latest technology and would explain it to you patiently and in enormous detail. He was always “souping” something up, his car, his stereo, his B3. When Patti joined the band, he was the most welcoming, thoughtful, kindest friend to the first woman entering our “boys club.”

He loved his kids, always bragging about Jason, Harley, and Madison, and he loved his wife Maya for the new things she brought into his life.

And then there was his artistry. He was the most intuitive player I’ve ever seen. His style was slippery and fluid, drawn to the spaces the other musicians in the E Street Band left. He wasn’t an assertive player, he was a complementary player. A true accompanist. He naturally supplied the glue that bound the band’s sound together. In doing so, he created for himself a very specific style. When you hear Dan Federici, you don’t hear a blanket of sound, you hear a riff, packed with energy, flying above everything else for a few moments and then gone back in the track. “Phantom” Dan Federici. Now you hear him, now you don’t.

Offstage, Danny couldn’t recite a lyric or a chord progression for one of my songs. Onstage, his ears opened up. He listened, he felt, he played, finding the perfect hole and placement for a chord or a flurry of notes. This style created a tremendous feeling of spontaneity in our ensemble playing.

In the studio, if I wanted to loosen up the track we were recording, I’d put Danny on it and not tell him what to play. I’d just set him loose. He brought with him the sound of the carnival, the amusements, the boardwalk, the beach, the geography of our youth and the heart and soul of the birthplace of the E Street Band.

Then we grew up. Very slowly. We stood together through a lot of trials and tribulations. Danny’s response to a mistake onstage, hard times, catastrophic events was usually a shrug and a smile. Sort of an “I am but one man in a raging sea, but I’m still afloat. And we’re all still here.”

I watched Danny fight and conquer some tough addictions. I watched him struggle to put his life together and in the last decade when the band reunited, thrive on sitting in his seat behind that big B3, filled with life and, yes, a new maturity, passion for his job, his family and his home in the brother and sisterhood of our band.

Finally, I watched him fight his cancer without complaint and with great courage and spirit. When I asked him how things looked, he just said, “what are you going to do? I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” Danny, the sunny side up fatalist. He never gave up right to the end.

A few weeks back we ended up onstage in Indianapolis for what would be the last time. Before we went on I asked him what he wanted to play and he said, “Sandy.” He wanted to strap on the accordion and revisit the boardwalk of our youth during the summer nights when we’d walk along the boards with all the time in the world.

So what if we just smashed into three parked cars, it’s a beautiful night! So what if we’re on the lam from the entire Middletown police department, let’s go take a swim! He wanted to play once more the song that is of course about the end of something wonderful and the beginning of something unknown and new.

Let’s go back to the days of miracles. Pete Townshend said, “a rock and roll band is a crazy thing. You meet some people when you’re a kid and unlike any other occupation in the whole world, you’re stuck with them your whole life no matter who they are or what crazy things they do.”

If we didn’t play together, the E Street Band at this point would probably not know one another. We wouldn’t be in this room together. But we do… We do play together. And every night at 8 p.m., we walk out on stage together and that, my friends, is a place where miracles occur…old and new miracles. And those you are with, in the presence of miracles, you never forget. Life does not separate you. Death does not separate you. Those you are with who create miracles for you, like Danny did for me every night, you are honored to be amongst.

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.

So today, making another one of his mysterious exits, we say farewell to Danny, “Phantom” Dan, Federici. Father, husband, my brother, my friend, my mystery, my thorn, my rose, my keyboard player, my miracle man and lifelong member in good standing of the house rockin’, pants droppin’, earth shockin’, hard rockin’, booty shakin’, love makin’, heart breakin’, soul cryin’… and, yes, death defyin’ legendary E Street Band.

Springsteen Scenes from Tampa

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:05:00 +0000

So it sounds like they honored Danny's spirit in Tampa last night and then some. I can't help but think that getting back on stage as fast as possible is the best therapy for the band. Where else can you be simultaneously consoled by 20,000 people and console 20,000 people?

This is a short video of the end of Sandy with Roy on the accordion and Springsteen wiping away tears. Tough, tough, tough.

The Boss and Barack

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:21:00 +0000

This is too funny. Great video:

RIP Danny Federici

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:25:00 +0000

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.

And another Springsteen convert

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:27:00 +0000

This is happening more and more often now. This time it is Jim Harrington over at Live Daily.

Read his full article here.

But there's no denying it now: I was an idiot. Now I know what seemingly every other rock fan in the world already knows: A Springsteen concert isn't to be missed.

Love it!

The awakening of a fan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:02:00 +0000

I would say that Steve Gillmor has been indoctrinated into the Brotherhood of the Boss with this article. I love seeing a fan being borne...

Read the whole thing here.

I've been immune to Bruce Springsteen for more than 30 years. Tonight, that is over. I'd heard so much about the power of his live show, the legend of Clarence Clemons, the Soprano jaunt of Little Steven, yadda, yadda, yadda. Nothin. Nice guy, man of the people, power anthems that never really connected.

The harbinger for me was an appearance on Today a few months ago, where Springsteen and his E Street Band debuted an anti-war song with the most startling spoken intro that the veeps at GE must have blinked through like a sip of tart limeade. Living in the future, well, you should get the record. Tonight, I finally did.

Finally, someone who 'gets' the brotherhood...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 02:52:00 +0000

A while ago I asked if I was the only one who felt the brotherhood of the Boss. Apparently Tony Sauro feels the same way. Check out his article here.

Is there something there? Do you feel the camaraderie at His shows?

Report from the Road: Victoria NEAR Victoria

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:15:00 +0000

BC that is. The final report for a while from Victoria and she was blessed with 2 back-to-back great shows.

Don't take my word for it:

At 8:15 p.m. in Vancouver, Bruce and the E Street Band took the stage to polite applause. Bruce quietly moved to the microphone that was bathed in light. “Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night…” The rest of the band joined in and so it began. It was a totally unexpected but wonderful opening. Magic was in the sixth slot and it was the best live version I’ve heard. With this song Soozie has come into her own - her violin and vocals complement Bruce beautifully. The Boss gave us another powerhouse trio combo: Trapped – Reason to Believe – Because the Night. (I thought Reason was an audible as the mic wasn’t readily available. Looking at the original setlist, Murder (Incorporated?), was in that slot. Perhaps something for the fans in Sacramento to look forward to.) The truly special moment of the night was “an obscure song we have never played live”. Bruce continued to give hints: it’s an outtake from Born in the USA (some light applause) – it’s still an outtake, and you’re not gonna know it ‘cause it isn’t on any album. But as soon as the band started the intro, I recognized it from Essential – None But the Brave. I got goosebumps just like I did when I heard County Fair at Darien Lake in 2003. What a treat!

The rest of the set was the same as Seattle (why mess with a good thing?) with The River substituting for Point Blank and audible Dancing in the Dark. I’m happy to report that Tenth Avenue Freeze-out and Rosalita kicked off the encore – it is a terrific 1-2 punch.

Clarence appeared to be tired tonight. His solos were good but not exceptional like in previous shows. Despite labouring, he still evoked a huge response from the crowd whenever he picked up his sax.

Short snippets.
- During Bruce’s prologue to Living in the Future, someone yelled out “move to Canada!!”.
- There were a lot of signs including Pink Cadillac, E-Street Shuffle, Seeds, Jersey Girl.
- Overheard at 8 p.m.: “What’ya mean there are no seats on the floor?” from an incredulous fellow about to descend the stairs to GA.

I had great seats in the 100 level, one section from the stage. Behind me sat two lifelong Springsteen fans who had attended the Portland and Seattle shows. After we reminisced and raved about the Seattle show, I asked where they were from….Oregon. Uhm…I quickly decided not to tell them about the customary behaviour of Vancouver concert crowds. However they soon found out when a considerable number of the sold out crowd sat through the entire show (and believe it or not, some were still firmly rooted during Born to Run!). Bruce worked very hard to get the crowd to its feet. He raised his arms, cupped his ears, strolled the front and back walkways and attempted to entice sing-a-longs. Did the patrons need an interpreter?

It wasn’t a note perfect outing but pretty damn close. It was yet another stellar performance with memorable highlights. To date, I’ve seen seven shows on the Magic tour including 42 unique songs. Every show is entertaining, exhilarating and inspiring. Bruce, Max, Little Stevie, Gary, Soozie, Patti, Nils, Clarence, Charlie and Roy: THANK YOU!! Today I will be purchasing lottery tickets with the hope of winning enough cash to see more shows. If this doesn’t happen, I have some great memories to last a lifetime. See you down the road!

Classic April fools fodder on Backstreets.com

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:28:00 +0000

God love Chris and the boys for April Fools Day on Backstreets.com. For those that are uninitiated, Backstreets runs some great spoof articles on their news section each and EVERY April Fools day and today is no exception. I can still remember being duped and ready to dump the Boss when I saw the American Idol one a couple years back.

Kudos guys! View it all here.

My fav:

Report from the Road: Sittin' in Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:40:00 +0000

Victoria makes another stop, this time for a stellar show from start (can you say TRAPPED?) to finish.

Here is how it all went down:

Seattle seemed like an oasis after the drive from Portland through periods of intense rain, sideways sleet and fast falling hail. Bruce and gang arrived at 5:45 p.m. in a downpour and promptly drove directly into the dry confines of Key Arena. Less than three hours later they took the stage by storm opening with the power trio: Trapped – Radio Nowhere – No Surrender.

And the surprises didn’t end there. Bruce was focused with a bounce in his step and it was obvious he was having a ball. He goofed around with the members of the band and hammed it up for the appreciative sold out crowd.

The band was tight and cohesive which made the song transitions seamless.
Nil’s searing guitar solo on Because the Night, Stevie’s vocals on Long Walk and Max’s relentless drumming were exceptional. Tonight’s show featured nine different songs from the previous night in Portland.

During the intro to Point Blank I heard someone yell out “holy f***”, then I realized it was me. That utterance was in response to just having heard the first notes of the rarely played song after a beautiful version of My Own Worst Enemy. Fans continue to make requests via signs and Bruce continues to accommodate. First it was Waitin’ on a Sunny Day, a small banner that Bruce autographed before returning it. Then Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (where the crowd took turns singing with Bruce who was clearly enjoying himself) followed by a rousing-all-out Rosie to kick off the encore.

I often read reviews about other shows and wish I had been there – this time I feel very fortunate to have attended this one. I can’t imagine a better combination – Bruce and the band in top form, an outstanding setlist and a lively, energetic crowd.

A few comments about Key Arena. It is a basketball only venue with concert seating for 15,100. There are no seats directly beside or behind the stage. It appeared that perhaps there were too many GA tickets sold as people continued to stream onto the floor as late as 8:15 p.m. The mixing station was located at the end of the arena and was surrounded by fans – there wasn’t an empty floor spot to be seen. It became obvious to me why Seattle is a coffee town – there is no alcohol allowed in the stands which translates to high java sales and that (along with getting a beer fix) explains the excessive fan movement throughout the show.

I suppose everyone needs a day of rest – so I’ll take mine tomorrow along with Bruce and the legendary E Street Band. We’ll hook up Monday at GM Place in Vancouver, B.C for the last of three northwest dates.

Vancouver Drop: 119's, row 11

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:45:00 +0000

It's 10:45EST and I just pulled up 2 119's, row 11 for the LAST Canadian date of the tour set to go on Monday in Vancouver.

Go to www.ticketmaster.ca

Seattle Ticket drop now!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:31:00 +0000

Thanks to a regular SpringsteenEsque contributor - Victoria - for this nugget:

Seattle ticket drop via ticketmaster has begun. Tickets were unavailable online prior to this afternoon.

Go go go!

Report from the Road: Victoria in Portland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:35:00 +0000

Thanks to Victoria for her review of last night's show in Portland! She's in Seattle tonight so come on back for another review tomorrow (or whenever she calms down from the show).

The Pacific northwest is known for welcoming an early spring. However
winter isn’t quite over as snow and sleet battered I-5 and the cherry blossoms lining the interstate. The weather cannot damper my spirits, which are very high in anticipation of the Portland show at the Rose Quarter.

I noticed that tickets were still available three hours before concert time so anticipated some empty seats. I attended the “Bruce watch” before the show but left at 6:00 p.m. as he had yet to arrive. During this time I was told his last show in Portland, during the Rising tour, was not well attended with one third of the venue empty.

First a few observations about the Rose Quarter. At full concert capacity it seats around 16,000. Since it is primarily a basketball venue, it is a bit smaller than a hockey arena. The first seven rows were covered in black tarp making “H” the closest row to the stage.

Now onto the show. Bruce appeared to be a bit under the weather. He was not quite in sync with the band right from the opening song, Night. It seemed to me that he was struggling to catch his breath as he did a bit
more talking and pausing between songs. His voice sounded a bit strained
and not as robust as usual. This was my first west coast Springsteen concert and I was told the crowds would be more subdued and laid back – just like the lifestyle. This held true. However the fans, about 14,000 strong, really got going during songs from BTR and Darkness including Candy’s Room. The E Street Band was in top form, especially Max who held together the band when the timing of some songs went a little wonky (Gypsy Biker, Reason to Believe). Bruce seemed to gain some energy during Flood and it continued to the end of the show with more strolling, smiling, swinging around the microphone stand and a trip to see Max. He was in good humour too. He joked about the pot drafts coming up from the pit and made reference to someone stealing his passport. During American Land he improvised the chorus ….” The Blacks, the Irish, the Italians, the Lesbians and the Jews”….a nod to the group in the pit wearing “Lesbians (Heart) Bruce” t-shirts.

There were a few personal highlights – Nils blistering solo on Prove It All Night; the one-two-punch of For You followed by Lost in the Flood; a passionate version of Jungleland. The last three were acknowledgements by Bruce to the many signs held by fans.

One unusual sighting - cotton candy in the pit??!!

Despite a few bumps, tonight’s show was terrific. Tomorrow it’s a 3 hour
drive north on I-5. Needless to say, I’m Key’d up for the show in Seattle
tomorrow.

Springsteen to rock Syracuse?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 03:57:00 +0000

Thanks to Umpy for this one:

Original article here.

Springsteen in Carrier Dome? A definite maybe Posted by Mark Bialczak March 27, 2008 3:10PM
Categories: Did you hear this one?

This one never really dies completely from local discussion, but it's gotten red-hot again of late.

Is Bruce Springsteen bringing the E Street Band for another visit to the Carrier Dome?

I just got off the phone with Dome managing director Pat Campbell, and he says of any specific Boss dates agreed to for a show under the Syracuse
bubble:

"Not particularly, no."

However, Campbell says, he has been talking with Springsteen representatives about several possible dates, including early in September and in October.

"We'd love to have Bruce in the dome," Campbell says. "We've had some conversations. We're waiting to hear. They have a number of places they're looking at. We'd love to do it. They haven't been able to tell me anything."

It's been a long walk down the Thunder Road since the last Bruce show in the dome. The last Springsteen date there was Nov. 13, 1992.
Coincidentally, the last time he played in Syracuse was a solo acoustic show in the Landmark Theatre exactly four years later, Nov. 13, 1996.

Keep your fingers crossed. Again.

The Vatican Papers (part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:15:00 +0000

Part two of our Vatican story here on Springsteenesque. Our quest for a copy of the article and a translation first got on the way thanks to the kind comment of southjerseydevil on the original piece.

South provided the link to the article as published on the site of Leonardo Colombati, author of the book “Come Un Killer Sotto Il Sole (Like a Killer in the Sun)”. He also provided a link to a Google translation of the article. Although this was a nice gesture, the translation Google spat out didn’t make much sense. But then again not much the Vatican says makes much sense at all.

Under the illusion that they might make a bit more sense than the Google word jumble I then posted a request on BTX, seeking help from the native Italians on the board. Freebies were offered to little avail. The article proved too lengthy, and maybe too mystifying, for anybody to attempt a translation.

A kind soul who calls himself Franz picked up the two first paragraphs and that seemed to be it. Until today! The author of the book posted on the thread on BTX announcing that an English translation to the article will be available soon on his site. As it turns out the article is mainly a review of his book, though it does cover Bruce’s Catholicism as well.

Stay tuned as we’ll find out more on the Vatican’s, possibly twisted, views on our fallen Catholic object of fascination.

This was contributed by SoulBoogieAlex - check his blog here.

We got Roy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:52:00 +0000

BruceSpringsteen.net posted some Danny clips on their site. Sit back and enjoy!

Portland tickets dropping

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:49:00 +0000

Thanks to Victoria (who just upgraded her tickets) for this little nugget - tickets are dropping for Portland (show is this Friday) on www.comcasttix.com.

Get upgrading!

Springsteen and the Vatican?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 02:43:00 +0000

Sometimes news takes a detour. I usually get my news through Backstreets, so I only noticed this today on the Dutch fan site BeTrue. According to them the Osservatore Romano, the Vatican news paper, published an article on Springsteen and the Christian merits of his lyrics. According to BeTrue the Osservatore Romano was uncharacteristically praisingly in discussing Springsteen's work. Something they rarely do for popular artists. Quotes taken by BeTrue from the article are "Springsteen's lyrics show a literary depth" and "show a constant sensibility to catholic core values". According to the Osservatore Romano "The Catholic background of the singer songwriter rings out through his entire body of work...., in a sense Springsteen is predestined to be Catholic". According to BeTrue the article was published by the Osservatore Romano on March second. I checked their site but unfortunately couldn't find a digital reference to the article BeTrue is referring to. Since the site looks hopelessly outdated, I wouldn't be surprised if not everything gets published digitally.

I haven’t had the pleasure to read the article yet, and I’m not sure if it is even available in English. The Source at BeTrue doesn’t really say. It does mention though that Leonardo Colombati new book “Come Un Killer Soto Il Sole” is what prompted the Vatican press to write about the boy who used to piss in his desk at his local catholic school, or at least so the legend goes. The book is apparently an Italian biography, not available in English. Springsteen is popular enough in Italy to get a native language biography, only a year ago he sold out 7 Seeger Sessions shows, where as Americans seemingly couldn’t be dragged to the Arenas. The Seeger Sessions itself was filled with Catholic imagery and Gospel, so much so that Christian Music Today called it Springsteen’s most Christian album to date. So who knows maybe that’s what got the Vatican paying attention. The tour got nation wide broadcasting over the Radio in Italy (download here), so maybe some R&R minded Bishop took notice on his break from daily prayer and contemplation. Though Springsteen views himself as a fallen Catholic at best, spin “Promised Land” once more and the affectionate words from the Vatican are easily understood. That song alone makes it easy to turn a blind aye to all those nuns pleadin' immaculate conception.

We’ll keep you updated if we find out more or get our hands on a translation.

This was contributed by SoulBoogieAlex - check his blog here.

Danny's Back!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:12:00 +0000

Now, I focus exclusively on news related to Springsteen himself but this deserves a huge mention as Danny came back to play 9 songs last night to a half-full arena in Indianapolis. From what I read on Backstreets.com, the majority of the fans didn't seem to get the significance of the moment but I'm sure they do now!

I'll post pics and videos as soon as I find them.

You spin the tunes in San Jose

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:46:00 +0000

Radio station KFOG out of San Jose/San Francisco is holding a political rally of sorts where democracy WILL rule the day. They have a list of 20 "rare" songs that we, the people as a majority will chose a single request for Bruce to play when he hits the stage in San Jose April 5th.

I'm not sure that they have followed this tour because some of these are mainstays in the current setlists...hate to waste a vote and hear Because the Night twice :).

The nominees are:
This Hard Land
Trapped
Saint In The City
NYC Serenade
My Love
Spirit In The Night
Factory
Something In The Night
Sherry Darling
Meeting Across the River
Open All Night
Murder, Inc.
Blood Brothers
Be True
Rendezvous
Souls Of The Departed
Man At The Top
Code Of Silence
Fire
Because The Night

Vote here.

Quick, I need to borrow $1000

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 02:47:00 +0000

Tickets for the Count Basie Theater solo show hit the auction blocks on Thursday (through April 2) with a minimum bid of $1000 (that's $998 Canadian). If that is too expensive for you non-fans out there ;), there is a raffle for tickets with a price tag of $100 per ticket.

More information can be found at the Count Basie Theater website.

Incident from Nassau Coliseum

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 15:58:00 +0000

Sounds great!

Check it out here.

Detroit Medley finding its place...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 15:54:00 +0000

The setlist from last nights show from Omaha:

1. No Surrender
2. Radio Nowhere
3. Lonesome Day
4. Adam Raised A Cain
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Magic
7. Reason To Believe
8. Because The Night
9. She's The One
10 Living in the Future
11. Promised Land
12. Waiting on a Sunny Day
13. The River
14. Devil's Arcade
15. The Rising
16. Last To Die
17. Long Walk Home
18. Badlands

19. Girls in Their Summer Clothes
20. Thunder Road
21. Jungleland
22. Detroit Medley
23. Born To Run
24. Dancing In The Dark
25. American Land

A seven song encore -- they must have been exhausted after the TR, Jungle, DM and B2R combo! 25 songs, I like the trend. Watch out St. Paul!

Ouch...I'm a fan but not this kind of fan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:39:00 +0000

Worst line of this story: I mean, who doesn't like Bruce Springsteen? Thanks to Rob from Ottawa for this.

Woman stabs partner to death after fight over Bruce Springsteen
An Australian woman pleaded guilty Thursday to fatally stabbing her boyfriend because he objected to her listening to Bruce Springsteen's music.

Bruce Springsteen is an award-winning American singer-songwriter.

The national news agency, Australian Associated Press, reported that the Supreme Court in the city of Brisbane sentenced Karen Lee Cooper to eight years in prison.

Cooper told arresting officers she "just got tired" of her boyfriend, Kevin Watson, bossing her around during their two-year relationship.

"I couldn't even play Bruce Springsteen on my stereo. Can you believe that? Can you believe that?" Cooper told police, according to the Courier Mail newspaper.

Later, in a formal police interview, she repeated her claims: "I mean, who doesn't like Bruce Springsteen? I am 49 years old and I want to play my own music."

Springsteen is an award-winning American singer-songwriter, best known for his lyrics about the struggles of the common man.

The couple had been drinking at their rental home the night of the stabbing two years ago when they began arguing over Cooper's choice of music, the Australian Associated Press said.

Cooper's lawyer told the court she experienced a "brain snap." She ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and stabbed Watson, 49, after he said he didn't want her to listen to a Springsteen CD, the newspaper said.

Cooper took a handful of pills before calling police. She told officers she hoped the pills would kill her before they arrived.

According to the press reports, Cooper regretted the stabbing and did not think her boyfriend deserved to die