Bruce’s Wild & Innocent Night in NYC
Since I saw the Boss way back in April on just the second stop of the tour here in Phoenix, the tour has rolled on across the continent, over to Europe, and back again. Since he’s been back stateside, fans have been treated to shows where Bruce and the Band play entire albums from his catalog. Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born To Run, Born in the USA…
But for me, the envy factor really kicked in this weekend with the shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Last night, the crowd got Bruce’s second album – 1973’s The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle. Tonight, his classic 1980 double album, The River.
The two (well, three) albums are teeming with some of my all-time favorite Boss tunes: “Incident on 57th Street”, “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”, “New York City Serenade”, “The River”, “The Price You Pay”, “Stolen Car”, “Wreck On The Highway”…
In this spoiled & amazing day and age of the internet, it’s possible to sit in the comfort of one’s home and listen to the magic happen – the very next night. That’s exactly what I’m doing right now. And I thought I’d share the joy & magic for those that are interested. Enjoy…
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
Madison Square Garden
November 7th, 2009Part One
Thundercrack
Seeds
Prove It All Night
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
The E Street Shuffle [mp3]
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) [mp3]
Kitty’s Back [mp3]
Wild Billy’s Circus Story [mp3]Part Two
Incident on 57th Street [mp3]
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) [mp3]
New York City Serenade [mp3]
Waitin’ on a Sunny Day
Raise Your Hand
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Glory Days
Human Touch
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to RunPart Three
Wrecking Ball
Bobby Jean
American Land
Dancing in the Dark
Higher and Higher (w/ Elvis Costello)Here’s Bruce kicking off “The E Street Shuffle”, baton and all…
Happy Birthday Boss (The 6-0)!
Bruce Springsteen, one of my heroes in this life, turns 60 years old today. Not sure where the time goes, all I know is it goes a tad too fast for my liking. This is a simple & short post to send a hearty Happy Birthday out to the Boss.
“Brilliant Disguise” is probably my favorite tune, and I’ve always loved this particular version. I’ve had it since I first started downloading mp3’s. Someone out there can probably give date & location. I’m guessing somewhere between ’88-’90 – maybe at one of the Amnesty International gigs?
Happy 6-0 Boss! And many more….
Brilliant Disguise (live) [mp3]
Sea of Heartbreak / Rosanne Cash + The Boss
“Sea of Heartbreak” is one of those classics you recognize when you hear it, you enjoy it, but you really know nothing about the history or origin of the song. Well, that’s my experience anyway. After hearing Rosanne Cash‘s new version, with Bruce Springsteen on harmonies, and listening about 5-6 times in a row, it was time to hit All Music and get to the bottom of it.
The song was written by Hal David and David Hampton. Far as I can tell, it was originally recorded by Don Gibson in 1961. Rosanne’s old man Johnny covered the song on his 1996 Rick Rubin-produced album Unchained, an album that features Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers as the session band.
It’s the first single from Rosanne’s forthcoming album The List, due out October 6th. The story goes that Johnny gave Rosanne a list of 100 essential country songs when she was 18 years old. Juuust a few years later, she’s taken a handful and made The List.
I think Rosanne’s voice is flawless. Love it. And add the Boss to the mix? Sheesh. Fuhgetaboutit.
I think I’ll listen to it 5-6 more times…Visit: Rosanne Cash’s Official Site
Incoming: Gaslight Anthem, Citizen Cope
My next two shows are in the books…
The Gaslight Anthem – September 15th – Martini Ranch, Scottsdale | I’m not crazy about the venue – right in the heart of Old Town Snottsdale – but for Brian Fallon and the boys of Gaslight Anthem, I will endure the surrounding douchery. They’re fresh off a summer festival season highlighted by a couple of guest appearances by fellow Jersey boy Bruce Springsteen, and hallelujah, they’re back in Arizona for their second appearance in 6 months. Bless you boys.
The Gaslight Anthem – Boomboxes and Dictionaries (mp3) | Official Site | Tour Dates
Citizen Cope – September 25th – Marquee Theater, Tempe | About as laid back of a stage presence as you’ll find, Citizen Cope brings the cool with a really unique mix of earthy soul & roots music. I really enjoyed my first Cope show in the same venue a year and a half ago. Part of what made it great was the presence of sexy soul songstress Alice Smith. I think she’s still tagging along with Cope – here’s hoping she’s part of it again.
Citizen Cope – Hurricane Waters (mp3) | Official Site | Tour Dates
NEW: John Fogerty and Bruce Springsteen – “When Will I Be Loved”
In 1973, John Fogerty released his solo debut album, The Blue Ridge Rangers – a collection of country, rock and gospel covers- every instrument and every vocal part belonging to John.
On September 1st, John’s back with a whole new collection of favorite tunes, with The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again. Once again, the record is produced and arranged by Fogerty, but this time around, he brings some friends into the studio to help out with the playing and singing. Among them, Timothy B. Schmidt and Don Henley on Rick Nelson’s “Garden Party”, and one Bruce Springsteen on the Everly Brothers classic “When Will I Be Loved”.
The Boss is a long time fan of Fogerty’s, and it’s great to hear the two of them together, covering such a great tune…
Listen: John Fogerty w/ Bruce Springsteen – “When Will I Be Loved”
→ Pre-Order The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again |Visit: JohnFogerty.com
Here’s the track listing:
- Paradise (John Prine)
- Never Ending Song of Love (Bonnie Bramett/Delaney Bramlett)
- Garden Party (Rick Nelson)
- I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me) (Buck Owens)
- Back Home Again (John Denver)
- I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me) (Ray Price/Rusty Gabbard)
- Change in the Weather (John Fogerty)
- Moody River (Gary Bruce)
- Heaven’s Just a Sin Away (Jerry Gillespie)
- Fallin’ Fallin’ Fallin’ (D. Deckleman/J. Guillot/J.D. Miller)
- Haunted House (Robert L.Geddins)
- When Will I Be Loved (Phil Everly)
The Boss Rolls on – debuting 10 songs in just 2 shows
While I enjoy some much needed vacation time – away from work, and away from staying current on ol’ Ickmusic, I had to pass on some gems from Bruce’s European tour. On July 21st and 23rd, the Italian cities of Turino and Udine got treated to some really special shows, where 10 songs made their tour debuts (six in Torino, four in Udine). You can check out my tour tracker for the details, but here are a couple highlights.
First off, “Drive All Night” is in my top 3 all-time Boss tunes, and the folks in Torino got to hear it from the E Street Band for the first time since 1981 2008. [Correction: “Drive All Night” made an appearance on the Magic Tour, see the comments]
“Drive All Night” | July 21st | Torino, Italy
And then there’s the definitive Boss song. The tune that lifted his icon status to a whole new level – “Born in the U.S.A.”. We’ve heard the darker acoustic version over the years, but I’m not aware of the full-band album version rearing its head very often. Cool to see (and a great quality video!).
“Born in the U.S.A.” | July 23rd | Udine, Italy
Bruce Meets Band of Horses
Not only did Bonnaroo bring together two of my favorites in the form of a Phish-Springsteen collaboration, but, as it turned out, Bruce also found time to catch Sunday’s set by Band of Horses. And as you can see from some brand new pics posted to BoH’s blog, Bruce hung around to meet Ben Bridwell and the band afterward. Thanks and props to Christopher Wilson Photography for capturing the moment!
My musical universes continue to converge.
Check out Band of Horses Tour blog with more pics of the encounter, and a bunch of others from Bonnaroo.
By the way – if you’re a Boss fan wondering about Band of Horses, check out this Amoeba in-store video for a good intro.
Photo Credit: Christopher Wilson Photography
Bonnaroo: Bruce Springsteen on stage with Phish
As a Bruce and Phish fan for more than a quarter century and almost 20 years respectively, my mind was just about blown last night when I was reading through my Twitter feed, and saw this from Bruce’s official Twitter:
I guess the opportunity was ripe, with Phish and the Boss co-headlining the festival, but it just didn’t seem within the realm of possibility that these two forces in popular music – different realms of the spectrum, one could argue – would collide and collaborate. But it happened. At the end of Phish’s 1st set on Sunday night, Trey Anastasio introduced his “boyhood and still hero”, Bruce Springsteen.
They tore through “Mustang Sally”, “Bobby Jean”, and “Glory Days”. And suffice it so say, I’ll be scouring the interwebs for any and all video of this moment. Bruce was also spotted taking in Band of Horses earlier in the day as well. It just keeps coming together, doesn’t it?
The Boss Rolls on…
Did you know that, over the past week, Bruce and the Band have covered the Ramones and the Clash? Keep up to date on all the tour premieres over at my Springsteen Tour Debut Tracker.
Photo: courtesy of Backstreets.
Springsteen Tour Premiere Tracker
Photo / set list info courtesy of Backstreets.com I’m still riding a Springsteen high after seeing him April 3rd here in Arizona. Since then, the show has rolled on to Austin, Tulsa, Houston, and Denver – each stop bringing more surprises for the lucky fans. I thought I’d keep track of the tour premieres on this, the Working on a Dream tour, since it seems the band will be pulling out more treats, and the fact that sign requests have become a staple of an E Street Show, with the Boss honoring requests each stop along the way.
So read on for your one stop shop for all the Springsteen bust-outs as they travel on down that road….
[Be sure also to keep up to date on Backstreets and Bruce’s Official Site.]
