My Bruce Springsteen

February 6, 2010: The week has come and gone and in that time My Bruce Springsteen’s name has been initially part of and now seemingly removed from a lawsuit that has been filed…demanding licensing fees from a Manhattan bar where a band covered 2 or 3 his songs one night. In the first day or 2 of reporting the lawsuit, it was amusing to see the comment postings with the familiar anti-Boss rant such as “what, he doesn’t have enough money, he’s gotta go after some local dive?” and then the defensive statement like “Bruce is doing this on behalf of the less fortunate composers who can’t afford to litigate for their fair cut”. Now and if not all along, Bruce says “Hey! I got nothing and want nothing to do with this!” Well you can visit the official Bruce web site by clicking here and see what came out of management about all this.

This past week also saw the swinging of the final Wrecking Ball as the original Giants Stadium started to come down on Thursday. You can click here to read about it and you can Click here to see the boot YouTube video of Bruce world débuting Wrecking Ball last September. There’s a bunch of different versions of the Wrecking Ball up there on the MyBruceSpringsteen YouTube channel so if you want to sample them, go have a look around.

Lots of positive feedback on the Elvis Costello Spectacle boots up on the MyBruceSpringsteen YouTube channel. There is still a segment or 2 that need to be posted, will try to get them up there asap so thanks for your patience.

February 1, 2010: Time to clear some shelf space again as My Bruce Springsteen scores yet another Grammy® …to add to his impressive collection. The nightly performance over the past year ad tons of exposure for Working On A Dream paid off with a statue for the Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance (for a solo performance. Singles or Tracks only). WOW! And Bruce was not up against a single slouch as the category pitted the Boss against Dylan, Fogerty, Prince and Neil, all of whom released new music last year. Who’d a thunnkit? Click here if you want to read more about last nights Grammy® nominees and winners.

Way To Go Bruce!

If you don’t get Sundance channel than look for posting highlights of Bruce on Spectacle with Elvis Costello on the MyBruceSpringsteen YouTube channel. Along with really great interview questions where Bruce shared thoughts about his sons, Dylan, Roy Orbison and his wife, there were also some great musical highlights too. Click on the song titles for a YouTube link, the video quality stinks but it is Bruce!

Wild Billy’s Circus Story She’s The One (Elvis)

Oh Pretty Woman Seeds Galveston Bay

January 27, 2010: I’ve missed recording part one on my dvr but tonight will record part 2 of the session that Elvis Costello conducted with My Bruce Springsteen...a few months ago for Mr. McManus’s TV show called Spectacle. You can click here for some previews of Elvis interviewing Bruce. So with that and with relying upon first hand repots (Big Dog was there for the Spectacle spectacle) as well as reports in the media, I am indeed very much looking forward to seeing this 2 part show. If you don’t get Sundance than look for posting highlights on the MyBruceSpringsteen YouTube channel. Part one is being rerun this coming weekend and no doubt will be worth the wait to see in sequence.

It was indeed one of the highlights of the November shows in Madison Square Garden when Elvis joined The Boss and E Streeters for a high energy cover of Higher and Higher, which you can see by clicking here. Cool stuff then and cool stuff now too.

As for recent Bruce news, the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame is extending their Boss exhibit. much like the Magic tour, the amount of interest in guitars and other memorabilia about Bruce apparently means you can plan on attending right up until the end of this year, Here is a link to the local Cleveland ABC affiliate stations story on the held over by popular demand presentation.

If you’re really bored than here is a link to a trivia quiz so you can test your Bruce knowledge. Should be a cinch for regular visitors to this site, fun anyways to be guessing his birthday or middle name. There were also a few links that showed a buff Boss enjoying the beach as St Bart’s, click here for some beefcake and wet pecs from Bruce/

An old story about the fans that bought the New Jersey house Bruce was living in while recording and writing most of B2R. Click here to read about that .

January 23, 2010: In the unlikely event that you were unable to watch it on TV, the internet, your phone or any other number of ways to see not only My Bruce Springsteen...but a whole slew of celebrities and Starr’s (yeah, I’m pretty sure that was Ringo in the front row next to Julia) who donated their time to help Haiti, than click here to see the boot I posted up on YouTube this morning.

Bruce was backed by Patti, Soozie, Cindy, Curtis, Charlie and Curt while performing We Shall Overcome. Sincere and heartfelt, look for the look of self-annoyance as the Boss facially admonishes hisself just about 30 seconds in and at the mis-pluck. Oh well, the rest was spot on dude.

January 21, 2010: Ever the one to lend a helping hand in the global community, on Friday My Bruce Springsteen continues in that realm among the biggest of stars that will be appearing in a benefit to aid the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti...last week. Hope For Haiti Now is a global telethon featuring more than 100 celebrities. The telethon will be aired on TV internationally as well as streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, MTV.com, VH1.com, and Rhapsody.

The Boss will be performing from here in New York along with other stars like Wyclef Jean, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, and old buddy / bff Sting-ala. It’s most likely Bruce will perform solo or with some backup other than the E Streeters, although Max may now be very available due to all of the recent Tonight show drama out in L.A.

In other news, get those DVR’s programmed for Bruce as he returns to his other old buddy Elvis Costello’s TV show, Spectacle. This will be a 2 part show and in fact part one was on Sundance Channel last night (repeats are out there) and part 2 will be next Wednesday night.

January 18, 2010: And the Big Man news here at My Bruce Springsteen continues and sounds pretty good too as numerous reports of his successful...back surgery have been all over the internet the last few days. Here is a link from the Asbury Park Press, keeping it real, if you want to read more than click here. And if you’ve go a few minutes, you can read about our up close Rendezvous with Clarence back on opening night of the Magic tour in Hartford by clicking here.

Bruce? Yep, he’s been laying low and enjoying the Caribbean beaches over the past few weeks. Nevertheless the Boss did perform in Jersey last week at the annual Light Of Day benefit. Jay and Stan posted their reviews over at NJ dot com, including pictures and some video too. The featured performers down in Asbury included headlining Joe Grushecky, Willie Nile, Jesse Malin and Eddie K from Live all did sets. I don’t want to spoil the fun so to check out the songs that the featured performers and also the songs that Bruce played, click here for Jay’s report and after that you can click here to see Stan’s.

God Bless MLK.

January 15, 2010: Whether he made the call or not, I would be remiss not to suggest that My Bruce Springsteen is joined by many in wishing a very Happy Birthday to...the Big Man! Clarence Clemons turned 68 this year, and his birthday was on the 11^th of January. He is still behind famous drummer and front man Ringo Starr, whom Clarence backed up in the early days of the All Starr Band. The former Beatle will be touring with the latest All Starr incarnation, sans Big Man on this go round, and the word on the street is that Ringo will celebrate his 70^th performing here in New York at Radio City Music Hall in July.

Otherwise, things are quiet down the shore this cold winter. I received an e-mail recently from web visoitor Ken about the TOL tour back in the 80’s. If anybody can help out with this request, please send me an email : eddie@mybrucespringsteen.com

“Hello Eddie
was wondering if you might have any possible pics from a show that I attended back in April 1988 during the Tunnel of Love tour in Austin Tx. greatly appreciated if you might have some.
Thanks, cant find old ticket stub either...
Ken”

Sorry Ken, but here is a link to some pictures and a concert review that my old friend Bruce from NJ took down in Austin last year. I know it is not what you are looking for but hey and in the meantime, here is the link to the April 2009 Austin show, click here Ken!

January 9, 2010: I’ve been reading the year and decade ending edition of My Rolling Stone magazine and not at all surprisingly, My Bruce Springsteen is very prominently featured for...both the past year and decade too. Beginning with a decade review, Rob Sheffield describes Bruce as the only rocker who can “plausibly claim to be bigger than U2”. Can’t argue with that but can also say that not only can U2 claim to plausibly be bigger than Bruce, I suspect that Bono would (somewhat grudgingly) cede the higher slot to the Boss.

RS passes the Boss by in the Rising year of 2002 but highlights Bruce as front and center in the 2004 elections, as the primary front man of the Vote For Change tour. We all know that change did come in 2008 but I am wondering if we should have gone with the 2004 change. I’m having a tough time believing in this one, which is for sure.

The decade review also featured a bit on rock reunions, including what is arguably the biggest one which was the one off by Led Zep in 2007. But the reunion review included one of the best lines I’d heard in a long time, attributable to no less than Diamond David Lee Roth about the VH reunion. Dave was asked about the future of the reunited Van Halen and the song and dance man said “I have hope and faith and that is more than just the name of a couple of strippers from Albuquerque”. Classic Dave!

No mention though of the one off reunion by Pink Floyd at the planet threatening Live Earth concerts, which actually threw more carbon into the atmosphere on that day than the greenies or Al Gore care to admit or acknowledge. Finally, the decade review covered the big R&RHOF shows at the Garden a couple of months ago.

The Artists of the Decade section was kicked off by acking Bruce as a working class superhero and it is hard to argue that. Of all of the concerts that I attending in the ‘00’s, Bruce is the only artist to consistently keep the lid on ticket prices. I admit to overpaying speculators for some Boss shows early in the decade but none of those tickets had a face value much higher than $100, even for the floor seats. On the other hand, I’ve paid nearly $500 FACE VALUE for the Stones and on average about $200 - $300 for face value tickets to see artists like Cream, Paul McCartney, C, S, N & Y, Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood as well as others not immediately coming to mind.

One of the really nice things that is not necessarily well known about the end of the ‘00’s and the Magic/WOAD tour is that Bruce had arranged for his old manager, Mike Appel, to attend the final E Street show in Buffalo. That was the night that Greetings was performed in its entirety and both Bruce and Jon agreed that Mike should have been there. Given the bad history, it was a really nice gesture to be offered and accepted, you can read about it in Mikes own words by clicking here.

As for the Albums of the Decade, The Rising and Magic came in at numbers 15 and 24 respectively. For me and in retrospect, I’d flip that order but agree on their inclusion. Finally, the top 50 songs of the decade were also noted and The Rising made the cut at number 35. So and in response to the “lost decade of the ‘90’s” I guess we can all look forward to more Boss times in the twenty teens.

Touring? Well no surprise that Bruce was in the top 5 grosser’s there. And at number 5 for the decade, it was reported that Bruce earned nearly $500 million. I suppose this is combined for all of the E Street, Sessions and Solo tours which took place. I missed the Seeger shows but off the top of my head, I suppose I attended about 50 or 60 Boss concerts in the ‘00’s. That will have to do, I guess.

And in keeping with the decade ending theme of today’s update, big congrats to my friend over at Windup Records. With 2 by Creed and 1 from Evanescence, both Tom & Ed must be proud to have 3 albums from their label in the top 40 of the decade, according to Nielsen / Soundscan. WAY TO GO Guys!

In the meantime, I’m enjoying the break and my next planned concert is to see EC and Jeff Beck at MSG next month. Perhaps seeing my old nabe buddy Gene’s VH cover band Completely Unchained at one of their regular NY area shows too. The guys have had some great shows at NYC’s China Club and at the Jones Beach band shell too this past year. Gene & Johnny do Dave & Eddie better than anybody else around, check out their web site to see Where All Of The Good Time Have Gone.

January 5, 2010: I’m sure that My Bruce Springsteen would very much like to congratulate...the surviving and passed members of the Clash for the 30^th anniversary release of London Calling! Holy Crap! 30 Years? And to think that this classic album re-release has now beaten DOTEOT’s 30^th anniversary release by 3 years, ha ha ha!

Click here to see My Bruce Springsteen 2009 tour song frequency charts!

Click here to see My Bruce Springsteen Magic Tour Song Frequency Charts

December 28, 2009: Now that the snow has had it’s first big blow up here in the greater NY and NJ area and the frigid weather is bearing down upon us, time to settle in to watch My Bruce Springsteen...on the CBS broadcast of the Kennedy Awards this Tuesday night. There are a number of articles on line about tonight’s show and you can read this one from the Fayetteville Observer or maybe this one from the Buffalo News.

Other Boss things over this holiday season includes how he is smarter than most, me at least. Bruce brought the kids into the city last week to see The Nutcracker; you can read about that by clicking here for the NY Post. And from behind the drum kit, here is a link to an article about Max Weinberg, this is from the Miami Herald. Max was in Miami this past weekend performing with his Big Band, the article is a cool interview with the Mighty One.

Finally, there was a neat little article with some archival links that is posted at the Oregonian. One of the links is a audio file of Boss telling an old Santa / Asbury Park story or the E Street treatment of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

December 11, 2009: So in the news this week and following the Kennedy Center gala last week, My Bruce Springsteen made headlines when he...came out in favor of legalizing gay marriage in his home state of New Jersey. He also made headlines by declining to play at the gubernatorial inauguration of Republican Governor-elect Chris Christie.

Regular visitors to this site as well as friends and family generally regard me as a live & let live kind of guy and I'd like to think that this is the case for and with The Boss too. However and despite what appears to be a great amount of acceptance for alternative lifestyles by supporting gay marriage, I have to wonder if Bruce is more closed minded than I would prefer to think. Consider that in the past 26 months Bruce and the Legendary E Street Band have performed everywhere save but for the local shopping mall. All things considered then, do I really believe that he is only interested in national politics (mmm-hmmm), either too tired or too busy to perform at the new governors party? Or is he not willing to enter a tent that will consist largely of folks whose political persuasions don't match his own? I hope not, otherwise Bruce is just as politically closed minded as someone like Sean Hannity. Hey, I'm just sayin'..... Anyway, you can read about this in the NY Times by clicking here or here from the Post. As for Bruce coming out for gay rights you can read all about this by clicking here for an arricle in the LA Times.

And at this point in time back in 2007, Bruce and the Band were wrapping up their Magic tour of Europe. Here are links to videos posted on YouTube, click on the song titles:

December 8, 2007 - Denmark, Copenhagen

Livin' in the Future The River

December 12, 2007 - Antwerp, Belgium

Because The Night B.T.N. (from the pit)

December 7, 2009: Barack Obama may be the President but as the POTUSA said himself, My Bruce Springsteen is The Boss and in fact...the Boss did influence and support the election of Obama, though there wasn't any evidence of a direct quid pro quo. With a comical introduction courtesy of fellow Jerseyean Jon Stewart, the tributes to Bruce also included cool musical performances.. John Mellenhead covered Born In The USA, Jennifer Nettles countrified Glory Days and Melissa Etheridge once again covered Born To Run. And not unlike the inauguration of Obama last January, Sting brought the musical tribute to a crescendo with a choir supported version of The Rising.

I think that highlights of the event, which also saw honors for Robert DeNiro and Mel Brooks, among others including Dave Brubeck , is to be broadcast on network TV on December 29th. Click here to read what the Washington Times reported on last nights event, here for the New York Times report and finally here for the New York Post story in Page Six.

December 4, 2009: As the weekend approaches there were a couple of on line pops this past week about My Bruce Springsteen and the Legendary E Street Band in the form of no less than...the Boss and the Big Man too. The New York Times reviewed "Big Man" and the critic is generally not too impressed with the overall quality of the more or less autobiography of Clarence Clemons. Click here to read this book review from the Times

I also read an article about how actor Jake Gylenhall was inspired by his film director, who motivated the actor by playing The River during rehearsals of a pivotal scene with actress Natalie Portman. The actor also recounted his first Boss concert so you can click here or here to read more about that.

And in case you are catching up, click here for a blurb out of Bruce's current Billboard interview, as posted at the San Francisco Chronicle. I had also read that Bruce will be making another appearance on Elvis Costello's show, this will probably be broadcast before the end of the year, click here for more about the Boss and Elvis.

Yesterday saw the Grammy nomination announcements and Bruce was in there, for his duet with Rosanne Cash covering Sea Of Heartbreak. The song is from Rosanne's latest album The List, which is a collection of songs that her father, The Man In Black, suggested she learn along with 99 other country classics as part of her dues paying. A really good song that gets a lot of airplay here in New York on WFUV.org. You can read more by clicking here for more on the nomination and other Grammy news too.

Finally, over the weekend Bruce will be honored along with other artists at the Kennedy Center. And with this in mind, there is a nice long career spanning article in the Washington Times that you can read for yourself by clicking here. And in the New York Times, you may be interested in the column written by David Brooks, click here for that. or in the letters to the Editors that the column inspired.

December 1, 2009: My Bruce Springsteen and the Legendary E Street Band were in Europe during this week back in 2007 during the Magic tour and...the cities that they performed in included Arnhem in the Netherlands, Mannheim Germany and Oslo Norway. At that point in time, the magic of Magic was still pretty fresh and Boss fanatics had already known that the tour would be continuing into 2008.

Here are links to the set lists and there are a number of YouTube videos from those shows, which can be accessed by clicking on the song titles:

December 1, 2007 - Arnhem, Netherlands

Radio Nowhere No Surrender Gypsy Biker Magic Reason To Believe

She's The One Livin' in the Future Tunnel Of Love

Devils Arcade The Rising Last to Die Badlands

Girls in Their Summer Clothes Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Born To Run Dancing In The Dark

December 2, 2007 - Mannheim, Germany

She's The One Livin' in the Future Badlands Born To Run

December 4, 2007 - Oslo, Norway

Radio Nowhere Reason To Believe Working On The Highway

The Rising Badlands Girls in Their Summer Clothes Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Dancing In The Dark

And in the Bruce news today, an extensive interview was published this week over at Billboard and there were lots of good indications from the Boss. If you want to read the whole article than click here for that. Here are a couple of quick quotes though that got my attention:

Billboard: This tour has felt really celebratory. Does it feel like this might be the last run for the E Street Band? Bruce Springsteen: No. We don't even really think of it. We're playing to an audience now that will outlive us. But at the same time the band is very, very powerful right now. And part of the reason it's powerful is that it's carrying a lot of very strong cumulative history. You come and you see 35 years of a speeding train going down the track, and you're gonna get to be on the front end of it. We look forward to many, many more years of touring and playing and enjoying it.

Billboard: What haven't you done that you'd still like to do? Bruce Springsteen: Well, I'm about to do it in about an hour from now. I'm looking forward to that. It's all in the doing right now. What I want to do is what I'm doing, except I want to do it a little better tonight than I did last night. I want to write some better songs to mine and my audience's life today. We've made records over the past 10 years that have found as integral a place in my fans' lives as any the records from my past days. They talk about who you are, who I am, where we are, where we live, and what we're about. I'm just looking forward to going out there in an hour and looking into those faces like I've done over the past 35 years.

North American 2009 Tour Dates

February 2, Tampa FL. (Super Bowl )
March 23 Convention Center, Asbury Park NJ (Rehearsal)
March 24 Convention Center, Asbury Park NJ (Rehearsal)
April 1 HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA (Set List)
April 3 Jobing.com Center, Glendale, AZ (Set List)
April 5 Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX (Set List)
April 7 BOK Center, Tulsa, OK (Set List)
April 8 Toyota Center, Houston, TX (Set List)
April 10 Pepsi Center, Denver, CO (Set List)
April 15 L. A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA (Set List)
April 16 L. A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA (Set List)
April 21 T.D. Banknorth Boston, MA (Set List)
April 22 T.D. Banknorth Boston, MA (Set List)
April 24 XL Center Hartford, CT (Set List)
April 26 Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA (Set List)
April 28 Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia, PA (Set List)
April 29 Wachovia Spectrum Philadelphia, PA (Set List)
May 2, Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC (Set List)
May 4 Nassau Coliseum Hempstead, NY (Set List)
May 5, John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA (Set List)
May 7 Air Canada Center Toronto, ON (Set List)
May 8 Bryce Jordan Center University Park, PA (Set List)
May 11 Xcel Energy Center St. Paul, MN (Set List)
May 12 United Center Chicago, IL (Set List)
May 14 Time Union Center Albany, NY (Set List)
May 15 Hershey Park Hershey, PA (Set List)
May 18 Verizon Center Washington, D.C. (Set List)
May 19 Mellon Center Pittsburgh, PA. (Set List)
May 21 Izod Center East Rutherford, NJ (Set List)
May 23 Izod Center East Rutherford, NJ (Set List)
June 13 Bonnaroo Festival, Manchester, TN (Set List)
August 19 Comcast Theater Hartford CT (Set List)
August 22 Comcast Center Mansfield, MA (Set List)
August 23 Comcast Center Mansfield, MA (Set List)
August 25 SPAC Saratoga Springs, NY (Set List)
September 12 Ford Amphitheater Tampa, FL (Set List)
September 13 FL Bank Atlantic Center Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Set List)
September 16 SC Bi Lo Center Greenville, SC (Set List)
September 20 United Center Chicago IL (Set List)
September 21 Wells Fargo Arena Des Moines, IA (Set List)
September 30 Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Set List)
October 2 Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Set List)
October 3 Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Set List)
October 8 Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Set List)
October 9 Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Set List)
October 13 Spectrum Philadelphia PA (Set List)
October 14 Spectrum Philadelphia PA (Set List)
October 19 Spectrum Philadelphia PA (Set List)
October 20 Spectrum Philadelphia PA (Set List)
October 25 Scottrade Center St Louis MO (Set List)
October 26 Sprint Center Kansas City, MO (Canceled)
October 29 MSG in NYC (R&R HoF).
November 2 Verizon Center Washington D.C. (Set List)
November 3 Time Warner Arena Charlotte, NC. (Set List)
November 7 MSG, NEW YORK CITY (Set List)
November 8 MSG, NEW YORK CITY (Set List)
November 10 Quicken Loans Arena Cleveland OH (Set List)
November 13 The Palace Auburn Hills MI (Set List)
November 15 Bradley Center Milwaukee WI (Set List)
November 18 Somerset Center Nashville TN (Set List)
November 20 1st Mariner Arena Baltimore, MD (Set List)
November 22 HSBC Arena Buffalo NY (Set List)

Bill, me, Big Dog, Chris and Mike

Giants Stadium October 2009

Big Dog, Mike, Sung, Eddie V, Tom, Drew, Bill and Chris

Europe 2009 Tour Dates

May 30, Landgraaf, The Netherlands (PinkPop Festival Set List)
June 2 Ratina, Tampere, Finland (Set List)
June 4 Stockholm Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden (Set List)
June 5 Stockholm Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden (Set List)
June 7 Stockholm Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden (Set List)
June 9 Bergenhaus Festning, Bergen, Norway (Set List)
June 10 Bergenhaus Festning, Bergen, Norway (Set List)
June 27 Glastonbury Festival, Glastonbury, U.K. (Set List)
June 28 Hard Rock Calling Festival, London, England (Set List)
June 30 Stade de Suisse Berna, Switzerland (Set List)
July 2 Olympia Stadium, Munchen, Germany (Set List)
July 3 Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt, Germany (Set List)
July 5 Vienna Ernst Happel Stadium, Vienna, Austria (Set List)
July 8 MCH Outdoor Arena Herning, Denmark (Set List)
July 11 RDS, Dublin, Ireland (Set List)
July 12 RDS, Dublin, Ireland (Set List)
July 14 Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland (Set List)
July 16 Festival des Vieilles Charrues, Carhaix, France (Set List)
July 19 Roma Stadio Olympica, Rome, Italy (Set List)
July 21 Torino Stadio, Comunale, Italy (Set List)
July 23 Udine Stadio, Friuli, Italy (Set List)
July 26 San Marnes Stadium. Bilbao, Spain (Set List)
July 28 Estadio Municipal de Foietes, Benidorm, Spain (Set List)
July 30 Estadio Municipal de Foietes, Benidorm, Spain (Set List)
August 1 Estadio Jose Zorilla. Valladolid, Spain (Set List)
August 2 Monte Del Grozo, Santiago, Spain (Set List)

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