Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

The least loved BITUSA single is the most fun to karaoke:

Vampire Weekend version was grebt, thanks. RFI where is that video somebody once posted of Bruce singing it preceded by a very long monologue contextualizing it about “…when the moon is full…why does that always happen?”

Different album obv. but I am intrigued that “The River” seems to be available for karaoke purposes. Might be fun, although I am not sure what kind of crowd would dig it.

The least loved BITUSA single is the most fun to karaoke

The bassist in a band I was in wanted us to play "I'm Goin' Down", the only way I could stomach it was to increase the tempo to "as fast as possible".

Started listening to ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE.

As a Boss LP I suppose it will remain a minor work. I note that it's COVERS: VOL 1 and wonder if the next volume would be of a different genre, such as rock & roll, blues or country.

'The sun ain't gonna shine anymore' is the one for me; a swirl of sound for the Boss to try to match with his voice.

I reflect that I admire the Boss's ability to work in different genres. Rock (THE RISING), folk (THE SEEGER SESSIONS), the soft-rock-country (unsure of the name; Glen Campbell style?) of WESTERN STARS; and soul music here. To be able to do this shows some imagination, breadth and skill, eg in arrangement.

Tour starts tonight ...

Ladies and gentlemen... the E Street Band! pic.twitter.com/Lo7OU0r4AO

— Bruce Springsteen (@springsteen) February 1, 2023

more like E STREET BALD, amirite?

(sorry, just harking back to the hair discussion)

Actually started last night, setlist looked pretty great to me.

The rare band that's worn fewer hats the older they get.

just in case some people consider this type of thing spoilerish:

Last night’s Springsteen tour opener set list with the “Candy’s Room”/“Kitty’s Back”/“Brilliant Disguise” trifecta giving me a contact buzz. pic.twitter.com/6xQvfrVVJx

— Steven Hyden (@Steven_Hyden) February 2, 2023

Well that didn't work!

Sorry!

xpost, weird, I wonder why Backstreets is not up to date? But yeah, setlist looks good, considering. Sounds OK, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol7Q1YCQhGk

xps

Well, quite a few of them already had thinning hair even in their heyday - Danny, Garry, Roy, and I think Bruce supposedly had a visible bald spot by the mid or late '80s. They were always a mature-looking band, not a bunch of boys.

Just saying, the peak of their hat wearing was also the peak of their hair-having.

Steel Mill aside:

https://www.prlog.org/12573552-early-press-photo-of-the-steel-mill-band.jpg

That trifecta is otm.

yeah that’s killer

glanced at Stubhub and Springsteen tickets are still insanely high in most places ($200 and up up up), but in Tulsa, Ok there are obstructed view seats for $20 and nose-bleed seats on the side for like $75.

is it the hidden text thing in jon's post that crashes the android app?

Yeah, it's weird. There were $80 behind the stage (which is still unobstructed) in Milwaukee until a few weeks ago, now everything there is $300+. But Tulsa has remained affordable for months. Of course, getting to Tulsa ...

MSG is still ridiculous at $500 and up. A lot of tickets though so I imagine they'll come down when we get closer to April.

Behind The Stage nosebleeds in Houston (on Valentine's Day!) start at $12 on StubHub

In front of the stage nosebleeds look to start at $55.

Backstreets Magazine is closing down.

DId something happen to Terry?

Wow. Ticket situation so fucked up they broke the spirit of Backstreets.

43 years!

wow. I hope Bruce notices.

My mom went through a heavy Springsteen phase when I was a kid and she had a Backstreets subscription for years. It was an excellent fan produced mag with an eye for granular detail and the writing quality was very good.

I'm sure there are other factors in them deciding to shut down, but it's a real bummer.

Inevitably, a couple of band members tested positive for covid (so far), Steven and Suzie. I guess they played the Dallas show without them, which is one advantage of touring with an army of musicians.

Went to the Dallas show, it was pretty fucking great... there were still like fifteen people on stage even with three missing! Never seen him before and when I got invited I felt like I couldn't pass it up.

Josh called it - he just added fall shows, including August 9 at Wrigley Field.

Really big venues, so hopefully that translates to plentiful, affordable tickets (though could be nosebleeds):

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/bruce-springsteen-the-e-street-band-add-more-fall-tour-dates-including-metlife-stadium/

Once again, there is registration for verified fan presale.

Got tickets behind the stage for the Houston show for $9 each (including fees) so it's time for round two!

holy crap $9??? where, stubhub?

yep... still plenty available behind the stage for $5-7 (plus fees, which makes it more like $8-10 per ticket)

Hell, getting a Pepsi at MSG will cost more than that.

same seats behind the stage at the Austin show are going for $200+, this town is so fucked up

Well, at least Wrigley doesn't use Ticketmaster, iirc.

Tix for Milwaukee still hovering (lol) around $300 for the nosebleeds. I'll probably make a call that morning if they drop down to something reasonable. I do get to see him in Brooklyn this April, thanks to a buddy.

Curious what the Houston prices were two weeks ago. Or rather, how long have they been single digit?

Is anyone going to the Carrier Dome, sorry I mean JMA Dome?

I bought the cheap Houston tickets last Friday, so they've been available for at least 5 days (there are plenty of front-of-stage view seats available between $25-40 as well)

sounds like Nils Lofgren has COVID now and might be out... fingers crossed for a Nebraska-heavy set!

Ha. Well, keep in mind, up until 1975/Born to Run tour, it was only Bruce on guitar up there!

Or everyone but Jake gets COVID and we're treated to two and a half hours of free form jazz!

"Well, sir, we hope you enjoy our new direction."

Don't forget, two members of the E Street Band left after recording "Born to Run" to form their own fusion band. Give us a glimpse of what might have been!

Ugh, just realized this means Tom Morello is probably getting the call-up ...

Gary Clark Jr. was practicing with them in Dallas, apparently, so

ooooh

Oh, he's good, I'm ok with that. Just none of Morello's tomfoolery.