MY FAVORITE JULY 4TH SONG - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN "AMERICAN LAND"

(this image is from Wikipedia commons, anyone is allowed to use it, so I'm using it!)

It's hard to write about America and do a good job at it.  Obviously, it's easier to rebel about things that you don't like than it is to celebrate America, and that's often the rub with art. Rebelling is easier than celebrating. But I think that July 4 is a good time to be thankful to live in the U.S.A., without getting too flag-wavvy about it.

In recent years, there's been a few attempts at writing what could be referred to as "The Great American Song." U2 wrote "The Hands That Built America" for Martin Scorsese's 2002 film Gangs Of New York. Good song, but not a great one.  Bruce Springsteen took a few whacks at it: "This Hard Land" from his 1995 Greatest Hits album felt like an attempt, as did "Land Of Hope And Dreams" which he started playing on the 1999 reunion tour with The E Street Band. The latter stayed in Bruce's setlists for a long time, but I didn't feel the song was as good as he seemed to think it was.

During Bruce's tour with The Seeger Sessions Band for the 2006 album We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, he started playing a new song "American Land."  I felt he nailed it. Bono has talked about how America isn't just a place, it's an idea. I don't think the idea of America has ever been better expressed in a rock song than in "American Land." He romanticizes the idea from the perspective of immigrants ("There's diamonds in the sidewalk the's gutters lined in song/Dear I hear that beer flows through the faucets all night long/ There's treasure for the taking, for any hard working man /Who will make his home in the American Land?") in a way that can make all of us proud that we do call this place home.  It also points out that a fair immigration policy is one of the things that made us great. At the same time, he expresses some of his core values: the plight of blue collar workers ("They died building the railroads worked to bones and skin/They died in the fields and factories names scattered in the wind/They died to get here a hundred years ago they're still dyin now/The hands that built the country were always trying to keep down").  And also the fact that everyone deserves a shot, no matter their race or color ("The McNicholas, the Posalski's, the Smiths, Zerillis, too/The Blacks, the Irish, Italians, the Germans and the Jews /Come across the water a thousand miles from home/With nothin in their bellies but the fire down below").

That's why I choose the above photo for this post.  No matter what you think of The President, when Bruce was growing up, or even when *I* was growing up (I'm much younger than Bruce), the idea of an African American president seemed unlikely to say the least.  The fact that Bruce worked so hard for President Obama - who campaigned on a platform of hope and change, some of which has arguably been fulfilled - makes this photo really powerful.

Bruce has nothing to prove anymore. The fact that he still works so hard to fulfill what he sees is his responsibility to himself, his audience, and his country, is inspiring.  Like any other great artist, sometimes his reach exceeds his grasp, but on "American Land" he hit a grand slam.  It's not just a classic that stands up next to his catalog, it also stands next to Woody Gurthrie's.

("American Land" was the only song from The Seeger Sessions that Bruce played with The E Street Band, and you can see their version - played in Hyde Park, in England, here. )

CLARENCE CLEMONS - R.I.P. TO THE BIGGEST MAN YOU'VE EVER SEEN

I was waiting for Eddie Vedder to take the stage tonight when I heard the awful news that Clarence Clemons passed away.  It wasn't a huge surprise: he had a stroke last weekend. But still, really, really sad news.

I don't know what makes a good sax player from a technical standpoint. But I do know that his playing added something to Bruce Springsteen's music that added even more heart, soul and excitement. Listen to "Jungleland," "Night," "Secret Garden," "Pink Cadillac." Of course "Tenth Avenue Freezeout."

Clarence tried lots of other stuff outside of E Street: his solo career, playing with other people, smooth jazz, acting, writing.  I think he'd admit that things never clicked for him more than when he was onstage with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. I remember seeing the reunion tour in 1999, it was just electric.  Seeing those guys onstage together, it was larger than life.

I remember I interviewed Clarence during the long years between the breakup and the reunion.  I think it was around the time of Bruce's first solo acoustic tour for The Ghost Of Tom Joad. I told him that my prediction was, after that tour, he would reunite with The E Street Band. That made him perk up, and he asked me why I thought that.  I said that I thought that he just wanted to try playing with other people (the band he used in the mid-'90s), and, by appearances, he seemed to have been wanting to do a solo acoustic thing for a long time, and now he'd done that also.  I knew he'd go back to rock and roll, I doubted he would reassemble his '90s band, and I didn't think he'd put together a new rock band. So, my feeling was, his next project would be The E Street Band. That seemed to make The Big Man happy and he thanked me for sharing my theory.  I'm glad I was right and I'm glad I had that bit of time with the man.

It's weird that his last performance was playing sax for Lady Gaga on American Idol, but life is weird sometimes.  The fact that he played with Gaga turned a new generation on to his talents and he was probably grateful for that.

I wonder if Bruce can possibly have the E Street Band go on without Clarence. I guess it would be a shame if those guys never played together again, on the other hand, how do you replace a guy like that.  My suggestion: use an entire horn section, but retire "Jungleland" and "Freeze-out."

TOMORROW ON THE MORNING JOLT - POP, POP, POP MUSIC

First off: this (very obviously) photoshopped image is from Rolling Stone.

Second: sorry I haven't been posting in the past week.  Things have been busy.

Onward! So tomorrow morning I will be on SiriusXM OutQ's The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick  (and co-host Keith Price) at about 9 am ET. Every so often, I go against type and bring in a bunch of straight up pop records.

Right now, the biggest pop record on earth is the latest from Lady Gaga, Born This Way. I don't have as strong of an opinion on her as everyone else seems to.  I think she is talented, she's written some good songs, and she's a savvy marketer. On the other, I think she goes way out of her way to prove her intelligence, her artsiness and how much of an outsider she is.  I don't buy into her like other people do.  I think her new album is pretty good, but it's about as edgy as a Loverboy or REO Speedwagon album from the '80s.  I do enjoy the fact that she used Clarence Clemons from The E Street Band on two of the songs.  His playing is very '80s: it reminded me of his playing on "Dancing In The Dark" or Aretha's "Freeway Of Love."

I choose a couple of other prominent pop records: a Britney/Ke$ha/Nicki Minaj collab, a Katy Perry/Kanye West collab and some new Beyonce songs.  I have to say, I wasn't really impressed by any of them. Also a newer artist named Christina Perri: she's not my thing, but I can appreciate her a bit.

And also, the artist who I think will be one of the stories of 2011: Adele.  Right now, I bet that 21 will be one of the big Grammy albums, and it may make lots of critics lists also.

And what's that you say?  You don't have a SiriusXM subscription?  Get on that! Get a free online trial and check out what you're missing!

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: REISSUES AND BOX SETS

Polish your debit cards, ya'll!  Later this morning on SIRIUS XM OutQ's The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick, I'll be talking about great gift ideas: namely reissues and box sets. 

Three of them I wrote about earlier tonight: Bruce Springsteen's Darkness On The Edge Of Town box set, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' deluxe reissue of Damn The Torpedoes, and David Bowie's deluxe reissue of Station To Station.

Also:

* The new Jimi Hendrix box set, West Coast Seattle Boy. A lot of it seems to be live and alternate versions of stuff. But it also has lots of recordings of Jimi as a sideman, before he went solo.  So you get to hear Jimi with The Isley Brothers, Little Richard and more. That's worth the price right there.

* R.E.M.'s reissue of their classic Fables Of The Reconstruction. Classic album, no question. But the bonus disc contains demo versions of the album.  Nice to have for fanatics, but for everyone else, the regular album should suffice.

* The latest installment of the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series, Volume 9. The Whitmark Demos features imperfect demo recordings from 1962-1964.  Some pretty cool stuff there, but not essential (I much prefer Volume 8, which covers 1989 - 2008).

* An Introduction To Syd Barrett is a single CD collecting Barrett's stuff with Pink Floyd and as a solo artist.  It's a great gift for people who don't know who he is - anyone who likes Floyd should be familar with this stuff, and if they're not, get this and help them out!

* And two Duran Duran dexlue reissues: they've re-releeased their Notorious and Big Thing albums, both with tons of extra stuff.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - THE DARKNESS BOX SET

It's worth every cent.

Well, let me mention that Bruce Springsteen is one of my favorite artists of all time, and Darkness On The Edge Of Town is probably my favorite album by him. But the box set is really worth the bucks if you love the album like I do. Here's what the deluxe version contains:  first of all, the album remastered.  Bruce has never allowed a remastering of his catalog, other than Born To Run which got the box set treatment a few years ago.  Two more discs contain all songs that didn't make the album - this collection is called The Promise, and is available seperately as well. And there are some great things on that, including Bruce's previously unreleased studio versions of "Because The Night" and "Fire."

One DVD (or blu-ray disc) features the documentary on the making of the album which really enhances your appreciation for the record (much like the doc in the Born To Run box set did). Another disc shows a stripped down version of the E Street Band performing the album, in order, to an empty theater.  It's Bruce, Little Steven Van Zandt on guitar, Gary Tallent on bass, Roy Bittan on piano, Clarence Clemons on sax and Max Weinberg on drums with Charlie Giordano on organ. Basically the guys who played on the record, plus Charlie sitting in for the late Danny Federici.  No Nils, Patti or Soozie, no backing singers. It's a lean, mean, rock album. The performances on this disc, beautifully shot by Thom Zimmy (who also shot and directed the documentaries, and most of Bruce's video stuff in general) show how well the music has aged, and how well the band has aged.  This was shot a few months after the last tour ended. Hopefully it's not the last thing they do together. The disc also features archival footage of the band from '78. And another disc features a full concert from the Darkness tour.

The package is a replica of Bruce's notebook from the era. It really feels voyeristic going through all of this sometimes. But what I learned from it is that, on top of everything else, Bruce has great instincts. Yes, there are great songs on The Promise, but none of them would really fit in on Darkness. Yes, "Because The Night" is one of the best songs he ever wrote... but the truth is, Patti Smith's version is better. "Fire" is awesome, but The Pointer Sisters did it better! All the extra stuff on this box set just proves how perfect Darkness was without anything more than those ten songs! And still, going through all this stuff is a great trip. I imagine Bruce's next move will be a new album (I'd bet it will be without The E Street Band) before he hits his vaults again. But I hope we don't have to wait five years for The River box set (or ten for Nebraska!).

HOW "BORN IN THE U.S.A." INFLUENCED "KILLING IN THE NAME"

Yes, it's true. In the above video, Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello (who of course also records as The Nightwatchman, is a member of Street Sweeper Social Club and a former member of Audioslave) explains how Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The U.S.A." influenced Rage's "Killing In The Name" (yes, the "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me" song). He's talking to Jay Weinberg, son of E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg. This is part of an E Street Radio roundtable discussion that is airing on the channel this week: I was lucky enough to be in the SIRIUS XM studios in New York (Tom Morello was in the Los Angeles studio).

BEST OF THE 00s: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

In the '00s, who stood taller than Bruce Springsteen? No one, really. On so many fronts, he was the man. It is so interesting that he had to get back with The E Street Band to help him figure out what to do when he wasn't working with them. Let me explain.

He spent the '90s in a weird kind of artistic mid-life crisis. I am a big fan of the Human Touch and Lucky Town albums, but in retrospect, they weren't albums that The E Street Band couldn't have done. His tour, at least in the U.S., saw fans less than willing to give his new band a chance, and the tour played smaller places than Bruce had done in years. There was supposedly a full album of "electronic" type stuff like "Streets Of Philadelphia," but he decided not to release it. The Ghost Of Tom Joad didn't really catch on with fans, and the tour was really tense. I saw two shows: it looked like Bruce was trying to get away from being "Bruce." He wanted it to be A Serious Performance and for the fans to behave accordingly. There were near reunions with The E Street Band (for the Greatest Hits album and the opening of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland), but they were kind of one-offs.

In 1999, when he decided to reactivate the band, it was unbelievable. The shows blew minds: how powerful this band was after all these years, and after all these years of not playing together. As the new decade started, they were in the middle of thier tour. There was no new material, and they leaned towards their '70s output. But by the end of the tour, new stuff was surfacing, notably "Land Of Hope And Dreams," and, more controversially, "American Skin," which earned him some beef with law enforcement, as it had the nerve to look at the Amadou Diallo shooting from two angles (something he had done as far back as his first album with "Lost In The Flood"). It was sort of a taste of what was to come: Bruce had his political convictions, and instead of obscuring them, he was putting them out there, damn the consequences.

After 9/11, Bruce opened the America: A Tribute To Heroes telethon with a new song, "My City Of Ruins," one of his greatest works. It seemed like it was written after 9/11, when in fact he had performed it at a fair that he just showed up at in Asbury Park a few weeks earlier. It was written for Asbury Park, but it worked just as well after 9/11. Supposedly, soon after 9/11, someone on the street yelled out to him, "We need you, Bruce." That's a big responsibility, and Bruce was up to the challenge, with the help of both The E Street Band and producer Brendan O'Brien. 2002's The Rising is one of his greatest albums, and one of the very few to be able to really address the aftermath of 9/11. People reacted to it in a big way. He was alone among his peers: he was big enough to play multiple nights in stadiums, and he was able to play lots of new songs to crowds of 50,000 and have it mean something. No mean feat. During the tour, he spoke in interviews and from the stage about his dissatisfaction with the bush administration, pretty controversial given the time and also the fact that a good portion of his audience booed him for this every night and he kept up with it. The tour ended in 2003, but in 2004 Bruce and the band hit the road for two weeks on the Vote For Change tour, and after that, Bruce did some solo acoustic dates "opening" for John Kerry. We know how that turned out.

In early 2005, Bruce released a more stripped down album, produced by Brendan O'Brien but without The E Street Band, Devils & Dust. Supposedly, some of the songs were from The Ghost Of Tom Joad era. I like a lot of the album, but it isn't one of my favorites. Like Tom Joad, he supported it with a solo acoustic tour, but it was a totally different tour. In '97, as I mentioned, the shows were a bit stiff and dry. Bruce just played acoustic guitar. On Devils & Dust, he played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, organ and uke. He also had a better time with the shows. I felt that he really came into his own as a solo acoustic performer in a way that he didn't in the '90s.

In 2006, he surprised everyone by announcing another new album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions. I've mentioned this before, but I felt that the album was always given short shift by people who mistakenly thought that it was going to be a very dry, serious, folk album. It is actually garage rock, Depression-era style. So, maybe "barn rock." You can hear how much fun he is having when you listen, which isn't always the case on Bruce Springsteen albums. The tour was phenomenal. Unlike with his ‘92/’93 band, this one really worked. You could see why it was people other than The E Street Band (although with Patti Scialfa, Soozie Tyrell, Charlie Giordano, Curtis King and Cindy Mizelle all in both touring bands, they are getting closer and closer) and it worked. At least half the songs were not written by Bruce, and he rearranged most of his originals that made the setlist. He wrote one new song during this era, and it is one of his best: “American Land.” He said in a recent interview that he hopes to work with them again, and I hope he does.

The following year, another surprise. He had another album with The E Street Band. Magic was, in my mind, another classic. “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” is one of the best pop songs of the past decade or two. On the other hand, there were some great, angry, political songs: “Living In The Future,” “Last To Die,” “Long Walk Home” and “Magic.” And the intensely personal: “I’ll Work For Your Love” and “Terry’s Song,” in tribute to his late assistant, Terry Magovern. The tour saw even higher highs from the band. Again, they were playing lots of new songs, and those songs meant something to the audience. And they were playing old songs. And requests! These were some of their best concerts yet.

Around this time, he also contributed “The Wrestler” to the film of the same name, winning a Golden Globe.
Once again, Bruce went on tour as an “opening act,” this time for Barack Obama. We all know how that turned out. Thank God. While on that tour, he debuted a new song, “Working On A Dream,” which turned out to be the title track of his next album. I wish I liked the latest album more than I do, but there are some great moments, like “What Love Can Do,” “My Lucky Day,” “Tomorrow Never Knows,” “Good Eye” and especially “Surprise, Surprise” and “The Last Carnival” (a tribute to late E Street member Danny Federici). And on the tour for this album, the shows, impossibly, got even better (although Bruce wasn’t playing many new songs, with “Outlaw Pete” being the new album’s sole representative many nights).

In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Bruce mentioned that, although he’s 60, he has the tools to do whatever he wants in the years ahead. He can do solo acoustic stuff, he has the Sessions Band and of course The E Street Band. And he’s right. It’s amazing that he is still hungry after all that he’s done, and now he has three distinct different ways to tour and record. I know I say this a lot, but I can’t wait to see what the guy does next. On a personal level, what an inspiration: to see someone who could easily coast (or retire) being as vital as he’s ever been at age 60.

CLARENCE CLEMONS' AUTOBIOGRAPHY

E Street Band sax player Clarence Clemons will release his autobiography, Big Man: Real Life and Tall Tales in October. I was kind of surprised to hear about that. Bruce Springsteen (or his management team) tend to keep "inside info" about the man and the band under pretty tight wraps. I'm sure he Clarence had to produce some cool E Street stories to get the book deal, I wonder if he had to go through Bruce first.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN TO RELEASE LIVE EP

Personally, I wish Bruce Springsteen would release a live album from every tour. I really wish he put out something from The Rising tour (although there was a pretty cool DVD) and especially from his Devils & Dust tour (the VH1 Storytellers DVD was great, but too short). 

The Magic Tour Highlights EP will be available digitally on July 15 and will feature four tracks: "Turn! Turn! Turn!" with Roger McGuinn, "Always A Friend" with Alejandro Escovedo (that song is the first single from Alejandro's just-released album, Real Animal; he's also managed by Bruce's manager Jon Landau), "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" with Tom Morello, and, movingly, from Danny Federici 's last appearance with Bruce and The E Street Band (from March 20) "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)." I wish more artists would release their one-off on-stage collabs digitally. Of course, what I and many other Springsteen fans really wish is that he would release live albums from all of his shows a la Pearl Jam. 

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND: ONE MORE TIME?

I've heard rumors that Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band will be touring some more in the fall. No big surprise: the shows on this tour have supposedly been incredible, and I figured Bruce would want to be on the road with his A team during the election season. I wouldn't expect to hear an announcement of it until after the Giants Stadium dates - since they are still not yet sold out. 

There are rumors that this might really be their last tour. The death of Danny Federici must have hit all of them really hard. But the great indie rock blog Product Shop NYC writes that Max Weinberg may retire from the road after this tour ends. It would be sad if they really called it a day, but at least they'd be going out on top, how many bands can say that? How many bands of guys in their 50s and 60s can say that? 

"IF I'D HAD A THOUSAND DOLLARS..."

... actually, if I'd had two thousand dollars, I would have loved to have gone to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's benefit concert at the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, this past week. It was a fundraiser for the theater itself (an incredible place to see a show if you ever get the chance) and tickets started at $1000 - but I could not have gone without my wife. So, if I was a millionaire, I would have liked to have seen the show. (By the way, this picture, as so many other Springsteen ones that I've used, comes from Backstreets.com). 

It wasn't just any show. And it wasn't just the thrill of seeing Bruce and The E Street Band in a small theater - although that may have been worth the price of admission alone. No, it's that the first set was Darkness On The Edge Of Town, from start to finish. The second set was Born To Run from start to finish. And then there were some encores as well. Wow. I'm sure that they recorded it, and now that they made the money that was necessary for the theater (I heard they raised $3 million), it would be great if other people had a chance to hear the show. Anyway, here's looking forward to seeing Bruce and the band at Giants Stadium this summer. 

BRUCE REMEMBERS DANNY

E Street Band member Danny Federici's funeral was last week, and Bruce Springsteen spoke. You can read the text of his moving eulogy at his web site.

DANNY FEDERICI 1950 - 2008

I was away for the weekend, and upon returning, I read the sad news that E Street Band keyboardist Danny Federici succumbed to melanoma.   

It's easy to get overshadowed in The E Street Band - there are lots of colorful characters and celebrities. But to me, Danny was kind of like his beloved instruments - the accordion and the organ: helping to create a sound, a tone, a vibe. Not necessarily being flashy and calling attention. But when he got the spotlight, he made it count: as I write this, I'm listening to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's Live 1975-1985 box set, disc 1: you can kind of hear what Danny added to the sound on "Spirit In The Night," "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," and the instrumental "Paradise By The 'C'." He had a great solo on "Hungry Heart" and on "You're Missing" and "Ramrod." 

Back in my interviewing days - during the era that Bruce wasn't working with E Street - I often interviewed the guys in the band, and had the privilege of interviewing Danny a few times - at the time, he had just started doing solo accordion based records. At that time, a few of the guys didn't really like discussing the "Bruce thing" - they weren't really sure that they'd ever work together again, and there had been a few one-offs, but nothing to indicate that they'd ever record or tour again. But Danny was cool with talking about it: he indulged me and was more than happy to talk about not just his days with Bruce in the E Street Band, but also in Child (a Zeppelinesque band they were in together) and Steel Mill.  He told me about Steel Mill opening for Grand Funk Railroad, if you can imagine that. He told me about wanting to be in a rock and roll band as a kid, but he only had the very un-rock and roll accordion. So, he laid it on a table, it looked like an organ, and viola, he was a rocker! I wish I still had that tape.  It's worth mentioning that he and bassist Garry Tallent have been with Bruce longer than anyone. The authorized biography, Greetings From E Street: The Story Of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, the book starts not with Bruce, but with Danny. 

When I interviewed Danny, as all the E Streeters always are, he was a bit cagey about any speculation about when he might work with Bruce again. I interviewed him once when he was getting together with Bruce for a benefit - it may have been a Christmas concert type deal. He'd denied knowing anything about it. After the interview, I walked him to the elevator. He gets in, and as the doors were closing, he winks and says, "You know, I may be seeing your friend Bruce tonight..." 

Thanks for indulging my questions, Danny. Thanks for the music. And by the way, if you want to make a donation in his name, you can donate to The Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. 

NILS SINGS NEIL

"The Most Overqualified Second Guitarist In Showbuisness," as Bruce Springsteen referred to him at his own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is Nils Lofgren. In the '70s, Nils led a band called Grin, and then had a pretty happening solo career. These days, he's most well known as one of the guitarist in The E Street Band (and he still records and tours oin his own as well - plus he hosts some cool guitar tutorials at his own web site). He actually got his first big break courtesy of Neil Young, though, and now he's recording an album of Neil covers. He mentions it at his web site, but I first heard of it from the great Neil Young fansite, Thrasher's Wheat.

I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Nils a few times - he couldn't have been nicer. He is probably one of the most committed musicians out there. On his own, he headlines small clubs, and you know he's doing it for the love; these days, the E Street tours probably more than pay the bills. Anyway, I interviewed him backstage at one of his shows: he was playing the Bottom Line and told me about coming to New York as a kid, meeting Neil Young at (I think) the original Fillmore East. Neil was in the early days of his solo career, he bought Nils a cheeseburger and talked with him, eventually hiring Grin to open for Crazy Horse. As a teenager, Nils made his recording debut, playing on Neil's classic After The Gold Rush album. Years later, he played on Neil's very out-there album Trans and the subsuquent tour. After that, he joined The E Street Band. About another decade later, he guested on Neil's MTV Unplugged. I know he'd love to work with Neil again. But of course, he's got a pretty cool day job as a guitar teacher. And as the most overqualified second guitarist in show business.

DANNY'S BACK (SORT OF)

Last week in Indianapolis, Danny Federici joined the Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band on stage for the first time since leaving the tour due his melanoma treatment. 

He didn't play the whole show, just a few songs, but it's good to know he's in shape to perform. Here's hoping he makes a full recovery soon, and that he is with the band when they play Giants Stadium this summer. 

(Photo from RollingStone.com) 

LITTLE STEVEN: "DANNY'S DOING GREAT"

RollingStone.com (where I got this photo from) has a great interview with the great Little Steven. Most importantly, he says that keyboardist Danny Federici is "doing great." He says that Danny will hopefully be back in the band within a month or two. I gotta think that he wants to be on stage when Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band play Giants Stadium this summer.

He also says that this tour will probably go through at least October, but I think that they'll tour through the election.

BRUCE - BACK ON THE ROAD, PREPARING NEW MUSIC?

I recently asked a friend of mine, who goes to tons of Bruce Springsteen shows, if he was going to go to opening night of the second leg of the Magic tour. He said "Nah, I've learned my lesson about opening night."

For those who aren't Springsteen fanatics, lore has it that opening nights don't tend to be the best shows. I've been to a few, and it's true, they usually aren't great compared to what is to come. But apparently, that rule didn't hold this week when Bruce and The E Street Band played Hartford, Conn. (That's where this picture was taken - and I got it from Backstreets). Sadly, keyboardist Danny Federici wasn't back with the band. He is being treated for melanoma, and missed the European leg of the tour, but supposedly he will try to make it to some of the U.S. dates on this leg. Charlie Giordano, who played in Bruce's Seeger Sessions Band is still filling in.

In happier news, Bruce was recently interviewed by USA Today, and he revealed that he has been in the studio lately, both with The E Street Band, and also working on a solo acoustic record. Supposedly, Bruce has full albums that he recorded but never released though, so who knows when we'll hear anything new from him. But it's cool that he's been working on new stuff.

It's kind of a bummer that it seems as if he is "only" doing three nights at Giants Stadium this summer. Last time Bruce and The E Street Band did a summer tour, they did ten nights, followed by three more at Shea. (Of course, very few artists these days could even play Giants Stadium once).

I attribute this to a few things:

(1) In 2003, Bruce was touring for The Rising, an album that really resonated with people post-9/11. Magic is a great album, and is as relevant to this moment in time as The Rising was to 2002-2203, but there was just something about that album that make Bruce seem as big as he was during the Born In The U.S.A. era.
(2) Since The Rising era, Bruce has alienated a lot of fans, due to his politics.
(3) He has also toured a lot: for a while, Bruce would take long breaks between projects, he's been fairly prolific and has toured often since that tour ended, on The Vote For Change Tour, plus the tours for Devils & Dust and The Seeger Sessions album, We Shall Overcome.
(4) His management usually strategizes his career so perfectly, you'd wish they could run the music industry (or the country). But putting tickets that cost $65 - $100 dollars each on sale during the Christmas season for concerts that are a half year away probably wasn't the best idea. Yes, Bruce tickets make a great Christmas gift, but they went on sale only days after the shows were announced, and these days, most Americans don't have an extra couple of hundred bucks lying around, especially during Christmas.
(5) People expect that he'll be doing more shows there, so once the "good seats" sold out, people are waiting for more shows to go on sale, so they can get better seats.

Whatever ,I have tickets for one show, and if he only does these three, I'll try to get for one of the others, if not both of the others. Right now, it looks like his tour is ending right after Giants Stadium, when he plays a Harley Davidson festival. But I bet they'll tour again in the fall, around election time. I bet Bruce is still bummed that the biggest rock stars in the world weren't able to push John Kerry to victory in the last election, but that doesn't mean that they (or he) shouldn't try again this year, hopefully with Obama.

GET WELL SOON, DANNY!

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band have kicked off the European leg of their Magic tour, and, sadly, keyboardist Danny Federici is taking a leave of absence, to receive treatment for Melanoma. Until Danny rejoins the band they're using Charles Giordano, who played with Bruce last year in The (Seeger) Sessions Band.

Back in my days as an interviewer, I had a few occasions to speak with Danny. He was always really cool. A few of them were before Bruce reunited with The E Street Band. Like the rest of the group, he was trying to get a new career going (he was recording solo albums of mainly accordian-based instrumental music)... and of course every interviewer asked about Bruce. Danny was very gracious about it. I was really happy for him when Bruce got the band back together. Anyway, get well soon, Danny, it won't be the same without you.