CHART ACTION: WOAD STRAIGHT TO #1, BRUCE'S NINTH
Working on a Dream hit the album charts this week, and it hit 'em in a big way -- debuting at #1 not only in the U.S. (The Billboard 200), but also in at least 14 other countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. In the States alone, WOAD sold more than 200K copies in its first week -- 212,000 according to Hits Daily Double, 223,700 according to Rolling Stone -- before any Super Bowl bump. Read more at the New York Daily News.
And don't forget the new VH1 Rock Doc airing this week -- you've got two more chances to catch Bruce Springsteen: The Making of Working on a Dream, Friday at 12:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on VH1 Classic. Watch the promo clip below.
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I got my 2 GA's for Denver, I am stoked. Now keeping my fingers crossed for THE PIT
i got 2 GAs for Nassau Masoleum.
c'mon ticket lottery gods- gimme a good called Number.
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I got my 2 GA's for Denver, I am stoked. Now keeping my fingers crossed for THE PIT
i got 2 GAs for Nassau Masoleum.
c'mon ticket lottery gods- gimme a good called Number.
Does anyone know for a fact the procedure for wristbands related to the numbers needing to be in sequence? I am hearing that you can bring one adult with a wristband in some places and in other places I am hearing that they need to be in sequence. Does anyone really really know?
Totally off topic. But I'll be in the NY to see my LEAFS beat up on your struggling Rangers on the 22nd. The night Bathgate is honored. You gonna be there?
1. Toronto, Ontario 09-21-1996 (MAPLE LEAF GARDENS)
2. Barrie, Ontario 08-22-1998 (MOLSON PARK)
3. Toronto, Ontario 10-05-2000 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
4. Toronto, Ontario 06-28-2003 (MOLSON AMPHITHEATRE)
5. Boston, Massachusetts 09-28-2004 FLEET CENTER (NOW TD GARDEN) VFC TOUR
6. Boston, Massachusetts 09-28-2004 FLEET CENTER (NOW TD GARDEN) VFC TOUR
7. Hamilton, Ontario 09-13-2005 (COPPS COLISEUM)
8. Toronto, Ontario 09-19-2005 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
9. St. Johns, Newfoundland 09-24-2005 (MILE ONE)
10. St. Johns, Newfoundland 09-25-2005 (MILE ONE)
11. Toronto, Ontario 05-09-2006 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
12. Toronto, Ontario 05-09-2006 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
13. Sydney, Australia 11-07-2006 (ACER ARENA)
14. Sydney, Australia 11-08-2006 (ACER ARENA)
15. Melbourne, Australia 11-13-2006 (ROD LAVER ARENA)
16. Melbourne, Australia 11-14-2006 (ROD LAVER ARENA)
17. Adelaide, Australia 11-21-2006 (ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE)
18. Adelaide, Australia 11-22-2006 (ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE)
19. Perth, Australia 11-25-2006 (SUBIACO OVAL)
20. New York, New York 06-24-2008 (MADISON SQUARE GARDEN)
21. New York, New York 06-25-2008 (MADISON SQUARE GARDEN)
22. Toronto, Ontario 08-21-2009 (MOLSON AMPITHEATRE)
23. Buffalo, New York 05-10-2010 (HSBC ARENA)
24. Toronto, Ontario 09-11-2011 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
25. Toronto, Ontario 09-12-2011 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
26. Hamilton, Ontario 09-15-2011 (COPPS COLISEUM)
27. London, Ontario 07-16-2013 (BUDWEISER GARDENS)
28. Buffalo, New York 10-12-2013 (FIRST NIAGARA CENTER) FORMERLY HSBC ARENA
29. Detroit, Michigan 10-16-2014 (JOE LOUIS ARENA)
30. Ottawa, Ontario 5-8-2016 (CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE)
31. Toronto, Ontario 5-10-2016 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
32. Toronto, Ontario 5-12-2016 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
I got my 2 GA's for Denver, I am stoked. Now keeping my fingers crossed for THE PIT
i got 2 GAs for Nassau Masoleum.
c'mon ticket lottery gods- gimme a good called Number.
Does anyone know for a fact the procedure for wristbands related to the numbers needing to be in sequence? I am hearing that you can bring one adult with a wristband in some places and in other places I am hearing that they need to be in sequence. Does anyone really really know?
this will differ from venue to venue.
check backstreets news for venue updates as dates get closer.
Totally off topic. But I'll be in the NY to see my LEAFS beat up on your struggling Rangers on the 22nd. The night Bathgate is honored. You gonna be there?
Yes I was at Graves and I'll be at Howell/ Bathgate Night on the 22nd.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
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There is some really good stuff on there I think...I like Outlaw Pete, My Lucky Day, Working on a dream, Life Itself, The Wrestler and, in particular, Good Eye. It's solid I think, but I can't give it a rave review overall.
Some critics have compared it to Born To Run which I think is complete and utter blasphemy. It's good, but it ain't even in the zip code as that one.
I've been panned for saying it here before, but for me The Rising the far and away superior to Magic and WoaD
All I have to do is revel in the everyday....then do it again tomorrow
They say every sin is deadly but I believe they may be wrong...I'm guilty of all seven and I don't feel too bad at all
Does anyone remember a band from the 80s " Simple Minds " ?
( Dont You Forget About Me from The Breakfast Club - Hey , Hey Hey Heyyyy,...)
the lead singer from Simple Minds- Jim Kerr- wrote this on thier webpage about Bruce Springsteens Superbowl asppearance- interesting read.
Did you see Bruce Springsteen’s set during the American Super Bowl? Talk about a master class in making it all look so easy. Fact is, there are no superlatives left to describe Springsteen on top of his game so I will skip that chore and avoid the pitfalls involved in telling you about what you already know.
In fact I myself, have more than admired ‘Bruce’ since my mate first came breathlessly running into our house, commanding me to stop whatever I was doing and listen immediately to an album that he had just bought. Remember the days when people were that enthusiastic about music?
In any case this time my pal’s enthusiasm was entirely warranted, ‘The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle’ was the album he had in his hands and we went on to play it all that night and indeed endlessly over the days and nights to come. This of course being prior to the soon to come explosive landmark “Born To Run, meant that the album was like a small treasure that we had just to ourselves. For few others where yet to know this impressively vibrant music, in the process of making it’s self known all the way from blue collar New Jersey, to a housing estate in the south side of Glasgow.
It was still after all some months before the singer then became a name on the lips of just about everybody who knew anything about popular music. They say that if you only ever read one book you should make it Steinbeck’s Grapes Of Wrath. I say that if you had to listen to only one rock record you could no worse than the Jimmy Iovine produced ‘Born to Run, the one that captivates me to this day,
That was about 25 years ago and Springsteen since then has more than deservedly enjoyed an unbelievably successful career that has in turn barely witnessed him put a foot wrong. That’s what happens I guess when you don’t know how to make a bad record or play a less than sensational show!
But perhaps the greatest of all of his many talents, and there are so many, has been his remarkable ability to make it all seem so effortless. (A point so well discussed in yesterday’s Guardian newspaper.)
It is truly as though through it all, Bruce Springsteen has always wanted us to believe that he is some Plain Ole’ Ordinary Joe, and that someone without even the asking had hung a guitar around his neck, leaving him with little option but to get a few mates together and bang out a bunch of tunes. Easy Peasy!
Of course within a world full of complications and all manner of dizzying trends, Springsteen’s reliable down home attitude was celebrated worldwide, despite being almost entirely all American by nature. The undoubted reasons for that are that he works with underlying themes that correspond with the emotions that we all experience as well as regularly featuring those universal authenticities that we also all have a rapport with.
On a personal level for me however, there is something else that this artist carries and it runs eternal within every note written by him. It is called hope, true hope at that, and who does not need bucket loads of that. For as Seth Godin put’s it “People need more hope always. We run out. We need it replenished immediately. Hope is almost always in short supply. The magical thing about selling hope is that it makes everything else work better, every day get better, every project works better, every relationship feels better. If you can actually deliver on the hope you sell, there will be a line out the door.” Springsteen delivers on hope, and at the risk of crashing the stage that I set for Bruce, Simple Minds also deliver on that one.
But those qualities as good as they are, are never nearly enough in a bonafide rock and roll star, unless that is, they are also married to full blooded melodies played with the kind of abandon that itself is mustered up as though it was the last American night on earth. Is there really anyone I ask, who does that nearly as well as Bruce Springsteen still manages? You just know that the answer to that is no!
But is it also all really as it seems? Or is this a case as already mentioned, where the real genius way and above the actual talent – lies instead in how he goes about making it all look so easy. Because it can’t be just as so, so let’s then think about it a little more.
Firstly we all know for example that to attain a real goal, calls for some full on determination. In addition we are told that we need to be resolute least in having the stomach to endure the hardships that any major task worth doing calls for. A commitment to keep going forward is yet another requisite in reaching for things that are able to produce true feeling of happiness and perhaps the sense of freedom that goes with it. The one final certainty in all of this is that none of the aforementioned ever comes easy. It all has a price and that price usually takes form in some kind of personal sacrifice, one that more often than not demands to be paid in full.
And the pay off, when and if taken on? Unfortunately that is not guaranteed to materialise in any exact amount, or for that matter arrive on schedule, if at all. The only definite is in the knowing that it is under the greatest adversity that there exists the potential for doing good for oneself and others. And again tell me if I am wrong, but if there was ever a time when the world might be calling out to people to consider that notion it is surely now.
Springsteen not only writes about all of this kind stuff so brilliantly, but more importantly his attitude reeks of having regularly gone through those very same experiences, as it does with anyone who gives generously of their lives to deliver what they think is worthwhile.
For me it is the ‘showing up no matter what, and wearing your heart fully on your sleeve’ attitude that resounds so thoroughly within the scenes to which he sets much of his music. That repeated calling alone is worthy of all the fanfare that has arisen through his phenomena. What else is there to be done after all during the small time we are allotted on this slow revolving orb? And is it not possible to have amazing adventures equally while seeing the vital things in life through?
To those question he knows that the answer can only be yes, and it is this that accounts for the air of authenticity and credibility that he and all others committed to giving of themselves in full are coated in. You don’t need to be a Superstar he is telling you, and he being one of the biggest ever should know all about that. Neither do you need to be in an anyway an intellectual. Thank God for that I say. You do however need to know the lines that are drawn within the map of your very own heart, and the borderlines between what is good for the soul and what on the other hand will see it torn to shreds. Does that make him a preacher man then? Not at all, it makes him a storyteller and a seeker of truths. Now that is something altogether different.
I have no idea how many records Springsteen will have sold directly after his transcending appearance on Sunday. I hope he sold a ton. I however bought a couple immediately after I saw it, the same ones in fact that I already bought years ago and had given away, to some pretty girls no doubt. Then I listened to the fairly recent” Radio Nowhere”. Loving it, I must have played it twenty times non-stop. It made me feel like an even younger man than I am, and even better still it made me enthralled once again with the mysteries of rock and roll, it’s dynamic patterns, and why for me it still works better than just about anything else I know.
But best of all, it made me want to make even more music and never stop doing so no matter what occurs in my life from here on in, because in the end, evidently I was born to do this also.
Above all however, I saw the dignity that lies behind a hard working man on stage at the Super Bowl, the kind of hard worker who’s genius is in making it all looks so easy, the same type in fact who I looked up to when I was growing up and I love them to this day for it. I am of course talking about the type of people that wouldn’t know how to begin giving up on anything, even if you put a gun to their head.
Bless them all whoever and wherever they are in this world. Bless Bruce Springsteen too!
Jim Kerr
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For Colleen Boyd and her dying son Shane, glory days are on the way.
Thanks to Ticketmaster, the management team of Bruce Springsteen and
fans of the rocker, the 30-year-old disabled Chatham man will attend
Springsteen's May concert in Toronto in style.
Boyd said she was surprised Thursday to hear from Ticketmaster
Entertainment spokesman Albert Lopez, from the company's head office
in West Hollywood, Calif., who told her it was "set in concrete" that
her son would be getting tickets for the May 7 show.
The same day, she received a call from a representative of
Springsteen's management team offering front row seats and "back door"
access to the show.
When told of the Ticketmaster offer, the management representative
said Springsteen's team would collaborate with the ticketing company
to ensure Shane enjoys his concert experience.
"Albert came through," said Boyd, whose wheelchair-bound son has
terminal cancer of the esophagus and stomach and who is obsessed with
Springsteen's music. "Albert said they'd provide tickets for Shane,
his attendant and for another disabled friend of Shane's and his
attendant. I feel really good about it. Can't say enough about all the
support we've had."
Boyd first made news when she was unable to secure tickets for the May
7 concert through ticketmaster and was then directed to the company's
subsidiary TicketsNow.
Seats were available at a cost of several hundred dollars more, but
none would be in the wheelchair-accessible area of the Air Canada Centre.
When she read news accounts of Springsteen's condemnation of
Ticketmaster over what the musician called a "conflict of interest" in
running both ticket agencies, a frustrated Boyd sent a letter of
protest to the Star.
Ticketmaster's Lopez said Thursday his conversation with Boyd was
private and he would not comment.
Marilyn Laverty, spokeswoman for Shore Fire Media, Springsteen's
publicity firm, said the musician's management "doesn't pursue any
media for anything they do on a personal front like this."
Meanwhile, the Springsteen fans who populate the Backstreets Ticket
Exchange website, to help concert goers secure tickets at cost, are
currently engaged in a fundraising blitz to ensure the family enjoys
"the experience of a lifetime" during their stay in Toronto the week
of the show.
"So many people want to give. So many people want to be part of making
this day special," said Jon Bajek, of Charlotte, N.C., who posted the
original Star story on the Backstreets website.
After that, postings of support for Shane and his mother poured in
from as far away as Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, points in Europe and
across the U.S. and Canada. Members offered up their own tickets,
offered to pay for tickets and blitzed promoters, ticket agents and
any contact they had in the concert business for help.
The BTX site members have supported food banks and other causes in the
past, following in the footsteps of the socially conscious Springsteen.
"We'll probably present a cheque," Bajek said. "We're not a travel
agency, arranging hotels and transportation. But we'll do what we can
to make sure they'll not want for anything for the couple of days in
Toronto. It will be worry free for them as far as money goes."
He said he had to convince Boyd to accept the generosity of all these
strangers, whose only thing in common is the love of Springsteen's
music, but ultimately she "humbly" accepted.
Boyd said she was so overwhelmed with the outpouring of generosity
coming across her computer screen that she couldn't stop reading, with
a combination of tears and laughter, all those good wishes. She fell
asleep in front of her screen late Wednesday night, with a box of
tissue still tucked in the crook of her arm.
As for transportation, a Windsor woman, who wished to remain
anonymous, offered to let the Boyds use a private business aircraft to
fly to Toronto for the show. She said the plane and a pilot would be
at their disposal if they wanted it, and she provided a phone number.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
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For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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TICKETMASTER SETTLES AND THEN SQUIRMS
As we reported after the U.S. tour went on sale three weeks ago, Ticketmaster found itself in hot water with the New Jersey state Attorney General as a result of its redirecting potential ticket buyers to its affiliate/scalping arm, TicketsNow, while tickets for the shows at the Izod Center were still available. On Monday, Attorney General Anne Milgram held a press conference at the Izod Center to announce that her office had reached a settlement with Ticketmaster, after the state Department of Consumer Affairs received over 2,000 complaints from fans who had problems with Ticketmaster’s business practices. The official announcement can be found at the AG’s website; the most important points for Springsteen fans are:
Fans who complained directly to the NJ Department of Consumer Affairs before 5pm on Tuesday, February 17, will automatically be entered into a lottery to be conducted by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. One thousand fans, almost half of those who filed a grievance, will be given the opportunity to purchase two tickets to one of the shows at the Izod Center, May 21 and 23. These tickets were held back from the original onsale by the promoter for VIPs, ticket drops, and the like.
Fans who don’t get selected in the lottery will receive a $100 Ticketmaster gift certificate and the chance to purchase tickets to a future (unspecified) Springsteen show in New Jersey.
Fans who purchased tickets through TicketsNow within 5 hours of the original onsale (i.e., by 2pm on February 2) and who linked to TicketsNow directly from Ticketmaster will have the amount they paid over face value refunded by Ticketmaster.
No love for those who didn't file a complaint. And it should be noted, New Jersey was far from the only market in which Ticketmaster redirected fans to TicketsNow.
The New Jersey AG's office imposed a number of other restraints on Ticketmaster’s business practices going forward, some of which may help concertgoers in the future. But how much it will actually help may depend upon another battleground. A week after the TicketsNow fiasco, Ticketmaster announced that it was merging with Live Nation, the concert promoter. This didn’t sit too well with many people -- including Bruce Springsteen, who warned: "the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing." It didn’t sit too well with members of Congress either. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights held hearings on the proposed merger.
The written statements of the various witnesses can be found on the Senate website. Suffice it to say that the subcommittee members, including New York Senator Chuck Schumer, were very skeptical about the merger's supposed benefits to consumers. Schumer blasted Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff about the Springsteen onsale, saying that there is no reason that Ticketmaster should be in the secondary market to begin with. (Hear, hear!) Schumer got Azoff to admit that Ticketmaster could make “way more” money through TicketsNow than it does through regular sales. Read a press release from Schumer's office here. Sen. Russ Feingold asked Chicago-area promoter Jerry Mickelson if a major artist like Springsteen could do a tour without Live Nation or Ticketmaster. Mickelson, testifying against the merger, said it could not be done and that there would be no way to get around working with the combined company.
A similar committee in the House of Representatives will hold hearings on Thursday. After that, it will be up to the Department of Justice to weigh in on the proposed merger.
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so it appears that Bruce will finally make an appearance on " The Daily Show " ....
awesome.
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FROM COMEDY CENTRAL'S WORLD NEWS HEADQUARTERS IN NEW YORK...
An update on Bruce's Daily Show appearance Thursday night: we're hearing it'll be a deskside chat with Jon Stewart, a standard guest thing rather than a performance. But maybe Jon can get him to do the Paul Rudd dance.
- March 17, 2009
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i got the " ticketmaster is not currnently selling these tickets " message, like many others .
i got in around 1203 pm .
TM sucks,
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i got 2 tickets for Mnday night... Conventional Hall...
lucky you !
tough ticket to get !
i have been to numerous of these rehearsal shows- get readfy tovexperience the band in an absolute phenomenal atmosphere in this tiny little gymnasium--esque venue .
Comedy Centrals Daily Show is streaming Bruc4es appearance/ performance from last night-
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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i got 2 tickets for Mnday night... Conventional Hall...
lucky you !
tough ticket to get !
i have been to numerous of these rehearsal shows- get readfy tovexperience the band in an absolute phenomenal atmosphere in this tiny little gymnasium--esque venue .
Comedy Centrals Daily Show is streaming Bruc4es appearance/ performance from last night-
Yeah I have seen almost every rehearsal show since 99 at Conventional Hall. I would rather go to these then a bigger venue. I was even at the one they had on NBC a few years back. Its always a good show and its close to my house so its even better.
i got 2 tickets for Mnday night... Conventional Hall...
lucky you !
tough ticket to get !
i have been to numerous of these rehearsal shows- get readfy tovexperience the band in an absolute phenomenal atmosphere in this tiny little gymnasium--esque venue .
Comedy Centrals Daily Show is streaming Bruc4es appearance/ performance from last night-
Yeah I have seen almost every rehearsal show since 99 at Conventional Hall. I would rather go to these then a bigger venue. I was even at the one they had on NBC a few years back. Its always a good show and its close to my house so its even better.
oh so you are well seasoned as well then, excellent.
i was on the beach / railing also for the today show ( for the rising )
as well as GMA for seeger sessions band.
For the ones who had a notion, a notion deep inside
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
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SURPRISE, SURPRISE
One more warm-up, this time on the West coast
Rehearsal shows: they're not just for Asbury Park anymore. Just 24 hours before officially launching his Working on a Dream tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band staged one last warm-up for lucky fans last night in Los Angeles.
After working the final kinks out of songs like "The Promised Land," "No Surrender," and "Badlands," the real shocker came in the encore, when Burt Bacharach joined in for the very fitting "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" Taking the stage to a we're-not-worthy bow from Bruce, Bacharach laughed, "But I can't sing!" Said Steve, "That's okay, neither can I!"
An even bigger surprise might have been the venue: the Staples Center. "I never felt like I gave this place a reasonable shot," Springsteen said a few songs in. "When we played here on the reunion tour, we played to a packed house, and we hardly got to appreciate it. Now, I'm playing for the pure pleasure of being in this building."
In a special arrangement with the Los Angeles Lakers, the floor remained configured for basketball, and Springsteen insisted that fans be seated only in the arena's "sky box" luxury suites -- or as one fan called them, "the pits." "All of us got ushered into these glass-encased boxes," said the fan. "We couldn't open the windows, but the chicken fingers were awesome!" Bruce and Steve played to the fans upstairs all night, pointing, waving, and asking, with increased seriousness, if anyone was alive out there.
Once again, the band seemed in top form -- particularly Nils Lofgren, back in action with two new hips, as he executed a perfect reverse three-and-a-half somersaults pike dive into a small pool of water, while simultaneously nailing the solo on "Because the Night."
At night's end, Springsteen hollered, "I'm going to Disneyland!" He added, "Seriously, you guys, tomorrow, I'm going to Disneyland."
Oddly enough, though hundreds of patrons were able to score tickets through Ticketmaster on the day of the show, hundreds more tickets remained for sale on the ticketing company's website even as the show was in progress. "I don't get it," said Ticketmaster spokesman Albert Lopez. "Luxury seating and all, this one didn't really sell. Springsteen usually has remarkable word-of-mouth, especially for rehearsal shows. No one seemed to know about this one."
Full set list to come.
- April 1, 2009
SPRINGSTEEN TO EXPAND THROUGH TOURING COMPANIES
It's common knowledge that Jay Weinberg was asked to join the E Street Band so that his dad could meet his obligations for The Tonight Show. Details are slowly emerging that this substitution is actually part of the Springsteen organization's larger strategic vision.
In a rare interview with the Harvard Business Review, Springsteen talked about his new 50-year plan: "With record sales shrinking and my personal cash flow limited due to a hit to EBITDA, we engaged McKinsey to help conduct a SWOT analysis and structure a mission for us in the 21st century. What we came up with at the strategic retreat was that this whole thing has become too much about me -- pictures of me on the album covers, interviews with me on TV shows. We need to focus on building the Springsteen brand."
"We believe our real long-term value is not me, but the Springsteen-branded experience. Our fans have shown us that they're not all that interested in new music anyway, so why not give the people what they want? Beatlemania never really took off because it wasn't connected to Paul or John. But if we show some 'next generation' connection to the band and I certify these tours, we think we've identified a real market opportunity."
Right now three touring companies are under consideration: the Wild Greetings Company, led by Evan Springsteen, will stick to small clubs on the east coast. "I'm drawing up the guidelines for the shows right now," says Springsteen. "For the Greetings shows, 'Kitty’s Back' will never run less than 20 minutes, and they'll play that early version of 'Thunder Road', 'Wings for Wheels.' It’s clearly not as good a song, but give the people what they want!"
Once audience acceptance of Jay is firmly established, he'll be tapped to lead a theater tour with the Darkness Company. "Each show will start off with a cover tune, and they'll play 'Sad Eyes' every night. That's a Springsteen Experience guarantee!"
Since the audience for the B.I.T.U.S.A. Company (DBA the B.U.S.A. Company) will be much less discerning, the "next generation” role will be filled by Ray Arthur, a kid Roy Bittan met at a frozen yogurt shop in L.A. "We're gonna fill stadiums every summer for the next 50 years with this show," says Bruce. "That's 30 shows a year with 'Bobby Jean' and a 20-minute 'Glory Days' story about my time in Little League!”
"Hey, look -- you practice your craft, you pray to the gods of creativity and aliveness to be ready for the moment to write some great songs... and then you productize the hell out of it."
- April 1, 2009
SPRINGSTEEN BUILDS HOUSE DOWN BY THE RIVER
The latest buzz in New Jersey real estate: Bruce Springsteen's Rumson property is rumored to go on the market within the month, as the Boss reveals that construction is finally complete on his house down by the river. "I've built me a house," he confirms, "And as I told the folks the other night, I want to learn to live in that house. As soon as the inspection's done."
Curious fans may have a long wait to actually get a glimpse of the new structure, as Bruce remains imprecise about its location. One insider reports that it's right on the River of Hope, but others in the know suggest it may also overlook the River of Faith, the River of Love, or the River of Life. Springsteen himself offers only one cryptic lead for those who would seek it out: "You can't get there by yourself."
He adds, "It's got four full bathrooms and a half-bath, plus a six-burner Wolf range. And all the kitchen cabinet knobs look like little guitars. It's pretty sweet."
- April 1, 2009
NEW ALBUM ALREADY IN THE WORKS
Running on empty? Hardly. Bruce promises all new adventures in hi-fi
The bad news: Tracks 2, which promised "You're Missing" (Arthur Baker's "Everything Mix") and "Held Up Without a Gun" (Strings Version), has been delayed indefinitely. But the good news is that -- as if two E Street albums in less than two years weren't enough -- another new album from Bruce and the band is already in the works. As he recently told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "I made a promise to myself to get more records out more quickly than I used to... and now that I've got my wheels under me, in some fashion, it feels like it's time to put the pedal to the metal."
Springsteen reveals that his next album, consisting of songs he wrote backstage at Convention Hall last week, will take shape in a series of live recordings this spring as the E Street Band hits the road. "I was always impressed with bands that recorded albums live, whether it was Joe Jackson, Jackson Browne, or R.E.M. That's the way we're going to do this next one." Though he hasn't determined the exact format, Springsteen says that most of his upcoming shows with the E Street Band will be devoted entirely to these new songs that audiences haven't heard, and the band doesn't know. "I expect we'll run through a song at least once or twice. I may have to stop to re-work a verse or two. My audience will understand," he said. "It's like that Mashall Crenshaw record: I've suffered for my art, now it's your turn! Great album, by the way."
Springsteen waxed equally unfazed by the arena setting for such a project. "Hey, the 'shut the fuck up' speech from the Joad tour seemed to work great," he said, "and if I have to send Clarence out to open a can of whoop-ass on anyone who's hootin' and hollerin' for 'Badlands,' I will." A no-talking, no-standing, no-nothing policy will be strictly enforced.
The possibility of playing some older material remains; Springsteen says he'll make that decision on a "night-by-night" basis. "If things go alright with the new, new songs, I might reward myself and the audience with a song or two, but the real reason for hitting the road is to present something entirely fresh to my audience," he said. "I'm really excited about the new, new songs." As for the album that came out in January, Springsteen said, "What am I, a jukebox? We played the Super Bowl, right? I think people get the idea."
No official release date yet, but the new album is planned to tide fans over between Working on a Dream and Working on a Dream - Second Edition.
- April 1, 2009
EVAN SPRINGSTEEN TO REPLACE BRUCE AT SELECTED EUROPEAN DATES
Bruce Springsteen has invited another E Street offspring to fill in this summer: his own son, Evan. The reason? Not a late night television gig, but Springsteen the elder enrolling in summer classes at Princeton University.
"It's just time," Bruce said. "As far back as the '70s, my mother used to say, 'You know, it's not too late, you can still go back to college.' And she's right."
The 59 year-old plans to take classes in music, American history, and natural sciences. "In some fashion, I really feel like my songwriting could benefit from doing this. Sure, I've made it up as I've gone along," Springsteen said, "but higher education and rock 'n' roll aren't mutually exclusive endeavors. I mean, what do you think I talk about with Jon Landau all the time? My career? Electric Nebraska? Come on." Princeton history professor Sean Wilentz, whose classes Springsteen has sat in on in the past, said that the Boss won't get any special treatment. "Maybe a parking space, but as far as I'm concerned, once in the classroom, he'll be like any other student. This isn't some Rodney Dangerfield movie."
Springsteen's mother Adele told Backstreets that she was "thrilled" with Bruce's decision. "I don't regret getting him that guitar, not at all," she said. "It's just that I think there might be more to life than making records with your friends. He's getting to a point in his life where he should have something to fall back on. I'm thrilled that he's branching out a bit -- just in case."
The college experience apparently rubbed off on the elder Springsteen. "My kid inspired me, so I decided to give up rockin' the European nations for higher education," he said. As the story goes, Bruce called to make the offer while that "kid" was in the car with his father. He said, "You may have heard I have a band. In that band I have the world's greatest frontman, who has a scheduling conflict." Said Evan, "Dad, I'm right here."
No word just yet on which dates Springsteen will sit in for Springsteen, and Weinberg for Weinberg.
Update: Now confirmed -- Wolfgang Van Halen will sub for Garry Tallent.
- April 1, 2009
TICKETMASTER-ONLY CD RAISES EYEBROWS
After Springsteen's recent benefit show for AIG execs, you might have thought that there couldn't be any more embarrassments in store... but the recent announcement of a "Ticketmaster exclusive" Springsteen CD has fans absolutely confounded. No one's complaining about getting to hear "Home Depot Delores" and the full 23-minute "Outlaw (Com)P(l)ete," but this most recent move is so out of character, even Bruce himself seems to be scratching his head.
"That one got past us," the Boss told the New York Times. "I'm glad the fans called us on it. I mean, it so got past us, I couldn't even tell you -- waitaminute, did we even approve this? Who the hell approved this thing?"
In the darkest depths of Mordor, the Eye of Ticketmaster watches all, and waits.
- April 1, 2009
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The Working on a Dream songbook, for piano or guitar tab, includes "Night with the Jersey Devil"! Plus, Willie Nile's brilliant new album.
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LATEST ISSUE #87
It's been a long time comin'... and now it's here. And it's huge! The Spring 2008 issue of Backstreets Magazine is a packed 116 pages of Bruce, Bruce, Bruce.
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Back issues
Check out the May 2009 issue of Q Magzine for a "Q Hero" spread on Springsteen
The Boston Phoenix names Springsteen one of the 100 Unsexiest Men of the Year (Yes, that's an "Un")
On A Deeper Shade of Soul, Ben's got a plan
On the 25th anniversary of "Born in the U.S.A." [Le Monde diplomatique]
This looks worth a vote
Simple Mind's Jim Kerr on Springsteen at the Super Bowl: "Talk about a master class in making it all look so easy...." [Scroll to the Feb 3 entry]
Dying fan's wish to see Ths Boss hits ticket snag [Windsor Star]... and the follow-up.
"Nils Lofgren Marks 25 Years with Springsteen" [OCRegister]
Updated Mar 28, 2008
We also post all known concert dates for some of our favorite Jersey Shore (and Shore-adopted) musicians:
Willie Nile
Bobby Bandiera
Southside Johnny
John Eddie
JoBonanno
Joe D'Urso... and more.
For more information on upcoming shows such as these, check out our Concert Calendar.
Updated Oct 8, 2008
SAVE TILLIE
Many from the Springsteen community banded together to preserve this Asbury Park landmark.... and Tillie has now been saved!
Check our Save Tillie page for the latest developments.
Updated Sep 29, 2008
THE SPRINGSTEEN SPECIAL COLLECTION AT THE ASBURY PARK LIBRARY
Organized by Backstreets and housed at the Asbury Park Public Library since 2001, this collection of Boss books and magazines is the largest outside of Bruce's mother's basement. Thanks to the generous donations of fans around the world, total holdings are now well over 3000. But the collection is by no means complete.
Check out the Springsteen Special Collection page for more info.
Updated Aug 28, 2008
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tour opener tonight.
cant wait till my first show on this tour,
nassau coliseum- to which i got GA ticks.
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Setlist:
Badlands
Outlaw Pete
No Surrender
Out in the Street
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Working on the Highway
Cadillac Ranch
It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
The Wrestler
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run
* * *
Hard Times
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Rosalita
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land
Dancing in the Dark
Just a few notes from me:
This was my 2nd time seeing Bruce, and even from behind the stage it worked out fine. We had tv video monitors and Bruce played to us quite a bit. I think he really enjoyed our energy even though we were behind him technically.
"Outlaw pete" sounded incredible with Bruce dawning a cowboy hat mid song.
Ghost of tom joad was full band and way better than the original in my opinion, he did that with Atlantic city last time on the Magic tour.
Patti is back it was nice to see the full band back, she was absent last time.
TONS of request played as Bruce says "Raise em up" and took about 6-8 signs it looked like and picked a few from the pile. "Cadilac ranch", and "Roselita" were among some chosen.
The band had so much energy and vise versa, they could feel it off of us. They came back out for a 2nd encore with "Dancing in the dark" which was an unexpected suprise.
Great show. Hope to see Bruce again this fall if it works out.
HEY! HO! LET'S GO! APRIL 22, BOSSTON, NIGHT TWO OF TWO
A wild night for the second of two in Boston, as Bruce continues to smash his head on the punk rock. On the West coast it was Social D; here in Boston it was the Ramones and local heroes the Dropkick Murphys. The first request song of the night had the the E Street band tackling "I Wanna Be..." ...Where the Bands Are? ...With You? Nope -- try "I Wanna Be Sedated," a first, with Bruce telling the crowd, "Someone's trying to stump the E Street Band!" But Little Steven was having none of it. The band might have made their way through it without him, but with Steve on board? Steve, who has called the Ramones "coolest band since the '60s"? Who has described his Underground Garage aesthetic as "groups that inspired the Ramones, groups inspired by the Ramones, and the Ramones"? Fuggedaboutit. He looked positively gleeful as he conferred with Bruce and Nils beforehand, to make sure they all got it right. The crowd ate it up, with Bruce encouraging participation but hardly needing to.
A tangent worth taking, here's Steven on the Ramones and the art of the DJ: "If to a punky consciousness the Ramones are sugar and the Ronettes are broccoli, you play the Ramones into the Ronettes and, because Joey learned to sing from Ronnie and you can hear it, the Ramones become hollandaise and it works.")
While the Ramones were represented in cover form, some Dropkick Murphys were there in the flesh. For anyone expecting Peter Wolf, the torch has been passed to a new generation of Bostonians. A unique start to their guest spot had guitarist Tim Brennan onstage, down on bended knee, proposing to his girlfriend Diane. She said yes -- credit Nils with getting her answer on mic -- and Springsteen told the crowd, "This is gonna be their wedding song." The tour premiere of "So Young and in Love," not a bad engagement gift! Congratulations, lovebirds. Afterward, Bruce called out, "We've got some more Dropkick Murphys, come on!" Tim was joined by two of his bandmates for a brillant match of guest and song, amping up the Celtic punk in "American Land." And the crowd goes wild.
A great performance all around, energy and fun quotients high. There was also the Greetings double-shot of "Spirit in the Night" into "For You," both by request—the latter actually by popular demand: four signs, which Bruce revealed one at a time. "Jungleland," nailed by both Bruce and Clarence. (That one replaced "The Wrestler," as this tour's namesake album takes yet another hit. And then there were three!) "Hard Times" went out once again to Evan and Jessie; Patti's still recuperating. Jay Weinberg drummed on the final four songs of the main set, as well as on "American Land" and "Glory Days" in the encore while his dad manned the tambourine. And an additional post-"A.L." bonus followed "Glory Days," bringing the song count to 27. It was the first "Seven Nights to Rock" since "guinea pig" night in Asbury Park, clearly a reward for a fantastic Boston crowd. "You guys never disappoint. You still stoke the fire in our belly when we get here."
Now how about the Clash next?
Setlist:
Badlands
Candy's Room
Outlaw Pete
She's the One
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Youngstown
Raise Your Hand
I Wanna Be Sedated
Spirit in the Night
For You
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Jungleland
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Lonesome Day (w/ Jay Weinberg)
The Rising (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Born to Run (w/ Jay Weinberg)
* * *
Hard Times
Thunder Road
Land of Hope and Dreams
So Young and in Love (w/ Dropkick Murphys' Tim Brennan)
American Land (w/ Dropkick Murphys, Jay Weinberg)
Glory Days (w/ Dropkick Murphys, Jay Weinberg)
Seven Nights to Rock
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ok
a week to go till the Nassau Coliseum, show,
( GA )
I really hope to hear " Life Itself " off the new album,
i really like that song .
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Comments
Working on a Dream hit the album charts this week, and it hit 'em in a big way -- debuting at #1 not only in the U.S. (The Billboard 200), but also in at least 14 other countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. In the States alone, WOAD sold more than 200K copies in its first week -- 212,000 according to Hits Daily Double, 223,700 according to Rolling Stone -- before any Super Bowl bump. Read more at the New York Daily News.
And don't forget the new VH1 Rock Doc airing this week -- you've got two more chances to catch Bruce Springsteen: The Making of Working on a Dream, Friday at 12:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on VH1 Classic. Watch the promo clip below.
http://www.vh1classic.com/view/playlist ... ndex.jhtml
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R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
Thank GOD my mom's friend scored 6 tickets... We're way up high, but I don't care!
i got 2 GAs for Nassau Masoleum.
c'mon ticket lottery gods- gimme a good called Number.
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Does anyone know for a fact the procedure for wristbands related to the numbers needing to be in sequence? I am hearing that you can bring one adult with a wristband in some places and in other places I am hearing that they need to be in sequence. Does anyone really really know?
2. Barrie, Ontario 08-22-1998 (MOLSON PARK)
3. Toronto, Ontario 10-05-2000 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
4. Toronto, Ontario 06-28-2003 (MOLSON AMPHITHEATRE)
5. Boston, Massachusetts 09-28-2004 FLEET CENTER (NOW TD GARDEN) VFC TOUR
6. Boston, Massachusetts 09-28-2004 FLEET CENTER (NOW TD GARDEN) VFC TOUR
7. Hamilton, Ontario 09-13-2005 (COPPS COLISEUM)
8. Toronto, Ontario 09-19-2005 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
9. St. Johns, Newfoundland 09-24-2005 (MILE ONE)
10. St. Johns, Newfoundland 09-25-2005 (MILE ONE)
11. Toronto, Ontario 05-09-2006 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
12. Toronto, Ontario 05-09-2006 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
13. Sydney, Australia 11-07-2006 (ACER ARENA)
14. Sydney, Australia 11-08-2006 (ACER ARENA)
15. Melbourne, Australia 11-13-2006 (ROD LAVER ARENA)
16. Melbourne, Australia 11-14-2006 (ROD LAVER ARENA)
17. Adelaide, Australia 11-21-2006 (ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE)
18. Adelaide, Australia 11-22-2006 (ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE)
19. Perth, Australia 11-25-2006 (SUBIACO OVAL)
20. New York, New York 06-24-2008 (MADISON SQUARE GARDEN)
21. New York, New York 06-25-2008 (MADISON SQUARE GARDEN)
22. Toronto, Ontario 08-21-2009 (MOLSON AMPITHEATRE)
23. Buffalo, New York 05-10-2010 (HSBC ARENA)
24. Toronto, Ontario 09-11-2011 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
25. Toronto, Ontario 09-12-2011 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
26. Hamilton, Ontario 09-15-2011 (COPPS COLISEUM)
27. London, Ontario 07-16-2013 (BUDWEISER GARDENS)
28. Buffalo, New York 10-12-2013 (FIRST NIAGARA CENTER) FORMERLY HSBC ARENA
29. Detroit, Michigan 10-16-2014 (JOE LOUIS ARENA)
30. Ottawa, Ontario 5-8-2016 (CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE)
31. Toronto, Ontario 5-10-2016 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
32. Toronto, Ontario 5-12-2016 (AIR CANADA CENTRE)
this will differ from venue to venue.
check backstreets news for venue updates as dates get closer.
Yes I was at Graves and I'll be at Howell/ Bathgate Night on the 22nd.
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Some critics have compared it to Born To Run which I think is complete and utter blasphemy. It's good, but it ain't even in the zip code as that one.
I've been panned for saying it here before, but for me The Rising the far and away superior to Magic and WoaD
They say every sin is deadly but I believe they may be wrong...I'm guilty of all seven and I don't feel too bad at all
( Dont You Forget About Me from The Breakfast Club - Hey , Hey Hey Heyyyy,...)
the lead singer from Simple Minds- Jim Kerr- wrote this on thier webpage about Bruce Springsteens Superbowl asppearance- interesting read.
http://www.theskyiscrape.com/index.php? ... &Itemid=51
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awesome,...
Dying Springsteen fan granted concert wish
Don Lajoie
Windsor Star
Friday, February 20, 2009
For Colleen Boyd and her dying son Shane, glory days are on the way.
Thanks to Ticketmaster, the management team of Bruce Springsteen and
fans of the rocker, the 30-year-old disabled Chatham man will attend
Springsteen's May concert in Toronto in style.
Boyd said she was surprised Thursday to hear from Ticketmaster
Entertainment spokesman Albert Lopez, from the company's head office
in West Hollywood, Calif., who told her it was "set in concrete" that
her son would be getting tickets for the May 7 show.
The same day, she received a call from a representative of
Springsteen's management team offering front row seats and "back door"
access to the show.
When told of the Ticketmaster offer, the management representative
said Springsteen's team would collaborate with the ticketing company
to ensure Shane enjoys his concert experience.
"Albert came through," said Boyd, whose wheelchair-bound son has
terminal cancer of the esophagus and stomach and who is obsessed with
Springsteen's music. "Albert said they'd provide tickets for Shane,
his attendant and for another disabled friend of Shane's and his
attendant. I feel really good about it. Can't say enough about all the
support we've had."
Boyd first made news when she was unable to secure tickets for the May
7 concert through ticketmaster and was then directed to the company's
subsidiary TicketsNow.
Seats were available at a cost of several hundred dollars more, but
none would be in the wheelchair-accessible area of the Air Canada Centre.
When she read news accounts of Springsteen's condemnation of
Ticketmaster over what the musician called a "conflict of interest" in
running both ticket agencies, a frustrated Boyd sent a letter of
protest to the Star.
Ticketmaster's Lopez said Thursday his conversation with Boyd was
private and he would not comment.
Marilyn Laverty, spokeswoman for Shore Fire Media, Springsteen's
publicity firm, said the musician's management "doesn't pursue any
media for anything they do on a personal front like this."
Meanwhile, the Springsteen fans who populate the Backstreets Ticket
Exchange website, to help concert goers secure tickets at cost, are
currently engaged in a fundraising blitz to ensure the family enjoys
"the experience of a lifetime" during their stay in Toronto the week
of the show.
"So many people want to give. So many people want to be part of making
this day special," said Jon Bajek, of Charlotte, N.C., who posted the
original Star story on the Backstreets website.
After that, postings of support for Shane and his mother poured in
from as far away as Sweden, Scotland, Ireland, points in Europe and
across the U.S. and Canada. Members offered up their own tickets,
offered to pay for tickets and blitzed promoters, ticket agents and
any contact they had in the concert business for help.
The BTX site members have supported food banks and other causes in the
past, following in the footsteps of the socially conscious Springsteen.
"We'll probably present a cheque," Bajek said. "We're not a travel
agency, arranging hotels and transportation. But we'll do what we can
to make sure they'll not want for anything for the couple of days in
Toronto. It will be worry free for them as far as money goes."
He said he had to convince Boyd to accept the generosity of all these
strangers, whose only thing in common is the love of Springsteen's
music, but ultimately she "humbly" accepted.
Boyd said she was so overwhelmed with the outpouring of generosity
coming across her computer screen that she couldn't stop reading, with
a combination of tears and laughter, all those good wishes. She fell
asleep in front of her screen late Wednesday night, with a box of
tissue still tucked in the crook of her arm.
As for transportation, a Windsor woman, who wished to remain
anonymous, offered to let the Boyds use a private business aircraft to
fly to Toronto for the show. She said the plane and a pilot would be
at their disposal if they wanted it, and she provided a phone number.
http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news ... 3e6ec7aca8
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The Wrestler video - long version
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TICKETMASTER SETTLES AND THEN SQUIRMS
As we reported after the U.S. tour went on sale three weeks ago, Ticketmaster found itself in hot water with the New Jersey state Attorney General as a result of its redirecting potential ticket buyers to its affiliate/scalping arm, TicketsNow, while tickets for the shows at the Izod Center were still available. On Monday, Attorney General Anne Milgram held a press conference at the Izod Center to announce that her office had reached a settlement with Ticketmaster, after the state Department of Consumer Affairs received over 2,000 complaints from fans who had problems with Ticketmaster’s business practices. The official announcement can be found at the AG’s website; the most important points for Springsteen fans are:
Fans who complained directly to the NJ Department of Consumer Affairs before 5pm on Tuesday, February 17, will automatically be entered into a lottery to be conducted by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. One thousand fans, almost half of those who filed a grievance, will be given the opportunity to purchase two tickets to one of the shows at the Izod Center, May 21 and 23. These tickets were held back from the original onsale by the promoter for VIPs, ticket drops, and the like.
Fans who don’t get selected in the lottery will receive a $100 Ticketmaster gift certificate and the chance to purchase tickets to a future (unspecified) Springsteen show in New Jersey.
Fans who purchased tickets through TicketsNow within 5 hours of the original onsale (i.e., by 2pm on February 2) and who linked to TicketsNow directly from Ticketmaster will have the amount they paid over face value refunded by Ticketmaster.
No love for those who didn't file a complaint. And it should be noted, New Jersey was far from the only market in which Ticketmaster redirected fans to TicketsNow.
The New Jersey AG's office imposed a number of other restraints on Ticketmaster’s business practices going forward, some of which may help concertgoers in the future. But how much it will actually help may depend upon another battleground. A week after the TicketsNow fiasco, Ticketmaster announced that it was merging with Live Nation, the concert promoter. This didn’t sit too well with many people -- including Bruce Springsteen, who warned: "the one thing that would make the current ticket situation even worse for the fan than it is now would be Ticketmaster and Live Nation coming up with a single system, thereby returning us to a near monopoly situation in music ticketing." It didn’t sit too well with members of Congress either. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights held hearings on the proposed merger.
The written statements of the various witnesses can be found on the Senate website. Suffice it to say that the subcommittee members, including New York Senator Chuck Schumer, were very skeptical about the merger's supposed benefits to consumers. Schumer blasted Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff about the Springsteen onsale, saying that there is no reason that Ticketmaster should be in the secondary market to begin with. (Hear, hear!) Schumer got Azoff to admit that Ticketmaster could make “way more” money through TicketsNow than it does through regular sales. Read a press release from Schumer's office here. Sen. Russ Feingold asked Chicago-area promoter Jerry Mickelson if a major artist like Springsteen could do a tour without Live Nation or Ticketmaster. Mickelson, testifying against the merger, said it could not be done and that there would be no way to get around working with the combined company.
A similar committee in the House of Representatives will hold hearings on Thursday. After that, it will be up to the Department of Justice to weigh in on the proposed merger.
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awesome.
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An update on Bruce's Daily Show appearance Thursday night: we're hearing it'll be a deskside chat with Jon Stewart, a standard guest thing rather than a performance. But maybe Jon can get him to do the Paul Rudd dance.
- March 17, 2009
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i got the " ticketmaster is not currnently selling these tickets " message, like many others .
i got in around 1203 pm .
TM sucks,
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www.seanbrady.net
lucky you !
tough ticket to get !
i have been to numerous of these rehearsal shows- get readfy tovexperience the band in an absolute phenomenal atmosphere in this tiny little gymnasium--esque venue .
Comedy Centrals Daily Show is streaming Bruc4es appearance/ performance from last night-
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index ... of-3/16/09
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Yeah I have seen almost every rehearsal show since 99 at Conventional Hall. I would rather go to these then a bigger venue. I was even at the one they had on NBC a few years back. Its always a good show and its close to my house so its even better.
www.seanbrady.net
oh so you are well seasoned as well then, excellent.
i was on the beach / railing also for the today show ( for the rising )
as well as GMA for seeger sessions band.
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SURPRISE, SURPRISE
One more warm-up, this time on the West coast
Rehearsal shows: they're not just for Asbury Park anymore. Just 24 hours before officially launching his Working on a Dream tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band staged one last warm-up for lucky fans last night in Los Angeles.
After working the final kinks out of songs like "The Promised Land," "No Surrender," and "Badlands," the real shocker came in the encore, when Burt Bacharach joined in for the very fitting "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" Taking the stage to a we're-not-worthy bow from Bruce, Bacharach laughed, "But I can't sing!" Said Steve, "That's okay, neither can I!"
An even bigger surprise might have been the venue: the Staples Center. "I never felt like I gave this place a reasonable shot," Springsteen said a few songs in. "When we played here on the reunion tour, we played to a packed house, and we hardly got to appreciate it. Now, I'm playing for the pure pleasure of being in this building."
In a special arrangement with the Los Angeles Lakers, the floor remained configured for basketball, and Springsteen insisted that fans be seated only in the arena's "sky box" luxury suites -- or as one fan called them, "the pits." "All of us got ushered into these glass-encased boxes," said the fan. "We couldn't open the windows, but the chicken fingers were awesome!" Bruce and Steve played to the fans upstairs all night, pointing, waving, and asking, with increased seriousness, if anyone was alive out there.
Once again, the band seemed in top form -- particularly Nils Lofgren, back in action with two new hips, as he executed a perfect reverse three-and-a-half somersaults pike dive into a small pool of water, while simultaneously nailing the solo on "Because the Night."
At night's end, Springsteen hollered, "I'm going to Disneyland!" He added, "Seriously, you guys, tomorrow, I'm going to Disneyland."
Oddly enough, though hundreds of patrons were able to score tickets through Ticketmaster on the day of the show, hundreds more tickets remained for sale on the ticketing company's website even as the show was in progress. "I don't get it," said Ticketmaster spokesman Albert Lopez. "Luxury seating and all, this one didn't really sell. Springsteen usually has remarkable word-of-mouth, especially for rehearsal shows. No one seemed to know about this one."
Full set list to come.
- April 1, 2009
SPRINGSTEEN TO EXPAND THROUGH TOURING COMPANIES
It's common knowledge that Jay Weinberg was asked to join the E Street Band so that his dad could meet his obligations for The Tonight Show. Details are slowly emerging that this substitution is actually part of the Springsteen organization's larger strategic vision.
In a rare interview with the Harvard Business Review, Springsteen talked about his new 50-year plan: "With record sales shrinking and my personal cash flow limited due to a hit to EBITDA, we engaged McKinsey to help conduct a SWOT analysis and structure a mission for us in the 21st century. What we came up with at the strategic retreat was that this whole thing has become too much about me -- pictures of me on the album covers, interviews with me on TV shows. We need to focus on building the Springsteen brand."
"We believe our real long-term value is not me, but the Springsteen-branded experience. Our fans have shown us that they're not all that interested in new music anyway, so why not give the people what they want? Beatlemania never really took off because it wasn't connected to Paul or John. But if we show some 'next generation' connection to the band and I certify these tours, we think we've identified a real market opportunity."
Right now three touring companies are under consideration: the Wild Greetings Company, led by Evan Springsteen, will stick to small clubs on the east coast. "I'm drawing up the guidelines for the shows right now," says Springsteen. "For the Greetings shows, 'Kitty’s Back' will never run less than 20 minutes, and they'll play that early version of 'Thunder Road', 'Wings for Wheels.' It’s clearly not as good a song, but give the people what they want!"
Once audience acceptance of Jay is firmly established, he'll be tapped to lead a theater tour with the Darkness Company. "Each show will start off with a cover tune, and they'll play 'Sad Eyes' every night. That's a Springsteen Experience guarantee!"
Since the audience for the B.I.T.U.S.A. Company (DBA the B.U.S.A. Company) will be much less discerning, the "next generation” role will be filled by Ray Arthur, a kid Roy Bittan met at a frozen yogurt shop in L.A. "We're gonna fill stadiums every summer for the next 50 years with this show," says Bruce. "That's 30 shows a year with 'Bobby Jean' and a 20-minute 'Glory Days' story about my time in Little League!”
"Hey, look -- you practice your craft, you pray to the gods of creativity and aliveness to be ready for the moment to write some great songs... and then you productize the hell out of it."
- April 1, 2009
SPRINGSTEEN BUILDS HOUSE DOWN BY THE RIVER
The latest buzz in New Jersey real estate: Bruce Springsteen's Rumson property is rumored to go on the market within the month, as the Boss reveals that construction is finally complete on his house down by the river. "I've built me a house," he confirms, "And as I told the folks the other night, I want to learn to live in that house. As soon as the inspection's done."
Curious fans may have a long wait to actually get a glimpse of the new structure, as Bruce remains imprecise about its location. One insider reports that it's right on the River of Hope, but others in the know suggest it may also overlook the River of Faith, the River of Love, or the River of Life. Springsteen himself offers only one cryptic lead for those who would seek it out: "You can't get there by yourself."
He adds, "It's got four full bathrooms and a half-bath, plus a six-burner Wolf range. And all the kitchen cabinet knobs look like little guitars. It's pretty sweet."
- April 1, 2009
NEW ALBUM ALREADY IN THE WORKS
Running on empty? Hardly. Bruce promises all new adventures in hi-fi
The bad news: Tracks 2, which promised "You're Missing" (Arthur Baker's "Everything Mix") and "Held Up Without a Gun" (Strings Version), has been delayed indefinitely. But the good news is that -- as if two E Street albums in less than two years weren't enough -- another new album from Bruce and the band is already in the works. As he recently told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "I made a promise to myself to get more records out more quickly than I used to... and now that I've got my wheels under me, in some fashion, it feels like it's time to put the pedal to the metal."
Springsteen reveals that his next album, consisting of songs he wrote backstage at Convention Hall last week, will take shape in a series of live recordings this spring as the E Street Band hits the road. "I was always impressed with bands that recorded albums live, whether it was Joe Jackson, Jackson Browne, or R.E.M. That's the way we're going to do this next one." Though he hasn't determined the exact format, Springsteen says that most of his upcoming shows with the E Street Band will be devoted entirely to these new songs that audiences haven't heard, and the band doesn't know. "I expect we'll run through a song at least once or twice. I may have to stop to re-work a verse or two. My audience will understand," he said. "It's like that Mashall Crenshaw record: I've suffered for my art, now it's your turn! Great album, by the way."
Springsteen waxed equally unfazed by the arena setting for such a project. "Hey, the 'shut the fuck up' speech from the Joad tour seemed to work great," he said, "and if I have to send Clarence out to open a can of whoop-ass on anyone who's hootin' and hollerin' for 'Badlands,' I will." A no-talking, no-standing, no-nothing policy will be strictly enforced.
The possibility of playing some older material remains; Springsteen says he'll make that decision on a "night-by-night" basis. "If things go alright with the new, new songs, I might reward myself and the audience with a song or two, but the real reason for hitting the road is to present something entirely fresh to my audience," he said. "I'm really excited about the new, new songs." As for the album that came out in January, Springsteen said, "What am I, a jukebox? We played the Super Bowl, right? I think people get the idea."
No official release date yet, but the new album is planned to tide fans over between Working on a Dream and Working on a Dream - Second Edition.
- April 1, 2009
EVAN SPRINGSTEEN TO REPLACE BRUCE AT SELECTED EUROPEAN DATES
Bruce Springsteen has invited another E Street offspring to fill in this summer: his own son, Evan. The reason? Not a late night television gig, but Springsteen the elder enrolling in summer classes at Princeton University.
"It's just time," Bruce said. "As far back as the '70s, my mother used to say, 'You know, it's not too late, you can still go back to college.' And she's right."
The 59 year-old plans to take classes in music, American history, and natural sciences. "In some fashion, I really feel like my songwriting could benefit from doing this. Sure, I've made it up as I've gone along," Springsteen said, "but higher education and rock 'n' roll aren't mutually exclusive endeavors. I mean, what do you think I talk about with Jon Landau all the time? My career? Electric Nebraska? Come on." Princeton history professor Sean Wilentz, whose classes Springsteen has sat in on in the past, said that the Boss won't get any special treatment. "Maybe a parking space, but as far as I'm concerned, once in the classroom, he'll be like any other student. This isn't some Rodney Dangerfield movie."
Springsteen's mother Adele told Backstreets that she was "thrilled" with Bruce's decision. "I don't regret getting him that guitar, not at all," she said. "It's just that I think there might be more to life than making records with your friends. He's getting to a point in his life where he should have something to fall back on. I'm thrilled that he's branching out a bit -- just in case."
The college experience apparently rubbed off on the elder Springsteen. "My kid inspired me, so I decided to give up rockin' the European nations for higher education," he said. As the story goes, Bruce called to make the offer while that "kid" was in the car with his father. He said, "You may have heard I have a band. In that band I have the world's greatest frontman, who has a scheduling conflict." Said Evan, "Dad, I'm right here."
No word just yet on which dates Springsteen will sit in for Springsteen, and Weinberg for Weinberg.
Update: Now confirmed -- Wolfgang Van Halen will sub for Garry Tallent.
- April 1, 2009
TICKETMASTER-ONLY CD RAISES EYEBROWS
After Springsteen's recent benefit show for AIG execs, you might have thought that there couldn't be any more embarrassments in store... but the recent announcement of a "Ticketmaster exclusive" Springsteen CD has fans absolutely confounded. No one's complaining about getting to hear "Home Depot Delores" and the full 23-minute "Outlaw (Com)P(l)ete," but this most recent move is so out of character, even Bruce himself seems to be scratching his head.
"That one got past us," the Boss told the New York Times. "I'm glad the fans called us on it. I mean, it so got past us, I couldn't even tell you -- waitaminute, did we even approve this? Who the hell approved this thing?"
In the darkest depths of Mordor, the Eye of Ticketmaster watches all, and waits.
- April 1, 2009
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The Working on a Dream songbook, for piano or guitar tab, includes "Night with the Jersey Devil"! Plus, Willie Nile's brilliant new album.
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LATEST ISSUE #87
It's been a long time comin'... and now it's here. And it's huge! The Spring 2008 issue of Backstreets Magazine is a packed 116 pages of Bruce, Bruce, Bruce.
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Back issues
Check out the May 2009 issue of Q Magzine for a "Q Hero" spread on Springsteen
The Boston Phoenix names Springsteen one of the 100 Unsexiest Men of the Year (Yes, that's an "Un")
On A Deeper Shade of Soul, Ben's got a plan
On the 25th anniversary of "Born in the U.S.A." [Le Monde diplomatique]
This looks worth a vote
Simple Mind's Jim Kerr on Springsteen at the Super Bowl: "Talk about a master class in making it all look so easy...." [Scroll to the Feb 3 entry]
Dying fan's wish to see Ths Boss hits ticket snag [Windsor Star]... and the follow-up.
"Nils Lofgren Marks 25 Years with Springsteen" [OCRegister]
Updated Mar 28, 2008
We also post all known concert dates for some of our favorite Jersey Shore (and Shore-adopted) musicians:
Willie Nile
Bobby Bandiera
Southside Johnny
John Eddie
JoBonanno
Joe D'Urso... and more.
For more information on upcoming shows such as these, check out our Concert Calendar.
Updated Oct 8, 2008
SAVE TILLIE
Many from the Springsteen community banded together to preserve this Asbury Park landmark.... and Tillie has now been saved!
Check our Save Tillie page for the latest developments.
Updated Sep 29, 2008
THE SPRINGSTEEN SPECIAL COLLECTION AT THE ASBURY PARK LIBRARY
Organized by Backstreets and housed at the Asbury Park Public Library since 2001, this collection of Boss books and magazines is the largest outside of Bruce's mother's basement. Thanks to the generous donations of fans around the world, total holdings are now well over 3000. But the collection is by no means complete.
Check out the Springsteen Special Collection page for more info.
Updated Aug 28, 2008
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
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cant wait till my first show on this tour,
nassau coliseum- to which i got GA ticks.
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
Here is the setlist:
Setlist:
Badlands
Outlaw Pete
No Surrender
Out in the Street
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Working on the Highway
Cadillac Ranch
It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
The Wrestler
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run
* * *
Hard Times
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Rosalita
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land
Dancing in the Dark
Setlist taken from http://www.backstreets.com.
Just a few notes from me:
This was my 2nd time seeing Bruce, and even from behind the stage it worked out fine. We had tv video monitors and Bruce played to us quite a bit. I think he really enjoyed our energy even though we were behind him technically.
"Outlaw pete" sounded incredible with Bruce dawning a cowboy hat mid song.
Ghost of tom joad was full band and way better than the original in my opinion, he did that with Atlantic city last time on the Magic tour.
Patti is back it was nice to see the full band back, she was absent last time.
TONS of request played as Bruce says "Raise em up" and took about 6-8 signs it looked like and picked a few from the pile. "Cadilac ranch", and "Roselita" were among some chosen.
The band had so much energy and vise versa, they could feel it off of us. They came back out for a 2nd encore with "Dancing in the dark" which was an unexpected suprise.
Great show. Hope to see Bruce again this fall if it works out.
EV Solo: 7/11/11 11/12/12 11/13/12
http://www.backstreets.com/news.html
HEY! HO! LET'S GO! APRIL 22, BOSSTON, NIGHT TWO OF TWO
A wild night for the second of two in Boston, as Bruce continues to smash his head on the punk rock. On the West coast it was Social D; here in Boston it was the Ramones and local heroes the Dropkick Murphys. The first request song of the night had the the E Street band tackling "I Wanna Be..." ...Where the Bands Are? ...With You? Nope -- try "I Wanna Be Sedated," a first, with Bruce telling the crowd, "Someone's trying to stump the E Street Band!" But Little Steven was having none of it. The band might have made their way through it without him, but with Steve on board? Steve, who has called the Ramones "coolest band since the '60s"? Who has described his Underground Garage aesthetic as "groups that inspired the Ramones, groups inspired by the Ramones, and the Ramones"? Fuggedaboutit. He looked positively gleeful as he conferred with Bruce and Nils beforehand, to make sure they all got it right. The crowd ate it up, with Bruce encouraging participation but hardly needing to.
A tangent worth taking, here's Steven on the Ramones and the art of the DJ: "If to a punky consciousness the Ramones are sugar and the Ronettes are broccoli, you play the Ramones into the Ronettes and, because Joey learned to sing from Ronnie and you can hear it, the Ramones become hollandaise and it works.")
While the Ramones were represented in cover form, some Dropkick Murphys were there in the flesh. For anyone expecting Peter Wolf, the torch has been passed to a new generation of Bostonians. A unique start to their guest spot had guitarist Tim Brennan onstage, down on bended knee, proposing to his girlfriend Diane. She said yes -- credit Nils with getting her answer on mic -- and Springsteen told the crowd, "This is gonna be their wedding song." The tour premiere of "So Young and in Love," not a bad engagement gift! Congratulations, lovebirds. Afterward, Bruce called out, "We've got some more Dropkick Murphys, come on!" Tim was joined by two of his bandmates for a brillant match of guest and song, amping up the Celtic punk in "American Land." And the crowd goes wild.
A great performance all around, energy and fun quotients high. There was also the Greetings double-shot of "Spirit in the Night" into "For You," both by request—the latter actually by popular demand: four signs, which Bruce revealed one at a time. "Jungleland," nailed by both Bruce and Clarence. (That one replaced "The Wrestler," as this tour's namesake album takes yet another hit. And then there were three!) "Hard Times" went out once again to Evan and Jessie; Patti's still recuperating. Jay Weinberg drummed on the final four songs of the main set, as well as on "American Land" and "Glory Days" in the encore while his dad manned the tambourine. And an additional post-"A.L." bonus followed "Glory Days," bringing the song count to 27. It was the first "Seven Nights to Rock" since "guinea pig" night in Asbury Park, clearly a reward for a fantastic Boston crowd. "You guys never disappoint. You still stoke the fire in our belly when we get here."
Now how about the Clash next?
Setlist:
Badlands
Candy's Room
Outlaw Pete
She's the One
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
Youngstown
Raise Your Hand
I Wanna Be Sedated
Spirit in the Night
For You
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Jungleland
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Lonesome Day (w/ Jay Weinberg)
The Rising (w/ Jay Weinberg)
Born to Run (w/ Jay Weinberg)
* * *
Hard Times
Thunder Road
Land of Hope and Dreams
So Young and in Love (w/ Dropkick Murphys' Tim Brennan)
American Land (w/ Dropkick Murphys, Jay Weinberg)
Glory Days (w/ Dropkick Murphys, Jay Weinberg)
Seven Nights to Rock
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
a week to go till the Nassau Coliseum, show,
( GA )
I really hope to hear " Life Itself " off the new album,
i really like that song .
That it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive
ORGAN DONATION SAVES LIVES
http://www.UNOS.org
Donate Organs and Save a Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvKCzXbEe8s
not only was it my fist time seeing bruce in 20 years but to have mike ness come out was awesome!!!!!
My 3rd bruce show but the first one in 9 years.
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22