Bruce Springsteen Playing Free Benefit for OBAMA in PHILLY

Bathgate66

http://www.backstreets.com/news.html


ON THE STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA
Free acoustic show at Obama rally in Philly, October 4


The "Change Rocks" concert announced earlier today (Bruce teams up with Billy Joel, see below) is a fundraiser, so it don't come cheap. But Springsteen is playing a different kind of show for Obama this weekend -- and this one's free. On Saturday afternoon, Bruce will perform an acoustic set at a rally on the streets of Philadelphia. With Pennsylvania's voter registration deadline looming on Monday, the event is an effort to both to register voters and recruit volunteers.

Craig Schirmer, Pennsylvania State Director of the Obama-Biden campaign: "Senator Obama is a great fan of Bruce Springsteen and is honored to have his support. This will be a great opportunity to gather tens of thousands of our supporters together in one place as we register new voters and bring new volunteers into this campaign for change."

Where: Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 20th and 22nd Streets
When: Saturday, October 4. Gates open at 2:00, showtime is 3:30
How: For access to the best viewing area, preferred tickets will be distributed to those who sign up to volunteer -- beginning at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday at the Obama-Biden campaign office. General admission tickets can be secured online at pa.barackobama.com/springsteen.
- September 30, 2008

Bathgate66

SPRINGSTEEN SETS MORE RALLIES FOR OHIO, MICHIGAN
Bruce plans a three-state swing for Obama, Saturday through Monday
Following Springsteen's performance on Saturday in Philly, he'll hit the road to rally voters in two more swing states in the following days. That will complete a trifecta of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, with Springsteen playing free concerts in each (he's expected to play 30- to 40-minute acoustic sets) in support of Barack Obama.

On Sunday, Springsteen comes to Columbus, OH (where he also appeared for John Kerry in 2004). He'll be playing an acoustic set at a rally "aimed at encouraging Obama supporters to register and take advantage of Ohio’s early voting period."
Where: Ohio State University's Main Oval
When: Sunday, October 5. Doors open at 3:00, showtime is 4:30
How: For access to the best viewing area, preferred tickets will be distributed starting on Thursday, Oct. 2, from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. For ticket pick-up locations, see the Dayton Daily News.

On Monday, the final day to register to vote in Michigan, it's on to Ypsilanti to headline a rally at Eastern Michigan University's baseball stadium.
Where: Oestrike Stadium
When: Monday, October 6. Gates open at 3:00, showtime is 4:30
How: A limited supply of tickets will be made available Friday, Oct. 3, at Obama campaign offices as well as all EMU ticket offices. Tickets will be given out on a first- come, first-served basis. EMU students will be able to obtain one ticket by showing a valid EMU ID. Eastern Michigan University will expand its normal ticket office hours Friday to accommodate the expected demand. The expanded hours and locations are as follows: Quirk Hall, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Student Center, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and the Convocation Center, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The general public should use the Convocation Center location for ticket requests.

"Obviously Michigan is an incredibly important state in this election, along with Pennsylvania and Ohio," Brent Colburn, Michigan communications director for the Obama campaign, told the Ann Arbor News. "It's a place where we're trying to do everything we can to make sure everybody's registered to vote."
- October 2, 2008

cincybearcat

What`s a free benefit? I think u meant free rally.

Bathgate66

cincybearcat wrote:

What`s a free benefit? I think u meant free rally.

its free for the music fans,

and it benefits OBAMA. ( they hope--alltho it didnt help Kerry back in 04 )





For me personally, as much as I love Bruce , just seeing him play 5 or 6 songs acoustically amongst 50 K people , free of charge or not , thats not gonna make me automatically vote one way or another.


setlist / notes: :

VOTE FOR CHANGE COMES BACK TO PHILLY, FIRST OF THREE RALLIES
This afternoon in Philadelphia, Springsteen began his three-city tour of Vote for Change rallies for the Obama campaign. After the introduction by a wisecracking Governor Ed Rendell, Springsteen and his acoustic took the stage for a seven-song, 45-minute set that opened with "The Promised Land." "Great to be here in my home away from home, Philly," Bruce told the crowd -- a huge turnout on this Ben Franklin Parkway esplanade -- adding later, "I tried this four years ago... this time, we'll win it!"

Songs included the relevant-as-ever "The Ghost of Tom Joad," the invitation of "Tunder Road," the determined rallying cries of "No Surrender" and "The Rising," and for fun, "a song I played many, many times at the old Main Point," "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street."

Springsteen also prepared a speech the occasion, calling for a rock to keep his pages from blowing in the wind -- "Don't throw it!" He began by noting that he'd been writing about the American people for 35 years; he went on to what the Founding Fathers accomplished here in Philadelphia, what they stood for, and what their counsel would be these 200-plus years later: "Do your best to make these things real." Going on to address the difference between promise and reality in America, Bruce had some good laugh lines ("I occasionally play big stadiums like Senator Obama") and wrapped it all up by returning to that metaphor he liked to pull out on the Magic tour, of building a house together. "One thousand George Bushes and one thousand Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down.... Come on, Philly, let's build that house."

Update: read the full text of the speech at brucespringsteen.net

Toward the end of the set, the crowd broke into a spontaneous "Yes we can" chant, Bruce adding some percussion on his guitar before offering up one more, a regular from the '85 stadium tour, Woody Guthrie's stirring "This Land is Your Land." And one final message to the throng of voters in Philly: "It's up to you now."

Poster: