Springsteen - Seeger Sessions

Didn't Bruce play a show recently that only had about 5 grand in attendance? At a non-unionized venue where a corona is 10 dollars............i heard this o nthe radio today.


Maybe if the "champion of the working class" didn't charge 90 dollars a ticket....................

verb_to_trust wrote:

Didn't Bruce play a show recently that only had about 5 grand in attendance? At a non-unionized venue where a corona is 10 dollars............i heard this o nthe radio today.


Maybe if the "champion of the working class" didn't charge 90 dollars a ticket....................

i think that was in Indiana. ( not sure )

i'd gladly pay 100 bucks / ticket over and over, as others are doing .

6/16, CLEVELAND: LOCK UP YER DAUGHTERS!


A nice outdoor venue -- all woody, with a lot of character, unlike Tinley Park's "big black box" -- and a pair of tour debuts in Cleveland. The first, "Long Time Comin'," sounded like they'd been playing it every night (maybe not surprising, considering it got about a dozen run-throughs at soundcheck). Of the Springsteen originals on this tour, this one sounded most like its recorded version -- arrangement-wise, there's no wheel to reinvent, since Bruce had never played it live with a band before. A regular tells us, "One of the best debut performances I've seen. Everything on this tour has its raggedness, but this fell into place very nicely. They all nailed it -- especially at the end, with the fiddles in harmony, an uplifting horn part, and soaring gospel vocals -- just beautiful." Bruce dedicated the song to his son Evan, who was in attendance: "Everyone should guard their daughters!" The other debut was the first solo performance of the tour, Springsteen on 12-string for "Into the Fire," as the band stood behind him on stage. He dedicated the song, honoring a request he received by letter, to Lance Cpl. Edward August Schroeder and the 3rd battalion, 25th Marine Regiment of Brook Park, Ohio, from Linda Herbkersman. That Battalion suffered major casualties last year -- including "Augie" Schroeder, 20 died in Iraq in a matter of days. "You can forget the names, you can forget the faces," Bruce said, "But when it's your son or daughter, you never forget the loss." Before "Bring Them Home," which got another great round of applause, Springsteen gave a plug to the local food bank as usual, adding that a local anti-death penalty group had a table set up as well: "Whatever your beliefs, you should stop and see what they have to say." When someone in the crowd yelled, "Kill the killers!" Bruce shot back, "That kind of stupidity gets us nowhere. You, my friend, should be the first at the table."


wow- Bruce on an acoustic 12 string ! ? ! ? :eek:

cant wait till thursday night at the Garden and then Fri on Conan !

6/17, DETROIT: PICNIC AT PINE KNOB
A beautiful, warm summer night -- looked pretty hot onstage, actually -- in the far north suburbs of Detroit. And well attended, compared to previous shows -- the pavilion was virtually full, with the biggest lawn crowd so far. "Hello, picnickers!" Bruce hollered. There was no pit tonight, but that didn't seem to have any real effect; the crowd was boisterous enough, and there was no need to call for any Detroit asses to get out of any Detroit seats. A very similar set to Cleveland, dropping "Into the Fire" but adding "Further On (Up the Road)" before "Long Time Comin'." The latter was again dedicated to son Evan, whereabouts unknown at first -- Bruce said he was probably asleep backstage, since them teenagers like to stay up all night -- but he came out after the song to bring his pop a a guitar. Patti remains absent, but when a fan called out for her, Bruce said she'd "be back soon." Speaking of moms, Dave Marsh's mother got a shout-out tonight, with a dedication of "We Shall Overcome." Detroit critic and friend-of-Backstreets Gary Graff has a review of the show and an interview with Charles Giordano.

Nice show last night at Saratoga! Its amazing to see Bruce with so many musicians on so many different instruments, and it sounded so good! Mostly Seeger Sessions songs, as well as a very re-written Adam Raised a Cain (Darkness...), and You can Look but You Better Not Touch (The River) (to the point of being almost unrecognizable if you don't know the words really well). Bruce had part of his right hand bandaged, but it didn't seem to detract from his playing. Ended with When the Saints go Marching In.

It wasn't raining during the show, but I think the grass would have been a little wet; however they seem to allow both blankets and lawn chairs (at least for Springsteen - I don't remember seeing lawn chairs the previous night at NIN, not that anyone would be sitting for that anyway!) I think you would have been alright.

6/19, CAMDEN: A RUMBLE IN NEW JERSEY!


For some sensitive folks, it was a show on the Jersey side... and for those on the other side, this was considered by many to be a Philly show. As Bruce put it, it was a "rumble in New Jersey!" for this sold-out, jam-packed concert. And no matter how you slice it, it was a special night, with both Southside Johnny -- "The Ghost of New Jersey!" -- and Joe Grushecky -- "The Ghost of Pittsburgh!" -- joining in the hootenanny. Back in his home turf, Bruce namechecked Walt Whitman and observed, "Leaves of Grass wasn't good enough"... you know you've made it "when you've had a service center named after you." The tour debut and full-band premiere of "Maria's Bed" was actually a let-down -- a train-wreck, even, a missed opportunity -- that caused the show to drag after a high-energy opening six-pack. But the set closed in fine form with SSJ on harp and Joey G. wielding his axe on "Pay Me My Money Down," with Southside holding his own onstage at center mic throughout the whole set-ending shtick.

http://www.nydailynews.com/06-22-2006/news/gossip/story/428722p-361499c.html

For Pete's sake, air Springsteen folk fest


The Bruce Springsteen tour that arrives here tonight provides another example of how niched and conservative commercial radio formats can help keep music and potential fans apart.
Springsteen's "Seeger Sessions" CD features songs associated with Pete Seeger and performed as a foot-stomping sing-alongs with a 16-piece band.

Several tunes, including "John Henry," "Jacob's Ladder" and "Pay Me My Money Down," are as rousing as any of Springsteen's rock songs, mixing blues, country, swing, folk, pop, gospel and any other style he can think of.

Springsteen's been on a short tour since the CD was released in April, and while he drew sellout crowds in Europe, he's had something unusual at some of his U.S. dates: patches of empty seats.

The main reason for this, presumably, is fans who hear he's playing "folk music" and figure they'll wait until he gets his rock band back together.

That's not radio's fault. Radio can't make people like something to which they're indifferent. But if radio were a little more open itself, it could help show that this is mighty energetic stuff.

In Saratoga Monday night, Springsteen kept a full house on its feet pretty much the whole show. No one left wishing for "Born to Run."

It's also true that Springsteen has rarely been a Top 40 radio artist. But rock radio has always played him, and unfortunately, rock radio is a shrinking commodity in cities like New York. "The Seeger Sessions" has gotten spins on classic-rock WAXQ (104.3 FM), but long gone are the days of the old free-form WNEW, which figured its listeners wanted to hear music that was a little different and maybe even, gasp, out of format.

Bruce gets played on "adult alternative" WFUV (90.7 FM), some college and surburban stations, and XM and Sirius satellite. He didn't really expect more. The shame is that some people who might like this CD will never know, and radio could help.

He plays the Garden tonight, then PNC Bank Center Saturday and Sunday. As of yesterday, Garden seats were available.

6/22, NYC: WE'RE AN "AMERICAN LAND"


"This is an immigrant song for New York City," Springsteen said before tonight's new opening number -- no, not a song off Led Zeppelin III, but at the moment we can't tell you exactly what it was, either. On the setlist as "American Land," it had a recurring refrain of "home in the American land," but it wasn't "He Lies in the American Land," despite that song's association with Pete Seeger and the similarity in title. A new Springsteen song? Watch this space for more as we know it.... In any case, it was certainly a world premiere, an Irish reel with a Clancy Brothers/Tommy Makem feel to it; lyrically, a vivid portrait of the immigrant experience in the vein of Ry Cooder's "Across the Borderline." At the end, Bruce had one more dedication for it: "for all you travelers out there." All six tour horn players were featured, with Clark and Curt exiting after the opener and returning to the stage for "Poor Man" forward. Also returning to the fold was Patti Scialfa -- after the just-as-long-absent "If I Should Fall Behind," Bruce told the crowd, "She came out of semi-retirement to be here tonight!" During "Old Dan Tucker" Bruce held a sing-off between New York and New Jersey, but he said that this Madison Square Garden show was really a test for the band, playing for "bloodthirsty New Yorkers." And indeed, the crowd ran hot and cold. But here in the current hometown of the Max Weinberg 7, there was a particularly rabid response for the horns on songs like "Jesse James" and "Oklahoma Home," and "Jacob's Ladder" pulled 'em all in. In the encore, "Bring Them Home" was stripped down to feature Springsteen alone on harmonica and guitar, dedicated to Steve Earle. One really nice touch came at the end of "Pay Me My Money Down," when the person who came out to tell tuba player Art Baron "time to go" was not Bruce as usual, but Art's mother. And judging from his priceless reaction, it came as a very pleasant surprise -- quite a sentimental moment. More family and friends taking in the Garden show: Bruce's mother and aunts, Steven and Maureen Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, Tim Russert (whose wife, Maureen Orth, wrote the Newsweek story in '75), and in the pit, Dave Marsh, Jon Landau, and Bill Flanagan.

SETLIST:

American Land/John Henry/O Mary Don't You Weep/Johnny 99/Old Dan Tucker/Eyes on the Prize/Jesse James/Atlantic City/Erie Canal/My Oklahoma Home/If I Should Fall Behind/Mrs. McGrath/How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live?/Jacob's Ladder/We Shall Overcome/Open All Night/Pay Me My Money Down
Encore: Bring Them Home/My City of Ruins/Ramrod/You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)/When the Saints Go Marching In



Johnny 99 and AC were very cool

My highlights: Eyes On The Prize, How Can A Poor Man, Jacobs Ladder, ( everyone in MSG was standing for this one ) Open All Night , Pay Me My Money Down , My City Of Ruins ( *continues to be a very emotional song, & still gets me teary eyed ) Ramrod and You Can Look( But You Better Not Touch )

Awesome night!





Next: Across the river to the Jersey side, where a pair of shows in Holmdel on Saturday and Sunday close out the leg.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/story/429316p-361979c.html


Bruce gig is hoot(enanny)


http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/745-springsteen.JPG



Even playing with a 20-piece band, Bruce Springsteen shows he's still The Boss at Madison Square Garden last night.

Scratchy fiddles, wheezing accordions, prickly banjos - they don't exactly say rock 'n' roll, do they?
But last night at Madison Square Garden, where such sounds dominated, Bruce Springsteen proved he didn't need the roar of an electric guitar to rouse a crowd or draw it near.

As every fan knows, Springsteen's current tour finds him in wholly new surroundings. He's not howling in front of the EStreet Band or sheepishly singing his own, woeful folk ballads into his chest, as on his solo tours. Instead he's appearing with a band large enough to people a small town. For 2-1/2 hours, they created a sound that mixed a Western hootenanny with a New Orleans juke joint.

The crack 20-piece band concentrated mainly on songs from the star's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions," a CD that plugs traditional folk pieces, often associated with Pete Seeger, into Springsteen's own unsinkable character.

Take the century-old ballad "John Henry." Lyrically, it's ideal for Springsteen's canon, addressing the trials of a working stiff. But this story of defeat was delivered with the pride and valor of a national anthem.

Other songs addressed subjects like the struggle for freedom - "O Mary Don't You Weep"; the dignity of honest work - "Erie Canal"; and the power of hope - "Eyes on the Prize." But the sociopolitical underpinnings of the pieces were shrouded in metaphor and spare story telling. Their serious messages of protest and pain never undercut their sense of joy.

While "My Oklahoma Home" talks about people who have lost every possession, the music bursts with a defiant glee. It was the polar opposite of Springsteen's solo folk shows, which make a fetish of dreariness.

Live, the band worked on a broader swath of American music than on the CD - and did a public service in the process. Sounds from Western swing to rockabilly turned up, with extra space given to the obscene honks of the New Orleans horns.

Springsteen even managed to include some radically refigured tunes of his own. "Johnny 99" became a funk shuffle; "If I Should Fall Behind," a waltz.

By offering such a rousing do-over of these songs, and so many others, Springsteen epitomized another American theme: reinvention. More than 30 years into his career, how stirring to see him use the distant past to once again make himself new.