U N C L E *B R U C E* S P R I N G S T E E N *

A guest column by Greg Mitchell


The Boss and I go way back. Way, way back. But now we have ended up in the same place -- on Iraq and on the page.

Bruce wrote the brief preface for my new book on Iraq and the media. He writes of living "in a time when it's never been more difficult to tell the truth from lies and lies from the truth" and denounces "the obstructions that have kept the media from fully doing their job." So all of us must "be more questioning, skeptical, and savvy than ever in assessing information that's presented to us," he writes. "And we need to teach our children to do the same."

More than 35 years ago (ouch), in January 1973, Peter Knobler and I wrote the first magazine article about Springsteen, even before his first record came out.

It was a 10,000 word opus for the legendary Crawdaddy (we were the top editors there) titled "Who is Bruce Springsteen and Why Are We Saying These Wonderful Things About Him?" He has never forgotten that, or the other cheerleading we did for him before he finally broke through. Maybe I'll go into that another time.

Bruce turns up in my book, So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq a couple of times. Here is an excerpt from one chapter, from June 2006:

Appearing on CNN today to promote his current tour and album of Pete Seeger songs, Springsteen -- who was about as apolitical as they come when I knew him back in the 1970s -- took note of the new Ann Coulter controversy in responding to a question about whether musicians should speak out on politics.

Springsteen was asked by Soledad O'Brien if getting flak about his political views, such as backing John Kerry in 2004, made him wonder if musicians should try so hard to be taken seriously on topical issues.

"They should let Ann Coulter do it instead?" he mused, with a chuckle. Then he said, "You can turn on the idiots rambling on, on cable television, every night of the week -- and they say musicians shouldn't speak up? It's insane, it's funny," he said, with that inimitable booming laugh. He called politics "an organic part of what I'm doing. . . . It's called common sense. I don't even see it as politics at this point."

As for the Iraq war, he commented, "You don't take your country into a major war on circumstantial evidence -- you lose your job for that. That's my opinion, and I don't have a problem voicing that. Some people have a problem with that, others don't."

He revealed that some former fans have even mailed records back to him. Records? What are they?

Greg Mitchell is editor of Editor & Publisher. His new book, So Wrong for So Long, is his ninth on media, history and politics. His 1973 Crawdaddy piece on Springsteen, referenced above, has been collected in Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader.

Cinci got Lost In The Flood ?


:eek:
:eek:

darlington county , glory days and prove it all night ?



wow- wicked setlist for the cinci foilks !


Setlist:
Darlington County
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Candy's Room
Prove It All Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Be True
Lost in the Flood
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Glory Days
Born to Run
Dancing in the Dark
American Land
* * *
Kitty's Back

Bruce speeding thru the setlist suprises me.

Pearl Jam does the same thing often , brushing at double or triple pace thru the set, totally faster then what we are used to on the album(s).

oh well, double edged sword there-


Im very envious of Lost In The Flood, Prove It,. and Be True .

radiohead33 wrote:

The Portland show on Friday will be my first Bruce show ever. What can I expect? Unfortunately I wont be in the pit, but will be up in the balcony. But still I am psyched as all hell. I would assume “great concerts” can be seen from up close, up near the stage, but one can also have a “best concert ever” experience, even from back in the balcony.

Whats a Bruce show like? Is it as mindblowing as I imagine it being? How long is his set usually? I don’t think any Bruce album is bad, and I love The Rising and Magic, but does he also play songs from Born to Run, Darkness, etc… the early albums?

What are Bruce’s audiences like? Is his fanbase the type that sing along to every word, or do they dance and have a grand old time, or maybe both?

I would almost garantee that anyone who might give you any negative feedback about a Springsteen and E Street Band show, has most likely never seen them live in concert before.
You will be bitten by the bug, my friend.
Dont go in expecting anything, and youll take the very most out of the show and experience.
I must admit the crowds at Bruces shows, most recently, have become a wider ranger of ages. ( No doubt due to the success of Magic touching the lives of more younger and younger people along with the seasoned mature adults. ) You will even see families with parents and children there.
There is really no way to predict the length of the shows so far,m but pretty much they all average about the same amopunt of times / songs in the set .
Much of this tour revolves around Magic, but youll most likely hear some from The Rising ( too much for my liking personally but hey thats me ) , Born To Run , Darkness, Greetings, pretty much all albums from Bruce and ESB .
Ofg course the same 8-10 soings are played nightly, but there are nightly deviations and intangibles, all depending on Bruces mood(s) .

People will no doubt be singing and clapping and dancing all along, all night thru.
If you're anywhere near someone like myself, you will most likely be standing all night , unless you opt to sit down at any point in the show , but you will have been fully obstructed then .

Just like any other Band, ( ie: Pearl Jam ) there are drunken idiots around, people who talk, people who are just there to be there ,people who will actually have the gawl to ask you to sit down so that they can see,... its a roll of the dice.


If you just have good time, , you'll have a blast.

You may appear to be floating for an undetermined ammount of time after the show- as well as not being able to slleep properly-- but dont wrorry- this is totally normal .
To treat , get to the next , closest gig as fast as you can !




enjoy the show.
if you try to bring in a camera- be watchful of security detail.


enjoy !

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