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Bruce Rocks Florence in the Rain

The official Bruce Springsteen Website, BruceSpringsteen.net has two great photo galleries from the Milan and Florence shows. Florence was performed in a torrential rainstorm and a rain soaked Bruce joined his hardy fans for some Singing in the Rain! A footnote for the Milan show, it is the second longest show Bruce and the E Street Band have ever played. The longest was the New Year’s Eve Show in 1980 at the Nassau Coliseum, in Uniondale, Long Island, New York. I was at that show and I could not believe how the band just kept coming out for encore after encore! Once more some great shots from Joe Lopez! Here are the headers from the website. Enjoy!

Bruce Rocks Florence in the Rain

Following on the heels of their epic concert in Milan, Bruce & the E Street Band headed south to Florence, Italy, for another 30+ song set, closing with “Who’ll Stop the Rain” in homage to the downpour fans endured for most of the show. Check out these new photos from the evening by Jo Lopez

Photos from the marathon in Milan

You may have heard about Bruce & the E Street Band’s marathon 33-song, 3 hour and 40 minute concert on June 7 in Milan, but you haven’t seen it like this! Enjoy these new photos from that magical night in Milan which became Bruce’s second longest show of his career after only New Year’s Eve 1980 in Uniondale, NY.

http://brucespringsteen.net/

Bruce Springsteen; Milan, Italy Setlist June 7, 2012

The Springsteen Information Center once again thanks, Josh Hathaway and BlindedBySound.com–Huntsville, AL resident Josh Hathaway has turned a lifelong musical obsession into a not-very-lucrative career as a freelance music writer. BlindedBySound is the best chapter in that adventure, where he serves as site publisher.

Bruce Springsteen - Milan, Italy, June 7, 2012 - Setlist - 6/7/12 - Wrecking Ball World Tour

Bruce Springsteen resumes his trek across Europe on the Wrecking Ball world tour, stopping tonight in Milan, Italy.

We have good news and bad news in this one and we’re going to be positive on this Thursday and start with the good. This is now the longest set of the entire tour coming in at 33 songs strong.

The good is “Candy’s Room” and “The Promise,” the latter performed solo piano. The good includes “Spirit In The Night” and “E Street Shuffle” played back-to-back. Good also includes “Darkness On The Edge Of Town.” I also love seeing “Cadillac Ranch” in the encore.

“The Promise” is followed with “The River,” “The Rising,” and “Radio Nowhere,” which is an excellent suite of songs. There were several bowls of good poured out upon the fair people of Milan, Italy before they were doused with the bowls of Bruce’s wrath.

Not only did he insist on playing “No Surrender” but the legendary E Street Band, according to various internet reports, fucked it up twice before getting it right the third time. No, I mean fucked it up beyond the decision to play it. Maybe it was a mutiny. I’d like to think so but the time to do that is when Bruce brings a kid on stage for “Waiting On A Sunny Day.” “No Surrender” is weapons-grade bad, “Waiting On A Sunny Day” is a warcrime. At any rate, the poor people of Milan had to wait for the E Street Band to figure out how to play a song Bruce has been overplaying since the flood and then were subjected to “Working On The Highway.” “Bobby Jean” was a depraved act by a depraved man.

I know there are those of you who find yourselves tired of my bitching about turds in the setlists and wish I’d sit down and shut up. My response: I wish he’d stop playing turds. Bluntly put: I’ll stop when he does. I’m gonna be the hand gonna be beatin’ on him until he does it right.

  1. We Take Care of Our Own
  2. Wrecking Ball
  3. Badlands
  4. Death To My Hometown
  5. My City of Ruins
  6. Spirit in the Night
  7. E Street Shuffle
  8. Jack of all Trades
  9. Candy’s Room
  10. Darkness on the Edge of Town
  11. Johnny 99
  12. Out in the Street
  13. No Surrender
  14. Working on the Highway
  15. Shackled and Drawn
  16. Waiting on a Sunny Day
  17. The Promised Land
  18. The Promise (Solo Piano)
  19. The River
  20. The Rising
  21. Radio Nowhere
  22. We Are Alive
  23. Land of Hope and Dreams
  24. Rocky Ground
  25. Born in the USA
  26. Born To Run
  27. Cadillac Ranch
  28. Hungry Heart
  29. Bobby Jean
  30. Dancing in the Dark
  31. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
  32. Glory Days
  33. Twist and Shout

Bruce Springsteen Lithographs of The ‘Born To Run’ Tour 1975

Exclusive prints from 1974-1975

The official Springsteen Store has released three new, limited edition lithographs featuring stunning black and white photos shot by Peter Cunningham in 1974 and 1975 at The Bottom Line in New York City.  The first lithograph features Bruce on stage in 1974 when he and the E Street Band made their debut headline appearance, and the others come from a string of five shows in August 1975 which served as a prelude to the album, Born To Run, released later that month. Get yours here!

http://brucespringsteen.net/

Bruce Springsteen Rocks Lisbon Nice Photo Gallery

brucespringsteen.net has added photos of the Lisbon show.  Hit the link below and enjoy!

Bruce and E Street Band rock Lisbon til 2:40 am

Headlining this weekend’s Rock in Rio festival in Lisbon, Portugal, Bruce & the E Street Band delivered another epic three-hour show, playing long into the early morning hours and finally wrapping their 24-song set at 2:40 am. Jo Lopez shares new photos of their late night adventures on stage here

http://brucespringsteen.net/?cid=nl%253A234148413&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uscolumbia-brucespringsteen&utm_campaign=email-uscolumbia-brucespringsteen-20120605-nl234148413&utm_content=nllink-df86813-site%2520officiel%2520-%2520clip

Springsteen To Play San Sebastian This Saturday

‘The Boss’ will play Donostia-San Sebastian’s Anoeta stadium as part of the ‘Wrecking Ball’ tour

Click to access the Video of Badlands that opened the Barcelona Show!  It is a good one!

http://www.eitb.com/en/news/entertainment/detail/895216/springsteen–springsteen-play-san-sebastian-this-saturday/

 

“The Boss”‘ concert at the city’s Anoeta stadium will mark the US rocker’s first visit since 2008, and his second gig in the Gipuzkoan capital. In summer 2008 he played the same venue and practically took over the city’s María Cristina Hotel. He was delighted by the Gipuzkoan capital and bid farewell promising “I’ll be back.” And so it was. In 2009 he played in Bilbao, though he chose to spend the night in Donostia, returning once again with his family in August of the same year.

He will present his latest album, “Wrecking Ball”, released early this year. With economic injustice, Springsteen’s powerful new disc has a subject he can sink his teeth into, and he matches it with music that has some of the same clenched fury.

Tickets for Springsteen’s June 2nd concert at Anoeta can be purchased via ticketmaster.com. Entrance to the central rink costs 65 Euros (plus booking fee). Seats are priced at between 65 and 83 Euros (+ fee) depending on location.

More Bruce Springsteen at The Pinkpop Festival In the Netherlands!

Bruce Springsteen Pinkpop Festival Setlist Landgraaf, The Netherlands 5/28/12 Setlist Wrecking Ball Tour Mumford & Sons

Thanks once more to our new friend, Josh Hathaway, who is a Huntsville, AL resident.  Josh Hathaway has turned a lifelong musical obsession into a not-very-lucrative career as a freelance music writer. BlindedBySound is the best chapter in that adventure, where he serves as site publisher.  He is also helping us spread the word of all that is Bruce Springsteen and more!

The E Street Band look to rebound from calamity in Cologne with their headlining set at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Netherlands tonight. This set being part of a festival, it comes in several songs lighter than recent stadium shows on the European leg of the tour.

It’s too much to expect a complete recovery, then, from last night’s debacle but it’s a step in the right direction. This abbreviated set actually improves on things because they didn’t play the turds; it was addition by subtraction.

Not only that but look at this stretch: “Spirit In The Night,” “Because The Night,” and “Radio Nowhere.” That’s mighty! Look at just before and just after them: “My City Of Ruins” and “I’m On Fire” (the latter being a tour premiere). It’s hard to imagine how much energy came out of the place after fiery “Because The Night” and “Radio Nowhere” down to “I’m On Fire,” but it’s one of the songs on Born In The USA that doesn’t make me cringe

This being a festival and Bruce being a man of the people, there were guest musicians who came out to hang with the band during the encore. Amazingly, you can get more people on stage with the E Street Band and the E Street sideshow! Garland Jeffreys joined them for a rendition of “96 Tears,” a cover they played when I saw them in Atlanta on the Working On A Dream tour.

The other guest tonight was Mumford and Sons, who joined the band on “Hungry Heart.” I’m actually curious what that sounded like. I wonder if they changed up the arrangement or the harmonies to include the Mumfords or if it was played straight.

In addition to “96 Tears” and “Hungry Heart,” the encore included the now familiar run of “Born In The USA,” “Born To Run,” and “Dancing In The Dark.” That asshole fan in Cologne may have done us all the greatest disservice of all by encouraging Bruce to start playing “American Land” again. There really is no justice in this world if that individual is not found and tried in The Hague for crimes against humanity.

Here is the full setlist for Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at the Pinkpop Festival, featuring special guests Garland Jeffreys and Mumford & Sons.

  1. We Take Care Of Our Own
  2. Wrecking Ball
  3. Badlands
  4. Death To My Hometown
  5. My City Of Ruins
  6. Spirit In the Night
  7. Because The Night
  8. Radio Nowhere
  9. I’m On Fire
  10. Shackled & Drawn
  11. Waitin’ On A Sunny Day
  12. The Promised Land
  13. The River
  14. The Rising
  15. We Are Alive
  16. Thunder Road ### ### ###
  17. 96 Tears [with Garland Jeffreys]
  18. Born In The U.S.A
  19. Born to Run
  20. Hungry Heart (w/Mumford and Sons)
  21. Dancing in the Dark
  22. American Land
  23. Tenth Avenue Freeze-out

Why Has Boston Become Such a Favorite Son for Bruce Springsteen?

The Springsteen Information Center would like to thank our good friend By Pete Chianca, Blogness on the Edge of Town and mysurburnlife.com out of The Geneva Republican!

Call it Springsteenian Guilt Syndrome (SGS) — I’m almost embarrassed to be getting three stadium shows in Boston on the fall leg of Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrecking Ball” tour (as many as Jersey), especially when Bruce has yet to hit Pittsburgh, Kansas City or the Pacific Northwest. Just ask the commenters on our Facebook page, who are starting to get a little frantic, frankly.

(All right, here is my 2 cents before we go any further.  There was this semi-famous rock and Roll Reporter/Producer who penned the now famous words that help catapult Bruce Springsteen’s Career. “I have seen the future of Rock n’ Roll and his name is Bruce Springsteen!”  The writer was Jon Landau, now The Boss or Partner of ’The Boss,’ depending how you look at it.   He was the guy who helped work through the road block for the album, Born To Run.  He was the guy who took over for the hated Mike Appel, who pretty much had Bruce signed to what a lot of folks call  Endebted  Servitude, where every and all songs that Bruce Wrote, belonged to Appel!  Back in the Day, this was common practice in the music business for most Managers/Producers and unknown talent who might become one hit wonders.   Who cares after they get their 15 minutes of fame. they made their money quick and dropped the act when it cooled off.   The problem was that Springsteen would become anything but a one hit wonder.  So the pendulum would end up swinging back at Appel who was severed at the head by Bruce, his new confidant and a bunch of 1,000 hour lawyers!  Well all of this Rock n roll Future happened in Boston!  Yes, Jon Landau was up in Boston when he made those remarks.  It’s no secret that Boston was one of the few really strong areas for Bruce and the Band.  It was up there with Jersey Shore, NYC, Philly and burbs, Cleveland, Washington DC area.  Places that were less than a days drive from home and could be gotten to quickly.  So it just proves that Bruce hasn’t forgotten his roots and returns to the places where they have been fans the longest.   this can be another of the reasons he has added a 3rd show in Beantown!  Now back to Pete’s article.),

What possessed him to embark on two Fenway shows and a Gillette Stadium stop in the same week we’ll never know — Maybe it’s because he’s enjoyed the time spent here while son Evan, who graduated this week, was attending BC. Or it could be because Camp Springsteen knows that we’ll pony (boy) up for the tickets no matter how many times he comes. Pittsburgh won’t come out unless he’s there with Grushecky. (Ahem.)

As for me, I have tickets to Fenway 1 and Gillette. Will I go for night 2 as well, or will sanity (along with my mortgage, my car payment and my family vacation fund) prevail? Stay tuned, and in the meantime, catch up with the Springsteen stories you may have missed if you for some reason aren’t glued to our Facebook page (and Twitter feed, natch) 24 hours a day, even though you should be.

• Speaking of Beantown, see Springsteen wandering the streets of Boston! (Above.) And where was I? That’s right, at work. What was I thinking?

• 22 seconds of the “Rocky Ground” video, for some reason.

• Official release of the 1978 Cleveland Agora show? Yeah, I’d buy that.

• Springsteen clocks in at No. 5 and No. 30 for Paste’s “70 Best Albums of the ’70s.” You can probably guess with which ones.

• Seville photo gallery: The Boss dresses down. Arriving in Gran Canaria photo gallery: Stevie dresses … well, “down” is probably not the word, but it’s something else. (Also, see great pix from the show here.) Finally, some fine shots from Barcelona.

• IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Rev. Jeffrey B. Symynkywicz’ essay on spirituality on “Wrecking Ball” is a must-read.

Video: Bruce Springsteen Credits Occupy Wall Street For Inspiring Newt Gingrich

21812bruce.jpg

 BROOOOOOCE performing at the Grammy Awards (AP)

 Coming off  an invigorating performance to kickoff the Grammy Awards, Bruce BROOOOOCE Springsteen was in Paris this week to formally introduce his new album, Wrecking Ball, for a select group of reporters. Springsteen gave over much of the press conference to discussing the current state of American politics, and how his “angry patriotism” was reflected in the new music: “Previous to Occupy Wall Street, there was no push back at all saying this was outrageous—a basic theft that struck at the heart of what America was about, a complete disregard for the American sense of history and community.”

Springsteen expects some people may misunderstand the politically charged songs—a mix of folk music, gospel music and the E-Street Band sound—on the new album, just as Ronald Reagan misunderstood “Born In The USA” almost 30 years ago. That’s especially true for the rousing first single “We Take Care Of Our Own,” an ironic song that sums up the broken promises of the country as far as Springsteen sees it. “I have spent my life judging the distance between American reality and the American dream…What was done to our country was wrong and unpatriotic and un-American and nobody has been held to account,” he later told the Guardian. “There is a real patriotism underneath the best of my music but it is a critical, questioning and often angry patriotism.”

Inquirer Editorial: Springsteen Exhibit OK, But What’s Next?

Posted: Sun, Feb. 19, 2012, 3:01 AM

Prior to the exhibit

Prior to the exhibit’s opening, an empty display case at the National Constitution Center awaits Springsteen’s favorite Fender Telecaster – the one featured on the cover of the “Born to Run” album. Bruce planned on using it during the Grammys telecast, but ended up playing another guitar instead. The Fender is actually a hybrid. It has a 1954 Telecaster body with a 1952 Esquire neck. (TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer)

True, both were born in the same country (the U.S.A.) and, in fact, within about 50 miles of Trenton. And both were born to run (in the Constitution’s case, a nation). And, of course, both continue to enjoy rock-star adulation despite advanced age and significant imperfections.

Springsteen is not the most incongruous figure the Independence Mall museum has featured. At least the Boss’ title was, in the American tradition, earned rather than inherited – unlike that of Princess Diana, the subject of another recent Constitution Center exhibit. What, after all, could be more diametrically opposed to American democracy than British royalty?

New Jersey royalty is a different story, and if the Constitution Center had to feature a popular musician, Springsteen is much more appropriate than, say, Lady Gaga (another aristocrat, judging by her sobriquet). As rock stars go, Springsteen is an avid student of American history and society. His often politically pointed lyrics might get him in trouble in a country without the First Amendment.

Short of arguing that “Cover Me” foresaw the debate about the constitutionality of a health-insurance mandate, the museum has tried valiantly to emphasize Springsteen’s relevance to its mission. An ad invites visitors to “celebrate freedom of expression at the must-see exhibition.” The gift shop sells T-shirts that read “Freedom Rocks” underneath a silhouetted rock band composed of great American statesman (drums: “Honest” Abe Lincoln).

The very American imperatives of capitalism are clearly pertinent here. Pop-cultural exhibits no doubt help the Constitution Center sell tickets. And the resulting crowds may well glance over its handwritten congressional copy of the 13th Amendment as well as Bruce’s original handwritten draft of “Atlantic City.”

But the Constitution Center is also congressionally chartered and has benefitted from no small amount of government support – all of which should be considered carefully before anyone dreams up an exhibit about, say, American Idol. For a museum devoted to serious ideas, forgetting that would be a suicide rap indeed.

Bruce Springsteen: Rocker Charges US Government With ‘Un-American’ Acts

Posted on Feb 17th 2012 4:00PM by Jason MacNeil

Taylor Hill, FilmMagic

Bruce Springsteen didn’t mince words Thursday night at the Theatre Marigny in Paris during a press conference while promoting his upcoming ‘Wrecking Ball‘ album. The topic: His utter disappointment with the current state of America. “What was done to our country was wrong and unpatriotic and un-American and nobody has been held to account,” Springsteen told The Guardian. “There’s a real patriotism underneath the best of my music. But it is a critical, questioning and often angry patriotism.” Springsteen, who gave critics an advanced listen of the new studio album, also said the fury behind some of the record’s lyrics, including the title track, was because “a big promise has been broken.” “You can’t have a United States if you are telling some folks that they can’t get on the train,” he said. “There’s a cracking point where a society collapses. You can’t have a civilization where something is factionalized like this.”The musician noted he plans to back President Barack Obama leading up to the November election but he may not offer his support as overtly as he did during the 2008 election. “I don’t write for one side of the street… But the Bush years were so horrific you could not just sit around,” Springsteen said. “It was such a blatant disaster. I campaigned for Kerry and Obama, and I am glad I did. But normally I would prefer to stay on the sidelines. The artist is supposed to be the canary in the cage.” As for Obama’s first term as President, Springsteen listed Obama’s healthcare legislation (“thought not the public system I would have wanted”), the death of Osama Bin Laden and bringing “sanity to the top level of government” as successes. But he also said “big business still has too much of a say in government” and felt the Guantanamo Bay detention camp “would have been closed” by now. Springsteen also cited the recent Occupy movements around the world, especially Occupy Wall Street, with pushing important issues to the forefront. “The Occupy Wall Street movement has been powerful about changing the national conversation,” he said, as reported by The Telegraph. “The Tea Party set the conversation for a while but now people are talking about economic equality. That’s a conversation America hasn’t had for 20 years.”

Watch Bruce Springsteen’s ‘We Take Care of Our Own’ Video

According to the rocker, the album’s first single ‘We Take Care of Our Own’ — which Springsteen performed last week at the Grammys — gets right to the point. “The song asks the question that the rest of the record tries to answer which is, ‘Do we?’ We often don’t,” he said as reported by The Evening Standard. “I write carefully and precisely and I believe clearly. If you’re missing it, you’re not quite thinking hard enough.” The Telegraph reports Springsteen addressed the strong emotion driving the album, too. “You can never go wrong in rock ‘n’ roll when you’re pissed off,” he said. “My work has always been about judging the distance between American reality and the American dream.” Springsteen also said “a lovely moment for me” on the album is the sax on ‘Land of Hope and Dreams,’ a song that features the late Clarence Clemons. “Losing Clarence is like something elemental, it’s like losing the rain, that’s a part of life,” he said. Springsteen launches the ‘Wrecking Ball’ world tour in Atlanta on March 18. The European leg begins May 13 in Sevilla and runs through July 31 in Helsinki. Although nothing is confirmed, there’s speculation a second North American leg is planned for later in 2012.

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