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Springsteen Concert May Effect Ice Conditions at Prudential Center For NJ Devils Game 3

NEWARK, N.J. – Since it opened in 2007, the Prudential  Center in gritty downtown Newark has never been confused for an arena with a  hard and fast ice surface. It’s a common complaint in Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy  Center, a seemingly forgotten aspect of building operations for some of the  NHL’s newest stadiums.

The Prudential Center took an all-time hit last round when Panthers coach Kevin Dineen ripped the ice conditions before Game 3 against  the Devils.

Yes, the coach of the Florida Panthers, home to usually the worst  ice on the planet, was critical of the ice in New Jersey. That’s saying  something.

“If the quality of ice is anything like it was this morning at the skate, I  don’t know,” Dineen said. “I think their customer service probably will be  pretty embarrassed to see that’s what they are putting out there for people to  see.”

Heading into Game 3 one round later, the ice conditions are the biggest thing  to watch for the Flyers on an otherwise quiet Thursday morning. The Flyers held  an optional morning skate after a brief practice on Wednesday.

Normally, they wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but it’s a perfect storm  for the ice making staff in Newark.

That’s because New Jersey’s favorite son, Bruce Springsteen,  made the sold out Prudential Center crowd roar late into the night on Wednesday.  It was Springsteen’s final stop on tour before heading to Europe and  unbelievably his first-ever concert in Newark.

With a late changeover, little time to work on the ice, and messy conditions  outside, it could be an interesting morning. It’s supposed to be nearly 70 degrees  in North Jersey on Thursday with 80 percent humidity.

The sloppy ice would seem to benefit the Devils, who are already used to the  conditions, and a valuable tool to slow down the faster Flyers.

Just something to keep an eye on before puck drop…

Read more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/frequentflyers/149950575.html#ixzz1tp2XRkFK Watch sports videos you won’t find anywhere else

Bruce Springsteen Honors Levon Helm With “The Weight”

Last night at a concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen sang “The Weight” in a tribute to the late Band drummer Levon Helm.

Helm had “just one of the greatest voices in country, rockabilly and rock and roll, just staggering… while playing the drums!” Springsteen remarked. “When I auditioned Max, I actually made him sing.”

“Both his singing and his drumming were so incredible. He had a feel on the drums, it comes out of a certain place in the past, you can’t replicate it.”

Speaking of incredible voices, listen to how great “The Weight” sounds in Springsteen’s hands.

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Springsteen Sings Farewell With Rosalita
BY JIM BECKERMAN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

“Rosalita” came out last night.

Bruce Springsteen performs at the Prudential Center with (right) Steven Van Zandt and (background) Max Weinberg.

MICHAEL KARAS/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Bruce Springsteen performs at the Prudential Center with (right) Steven Van Zandt and (background) Max Weinberg.

The much-loved, infrequently-heard crowd-pleaser that Bruce Springsteen brings out, like the good china, for special occasions, was an appropriate farewell gift to the crowd at The Prudential Center last night. His first appearance at the Newark venue also marks his last appearance in New Jersey for several months: he’ll be overseas between May 13 and July 31.

Early in the evening, Springsteen had promised a show that would “stimulate” the crowd. It did, of course: the evening roared to life with songs like “No Surrender,” “We Take Care of Our Own” and “Wrecking Ball” (the title tune from his new album), and went on to energetically cover ground familiar to Springsteen fans who have seen other stops on his “Wrecking Ball” tour. There were welcome detours along the way: rarities like “Bishop Danced” and “Candy’s Room,” and a soul-music medley that has become one of the highlights of the show, with Springsteen crowd-surfing as his 17-piece augmented E Street Band belts out the chorus of Wilson Pickett’s “634-5789.” There was the climactic gospel fervor of “We Are Alive” and “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

Then Springsteen, mischief in his voice, boomed: “Are you stimulated??” The crowd roared an affirmative — but perhaps Springsteen didn’t think it was affirmative enough. “This’ll get it,” he said. And so it was time for “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight),” with Little Steven providing ya-ya-ya faux-Mexican backup noises that had the crowd going wild.

That was one of several happy surprises, in one of the livelier shows Springsteen has done on the tour for his “Wrecking Ball” album. It’s a dark, sad, sometimes angry album — a meditation on post-2008 America, with its haves and have-nots — and what the songs didn’t say, Springsteen often told the audience directly. Speaking on behalf of a charity organization, Table to Table, that serves discarded food to the needy (tabletotable.org), he urged fans to donate to volunteers stationed in the lobby. “I don’t have to tell you how hard it is for folks out there, and organizations like this make the difference,” he said.

That wasn’t the show’s only touching moment. At one point, a fan handed him a placard: “Play one for Levon,” it read. Levon, of course, being the late great Levon Helm of The Band, who died last month.

There was a brief consultation among the band members — and then Springsteen launched into an elegiac spur-of-the-moment rendition of “The Weight” that had the audience singing the chorus in not-entirely-accurate four-part harmony. No matter: It was a deeply-felt tribute, from one great performer to another.

Then there was the other placard. “The Boss’ Boss,” it read. This turned out to be mom: Mrs. Springsteen, who had her moment in the sun, or at least the JumboTron. Springsteen will return to New Jersey in September for a series of three shows in the Meadowlands. But will “Rosalita” return with him? Only the Boss knows for sure. Or maybe the Boss’ boss.

Bruce Springsteen Performs ‘Bishop Danced’ For The First Time Since 1973

by: Dave Lifton Yesterday

The Twitter feeds of Bruce Springsteen fans exploded with shock tonight (May 2) when fans attending his show at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. reached for their phones to tell the world that he performed the obscurity ‘Bishop Danced.’ Springsteen had not sang the song since an opening slot for Blood, Sweat and Tears at the Berkeley Community Theatre on March 2, 1973.

According to the Brucebase website, before tonight, ‘Bishop Danced’ is known to have only been played in concert a handful of times, with five of those taking place during a week-long spell at Max’s Kansas City in New York in early 1973. Its performance on January 31 was recorded for the ‘King Biscuit Flour Hour,’ and wound up on the 1998 four-CD box set ‘Tracks.’

Springsteen has used the seventh slot throughout the ‘Wrecking Ball’ tour to pull out songs from his pre-’Born To Run’ days, with ‘E Street Shuffle’ and ‘Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?’ being played most frequently. However, nobody could have expected that he would give ‘Bishop Danced’ an airing, not even in New Jersey, where anything can happen.

‘Bishop Danced’ is one of those songs that earned Springsteen the “New Bob Dylan” tag in his early days. Its lyrics are nonsensical to the point where Lewis Carroll would have shaken his head in disbelief. “Bishop danced with a thumbscrew woman / Did a double-quick back flip and slid across the floor / The Catholic traffic flowed freely ‘cross the river / And fiddlestick fiddled quick out the front door.” Although tonight’s version featured the full E Street Band, it had previously been performed with only an acoustic guitar and the late Danny Federici on accordion.

Following ‘Bishop Danced,’ Springsteen gave another of his earliest songs, ‘It’s Hard to Be a Saint in the City,’ its tour debut.

They’re On Fire: Springsteen’s First Newark Show Draws River of Eager Fans To The Rock
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Prudential Center

Enlarge William Perlman/The Star-LedgerBruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Prudential Center in the bands first-ever concert in Newark in Newark, NJ  5/2/12 (William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Prudential Centergallery (27 photos)

  • Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Prudential Center
  • Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Prudential Center
  • Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Prudential Center
  • Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Prudential Center
  • Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Prudential Center

Dan Goldberg/The Star-Ledger By Dan Goldberg/The Star-LedgerThe Star-Ledger

NEWARK — Outside the Rock, the crowd was building as the sun was setting.

With less than an hour before the official start time of Bruce Springsteen’s first-ever show in Newark tonight, the doors at the Prudential Center had not yet opened but there was still plenty of entertainment.

The B Street Band, a Springsteen tribute band, rocked the square outside the Rock, playing a variety of hits from nearly every Bruce album. About 300 people stood and cheered “Trapped,” “Darlington County” and “Candy’s Room.”

John Urbanski, 20, of Iselin, was attending his second show.

“I just love Bruce Springsteen,” he said. “He represents New Jersey so much better than some other artists from New Jersey do.”

Shawn Dennis, 42, of Verona, was attending only his second Springsteen concert. When it comes to the albums, he isn’t a huge fan but live? Live rocks.
“I like other bands better,” he said, “but I really like his live performance.”

This is his first time at the Rock, and so far so good.

“I haven’t been inside,” he said, “but it looks nice.”

The crowd was all smiles as the doors opened. The smell of charred burgers and beer hung in the air as people mulled through the doors humming their favorite Springsteen tunes.

Many fans carried signs hoping to catch the Boss’ attention. “I’m a Jersey Girl,” read one. Another begged for “Tunnel of Love.”