From: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org (LuckyTown Digest) To: luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Subject: LuckyTown Digest V6 #470 Reply-To: luckytown@luckytown.org Sender: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Errors-To: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Precedence: bulk LuckyTown Digest Wednesday, September 22 1999 Volume 06 : Number 470 NOTE: Sale/trade posts should be emailed to luckytown-ads, *NOT* to luckytown. That includes tix wanted/tix grovels, post them to luckytown-ads, please. Contents: Third Oakland Show Announced ["Bradford, Billy" ] Born Again Savage review ["MASON T WEINRICH" ] An Encounter with Richie Blackmore ["J. Steven Svoboda" ] Mary Chapin Carpenter [Eric Douglas ] ignore it [Johnny Saulovich ] Oakland ticks tale ["Laurence/Barbara S. Brauer" ] Open letter to Eric Alterman ["Dale Ahearn" ] LA tickets and a question ["Houston Mitchell" ] Oakland Seating Chart ["Doug Maesk" ] Success re: Oakland tix [Mike Cottingham ] BEHIND THE SCENES: BIRTHDAY BLUES ["Kortz, Rich" ] A Sinner Redeemed [Andrew MacLeod ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 12:01:29 -0700 From: "Bradford, Billy" Subject: Third Oakland Show Announced There is a confirmed third show in Oakland on Thursday the 28th, the tickets go on sale at 10:00am this Sunday the 26th. The website will NOT be selling tickets to this event - perhaps they've finally realized it doesn't work. Good luck to you all. Here's the BASS numbers in case you don't have them: BASS CHARGE BY PHONE: (415) 478-2277 (408) 998-2277 (510) 762-2277 (530) 766-2277 (650) 478-2277 (707) 546-2277 (916) 766-2277 (925) 762-2277 Billy Bradford San Francisco bbradford@cooley.com "I'm ready to grow young again..." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 09:43:06 -0400 From: "MASON T WEINRICH" Subject: Born Again Savage review Well, Little Steven's new album "Born Again Savage" was waiting for me when I got home last night # here is a preliminary review after 3 listens. First of all, this album comes at you like a sledgehammer. It feels very much to me like the follow-up album to Voice of America # sort of what would have happened had he followed his rock and roll tendencies, and not pursued the street/hip-hop avenue he moved to on "Freedom No Compromise" and "Revolution." The general sound of the album is a cross of well written lyrics, and music which bridges The Ramones to Pearl Jam (in fact, if this album had been released when it was recorded, we would probably be calling it a pre-cursor to Grunge). The lyrics are standard Little Steven # which is to say that they are the best in the business. It is so refreshing once again to hear an artist who can write lyrics which are meaningful, right on, and political without detracting from the quality of the music. Not since the Jefferson Airplane has anyone been able to do this as well as Steve. There are lots of tunes here which will have you air guitaring while they are playing, and with hooks that get in your brain and stay there. Yet there is meaning to it all. Overall, this album is a winner. Do not miss it. Given the amount of trash on the radio and being released these days, it does my heart good to hear this album come out in the form it has. I just hope Alanis hears this and understands why she sounds so whiney when she thanks India for her personal salvation # Steven shows you the salvation for all of us (Sorry you Alanis fans # its just my opinion). Anyway, be glad this album is here, get it right away, let it wear out your CD player, and let us hope 10 years does not pass before we get to do this all again. Best - Mason [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 17:23:16 -0700 From: "J. Steven Svoboda" Subject: An Encounter with Richie Blackmore After the fantastic show at the Continental Airlines Arena on August 11, 1999, with "New York City Serenade" and "Night" and "Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" and "Freehold," I happened to meet Richie Blackmore after the show. Blackmore is the man who played congas on "The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle." He played a number of shows with the band at that time, and also showed up for the final night of Bruce's three Joad tour shows at the Paramount Theater in Asbury Park, November 26 (?), 1996. By chance, I met him after unsuccessfully waiting in line to meet Bruce after the August 11 show. Blackmore lives in Staten Island now and that is where I was staying during the New Jersey stand. When we realized we were both staying near each other on the island and he needed a way back I offered him a ride home. Blackmore is a very intelligent man. He is currently playing with Mike Wurtelle and his band, which plays Springsteen covers and Wurtelle originals. He didn't want to talk too much about his times with Bruce, although he did mention a couple things that stood out in his mind. Blackmore confirmed that Bruce never used to drink or do drugs at all. He talked about Freehold and pretty much confirmed what Bruce says in the song "Freehold." He said it was a very conservative, racist town when he was there and is even more so now. He also talked about the positive aspects of it, saying that if you lived there, it bonds you together forever with others who lived there. He said his Freehold background was his tie with Bruce since no one else in band went there. He was one year ahead of Bruce in school. He told me he remembered Maria Espinoza, the girl Bruce mentions in "Freehold" as the recipient of his first kiss. Blackmore said she was the only Puerto Rican in his (Blackmore's) class. Blackmore didn't have that many interesting things to say about the shows themselves. He professed to get along well with everybody in the band. He also claimed (can anyone confirm this?) that he used to walk out in the middle of shows because he was stoned all the time. If this is true, it isn't hard to imagine why his tenure with the band wasn't longer. He said he feels Max Weinberg is too much of a technician who doesn't play with enough heart. FWIW (not much?), he liked Vini Lopez better for this reason. Blackmore had very fond memories of times when he lived in Berkeley, where I currently live. There is a large group of African drummers who have for the past three decades been regularly meeting and drumming in the pit near Sather Gate at the University of California at Berkeley. Blackmore claimed he helped start the drumming at Sproul Plaza. He talked a lot about being in Berkeley and participating in the beginnings of the Free Speech Movement and the creation of People's Park. In response to my question, he flatly said that he never thought Bruce would make it as a musician. Final FWIW piece of useless info: Blackmore reminisced about meeting President Jimmy Carter after winning a conga competition with several hundred competitors. As winner, he was a member of a band that played for Carter. Steven Svoboda ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 16:52:33 -0700 From: Johnny Saulovich Subject: what goes on > Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 11:07 -0700 > From: "Norris, Fred J" > Subject: Thunder Road closed > > Creation declined to say what reasons Springsteen gave for his stand but a > spokesman conceded that the songs on the album "are very much Kevin's > personal and distinctive interpretations" and that in some cases the > lyrics > had been changed a little. > - ---------- Just my two cents on the Kevin Rowland cover of "Thunder Road." Bruce's decision is unimpeachable. Interpretation of his music is extremely important to him, and it's apparent that Rowland's lyrical revision of "Thunder Road" goes well beyond the boundaries of "personal vision." Just imagining someone's first introduction to the song (and Bruce Springsteen) coming through Rowland's rewrite is a primary reason to block its release. The Creation label in the UK has issued some of the most innovative rock music of the 90's, most notably 1991's 'Loveless,' recorded by My Bloody Valentine. If Rowland had revamped the music but left the lyrics be, it's almost certain he'd have his cover approved; a case in point is Rage Against The Machine's tremendous reworking of "The Ghost of Tom Joad." Johnny Savage Berkeley CA R-A-D-I-O, hit me just like Lionel Rose You Am I best rock and roll band in the world ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 16:29:10 -0500 From: Eric Douglas Subject: Mary Chapin Carpenter This morning (Tues) on NYC's country station, Mary Chapin Carpenter was interviewed. They asked her, "You recently were on stage with Bruce Springsteen - what was that like?" I didn't transcribe her response, but among other things, she said, "It was the greatest experience of my career...I'd had the opportunity to meet Bruce before, but was very shy. This time, I was in Washington with some friends and decided to get over the shyness....I've always idolized him as a musician, but also as a person. Not everyone can be as wealthy, or as famous, but we should all live our lives in the manner he does, with such dignity..." I forget what else she said, but that was the gist of it. On another note, I was thinking about the presence of religion in Bruce's music, and the following occurred to me: "Tonight my baby and me, we're gonna ride to the sea, and wash these sins off our hands." On the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, one of the traditions is to walk down to a river and toss bread crumbs into the river, casting away sins in preparation for Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. The official name of this tradition is "tashlich", or "casting the bread upon the water" or something like that. I know Bruce isn't Jewish, but isn't it interesting how his music spans all religions? A song like Racin' in the Street isn't so much about religion as it is about self-worth, but when it comes down to it, that's what religion stems from - a sense of self-worth, and faith in something greater than all of us. Eric. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 17:01:34 -0700 From: Johnny Saulovich Subject: ignore it Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 13:33:34 +0200 From: P.Schoefboeck@mobilkom.at Subject: The Secret Sex Life Of Bruce Springsteen - ------------------------------ If this book "Point Blank" is really going to be issued, I've a solution to true fans concerned about its contents: ignore the damn thing. The best way to deal with a spurious, sensationalized tell-all is to ignore it. If it doesn't sell it'll go back into the hole it crawled out of. Make sure you tell a friend! - - Johnny Savage ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 23:42:49 -0700 From: "Laurence/Barbara S. Brauer" Subject: Oakland ticks tale In getting tickets for the Oakland shows I ended up feeling like a character out of one of Bruce's songs: an individual trapped within a system he has no control over yet manages through dedication to maintain some semblance of personal dignity and finally get what he wants even if it's not what he dreamed of. I have a long history of bad luck with Bruce tickets going back to 1976 and including failing to get tickets for Berkeley and Winterland in 1978, so my expectations have been tempered by experience. I was 14th in the original line at a suburban mall Wherehouse [a typical chain store for all those unfamiliar with this particular franchise]. A scalper also showed up with 10-15 hired teenagers, two of whom spoke only Spanish and none of whom it turned out even knew who they were "buying" tickets for until they were told. When it came time for the lottery my number moved me from 14 to 74 in the line. Concurrently I tried dialing BASS on a cell phone while back at home my wife was dialing in and my son confronted the crashed Web site. Two people behind me in line was one of the scalper's "employees," a boy about 17. He was a smart guy with a pointed sense of humor who was beginning to realize the narrow one-way path set before him by society and the blind escapist pressure of his peers were perhaps choices to be reconsidered. Like someone in a Bruce song he understood he was being exploited, but was only beginning to understand how and why. Finally, at about 10:30 I got 2 upper section tickets for the 26th. I hung around hoping for additional shows. However, my son had a performance to get to and my wife had an important date as well, so I had to leave the Wherehouse at 11:15. Before departing I asked again about added shows and was told none. I asked about the best seats still left for the 25th and was told only in the far reaches of MIB neverland (section 206 for those who've seen a seating chart). While driving back home and then taking my son to his performance, he and I kept dialing on the cell phone. We got through twice and were told no additional shows. At 12:40 as I pulled into a parking space, I got through to BASS again and felt this was fate. An extremely nice and knowledgeable young woman told me that they had just announced that there would be no additional shows added that day due to the first two shows not selling out. I asked about seats left for the 25th. She immediately found two seats in the upper section stage right, about a basketball court's length closer to the stage than the best seats I'd been offered 80 minutes earlier at the outlet. When I told her this, she said the guy probably hadn't punched it in right. There is no simple moral to this tale, just as there are no simple answers in Bruce's songs or life itself. Yes, the ticket sales system is unfair due to a variety of reasons from the incompetence and/or ignorance of employees, and insatiable greed of promoters and scalpers to artists and fans who are unwilling or unable to take the steps to change the system. (How many artists outside of Bruce, Pearl Jam, and a handful of others try to improve the system and how many fans outside of Luckytown and other such groups refuse to deal with scalpers?) On the other hand, while, no, I did not get lucky and get fantastic seats and will cringe when the credit card bill comes, I will be going to two shows, one with my wife and one with my son (who really wants to go, by the way). Also I did find one BASS employee who was genuinely informative, competent, and especially kind in a job where those traits are probably not encouraged. And, recalling Rich Breton's eloquent post from last month, while standing in line I met a few long-time Bruce fans who reconfirmed the values I find in his music through their humor, persistence, sense of justice, and simple decency. So though I suppose it's possible to whine about yet another couple of Bruce shows viewed through binoculars and the Catch-22 nature of it all, I feel grateful for having a chance to get on this train and see if it makes it to the land of hope and dreams. Larry ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 22:57:16 -0400 From: "Dale Ahearn" Subject: Open letter to Eric Alterman Eric, I received the book in the mail today...I have only read the Intro and the first few pages and I had to say THANK YOU. Thank you for identifying yourself as a "fan" (atic) and writing this book for all of us. Thank you for putting some weight behind that elusive, deeply spiritual, nourishment that "channels" through Springsteen. The food for everyday "getting up and on with it" that drives some of us to the state of "fanatic" you sketch in that intro. A state that after 15 years never ceases to amaze me and all who know me. A state that I reserve, at this advanced age, for Bruce alone in the world, and that occasionally actually embarrasses me, as it almost did you in the Green room. (If I ever meet Bruce, not something I need to do, I hope I can hold on to myself, also.) As I said to M-E on the parking lot in NJ in 103 degree heat and to my husband as I drove off in hurricane Floyd, heading for Philly, "I would not do this for another human being, living or dead." Yeah, Yeah, its only Rock and Roll...... Thanks again, Dale church of Bruce THIS IS A MUST READ YOU GUYS!!! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 21:30:24 -0700 From: "Houston Mitchell" Subject: LA tickets and a question First, I want to thank the wonderful people here for the personal responses to my last post. You know who you are, and you each touched my heart. Thanks you. My L.A. tickets story. Yes, it was possibleto get tickets. First, I've never had luck with the wristbands, but thought I'd try again this time. Myself, my daughter (turned 12 six days before tickets went on sale, just making the cutoff age), 3 brothers-in-law and a sister-in-law went to the local ticketmaster outlet and got our wristbands. There were about 50 people in line. I got wristband #26, and they started with #23. After my family revived me, I got 4 for Monday. One brother-in-law got a single seat for Saturday, one-got a single seat for Monday. Then, one of my nieces called to tell me that she got 4 tickets to Sunday on-line for me. Then, I went home, where my wife was trying to get tickets on-line. She failed, but called the Seattle ticketmaster and got through just as the third show went on sale and got two tickets in the 13th row! And then, I went into work, and a co-worker let me know he got me 4 tickets to Sunday's show on-line. An embarrassment of riches. I don't want to get all religious on everyone, but I felt truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and friends helping me out. Now I can take my daughter and share the ministry of Springsteen with her. Now I have a question for everyone. Many of the people here have gone to multiple shows, and many here have gone to none. How do the people who have gone to many shows feel about that? Do you feel bad that you go to many, while some get nothing at all? How do you resolve that in your mind? I'm not trying to be a wise guy, this is a thought that has entered my mind. I have a chance to go to 3 shows, but I feel guilty about that. Should I? Why not? I'm interested in what the people here have to say. Houston ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: IGN.com PC games | videogames | movies | TV | sci-fi - updated daily! Get your fast, FREE IGN Mail. http://www.ign.com ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 08:58:39 -0700 From: "Doug Maesk" Subject: Oakland Seating Chart Does anyone know where to find an Oakland seating chart? Even Bass ticket agents don't seem to know. Thanks.... "Nobody wins unless everybody wins..." - --Bruce Springsten ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 11:07:59 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Cottingham Subject: Success re: Oakland tix I managed to get 3 upperdeck seats in a row, 3 rows back, for the first Oakland show. That was at about 10:35 or so. I was just about to give up. The only thing I can complain about is that the total was $230 for the three. Is this normal for upperdeck seats? We are flying from Vancouver to San Fran on Sunday and returning to Van on Tuesday. Is anyone planning any meet'n'greets in Oakland? Please email me at cotty9@hotmail.com with any info. Cotty __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 15:47:58 -0400 From: "Kortz, Rich" Subject: BEHIND THE SCENES: BIRTHDAY BLUES BEHIND THE SCENES: BIRTHDAY BLUES By Rich Kortz - ---------------------------------- The Scene: Bruce and Patti ride the tour bus down from New Jersey on the eve of Bruce's birthday - ---------------------------------- Patti: Baby, would you PLEASE say SOMETHING?? You haven't said a single word in half an hour. Bruce: Mmm. Patti: What? Bruce: I uh... Patti: Something's bothering you. I can tell. You're brooding again. Bruce: Baby, I'm ALWAYS broodin'. Patti: I know, sweety... but you're REALLY brooding this time. Bruce: You hear what he said to me? Patti: Who, honey? Bruce: That guy. Patti: Help me out here, honey... WHAT guy? Bruce (motioning at the driver): THAT guy... the driver. Patti: Him? What did he say, baby? Bruce: When we was... when we were gettin' on the bus... he goes "need some help there?" Patti: He was just being nice, baby. Bruce: Do I LOOK like I need any help? Patti: He didn't mean anything by it. Bruce: Did he ask YOU that? Patti: I uh... well he, uh... Bruce: Did he?? Patti: Well, no baby, but... Bruce: See what I mean? Let's face it... I'm gettin' old. Bruce: Get a little perspective here, huh? You're pulling out these 3 hour shows every night, and you're hung up on what some bus driver said? Bruce: It ain't just that, baby. Patti: 50's not old, sweety. Bruce: Jeez Pats... Didya havta to go and say that number? Patti: Look at me, mister... no one... not even you... is going to tell me that the man I see on stage every night is getting old. Has one of the guys been making cracks again? Bruce: Naw... naw... Patti: Someone else said something, didn't they? Who was it?? Stevie? Danny? Roy? At least YOU have your hair, baby. When those guys stand next to each other it looks like a bowling alley for goddsakes. Bruce: Naw... naw... the boys wouldn't say nuthin' like that. Patti: Well, who then?... c'mon, babe. Bruce: Ev. Patti: What? Evan?? What did he say, honey?? Bruce: The other day... when I picked him up at school... Patti: Yeah? Bruce: I go in, right? I go in cause' I got there early, right? Patti: Uhh Huh Bruce: And I guess it was a show and tell or somethin'... cause he's... cause he's... Patti: Yeahhhh? Bruce: Cause he's up in front of the class doin' air guitar and telling em' stories about his... his 'old man'. Patti: So? Bruce: Don't ya see, baby? I'M the old man. Patti: C'mon....did he actually say 'old man'? Bruce: Yeah... yeah... you believe that? He's goin' off about how every day he comes in from school he has to go past his old man, and how his old man is like 'how was your day'? And how he wants to go watch TV, but his old man is like 'did you do your homework yet?' And how he just wants to go out and play, and his old man is like 'wait'll the high school gets you'. Patti (holding back a smile): He's just a kid, baby. Bruce: Yeah... I know.... I know... Patti: You're not old, baby.... you make people young again. You wanna see old... look at the Stones.... THOSE guys are OLD. Bruce (smirking): Yeah... yeah... Patti: Hey, what are we opening with tonight? Bruce: Don't know... don't know... I was thinkin' maybe somethin' about the hurricane... like 'Lost in The Flood' or 'Who'll Stop The Rain' or somethin'. Patti: That's a great idea... you haven't done a Fogerty song in a while. Hey... I got a better one. Bruce: What? 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain? Patti: No... 'Old Man Down The Road'. Bruce: That's it... no 'Rumble Doll' for you tonight! THE END > ------------------------------ > Attn. readers: BEHIND THE SCENES is now archived on Karsten Stanley > Anderson's great, award-winning site GREASY LAKE. Check them out at > http://www.greasylake.org/quarter/behind.htm. > Also, check out the 'Behind The Scenes: European Tour' series in the latest issue of 'The Ties That Bind', from Badlands Publications. - ------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 14:52:13 -0400 From: Andrew MacLeod Subject: A Sinner Redeemed Hey LTD-ers!! I am blasting out of my seat right now. Looks kind of odd here at work but screw it. When the tickets for the Boston shows were announced, I was devastated to see that they were all for dates when I was going to be out of the country. Almost cancelled my long-planned vacation to the U.K.! Anyhow, last night I got a call from my brother-in-law in Philly. Was I interested in coming down Saturday night for the show, a guy in his office had tickets "he couldn't use". That statement is just beyond me. I mean, besides death or perhaps a sudden case of deafness (even then I might still go), what would keep someone from seeing the greatest band of all time!!!!! OK, so I'm gushing now but I am so psyched to be going to the show. People around here think I am crazy for driving 7 hours one day and then back the next, but if they don't get it now, they will never understand. A friend of mine said Bruce is just a guiding light for him. Only a true Bruce fan could understand that statement. This show means so much to me after that disappointment from the supposed Basie show last spring (no offense Broadway Joe, you were trying to help!). Anyhow, after months of sitting here every day reading LTD-ers reviews and set lists, feeling so left out of the experience and getting more and more depressed about it (but at the same time feeling the shows vicariously through other fans), I am finally going to get a temporary fix from the magic that is being part of a Bruce show. I've got the Live 75-85 set playing (thank god for speakers and CD ROM!!!). Hmmm, the Albany shows go on sale Sunday maybe........ Thanks again to all the LTD-ers who have helped me feel a part of this tour and have shared their passion. And, of course, thanks to LTD for giving us a forum for sharing our experiences and thoughts. Thanks, Andy ------------------------------ End of LuckyTown Digest V6 #470 ******************************* ********************************************************************* ** LuckyTown WWW URL ** The LuckyTown FAQ, back issues, web-based subscription/unsubscription, and many other things can be found on the LuckyTown WWW Page: http://www.luckytown.org ** LuckyTown mailing list addresses ** You can send email to go into the next LuckyTown Digest to: luckytown@luckytown.org You can send email to go into the next LuckyTown-Ads Digest to: luckytown-ads@luckytown.org Any questions for the list admin should be emailed to: owner-luckytown@luckytown.org To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@luckytown.org with message body: unsubscribe luckytown-digest To get further information on how to subscribe/unsubscribe/change your subscription address, as well as the other available commands, send email to majordomo@luckytown.org with message body: help ********************************************************************* The contents of this digest are not necessarily approved by the list admin.