From: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org (LuckyTown Digest) To: luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Subject: LuckyTown Digest V9 #39 Reply-To: luckytown@luckytown.org Sender: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Errors-To: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Precedence: bulk LuckyTown Digest Tuesday, July 16 2002 Volume 09 : Number 039 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: from billboard ["Mitchell, Todd" ] The Rising review from Sweden ["Anders Blomkvist" ] Major Metropolitan Markets & GA Policy ["Eric Coulson" <53Esquire@1musicr] Musicians On Call Needs Your Help [Keroz3@aol.com] Re: GA floor has been the main rule in Europe for decades and it works [J] new wave of scalpers [P0WR0FMYTH@aol.com] ebay [Tom Ross ] Re: Saturday's ticket sales [Jim Genuardi ] RE: LuckyTown Digest V9 #38 ["O'Hearn, Chris" ] Max's Coming Out Party [MJQuarry@aol.com] RE:GA ["Weiner, Lee" ] Jennifer, Gabor & GA [BAddou@t-online.de (Birgit Addou)] Suggested Readings [Tom Hart ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 12:47:16 -0400 From: "Mitchell, Todd" Subject: from billboard The Boss and the E Street Band are booked to appear Aug. 1 on CBS' "The Late Show With David Letterman." Todd Mitchell Chief of Staff Rep. Rob Simmons (CT-02) 202/225-2076 202/225-4977 (fax) todd.mitchell@mail.house.gov ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 12:30:16 +0000 From: "Anders Blomkvist" Subject: The Rising review from Sweden This is a translation of a review of the Rising from the Swedish tabloid Expressen. Review done by Per H'gred. If you have any problem understanding my translation, do not worry - the album will be released anyway! Published and translated without permission (I am sure the reviewer will be proud...). If you want to learn Swedish, you can find the article here: http://www.expressen.se/article.asp?id5717 So you on tour! Forza Bajen! Anders Blomkvist Sodermalm Sweden Review: Springsteens masterpiece Bruce Springsteen The rising, Columbia Released July 29 They say that suffering makes great art. It is so classical that it is almost ridiculous. It is never wrong. Two jets crashed in the middle of Springsteen land and the Boss immediately strikes back with his best album since, perhaps, The River. Nearly exact 10 months after the attack I listen to the whole record. Again and again, and this is big, very big. A remarkable comeback from maybe the last rock hero. The John Wayne of rock rides for another night. When the skyscrapers were on fire a fire was lit deep inside Bruce's then slumbering creative center. His despair was the fuel that was needed for igniting a creator's fire dying down. When he shortly after the terrorist attack against World trade center, in live broadcast, performed "My city of ruins" - even the TV cried. It was so beautiful, so sad, so powerful. There is, as it says in Pelle Holms "Bevingade ord" (translators note Bevingade ord means Words with wings, Winged words, a familiar quotation or something like that - Pelle Holm was a Swedish writer (1888-1980), this book contains many classical quotations) nothing bad that does not bring anything good with it. Bruce's blues was turned into music that is so much gospel that it would surprise me if Bruce has not been saved (in religious terms, translators note) and this is his "Slow train coming" (Bob Dylan). I hold to (the single The Rising has been reviewed before, it got two stars out of five # translators note) that the single is ax-like arena rock. But, as one of 14 other songs that all draw in many different directions and contains so many different kinds of feelings, it is a natural (obvious) finale. There are 15 very strong songs, 15 human fates with the 11th of September as common denominator, all seen through the sensitive eyes of the rock poet. Traces of infinite sadness, pure pessimism, nightmares that come true. There are such things here, but this is not a Nebraska and hopelessness. Musically it is often surprisingly uplifting. Waitin' on a sunny day" and "Let's be friends" are ridiculously ingratiating pop à la Young Rascals and "Groovin". Enticingly beautiful with sad texts. "Empty sky" is, say, Tom Petty pop about a suicide bomber. "Mary's place" is a simple/one-way ticket/easy (understanding what the writer means and translating is really easy. translators note) trip back to "Born to Run". "Nothing man" and "Paradise" share the same fateful mood as "Streets of Philadelphia". "You're missing" is a appalling sentimental ballad that lands on the right side of the banal. And "Worlds apart" is Afghan pop glowing with colors, about forbidden love in the field (when you are in a war, another note from the now bored translator). There has been some talk about that the Pearl Jam producer Brendan O'Brien has created a hard parcel, but I rather think that he has cleaned up a bit and thinned/culled out a little in the colossus E Street Bands musical wardrobe. More air, less lump feet. More pressure and heads on, less one-sided mangle. And much more playful with elegant string arrangements and multi cultural colored ideas. I hear the first four songs again and I think that it never gets any better than this, but the same euforic feeling appears again during the last four record tracks. Awesome! _________________________________________________________________ MSN Hotmail 'r v'rldens popul'raste e-posttj'nst. Skaffa dig ett eget konto du ocks: http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 08:23:23 -0400 From: lee.doyle@nyc.mediaedgecia.com Subject: GA "Seating" ain't bad at all. Haven't read all the posts but it seems like most of them are complaining about the GA approach to the FLOOR. Quit all the whining. I'm 43. I went to see U2 @ MSG last fall and was LUCKY enough to get a floor ticket (no seating, just standing). It was terrific. The people were civil, and it really sucked me right into the performance in a way that sitting up in the first level (100) a few months earlier didn't. There was more energy on the floor. Also saw Bruce at Conventional Hall standing on the floor. So long as you're not obsessed with getting within 25 feet of the guy, it's really not bad. I expect the Bruce @ MSG experience to be similar. As long as you can still stand, I highly recommend the experience. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 07:30:15 -0700 From: danv Subject: one listen I have to whole heartedly disagree with the comments i've been reading regarding how hard it is to digest 'The Rising' with only one listen. The first time I heard 'Thunder Road' and the rest, I was awestruck, in a state of shock for a half hour or so. I should also say that the anticipation level was extremely high as we were hearing 'Born To Run' for months on the radio beforehand. Only thing I can say is listen without prejudice. Counting the days. danv ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 12:57:51 -0500 From: "Eric Coulson" <53Esquire@1musicrow.com> Subject: Major Metropolitan Markets & GA Policy For those of you in locales like NJ/NY, Philly, etc all I can say is I feel your pain. In reviewing the itinerary of the last tour the band did more multi-night stands than I realized, but keep in mind that the mission here is different. The last tour seemed to be about reconnecting, the band and then with the fans. It was not an oldies tour, there was a fresh look at the music, but it was mostly stuff that had been played before. I know that on the last tour Bruce was quoted as saying "'Tracks' is the album" and although we all probably have the album I am not sure we quite believed that statement either. In this case there is an album to support. Last time many of the multi-night stands were at the front end of the tour - those of us who were in smaller markets had to wait. It seems as if we are just seeing the reverse in this case. Be patient - he'll get there. General Admission - I too would join the ranks of those puzzled by the general admission plan. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful MIB experience in Nashville (Guitar on WOTH in case you forgot ;)) and I know many people who either were MIB'd or were fortunate enough to buy JB seats and have a wonderful up close experience. Despite that experience, while I am willing to stand for three hours for the show - I just can't add the extra energy it will take to get up to the front by waiting - however long outside the arena or inside waiting for it to start. That said the notion that the GA practice demonstrates a "lack of integrity" or "lack of concern for safety" is without merit. People with integrity don't have GA concerts? Because . . . ? I don't even know where to go with that one. As for safety The Who concert was in 1979, Jimmy Carter was the President. I was not even a Springsteen fan at that point. In the intervening 23 years has there been an incident like that in the US? U2 seems to have pulled off the GA thing quite well. Springsteen fans can be as well behaved as U2 fans can't we? Don't want to deal with the hassles of GA? I completely understand. Do what I did in Cleveland and will do for St. Louis, buy reserved seats. You want to be closer? Join the other 18,000 people in the arena - we all can't be next to the stage at the same time. This is only the first leg - this tour is going to be great and we are all going to have a good time. Eric Coulson 53Esquire@1musicrow.com 314-616-3943 'The Rising' the new album from Bruce Springsteen will be in record stores July 30. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 11:03:04 -0500 From: Keroz3@aol.com Subject: Musicians On Call Needs Your Help On October 5th, Musicians On Call will be holding its 1st annual "Music-A-Thon" at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City. The event will be 12 hours and we plan to set a Guinness Book of World Records. There will be an Unsigned Band competition and known artists (We Might Be Giants has already committed to the event). We're working on getting headliners for an evening concert. Volunteers are essential to make this event a success and to find sponsors for the different time slots. Z100 will be our radio partner. Please come to a meeting at 7:30 P.M. on Thursday, July 25th in Manhattan. We can really use your support! Please email me at michael.zorek@musiciansoncall.org if you'd like to attend or if you would like more information you can either email me or call Susan Laufer at MOC at (212) 741-2549. If you cannot attend and would like to be involved (e.g., as a volunteer, sponsor or in some other fashion), please feel free to contact me as well. Thank you in advance for your interest and I look forward to seeing you next week! Michael Zorek Michael Zorek Chair, Volunteer Committee (212) 741-2709 (phone) (212) 741-3465 (fax) 216 West 18th Street Suite 201B New York, NY 10011 Musicians on Call - Home www.musiciansoncall.org About Musicians on Call: Musicians on Call (MOC) was founded in 1999 with the mission of using music to promote and complement the healing process in healthcare facilities. Additionally, Musicians on Call seeks to raise awareness of the beneficial effects of music and entertainment for people in healthcare facilities. To date, MOC has accomplished this through room-to-room hospital performances by local musicians and national celebrities, weekly music lessons, CD Pharmacies and Project Playback. Among the artists who have supported Musicians on Call through ticket donations and hospital visits are Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Hanson, Def Leppard, Sting, Britney Spears, The Who, Bon Jovi, Levon Helm of The Band, Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, Dave Koz, Barenaked Ladies, Kermit the Frog, Matchbox Twenty, John Mellencamp, Alice Cooper, David Gray, Peter Frampton, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, to name a few. [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 10:53:34 +0300 From: Juha Kolari Subject: Re: GA floor has been the main rule in Europe for decades and it works Hear, hear! Everyone who is concerned about GA should read Gabor Palasti's excellent post in LTD V9 #38. Every word is true. Fixed seating in London on the Reunion tour was a shock for me. It just takes so much away from the atmosphere and limits everyone's choices. In GA, every floor area ticket is potentially a front row ticket. For most, though, the places immediately next to the rail are not worth the trouble. Unless you are desperate to touch the man, a few meters back you can see just as well and have space to move. If you're prone to mainly tapping your foot, singing and clapping, you may not even break a sweat. So, no need to drink excessively, either. Some have said that Bruce's "old" audience needs seating. I'd say older people are better suited for GA, since there is likely to be less shoving and desperate manouvering towards the stage after everyone has settled into their places. Of course, tastes may vary, but there are fans that hate the fixed seating arrangement. I am happy that U.S. fans will have a choice on the following tour. Congratulations! It'll be good. It'll be like...a rock concert? Juha - -- juha.kolari@iki.fi http://iki.fi/kolari/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 11:20:27 -0400 From: P0WR0FMYTH@aol.com Subject: new wave of scalpers Sometimes we will do what it takes to get tickets to see Bruce. Well at least to a point. Living in the Los Angeles area I knew the ticket rush for the LA show would be huge. There I was with my girlfriend on the computer, my son (17 yrs old and a huge Bruce fan) who lives with his mom on his computer at his house and me on a cell phone and landline phone. We were unsucessful in getting tickets. I was truly amazed that we didn't. Because the day before we got tickets to San Jose with very little problems. In fact I was just on the Ticketmaster site and you can still get tickets to San Jose. Less than 4 hr drive away and no problem getting tickets there. Once we got shut out on tickets to LA I went ahead and got ok seats in Phoenix, they are still on sale today. Next saturday I will try for Las Vegas. What really bothered me though was that yesterday I went online to check out the Ticket Agencies. And the one broker had over 400 tickets for the LA show. I went on EBay and they had 34 pages of people selling Bruce tickets to all the shows. With about 40 or so entries per page. Seems the new wave of scalping is for people to get tickets and then sell then on EBay or to the Ticket Agencies. The new wave of scalping is what I like to think it is. I hope more thought is put into ticket sales the second time around next year. I am still going to 2 shows, maybe 3 this year so I really cannot complain...just can't see Bruce in my own backyard. Good luck to everyone else who are yet to buy tickets. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 04:54:42 -0400 From: Tom Ross Subject: ebay Luckytowners, Here is some food for thought. Last Saturday, on a whim, I checked ebay at about 5:00 pm, and found 691 listings for Springsteen tickets. Some were posted before tickets went on sale. The scalpers continue to thrive. Tom in Vegas ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 11:21:28 -0400 From: Jim Genuardi Subject: Re: Saturday's ticket sales > What's going on with tickets sales? Even by Ticketmaster's poor > standards, > Saturday's sales were an erratic mess judging by my experience with > Auburn > Hills and Cleveland, along with what I've heard from friends and read > from > various fan reports on the Internet. > Dave, I also found Saturday's ticket sales a bit confusing and frustrating. With some major luck in the lottery held at a local TM outlet I ended up 5th in line. I made it up to the ticket window by about 11:05 and asked for 4 GA tickets for the DC show. The agent said she couldn't pull up any GA tickets, they were all gone. Since the person in front of me had received some tickets in the 200 level at MCI Center I then requested 2 pairs of tickets to see if I could stay in the 100 level. I did get a pair of tickets directly behind the stage in the 100 level but the second pair was in the 400 level. I took what was offered and figured that the show would be sold out in another 10 minutes. I decided to hang around to see how people behind me in line did. Imagine my surprise when someone only a few people behind me received tickets in the 100 level after I had taken seats in the 400 level. Later I found someone who received GA tickets despite being about 20 people behind me in line. After hearing all of this, it almost seemed as though tickets were coming up randomly instead of in a logical progression throughout the arena. Does anyone think that the tickets were set up to come up in a somewhat random manner to offset the advantages that scalpers might have had in getting tickets? I figured the random lotteries held by nearly all of the local TM outlets would work well to limit the purchasing opportunities of scalpers, but I wonder if the seemingly random seat assignment we experienced on Sat. may have also been designed to thwart scalpers trying to get tickets online or by phone. Either that or there was a very strange bug operating in TM's system on Sat. Jim ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 08:16:40 +0100 From: "O'Hearn, Chris" Subject: RE: LuckyTown Digest V9 #38 Hi, In reply to Steve Schechter pos (LTD V9 #36) "But this just ain't worth it" In 99 I dragged my ass all the way to Boston and spent 22 hours on a plane and around 4.5k doing it. Trust me it was worth every single cent. But Steve I do hear you. Even though the Australian tour looks like a go (and haven't we all head this before !!)I won't believe it until I have the tix in my hands. In fact I won't believe it until I'm at the gig !! Chris ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 16:03:21 -0500 From: MJQuarry@aol.com Subject: Max's Coming Out Party Just a quick thought on what I feel (and hope) so far with the new CD. With the new producer etc., Max's drums have a slightly different sound and feel than they have in the past. Plus, his own talents have grown and are showcased more than in the past. Instead of just a straight, one, two, three, four beat as in previous songs/albums, he is using more off-beat cadences and crescendos which lead the listener into a chorus, for example. I think this album/tour will showcase Max's talent/ability more than has been in the past. An aspect of the tour that I'm looking forward to enjoying. Mark Quarry Cincinnati, OH ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 16:51:00 -0400 From: "Weiner, Lee" Subject: RE:GA I vote this horse stops getting beaten. Some people hate GA, some people love it. I think it has little to do with average age of fans, and more to do with personal preference. Bruce is trying to do something different here and make the show potentially more club like in certain ways and loosen it up a bit. Myself, I will try for a GA seat and see if I can get one for at least one show. Let's all just be happy the tour is on and we all will get a shot at seeing him from the floor or the rafters. Be True, Lee ------------------------------ Date: 16 Jul 2002 16:19 GMT From: BAddou@t-online.de (Birgit Addou) Subject: Jennifer, Gabor & GA Hi everbody, thought I'd throw in my 2 Euro cents ;-) on this issue. First, I found it was about time someone mentioned that the ticket prices were stiff considering the economic times (Jennifer). How come no one has yet complained on this list? This price means that the very people Bruce sings about (single mothers, unemployed) won't get to see him play. Second, Gabor described the GA policy rightly but I still wonder - where's the good in it? First time I saw Bruce was in Frankfurt during the Tunnel of Love tour and it was a very bad experience. It was very hot that day and we arrived early to get good places. By the time the show started we had already spent 8 hours in tremendous heat, not sitting comfortably but standing. I was very exhausted but too excited to leave my place. We were in about the 5th row from front (if you can speak about rows here) and what Gabor mentioned > releave yourself of bodily waste before the show starts. It may be very annoying to leave your good place in front of the stage for a piss and not be able to go back. is just right. You will never get back to your friends when you had to leave your place. And take that from me - I saw people who decided not to go to the bath room but rather ... well, imagine. When the show started there was a TREMENDOUS rush towards the stage which very much surprised me as I had thought the shoving could not be intensified any more - I was proven wrong. A huge guy next to us threw his arms in the air and since he had a sleeveless shirt I had his underarm hair right in my face. I could not walk away as there was no moving around freely as Gabor suggested. My friend got sick and passed out and no one cared enough about what Gabor described > that all others will pass this person to the edge of the arena above their heads where there is first aid waiting. Instead, she was hanging among the others (the only good thing about the shoving was that it prevented her from falling) who didn't even notice her as everyone was focused on the stage. We nearly had to knock annoyed people out of the way - who only let me pass because they saw that my friend had fainted - to the front row where the Red Cross kept pulling people out of the audience. I got pulled out as well and this was as close I ever got to see Bruce and the Band. BTW, I'm not small and neither do I suffer from a heart disease, Gabor. When my friend was feeling better we stayed in the back of the stadium for the rest of the show. The sound was bad and we couldn't see a thing. Now is this worth paying $75 for???? > in the midst of it you do not feel exhausted at all, I would say, up to 60 or so years of age of an average person. Hey, if Bruce can do that... Bruce never does this. He gets backstage passes to any show he wants to see. Is there any reason European people are pround of being treated like a herd of sheep and even worse? I always wished the shows here were like in the US. And speaking of shows in the US - my second favorite singer (Hany Shaker - I'm sure no one knows him on this list and wouldn't like his music anyway, he's Egyptian) did a concert in Atlantic City last year and admission was not even half of what Bruce is charging. Ok, he's not that big an act in the US but even in the Gulf region where there are a lot of rich peolpe he doesn't charge as much. He's on TV every week, I paid $ 5 for his latest album - not a single, an entire album (that is promoted for $20 on some US websites) - so that makes me wonder why everybody's talking about charity and so on. Where does that huge amout of money go to? Bruce doesn't even have all that paraphernalia like all those other artists. Still, I'd like to tell you that I'm very, very much looking forward to all the concert reviews on LT this year and I would like to thank everybody for their terrific posts. This list just keeps getting better. Thank you Kevin for all your efforts! Regards from Germany Birgit Addou ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 15:15:19 -0500 From: Tom Hart Subject: Suggested Readings Greetings! This message has two distinct portions. The first is informational and the second is an observation/thought about the upcoming tour. First, the information. Many of you suggested a variety of books and readings for me to consider for my Freshman Seminar on Bruce. I thought it best to list them here so that anyone who is looking for a book to read (when not listening to The Rising) this summer may have at least a few ideas to consider. Also, I wanted to thank everyone who has dropped me a message or called in the past month. I believe the class will be a stronger and more focused attempt to get the students to think and contribute to the class this year and many of the resources and suggestions provided by the contributers to LTD are the reason (not to mention the body of work Bruce provides). Here then are some of the suggestions I received: THE GERANIUM Flannery O'Conner A RACE OF SINGERS Bryan Garman A CHANGE IS GONNA COME Craig Hanson Werner BORN TO RUN & GLORY DAYS Dave Marsh IN HIS OWN WORDS Bill Flanagan EMPIRE FALLS Richard Russo These suggestions are in addition to other ones suggested in the past including Journey To Nowhere, It Ain't No Sin To Be Glad Your Alive (class text), Born on the 4th of July and History of the United States. I'll provide a link to the syllabus once it is completed. In the meantime, I gotta find a way to get the entire class into the St. Louis show so they'll know first hand that Bruce rocks out. Then we can spend class time discussing the themes of Bruce's message with a more "Human Touch". The observation/Question I have is in relation to the tour Bruce and the band are about to set sail on. It seems to me the barnstorm, play one date in each city approach to the beginning of the tour is a good strategy to quickly build on the solid core following Bruce has. By only playing one date in each city, I believe the set list for the shows will be very similar, kinda like the beginning of the Tunnel of Love Express Tour. This approach allows the band to work on the new songs each night which will most likely evolve through live performances, just as Nils' Youngstown solo did 2 years ago Another by-product of a pretty consistent set list is the opportunity to coordinate a few items. In particular, if the sound of this tour is as poor as the initial sound during the reunion tour, and Bruce is playing 8-11 songs from The Rising, there will be many people wondering what Bruce is saying in the songs. Just as we love the lyrics to come with the album, perhaps using the bottom of video screen to scroll lyrics would also bring a new perspective to those who don't know the words as well as everyone reading this post. However, there's a part of me that would hate to see a Springsteen concert turn into a follow the bouncing ball type of event, with all eyes on the screen instead of the stage. So the question is: Would it enhance or take away from the experience to have the lyrics presented on the bottom of the video screens during THIS tour? That's enough for now!! Tom Hart ------------------------------ End of LuckyTown Digest V9 #39 ****************************** ********************************************************************* ** 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.