From: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org (LuckyTown Digest) To: luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Subject: LuckyTown Digest V9 #60 Reply-To: luckytown@luckytown.org Sender: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Errors-To: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Precedence: bulk LuckyTown Digest Thursday, August 8 2002 Volume 09 : Number 060 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: Bruce on Billboard ["Kevin Kinder" ] Review of 8.7.02 ["John Moye" ] One of the Best ["Zur, John Francis, JR (John)" ] NUMBER 1 OVER A HALF A MILLION SOLD!!! [Tom Ross ] Does anyone remember "The River" album? [klmcclintock@netscape.net (Kevin] The Meadowlands banner (15 SHOWS - SOLD OUT) [Gary Dunaier ] CAA MIB? ["rwell" ] Re: Paradise ["John Mikes" ] Re: LuckyTown Digest V9 #59 [MFernEsq@aol.com] My City of Ruins [GordNBarb@aol.com] my city of ruins influence [Thom Engel ] Matching Songs From The Rising With Other Bruce Tunes [Jon Boroshok Subject: Bruce on Billboard From www.brucespringsteen.net: The Rising enters at #1 in 11 countries, including the United States Bruce Springsteen's Columbia Records CD The Rising will make its entrance on Billboard's Top 200 album chart at the number one spot next week, with 524,976 sales in its first week, according to SoundScan. The album, released on July 30, will also debut at number one in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Denmark and Norway. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2002 12:48:12 +0000 From: "John Moye" Subject: Review of 8.7.02 >(Note: Setlist done from memory at 1 am-- may not be exact).... Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band The Meadowlands, East Rutherford, NJ 8-7-02 (First show of the tour) The Rising Lonesome Day Prove it All Night The Fuse Darkness on the Edge of Town Empty Sky You're Missing Waiting on a Sunny Day The Promised Land Worlds Apart Two Hearts Badlands Mary's Place Countin on a Miracle 41 Shots (American Skin) Into The Fire 1st Encore: Born To Run Glory Days Thunder Road 2nd Encore: My City of Ruins Born in the U.S.A. Land of Hope and Dreams In a sense, Bruce has himself to blame for any complaints that arise from this tour. He has dug his own grave. Any other artist would be appreciated for playing 2+ hours at age 52; any other artist would be encouraged to try out his new material (which is not bad stuff, mind you) on the loving fans; any other artist would have been praised tonight for having put on an amazing show. And it would have been an amazing show by just about any artist. But not Bruce. So instead of praises, fans leaving the venue deride the sentimentality of the new material; instead of awe, fans cry out loudly on the bus back to NYC after the gig , "what's this 2 hour shit about?! I thought we were going to a Bruce show, not some half-ass 2 hour deal!" Poor Bruce. This is a tough crowd to please. It's his own fault, in a way. After all, this is the first tour after the summer of 2000. That tour, in hindsight, seems like an amazing random occurence-- a case of "we didn't know what we had when we had it" at its very worst. At those shows, Bruce was playing 3+ hours a night, twisting the sweat from his tee shirt on stage atop the piano, breaking out songs he hadn't played in over 20 years-- "Lost in the Flood," "E Street Shuffle," "Meeting Across the River," among others. By any standard, the 2000 tour as a rock show would be a tough act to follow. By the standards of Bruce fans, who cross their finger at every song break hoping the band will kick into "Rosalita" (a la 1975), the new tour doesn't just fall short-- it falls way short. The mood tonight was one of polite respect, but not awe by any stretch of the imagination. After all, once you have seen Bruce play "Rosalita," how can you really get THAT pumped up about "The Fuse" or "Counting on a Miracle?" Not that the show was bad. Bruce and co. sounded solid as hell, blowing the roof off with the opening "The Rising" before moving right into the album opener, the rockin "Lonesome Day." Throw in two classics with "Prove it All Night" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town" after that, and this show is looking pretty awesome. But then comes an acoustic "Empty Sky" in which Bruce encourages people to be seated and to hold all applause until the end (what is this, a graduation? I thought we were watching Springsteen). It's not that his material isn't poignant and powerful and emotional-- his version of the somber 9-11 ballad "You're Missing," with violinist SuzieTyrel and Nils Lofgren on pedal steel was just plain georgeous-- it's just that the whole procedure feels more like a Sting show or a Peter Gabriel show than a Bruce show. Somber, ambient, high quality songwriting, but still not kickin much ass... His upbeat "Waitin on a Sunny Day" gets the place rockin again (the violist is so damn cute the way she dances around that stage!), as he leads the crew in an audience sing a long. Then came "Badlands" (with the band sounding thunderous as they ever have), and I thought the show was picking up. Mucho fist pumping, and I love the line "It ain't no sin to be glad that you're alive..." But instead of taking it from "Badlands" to the next level-- maybe an "Out in the Street" or a "10th Avenue Freeze Out?"-- Bruce delves into a whole slew of new material, and this second half is when the show really started dragging for me. "Countin on a Miracle" is followed by a weak "Mary's Place" where he introduces the band (but the song itself makes the band sound like a shell of its former self). Then comes the horribly dated "41 Shots," a racial police-brutality homily, which, as if the myriad 9-11 songs weren't enough, adds yet another level of morosity to the whole endeavor. And then he ends with the beautifully tragic "Into the Fire," which is lovely and powerful and terribly sad (the images take me back to 9-11, to be sure), but is that what you want with an arena show closer? I am not sure. The encores bring a moment of unadulterated joy-- all the house lights come up so we can all see each other and the band launches into "Born to Run" and hell, we could be back at Tradewinds in 1975, all fists pumping in unison. Follow that with "Thunder Road" and the house-rocker "Glory Days," and things are looking the best that they have all evening. If this were the 1980s, the band would just be getting started. Intead, Bruce says goodnight, and exists promptly at 10 pm. Second encore brings a lovely (but also very sad) "My City Of Ruins" with Bruce on piano, followed by a random 2 minute rockin version of "Born in the USA" that feels like it doesn't really belong, followed by Bruce's new as-yet-unreleased tune "Land of Hope and Dreams," which gets the crowd going, but not in the same way, say, an old classic like "Rosalita" or "Hungry Heart" would. Then he's gone, show is over, and it's 10:40 pm. All told he played 2 hours and 25 minutes-- again, not bad, but not quite to the level of the 2000 tour. Then again this is the first show. Maybe they are just warming up. In any case, I am left thinking "If this were Billy Joel I would say that show rocked, but it was Springsteen, and I must admit I am slightly disappointed for a Springsteen show..." If he wants to capture the magic of the 2000 tour, he will have to play longer, he will have to mix up his setlists, he will have to temper the amazingly sad 9-11 songs of his new record with more hopeful numbers like "No Surrender" or "Out in the Street." Otherwise, this tour will be a disappointment in the overall annals of Bruce history. If it were any other artist, it would have been a 10. Since it was Bruce, it gets a 6.5. In a sense, he dug his own grave by setting the standards of his own fans (like me) so high. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2002 00:56:51 -0400 From: "Zur, John Francis, JR (John)" Subject: One of the Best Over 50 shows since 1978... tonight may have been one of the best... intensity not seen since 78... Bruce has a message and has never been better... Do whatever you can to see this show... pay whatever it costs... you won't be disappointed... I never thought I'd see this again... the relevancy, the vitality, the energy... it's something very special & once in a lifetime... John Z ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 13:10:37 -0400 From: Tom Ross Subject: NUMBER 1 OVER A HALF A MILLION SOLD!!! Springsteen Album No. 1 on Charts NEW YORK (AP) - Bruce Springsteen's ``The Rising'' has risen to No. 1 in its first week, selling about 526,000 copies. The figures, released Wednesday by Nielsen SoundScan, represent the best debut of Springsteen's career. The critically acclaimed disc is his first studio album in seven years; most of the songs on it revolve around the Sept. 11 attacks. The singer has been on a media blitz to promote the disc. He appeared on the covers of Time and Rolling Stone, and was featured on ``Nightline,'' ``Late Night with David Letterman'' and ``Dateline.'' The ``Today'' show went to his adopted hometown of Asbury Park, N.J., for a live Springsteen performance. He kicks off a tour Wednesday night in East Rutherford, N.J., at Contintental Airlines Arena. He will perform in 39 cities, and also in Europe. This is the third Springsteen album to debut at No. 1 (``Greatest Hits'' and ``Live 1975-1985'' also bowed in the top spot). ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2002 07:47:46 EDT From: Jmcerra@aol.com Subject: Waitin' On A Showstopper All the new stuff Bruce and the Band performed last night sounded great live, but the absolute showstopper is "Waitin' On a Sunny Day." This song takes off live like no Bruce song since "Darlington County." And the audience, well, we were just perfect with no rehearsal! We found our cue effortlessly, and gave a rousing a capella performance that was so spirited that even Bruce and the Band were surprised. [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 08 Aug 2002 09:43:15 -0500 From: Barry Kaplovitz Subject: Review: 'Springsteen Gets Bold--Yet He Struggled For The Balance In His Material' (The Boston Globe) The Boston Globe August 8, 2002 CONCERT REVIEW Springsteen Gets Bold Yet he struggled for the balance in his material http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/220/living/Springsteen_gets_bold+.shtml By Steve Morse, Globe Staff, 8/8/2002 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Bruce Springsteen shocked the faithful last night. He tilted his show so heavily toward his new album that exactly half the set - 11 of 22 songs - was drawn from it. When was the last time you heard an artist do that, especially a superstar with a 30-year back catalog? Springsteen is undeniably proud of his new album, ''The Rising,'' which was strongly influenced by the events of Sept. 11. And he put a lot of thought into last night's 2-hour-20-minute set (short by Springsteen standards). Yet he struggled to balance the seriousness of the new material with the more hedonistic, house-party standards woven into a night witnessed by a sold-out crowd of 20,000 fans at this tour debut at the Continental Airlines Arena. Springsteen put considerable thought into some of the ingenious segues - new song ''Lonesome Day'' into archival hit ''Prove It All Night'' and new tune ''The Fuse'' into the ultimate fan favorite, ''Darkness on the Edge of Town.'' But only once did he play more than two old songs in a row. T hat came near the end with an exultant ''Born To Run,'' ''Thunder Road,'' and Glory Days'' trilogy, which let the crowd up for air. A specific example of his difficulty in balancing the extremes of this set came when he launched into two of the most acutely painful new songs, ''Empty Sky,'' (which alludes to the absence of the World Trade Center towers) and ''You're Missing,'' about the death of a loved one in the 9/11 tragedy. ''We're going to have a good time, but we need you to be real quiet for the next couple of songs,'' he said. But sensing the crowd's discomfort, he then talked of how ''I took that last calming (urination) before I came out.'' The shtick was kind of funny, but awkward. The show started with the title track ''The Rising,'' an anthem yearning for salvation and beautifully played by the E Street Band, which for this tour is augmented by violinist Soozie Tyrell, who also plays a key role on the album. And give Springsteen credit for the way some of the new songs were reworked from their studio versions. ''Empty Sky,'' for instance, became a sparse folk song featuring just Springsteen and his wife/backup singer, Patti Scialfa. Also, the new qawwali song, ''Worlds Apart,'' found Springsteen wailing over a Middle Eastern vocal sample, before guitarist Steve Van Zandt added a stunning, Pink Floyd-like coda. The constancy of the new tunes, however, suggested that Springsteen was trying too hard to force-feed them to the public, as though he were asking them to ''take their medicine,'' as one fan remarked privately. It was a kind of paternalistic, preacher role that made you queasy at times. Some of the weaker new songs - the gooey ''Waitin' on a Sunny Day'' and ''Countin' on a Miracle'' - didn't add anything. But another new song, the Phil Spector-ish ''Mary's Place,'' was Bruce-a-fied with an extended house-party jam in a ''Jersey Shore style'' that made it much more appealing than the lighter version on the album. Springsteen's choice of catalog tunes (especially later in the show) was likewise inviting, notably ''Promised Land,'' ''Badlands,'' and a seismic ''Born in the USA,'' with the E Street Band pumping in vintage fashion. There was no erosion of skill (and saxophonist Clarence Clemons looked a bit trimmer and more energetic than last time), but it was just a question of what Springsteen asked them to play. One also has to wonder how this set will evolve. Because the band is doing only one show per city this tour (the multiple-date engagements will come during a return swing next year), it's likely that the set list will probably be more rigid than when Springsteen mixed it up last time. But, right now, he has to do some fine-tuning before he achieves a balance that works better than last night's debut. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band At: the Continental Airlines Arena, last night. This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 8/8/2002. Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/220/living/Springsteen_gets_bold+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 21:14:56 -0500 From: "Kevin Kinder" Subject: great cartoon Great cartoon, too true for some of us. Go to http://www.comicspage.com , under 'Choose an editorial cartoon' select Walt Handelsman, and select the archive cartoon for 7-31-2002. - ----- Kevin Kinder kinder@luckytown.org ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 12:25:23 -0400 From: klmcclintock@netscape.net (Kevin McClintock) Subject: Does anyone remember "The River" album? I remember Bruce saying that prior to "The River", he didn't think he could put the party songs and the dark songs on the same album, but it worked great on that album. Listening to the feedback on Luckytown, it occurs to me that "The Rising is similar to The River in that they both balance out the dark songs with the party tunes. I think The Rising has a nice balance between the darker and lighter songs. I have been listening to it every day, and wondered what it would sound like to hear "Waiting on a Sunny Day", "Let's be Friends" and "Mary's Place" as a set of 3 songs, so I tried it. They make a nice little feel good mix. Some of the recent discussions made me think about when I worked at the US Embassy in Panama City, Panama. Some of the Americans used to think that the people who lived in the poorest part of the city near to the Presidencia had a sad life. One Friday night, my friend and I took a ride through that section of town. Everyone was on the corner drinking beers and partying. The people did not have much money, but they looked happy. In reference, to the Rising, people felt great loss last September, but life has to go on. Some of the songs remember the loss, but some of the songs bring the hope and the realization that we have two choices in life. We can be happy or we can take "The pearl and Silver" and blow our brains out. I think the Rising does a great job of addressing the problems of loss while still making the listener feel good and feel happy and hopeful! __________________________________________________________________ Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop@Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 21:32:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Gary Dunaier Subject: The Meadowlands banner (15 SHOWS - SOLD OUT) > Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 00:37:45 EDT > From: ALateJuliet@aol.com > Subject: Wednesday > > . . . I'll have an exact replica of the banner > that hung from the Arena in '99 hanging from my > car or a picnic table (BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE > E STREET BAND - 15 SHOWS - SOLD OUT). Last night's show was my first visit to the Meadowlands arena since... well, since I last saw Bruce there (7/20/99, my very first Bruce show ever). I was pleasantly surprised to see a reproduction of the "15 SHOWS" banner hanging from the rafters at the Meadowlands, along with the retired numbers and Stanley Cup pennants and such. The Springsteen banner is not an EXACT repro, the one hanging in the arena is white letters on a dark surface (except for "15 SHOWS" which is in red), and the date "1999" on the bottom. How about that! :-) Gary Dunaier ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 21:40:56 -0700 (PDT) From: Gary Dunaier Subject: On the bus from NYC to NJ Taking the New Jersey Transit bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan to the Meadowlands Arena, as the bus left the Lincoln Tunnel (having crossed the river to the Jersey side), just as the bus ascends the loop to I-495, there was a huge billboard for Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising" album. A nice touch. Then, as the bus continued on the loop, you have an excellent view of the skyline of midtown Manhattan. The Empire State Building, the other skyscrapers, and then you crane your neck southward... to the empty sky. Sobering. Gary Dunaier ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 4 Aug 2002 22:21:09 -0400 From: "rwell" Subject: CAA MIB? Could someone at CAA report on if there was a MIB and if so where / when the upgrades took place. Steve ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 18:29:15 -0500 From: "John Mikes" Subject: Re: Paradise > But it's not just about losing a loved one. It's about a suicide bomber. Yes, but it must also be about the survivor of someone lost in the Pentagon. Hence the Virginia reference. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2002 09:54:49 EDT From: MFernEsq@aol.com Subject: Re: LuckyTown Digest V9 #59 In a message dated 08/07/2002 7:11:58 PM Eastern Daylight Time, owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org writes: > There have been several mentions about the similarity of the opening of "My > City of Ruins" to "The Weight." Beyond that, I think "My City of Ruins" has > a > heavy "Let It Be" vibe running through it. Play the two songs back-to-back > and > see if you don't notice it. > Since I first heard it in Asbury in December 2000, I've always thought MCOR sounded like "People Get Ready." Insterestingly, he's throwing a "Get Ready" snippet into LOHAD on the current tour. Marc Fernich NYC [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2002 19:43:10 EDT From: GordNBarb@aol.com Subject: My City of Ruins From: "Brian Hedden" > > Can someone tell me where I've heard the intro to "My City of Ruins" before? > There's a song at the tip of my tongue and I can't place it. It reminds me of Maria McKee's My Girlhood Among the Outlaws ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 22:36:07 -0700 From: Thom Engel Subject: my city of ruins influence It's been great reading the digest the past few days, and I can't wait until tomorrow, as there ought to be an onslaught after Weds show in Jersey. I've been enjoying the varied song titles being tossed about as allusions for My City of Ruins. So far we've had "The Weight," "Let It Be," and Dylan's "Brownsville Girl." I've been giving this considerable thought, and then it hit me like a drunk on the barroom floor, or, if you will, like seeing Sheena Easton singing "Uncover Me," but if you play the intro to MCoR backwards, it sounds like Rockin' Roberts shouting, 'let's give to 'em, right now!' from the Wailer's version of "Louie, Louie." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 07:40:57 -0400 From: Jon Boroshok Subject: Matching Songs From The Rising With Other Bruce Tunes I'd welcome some input and discussion on this one. A while back, I had mixed a 6 CD Best of Bruce set, organized by theme. I'd like to remix it, adding tracks rom The Rising. Here's my original set list, with "Rising" tracks added in. None of this is cast in stone -- any suggestions? Assume any track is the standard, official release (studio) unless otherwise noted: Vol. I - "Two Hearts" Thunder Road (live 75-85), Two for the Road, Frankie, Tougher Than the Rest, Two Hearts, Because the Night (Winterland, 1978), Counting on a Miracle Prove it all Night, Man's Job, Be True (Chimes of Freedom live version), Rendezvous, Then She Kissed Me (Bottom Line-1975), Little Girl (unreleased-Lost Masters), Better Days, City at Night/Taxi Cab (unreleased), All That Heaven Will Allow, Can't Help Falling In Love (Live-unknown), If I Should Fall Behind (live, M-TV), I Wanna Marry You, Happy, The Way (unreleased) Vol. 2 - "Opera on the Turnpike" It's Hard to Be A Saint in the City, Meeting Across the River, Jungleland, Incident On 57th Street, Worlds Apart, Linda Let Me Be the One, Badlands, Murder Incorporated (live 1995), Point Blank, Brothers Under The Bridges '83, Backstreets, The Ties That Bind, No Surrender, None But The Brave (unreleased), Bobby Jean, Blood Brothers Vol. 3 - "My City of Ruins" The Ghost Of Tom Joad, American Skins/41 Shots (live-Atlanta), Born In The USA (Tracks), Brothers Under The Bridge '95, Streets Of Philadelphia, Losin' Kind (unreleased), Roulette, Trouble River, Sugarland, Child Bride (unreleased), Atlantic City, Factory, Youngstown, My City of Ruins, The River, The Promise (unreleased), Racing In The Street, The Rising Vol. 4 - "Open All Night" Red-Headed Woman, Sherry Darling, Waiting on a Sunny Day, Give The Girl A Kiss, Out On The Street, Where The Bands Are, 10th Avenue Freeze-Out, Rosalita (WBCN- 1974), Night, Open All Night (live-1995), Spirit in the Night, 57 Channels (Christic Nights # first time played!), Kitty's Back, Let's Be Friends, Candy's Room, She's The One, Ricky Wants A Man Of Her Own, Cadillac Ranch, Pink Cadillac, TV Movie Vol. 5 - "Fade Away" Tunnel of Love, Cindy (unreleased), I'm On Fire, Secret Garden (Blood Brothers mix), Brilliant Disguise, Lonesome Day, 30 Days Out (unreleased), Loose Ends, Seven Tears (unreleased), One Step Up, Stolen Car (Tracks), Downbound Train, Drive All Night, Back In Your Arms Again, Fade Away, I Wish I Were Blind (live M-TV), Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Dollhouse, Protection (unreleased) Vol. 6 - "Wishes, Hope and Dreams" Growin' Up, With Every Wish, The Wish, County Fair (unreleased), Born To Run (unreleased alternate), 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), Independence Day, Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street, Wings For Wheels/Thunder Road (live 1974?), The Promised Land, This Hard Land (Tracks), Land of Hope and Dreams, Across the Border, Long Time Coming (live '95), Living Proof, Further On Up The Road JB ------------------------------ End of LuckyTown Digest V9 #60 ****************************** ********************************************************************* ** 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.