From: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org (LuckyTown Digest) To: luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Subject: LuckyTown Digest V9 #115 Reply-To: luckytown@luckytown.org Sender: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Errors-To: owner-luckytown-digest@luckytown.org Precedence: bulk LuckyTown Digest Sunday, December 29 2002 Volume 09 : Number 115 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: Rescue Me Sloopy (Columbus, December 16, 2002) [Matthew Orel ] Is Bruce A "Safe" Man? Poet Laureate? [HKABORN2@aol.com] Columbia Optomotrists ["Gene Lazo" ] Re: It's Boss time ["Sven-Anders Soderberg" ] Faith WAS Rewarded ["Ron Bansmer" ] BEHIND THE SCENES - Backstage in Columbia ["Rich Kortz" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 18:18:28 -0500 From: Matthew Orel Subject: Rescue Me Sloopy (Columbus, December 16, 2002) Eleven days ago in Toronto I had one of those life-altering Bruce concert experience. Granted, spending the whole show 5 feet or so from the stage and touching THE guitar may have had a little to do with that, but it was a great, great night. Last night in Columbus didn't match up. That said, it was a fine way spend one last night with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, 2002 edition. The evening's highlights started at the merchandise stand. Sad to say, the bug finally hit me. There is a 3/4 length shirt now, which costs even more than the other shirts. It sports a 20-year picture of Bruce, surrounded by wild lettering spelling out "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band." It's so bad it's good. It spoke to me. I had no choice. I bought one. Then I went back for a keychain. The show started with a tilt back towards the setlists from earlier in the tour. "The Promised Land" followed "The Rising" and "Lonesome Day"; a solid performance remeniscent of the performances on the last tour. After that, "The Fuse." While "The Fuse" is always a welcome addition for me to the setlist, in this spot it just seemed to energy out of both the band and the crowd. Whereas "No Surrender" had been at attack/bring it to them experience in Toronto, here the performance was more forced, with the timing in particular seeming tentative. Before "Empty Sky," Bruce apologized for the earlier postponement of the Columbus date, noted that the band had a "one-eyed sax player" for a couple of weeks. More jokes and poses followed throughout the night, a highlight being when Bruce sang a couple lines of "Rescue Me" during the intro for Patti (in Toronto, it was "Brown Eyed Girl"); Patti was having none of it. For fans who have seen many shows over the last couple of tours, the audibles and "optional" slots had to be a bit of a disappointment last night. "Out in the Street" and "Two Hearts" appeared to be audibles, both played in the arrangement of the last tour. After another graceful solo piano performance of "If I Should Fall Behind," the last slot went to "Thunder Road," sounding every bit as tired as every other performance of the past 3 years. THE guitar made no appearances, and the little extras such as Bruce joining in the keening before "Into the Fire" were absent as well. The encores started with "Where the Bands Are." At the time, this choice seemed totally bizarre -- given a chance to get the crowd on their feet, Bruce played a tune unknown to most of them. That was redeemed, though, with the next song: "Glory Days" got everyone up, and when the band segued into "Hang on Sloopy," the roof separated from the building and OSU zealots were deleriously launched into orbit. Well, ok, not quite, it just seemed that way. During "Born to Run," Bruce ran his guitar down the length of the front row, giving about 100 people a chance to have their touch. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 16:43:19 -0500 From: "Douglas W. Corkhill" Subject: Charlotte & Columbia; A Dream of Life My friend Daniel used to say there are only two kinds of tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert; those that get you in the door and those that don't. I've repeated this maxim over the years and came to believe it, but it is only partially true under the current general admission setup Bruce is using. Now there are three kinds of tickets; those that get you in, those that don't, and those that get you in to the pit. On Sunday in Charlotte we had reserved seats. Nice seats, half way back on the lower level, half way up the side, fans all around us who knew the words to most of the songs. The day itself was great, we went to the Carolina Panthers home football game in the afternoon had beers and burgers at a corner tavern after the game and arrived at the Coliseum just at 7:30. It was all very relaxed. The show itself was a good one. The crowd was enthusiastic, the setlist had several gems (Candy's Room, Backstreets), the band played solidly. Bruce made several references to the recent devastating ice storm that has left hundreds of thousands without power at home, some quite humorous ("Steve, it's time to send these people back to their cold, dark homes while we go to the Four Seasons and entertain ourselves watching pornographic movies in the room!"). The sound was a bit boomy and at times the show seemed rushed. Or maybe it was us. I found myself emotionally detached following Into The Fire, almost wishing the encores would hurry up and end. The instant the last note of Santa Claus was struck we bolted for the door, ran across the parking lot and before Bruce was offstage were on our way to Columbia. The cannonball run was on, and we covered the 84 miles in 75 minutes, securing ourselves numbers 34 and 35 in line. We had GA seats in Columbia and were in the pit. Twice before I've been in the pit, twice before I rested my elbows on the stage outside the camera on Clarence's side of the stage. Last night we spoke ahead of time of securing the spot immediately beyond the camera, there is more room there and Diana, who is short, gets an unobstructed view. The wristbanding and admission process went smoothly but as I entered the pit saw 'our spot' being taken by another couple and immediately moved to the center, between Bruces' and Nils' mics. The only people between the stage and us were numbers 2, 3 and 4 from the line, resting their elbows on the stage, and we sat down between and behind them on the second row. The experience was unparalleled. From the instant the band walked onstage we realized the spot we were in was magic. Bruce tends to favor this side of the center stage, and repeatedly stood and sang or played directly in front of us. In Mary's Room he was *right there* singing while Diana and I each had a hold of one of his calves, and in Born To Run he brought his guitar to us to play. He leaned in to the crowd over the front row folks to sing on one occasion and we both raised up on our tiptoes, our faces inches from his. Bruce wasn't the subject of our undivided attention. Diana had repeated eye contact with Clarence, and also several times with Bruce. I know I did briefly with Nils, Bruce, Gary and Clarence each at least twice, and with Danny, Patti and Steve once. Suzie came forward for a solo in Ramrod and we locked eyes for five-ten-fifteen? seconds while she played the violin. Roy was just too far away, and Max never takes his eyes off Bruce. Diana and I share a special place in our hearts for No Surrender, and when Bruce played it last night we were both moved. We all go to shows with songs we hope to hear, and No Surrender was on the short list for both of us. It was a serious emotional moment for me, and as he built to the "with a wide open country in my eyes and these romantic dreams in my head" line a tear welled up and ran down my cheek. Before the show we managed to catch part of the soundcheck from one of the lobbies when we went in to get out of the cold. We heard My Love Will Not Let You Down, This Hard Land and Wild Billy's Circus Story, the last one played through partially a second time. The first two made the show, and it was a great moment in the pit when Bruce stopped singing during This Hard Land and let the crowd sing the "stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive!" line. The true gem of the night was Growin' Up. If ever there was an audible this was one. As the band finished Promised Land Nils, Patti and Steve were switching guitars for World's Apart when Bruce stepped up to the front and began to play the immediately recognizable opening notes of Growin' Up. It was like a Chinese fire drill on stage watching the other three guitarists scurry trying to get the correct instrument for this song. Bruce cracked up several times while singing, and the entire band, once they caught up, looked like they enjoyed this number immensely. While the show is Charlotte seemed rushed to us, in Columbia it was as if time slowed down, particularly after No Surrender. I think that was personal for us, that we then released our desires and expectations and became absorbed with the enormous amount of sensory input coming at us. I watched little details; Nils playing the slide, Patti's hands when she sang, Danny's head bouncing and bobbing over his keyboards. I was as ever impressed with Max's drumming, particularly in BITUSA where he pushes this song to the brink and beyond. At times last night I felt carried into the beyond. Sometimes it was from what was given, the unexpected song choice, like the full Detroit Medley! Then there was the purely personal experience, staring into Bruce's face inches from my own. And at other times it sharing the moment with everyone else, the spot in Born To Run when the house lights go up and 19,000 people are screaming "tramps like us" and it's as if everyone is in the pit together. I try not to use words like miraculous to describe a rock and roll concert, but anything less would fail to convey the magnitude of my experience last night. It's this kind of rewarding, enriching, soul satisfying experience that compels me to go see Bruce again and again. I came up for the rising and was given a dream of life. And on my way home I got a speeding ticket leaving Darlington County. Doug dwcatty@mindspring.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 15:26:59 -0500 From: "Suzannah Evans" Subject: Columbus report Hi all, Just got back from Columbus - wristband still attached. First, the bad news. Arena security effed up BIG time with GA. I arrived at 11:30 to be 452 in line. (Yeah, there were a hell of a lot of people there.) About an hour before they opened the doors, the arena started passing out wristbands, first for the 300 for the pit, then the rest of us. Too bad they quit at 400, and made no announcement as to what the rest of the us were supposed to do. This resulted in a large mass of people at the ticket takers. So we get inside, not without some drama, head down to the floor, to be told we need a wristband. We say they stopped handing out wristbands, but get sent back anyway. Turns out they have 3 kids at a card table handing out wristbands to an increasingly irate group of people. Finally we got to the floor for good and ended up about 10 feet from the barrier on Clarence's side - not a bad spot by any means, but we were surrounded by people who had arrived half an hour before the doors opened. That was a little frustrating. On to the show! Highlights were "Hang On Sloopy" tossed into "Glory Days;" a truly electric "Mary's Place" replete with Bruce sliding across the stage on his knees not once but twice; "I Wanna Be Where the Bands Are," just for being; the band donning antlers and Santa hats tossed onstage for "Santa Claus is Coming to Town;" a spine-tingling "Candy's Room;" Bruce's introducing "Born in the USA" as a "prayer for peace." Bruce and Patti's ethereal intro to "Empty Sky" is a marvel. Overall it was of course a terrific experience - GA is always a gamble. I was lucky to be around friendly folks most of the time. See you all on the next American leg - Suzannah _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?pagežatures/junkmail ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 23:09:05 EST From: HKABORN2@aol.com Subject: Is Bruce A "Safe" Man? Poet Laureate? Some of you may have read about the recent flak in New Jersey when the State's "poet laureate"--a position most people didn't even know existed--wrote a controversial poem about the 9/11 attacks that was viewed by many as anti-Semitic. I recently ran across the following editorial from the New Jersey Law Journal, one of the State's most respected and widely read legal publications: "Poet Laureate The office of poet laureate originated in 17th century England as the official poet of the royal court. The incumbent received a small pension from the crown for life. In return, he was expected to produce suitable verses in honor of the monarch's birthday and similar grand occasions. For much of its existence, the office has either been given to mediocrities such as Nahum Tate, Colley Cibber and Henry James Pye or bestowed as an honor on distinguished poets past their best work, such as Southey, Wordsworth and Masefield. Whatever their poetic gifts, the holders of the title have above all been safe men, chosen for their safety and unlikely to say or do anything that would affront the respectable opinion of their day or embarrass their royal patron. Talents as varied as Pope, Byron, Eliot and Auden need not apply. The present poet laureate of New Jersey may be a talented poet, but he has never been a safe man. His opinions are well known, and he has made a career of proclaiming them loudly. A title and a $10,000 honorarium couldn't be expected to change his heart or bridle his tongue. We are disgusted by his poem about Sept. 11, but we are not in the least surprised. Whoever was responsible for appointing him shouldn't have been surprised, either. Before imitating something, it is well to understand it. It is not clear to us why New Jersey has or needs its own poet laureate. The statute creating the position was not enacted until 1999. The honor it confers on the recipient is dubious--"Poet Laureate of the State of New Jersey" rolls off the tongue with the sonorous anti-climax of "For God, For Country and For Yale." The state's need for official glorification is better served by the kind of advertising agency that gave us "New Jersey and You--Puhfect Together" than by verse. If we are to have another poet laureate after this one's two-year term expires, let English precedent be kept in mind. Springsteen in his golden years seems about right for the job." Hmmm . . . what do you think? Howard South Jersey, USA [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 10:57:24 -0500 From: "Gene Lazo" Subject: Columbia Optomotrists To whoever did the eyechart in Columbia, I bow down to you as unworthy! That was, without question, the funniest thing I have seen. Aside from the gag itself, the timing was great ... done at an appropriate time and when it was over, it was over and not beaten to death. I still laugh everytime I think about it. For those who were not at the Columbia show, during Mary's Place some fans had a huge eyechart they held up off the side of the stage that apparently said: B IG MAN PLAYS MEAN HORN . When Clarence saw it, he just broke up. He kept going over to the side of the stage, covering one eye, mocking straining to read, then covering the other eye. He called Nils and a few others over to see it as well. It seemed to get the band into an even looser mood than they already were in as well. I stand humbled, doubled over in laughter..... Gene Lazo [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 17:22:13 +0100 From: "Sven-Anders Soderberg" Subject: Re: It's Boss time Cheryl McIntosh wrote: > The Lost Masters' versions of Ramrod end in the phrase "It's Boss time!" > It's either Steve or Clarence that says it; if I knew where my Lost Masters > were, I'd go and check it out. Hence the return of his much belied > moniker. Though from what I've seen (on video) and heard (on CD) from this > tour it's more than just a name -- he likes "bossing" The Band around even > though I'm sure The Band know their roles precisely and concisely. But, > like the "audilbes" and "requests," I suspect it's all part of the show. If you want to hear Bruce shouting "Boss Time!" on an official release just open up your Tracks box set and play GIVE THE GIRL A KISS. After hearing/reading ages ago that he didn't like his nickname I was a bit surprised to hear him calling himself that before his guitar solo. Sounds to me like he's just making fun of it, both then and now. And why not! [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 11:54:53 +0100 From: wilbert.dishoeck@nl.abb.com Subject: David Sancious on new Clapton DVD Hello everybody, Last week I heard about a new Eric Clapton DVD. I always liked Clapton very much and I'm still looking for a great live DVD of the man. While looking for more info on this new DVD, I stumbled upon a very familiar name. In the band, David Sancious is playing keyboard and guitar. Another good reason for buying this DVD I think. More info on this DVD can be found on www.claptononline.com Greetings from the Netherlands, Wilbert van Dishoeck ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 09:15:55 -0600 From: "Grier, Tom" Subject: Waitin' On a Sunny Day - E Street Shuffle Until a few years ago, my wife didn't understand or appreciate my interest in Bruce Springsteen. On the 1999-2000 tour she reluctantly agreed to attend several shows with me. Actually, going in to that tour, she just wanted to travel a bit, the concerts were like a "duty" for her. But after she saw her first show, that changed. "Wow, he has a lot of good songs," she said after the first concert. "And he sure puts on a show." She continued to gush. She loved Nils' frenetic lead quitar work, Steve's mugging for the audience, Clarence's cool, and Patti's vocals. After 5 shows on the 1999-2000 tour she was hooked. This year, we could only make two shows on the tour (So far!). Now, here's the cool part. Not only does she like the music, my wife is getting INTO the music. Yesterday we watched a gift DVD of the Live in New York City concert video. As the closing credits roll, "E Street Shuffle" plays. My wife says, "That sounds like 'Sunny Day.' Same basic melody progression. Well it IS close. Especially in the recent, live versions of "shuffle." I can almost hear Soozie's violin in E Street Shuffle. I think my wife is hooked. She's already asking about tour dates for this spring/summer. I don't think we'll be flying to Australia, so we'll wait for more US shows. - -- Tom Grier, Winona, Minn. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 18:57:22 EST From: CJPBTR@aol.com Subject: Ticket Scalpers i've been a long time digest reader, but this is my first post. What prompted me to post? well a very bad and hurtful experience in Albany NY on the Rising tour. I had seen Bruce 11 times and my most recent was Buffalo 10/7/02 - probably the greatest show for sure for me. I took my fiancee to her first Bruce concert and the first song i ever showed her when we met was "You Can Look.." and Bruce debuted it that night - amazing feeling. Anyways we decided to take the short trip to Albany without tickets to try and scalp some. Well as soon as we got near the arena there were people all over selling, so we stopped, rolled dwon the window and bought two tickets for $100.00 each. We were very excited. We park etc, get up to the arena gate - the tickets were fake. $200.00 wasted because some guy couldn't be honest. I was crushed, I've been listening to Bruce for a very long time and to be a step away from his concert just devestated me. i went to the will call window to see if they were releasing anymore and they weren't. So i left the arena with this horrible feeling. Never got to see Bruce that night, and the set was amazing from everything i've heard. My point of this post? Ticketmaster needs to do something to ensure that we, as customers, can tell a fake ticket and a real ticket. I'm not sure how many people this has happened to, but i know DC had a lot and by the way they looked at the ticket in Albany - they had alot as well. Not sure what can be done to prevent this, but its very sad to know that people can do that to someone and not think twice. I'd love to hear some thoughts on this, so please anyone feel free to respond. Chris ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2002 17:49:07 -0500 From: "Steve Kenyon" Subject: Lucky Man with GA Needs Advice I don't know how it happened, and I am not questioning it at all (because I have been screwed more times by TM than I can count) but I ended up with 2 GAs for Providence (at about 10:20, as I was giving up hope, they just popped up ... Santa delivered, I must have been VERY good). There IS magic in the night (or the morning in this case)! Anyway, of course, I really needed 4 (so I could bring my wife, 9 year-old son and 7 year-old daughter) but I have 2. I will eventually need to decide who I bring - and I will be in deep kimshee no matter what way I go (please save the philanthropic offers to take the tickets off of my hands :) This is why I need the advice on how the whole GA process works at the venue and how tough it might be for someone who is 3-foot something to actually see what is going on and enjoy the show. The tickets claim that we are in Section 2 and show "seat numbers" but I thought it was standing room only in the floor? I have ignored all the talk of the GA experience on the digest because I never considered it a possibility. Any help would be appreciated, Steve [text/html attachment deleted] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 23:11:22 -0500 From: "Ron Bansmer" Subject: Faith WAS Rewarded I was fortunate enough to get GA tickets for the Houston show in November and got to shake Bruce's hand twice (that was a first for me - usually it seems like I'm in the upper levels). I live in Maine, so when I heard that he was playing Providence in March, I had to try to get 2 GA tickets again. At about 10:05 on Saturday, I got through on-line only to be offered 2 seats in the upper levels. I declined the offer. I continued on with no luck. At about 10:12, I dropped the number of tickets requested to 1, and was offered a seat in the lower levels. As tempting as that was, I declined because I HAD to have GA. Soon after that...for some unknown reason...just when I was ready to give up since I assumed all the GA tix were long gone by now...I changed my request back to 2 and kept trying. And around 10:20, it happened. I'm looking at the screen and I'm reading that I have 5 minutes to purchase 2 General Admission tickets. At first I did nothing because I was so shocked, but shock turned to nervous fear as I hurried to make sure I typed in all the info requested to finalize the deal before something evil like a power outage occured. I don't begin to understand why I was able to get 2 GA tickets 15 minutes after Upper Level Seats were the "best available". But I'm ecstatic about the outcome. Ron No Retreat - No Surrender ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2002 23:45:26 -0500 From: "Rich Kortz" Subject: BEHIND THE SCENES - Backstage in Columbia BEHIND THE SCENES - Backstage in Columbia By Rich Kortz - --------------- THE SCENE: December 10, 2002, Columbia, South Carolina. 12:17 AM. After that night's show, Bruce has gathered the band together in his dressing room. - --------------- Bruce: Alright, everybody... want ya's ta listen up... Steve: Boss, man. how good are we, huh? Tell us we don't just keep gettin' better and better and better. Go ahead, man. tell us. Clarence (high-fiving Steve): Right on, baby. go on Boss, lay it on us. We' re gettin' a big-ass Christmas bonus, ain't we?? *Everyone cheers. Steve cups his hands to his mouth and makes crowd-roaring noises* Clarence: Bruuuuuuuce! Bruuuuuuuuuuce! Danny: The fans goes wild!! *Everyone is laughing, except Bruce* Bruce: Okay. okay.. Settle down, you guys. settle the hell down. Max: You have to admit, Boss. We DO keep getting better and better. I think that's the BEST 'Hard Land' we've ever done. Clarence: Yeah, and how 'bout 'Detroit', huh? That wasn't too shabby neither, Boss. We ACED that mothersucker. Roy: Absolutely. I'd say we rendered it definitively. Particularly given its war-horse status in our canon. Bruce: Huh? Who said anything 'bout cannons? We ain't rollin' no cannons out there, Professor. Who the hell are we, AC-DC? Patti: C'mon, baby. what's going on with you tonight? You seem tense. Lighten up a little, huh? You should be thrilled. Your new songs are really coming alive... they just keep improving. night after night. Bruce: Yeah. yeah. I guess they do. I guess they do. Patti: And your band is at the top of their game these days. Bruce: Yeah. yeah. I guess they are.. I guess they are. *Gradually, an awkward silence fills the room. It's finally broken by Steve* Steve: Hey, Boss, buddy.. Uhhh, what gives? You okay, man? Clarence: Yeah, Boss, what's the deal? Bruce (after a reluctant pause): What are you guys tryin' ta. tryin' ta do ta me, huh? Tryin' ta do ta US? *Another lengthy pause is also broken by Steve* Steve: Excuse me?? Bruce: Ain't you guys been noticin' what's been. what's been goin' on? Patti: Going on? Going on WHERE, baby? Bruce (motioning with his hands toward the door): Out THERE. out THERE. *There's a confused silence in the room* Clarence: Uhhh. out in the hall, Boss? Bruce: Naw. naw. not out in the hall, Big Man. What's the matter with you? Not out in the damn hall.out there in the WORLD, Big Man. out there in the charts. Patti: The charts?? Bruce: 'Risin's slippin'. Patti: Not THAT again, baby... we TALKED about that. This ISN'T 1985 anymore. Garry: It's slippin', Boss? Really? I didn't notice. Bruce: Trust me... it's slippin'. it's slippin'. Patti: C'mon, baby. it's been out for months. Of course it's going to slip a little. Bruce: It ain't slippin' a little.. slippin' a lot. slippin' a LOT. Clarence: He's right on, you guys. Check the new Rolling Stone. done slipped right on outta sight. Bruce: That's right, Big Man. and it keeps ON slippin'. Roy: Excuse me, Boss. I don't mean to nitpick, but I think you mean 'sliding.' Bruce: Huh? Roy: 'Sliding'. not 'slipping.' Something really doesn't 'slip' repeatedly. If something continues to slip you would render your claim more accurately by saying it's sliding. You might say 'The Rising' is 'sliding' off the charts. Bruce: Whatever. whatever. What if I say my boot might be 'slidin' cross your little round behind? Steve (grinning): Guess you could say 'The Rising' is falling. Get it, you guys? 'The Rising' is FALLING'?? Can you smell the IRONY?? *Everyone cracks up, except Bruce* Garry: Hey, did you guys see that 'USA' cover spoof Rolling Stone did with Homer's ass?? Max: Yes!! Danny: That wasn't so funny. Bruce: Ya didn't like the Homer cover, Phantom? Danny: Nahhh. didn't do nuthin' for me. I like the Abbey Road one better. Steve: Don't mind him, Boss. he's just bitter cause they didn't spoof 'Flemington.' *Everyone cracks up, except Danny and Bruce* Bruce: Cool it, you guys. We're losin' focus here. Steve: Look, man. So what? When have we ever cared about that chart stuff? Ever think maybe the message this time is a little too much of a bummer for people. Maybe people don't wanna KEEP thinkin' about it. I mean, your whole point with the record is that people need to move on, right? So now they move on and now you got a problem with them?? What's THAT about, Boss? Bruce (glumly looking down): Maybe they moved on a little TOO quick. Steve: EXCUSE ME?? Bruce: Wait.. Wait. naw. naw. it ain't them.. it ain't them. I ain't got no problem with THEM, Stevie. Steve: What's your point, man? Bruce: The point is. you guys are goin' apeshit with the solo stuff all of a sudden. You're killin' me over here. Steve: SAY WHAT?? Bruce: You guys are puttin' so much stuff out there now the fans can't keep up. Startin' ta look like you guys're ridin' the gravy train a little. ridin ' my coattails a little. Seems like ya's ain't too focused on the task at hand. Patti: Baby, that is RIDICU. Bruce: Hey, Big Man. Clarence: Uhhhh, me, Boss?? Bruce (glaring at Clarence): Yeah, YOU. What's this Temple of Soul stuff, huh? What's that about? Clarence: Heyyyy, now. Dig this, Boss. I'm an accomplished saxophonist. Got my own band. Nothin' says I can't cut loose a record on my own now and then. Bruce: Yeah? Why now, huh? Why right now? Right in the middle'a the tour? My tour? OUR tour? Smells fishy ta me. Smells like maybe ya was tryin' ta cash in a little. know what I'm sayin'? Strikin' while the iron's hot? See where I'm goin', Big Man? Clarence: That's some heavy-ass jive you're slingin' there, my man. What are you insinuatin'? Bruce: I'm insinuatin' that ya got like four or five'a my tunes on there, don't ya? Clarence: Hey, man. that's cause I RESPECT you, my man. I R E S P. Bruce: And I'm insinuatin' that ya just HAPPENED ta record it in Asbury. That's MY turf, Big Man. Clarence: Heyyyy, now, Boss. You don't own the town, my man. *An uncomfortable silence descends on the room* Bruce: And don't think I don't know about ya guestin' on that Fromm guy's Christmas CD. Clarence: Heyyyy, now... that's just a little side project I knocked out. Don't mean nuthin' at all. The dude asked me if I'd lay some sax down on his stuff. That's ALL, Boss. Bruce: Yeah? Did he ask ya ta lay down the Santa Claus schtick, too? Or was that YOUR idea? I thought that Santa schtick was OUR thing, Big Man. *Clarence looks glumly at the floor in silence* Steve (nudging Danny): Hey, Big Man. guess this means you better shelve that solo bagpipe album you been workin' on! *Everyone cracks up... except for Bruce, who's now glaring at Nils* Patti: Baby, you had better just STOP this right now. You're letting this whole chart thing get to you. You're just being plain nasty. You're going to regret saying these things when you. Bruce: Hey, Lefty. Nils: Me, Boss? Bruce: You been pretty quiet over there. Nils: I'm always quiet after a show, Boss. I'm wiped. Bruce: Wiped, huh? Wiped from promotin' that new CD, maybe?? Nils: WHAT?? Bruce: So, what's this make for ya, huh?.. three solo CDs in one year, right? *Nils stews in silence* Patti: BABY!? What is going ON with you tonight? Are you feeling okay?? Steve (grinning): Hey, Nils, man. you really got another new CD out?? Seriously?? Nils: Yes. yes I do. Bruce: Geeee. what a coincidence! Nils: Are you KIDDING me?? Do you really think that I would try and capita. Bruce: So, Nils. how many of MY songs do ya cover on your CD, huh?? Nils: Read my lips, Boss. NONE. Not a single one. *There's a sudden awkward silence in the room* Nils: I do, however, do an absolutely killer 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.' Bruce: Yeah, but, uhhh. none'a mine? None'a MY tunes?? Nils (proudly): That's right, Boss. None. Bruce (after a reluctant pause): How come ya. uhhh. how come ya ain't got none'a my tunes on there? Nils: Because it's a Nils album all the way, Boss. It'll stand or fall on it 's own thank you very much. Patti: Baby. I think you need to calm down. Seriously. You're getting paranoid. I've never seen you like this before. Steve (nudging Danny): Hey, Nils.. you got 'Keith Don't Go' on there again? Nils: Actually, Steve. no. not this time. Steve: That's a first! How many times have you put THAT thing out, huh?? *Everyone cracks up* Steve: So, like, Nils. you don't actually think you kept Keith alive and workin' all these years cause of your song, do ya? Nils: Well... on some level it WOULD be nice to think that MAYBE he heard it once and. *Everyone cracks up, except Nils* Steve: Yeah, right! Like that old wrinkled geezer's gonna cut loose of a gravy train like that!! *Everyone is howling now. Everyone except Bruce, who's glaring at Steve* Bruce: Hey, Mr. DJ. Steve: You talkin' ta me? Bruce: Yeah, I'm talkin' ta you. Steve (laughing): Yeah? So what?? So I'm a DJ now. So sue me! Bruce: You ain't helpin' matters by pushin' all them new garage band CDs on your show. Steve: C'mon, Boss. that's rock'n'roll.. that's why we're all here, remember?? Somebody's gotta push the new guys. Bruce: How you guys expect the fans ta keep up, huh? They ain't made'a money, ya know. How ya's expect 'em to keep up with OUR stuff when ya's are hittin' 'em from all sides with YOUR stuff? Soozie: C'mon, Boss. all the fans have already bought your new record. Bruce (shooting a glare at Soozie): Yeah, and any day now they'll be havin' ta buy your's, won't they? *Soozie turns away quickly* Bruce: Won't they?? Soozie (after a reluctant pause): Yeah, so? Bruce: You clowns are sinkin' us here with all this stuff... losin' focus. Steve: Hey. we ain't the one's releasing quote 'limited editions' unquote along with the regular stuff. and then releasin' 'em AGAIN when they sell out! *There's a sudden tense silence in the room* Clarence: Hit the deck! Stevie dissed the limited edition!! Boss is gonna blow!! *Clarence falls to the ground and covers his ears* Bruce: Big Man. get up off the floor, huh? I ain't gonna go off on nobody. I knew one'a ya's would call me on that. I'm cool with it. I'm cool with it. Clarence (standing up and wiping his forehead): Damn, Stevie. you done gone put the fear'a God into me there for a spell. Steve: So what about it, Boss? What's with two-timin' the fans like that?? Bruce: See, Stevie. like, I shoulda just made more ta begin with. I thought the damn thing was gonna sell like 'Tracks.' Who knew? I'm, like, the cautious man, remember?. I just limited myself too much. That's why I called it the limited edition. *There's an awkward silence in the room* Danny (nudging Steve): Ohhh, okay, it allll makes perfect sense now, Boss. Bruce: Look, you guys. I ain't tryin' ta beat up on ya's. I think what I'm REALLY tryin' ta say here is that I thought we was re-dedicated ta bein' US right now. ta just bein' The E Street Band right now, ya see? Guess I'm just a little uncomfortable with all the solo stuff right now. Guess I'm just a little too possesive of you guys. Patti: But, baby, we ARE re-dedicated. more than ever. You're just getting stressed. You're letting the little things get to you. Bruce (after a reluctant pause): Yeah. yeah. I know. I know. Tell ya's what. Let's have a big group hug. C'mon, everybody. a big group hug. right now. just for me. Clarence: You serious, Boss? A group hug? Bruce: Yeah. I'm serious. I'm serious. I need a big group hug... from my re-dedicated, re-invigorated, re-comboobulated E Street Band. Steve: You ain't gettin' all girly on us, are you, my man? Patti (glancing around at everyone): Sure, baby. sure. if that's what you need. c'mon, everyone. let's spread the love around.. NOW, dammit. The End BEHIND THE SCENES: THE BOOK makes a unique holiday gift for your favorite Boss fan. Order now direct from the author at kortzrg@att.net or by using Paypal at www.behindthescenescentral.com. Also available through Backstreets, Badlands, and other fine Boss merchandise distributors. - -------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of LuckyTown Digest V9 #115 ******************************* ********************************************************************* ** 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.