Bruce and The River

The Boss rocked MSG on Sat and Sunday nights, performing two of his best albums live. While I was fortunate enough to see Bruce Springsteen at his final Giants Stadium shows where he did "Born to Run" and "Born in the USA," I was not able to get to the World's Most Famous Arena to see "The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle" and "The River."

My buddy, Spy, who has seen over 100 shows, put Sunday's concert in his "Top 3" all-time. That is a statement that Spy takes seriously and doesn't toss around lightly, trust me.

More artists should play their albums live and in their entirety as so many young fans now purchase songs for their ipods with itunes and don't even listen to an album in full and from song-to-song. Springsteen can lead the charge for people to get back to the basics of listening to full albums.

I woud also note that the Fab Faux does such a great job of performing The Beatles albums live and in their entirety. Last month, I enjoyed "Let It Be" and "Abbey Road" both done perfectly.

Back to Bruce... I am going to suggest to one of our pals, Wayne LeBeaux, who runs Bruce's tour, that the Band entertain the idea of doing "The River" on a special short tour next summer, maybe in Boston, NY, Philly and LA.

Here are some reviews:

NYC NIGHT TWO: The River
Another magnificent night at the Garden with The River, the first-time (and if Bruce's prediction ("too long!") proves true, only) complete performance of the 1980 double album that Bruce honored as "the gateway to my future writing" on albums like Nebraska and Tunnel of Love."

Some of The River's songs, of course, are mainstays of the E Street Band's touring repertoire, like "Hungry Heart", "Out In The Street", "The Ties That Bind," and the title song. And some are brought out a tantalizingly few times a tour, usually in some far-flung outpost lucky enough to hear a rare "Drive All Night" or "I Wanna Marry You". So forRiver aficionados to hear the entire album, and so thoughtfully and energeticaly performed, it was a night to remember. The last part of the show featured some very strong performances, including one of the best "Atlantic City"s in memory, a rousing "Sweet Soul Music," not played by E Street since 1988, and a loose but moving "Can't Help Falling In Love," culminating in a great, almost endless "Higher and Higher" to lift the crowd from their seats and out in the street.

***

11/8, NEW YORK CITY: THE RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT

From Backstreets.com
Context has always been important to Bruce Springsteen's music, and he reinforced that notion with a galvanizing performance of The River in its entirety for the first time on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. In a precise, exhilarating, and high-energy show, Springsteen faithfully reproduced all 20 of its songs. Most have appeared in shows on various tours since the album's 1980 release, and usually to great effect. But hearing the songs in their original order left many in the building gasping in astonishment.

The Residents of E Street Pay Their Respects:

The fans on Backstreets, the insiders' website dedicated to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, are calling for a simple donation to be made in the name of E Street Band member Danny Federici who passed away last week. The suggestion is $1 a show. I have to count up my shows and send a check to The Danny Federici Melanoma Fund (click the link or the headline above).

I sat and wondered why the news of a musicians' death hits so many of us so hard? The truth is, of course, I never met Federici and never paid all that much attention to him as he played the keyboard at some of the great rock shows of all time. He was the ultimate complementary musician, simply because he played well and knew his role.

Yet, he was a part of our family, the family of rock that we all grew up with. And, the simple truth is that a death like that reminds us all of our mortality.

Three musicians who've passed away before Federici brought the same feelings along for me. The terrible assassination of John Lennon was the most shocking, of course, and it brought out the deepest and strongest emotions. The death of Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead was a punch in the stomach and was deeply painful. The sudden death of John Entwistle of The Who brought me to tears as it brought on a different set of emotions and more of a selfish thought of, 'damn, he was one of my all-time favorite bass players and I won't be able to see him anymore...why the hell was he taken from us at such an early age?'

Entwistle, 57 at the time of his death as most of you know, I am sure, died suddenly in a Las Vegas hotel room on June 27, 2002 as The Who were preparing to play a concert tour to begin the next night at the House of Blues in Vegas. Entwisle's performance at The Concert for New York that previous October will be one of my fond lasting memories of him.

All which bring me back to Springsteen and the E Street Band. One member is now gone and a cold reminder of our own mortality now remains as a part of every ticket purchased as the band plays on.

The video below is taken from a concert in Indianapolis on March 20th when Danny joined the band for the last time.