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September 22, 2024 It was fifty years ago today that Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band played an outdoor show in the great state of New Jersey, though unlike their most recent gig, it didn't take place on the sandy shoreline of Asbury Park, NJ. In fact, it was 45 miles north of "Little Eden," in Union, NJ, on the grounds of what was then known as Kean College, now Kean University . Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg were still "the new guys" back then, having officially joined the band just about a month earlier, with this Kean College show being only their fifth official public performances as E Street Band members. Oh, and also the Kean College show's ticket-prices differed substantially from those for last Sunday's Sea.Hear.Now gig; the Kean College tix were free ! Fortunately our friend and professional photographer James Shive was there, and he captured the moment in a beautiful series of black-and-white photos now spotlighted on a special 50th-anniversary page newly created for his website . "I was just starting my first year in college," writes Jim in his newly published recollection of the day. "[M]y graduation gown was lying in rags at my feet. My hopes were to become a photographer & I wanted to shoot Rock & Roll. So here I was, 18 years old and had an opportunity to capture that perfect shot. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, a free concert on a small outdoor stage, It was my first Springsteen concert, but at that time the band was not very well known. "I stood in the small crowd, camera in hand; I felt a surge of excitement. The music pounded through my veins, and the energy of the band live on stage was infectious. I snapped some photos, and one photo would become an iconic image of a superstar that is still going strong today." For the 50th anniversary, Jim has made that photo - the one you see above at the top where Bruce is standing next to Clarence and sporting his rarely-seen-onstage "peacock shirt" - available for the first time ever as a specially-priced and framed poster-print . Jim also has many more of his photos from that day displayed on his newly launched 50th-anniversary page, along with some specially-set prices for certain images/prints, and even a link to decent audio of the September 22, 1974 Kean College concert. Click here to visit "The 1974 Anniversary" at The Shive Archive.

September 16, 2024 "Wow! I feel fuckin' old tonight, in a good way. I never thought I'd live to see this sight, nowhere in my lifetime. The band... We were here on that little street corner [pointing towards The Stone Pony ] when nobody was here, and I didn't know when I'd see folks in this good town again. So I just want to take a moment and thank all of the people that have invested themselves in Asbury Park and brought the city back to life. On the East Side, on the West Side... I want to thank the LGBTQ+ community for all they've given to Asbury Park in the last twenty... twenty-five years. Danny Clinch, I want to thank you for this wonderful event . And most of all, I want to thank all of you for being here tonight and for supporting Asbury Park for all this time." -Bruce Springsteen, onstage with the E Street Band on the beach of Asbury Park, NJ, during their September 15, 2024 Sea.Hear.Now Festival performance As you probably know already, it was a very special weekend in the Garden State indeed, more specifically in "Little Eden." It featured a Saturday-night return to those legendary surprise drop-in visits at Jersey Shore bars/nightclubs, followed on Sunday afternoon by Festival sit-ins with Trey Anastasio and The Gaslight Anthem, all preceding the big event, of course: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, live on the Asbury Park, NJ beach/boardwalk, delivering a special, fully-customized, one-off, early-Jersey-Shore-days-focused setlist for one of the biggest beach-parties in the storied town's history. Appropriately, we're gonna let our Jersey-based pals Chris Jordan of The Asbury Park Press and Jay Lustig of NJArts.net supply all of the details, by linking here to their comprehensive coverage: Click here to read "Bruce Springsteen and E Street play magical three-hour show at Sea Hear Now: Review" by Chris Jordan of The Asbury Park Press . Click here to read "Bruce Springsteen makes surprise appearance at Stone Pony" by Jay Lustig of NJArts.net. Click here to read "Springsteen jams with Trey Anastasio Band at Sea.Hear.Now (WATCH VIDEO)" by Jay Lustig of NJArts.net. Click here to read "Bruce Springsteen joins The Gaslight Anthem at Sea.Hear.Now (WATCH VIDEO)" by Jay Lustig of NJArts.net. Click here to read "Bruce Springsteen’s Sea.Hear.Now homecoming (PHOTOS, VIDEOS, SETLIST)" by Jay Lustig of NJArts.net. And finally, also very well worth reading is John T. Ward's timely and lesser-known history of the Off Broad Street Coffeehouse in nearby Red Bank, NJ, one of Springsteen's earliest musical homes on the Jersey Shore. Click here to read "Growin' Up With Springsteen, Off Broad: The untold story of a Red Bank coffeehouse that helped shape Bruce Springsteen, and other teens, in 1968" by John T. Ward, editor/publisher of redbankgreen.com. -special thanks to Lisa Iannucci -thumbnail-photo for this report by Caroline Madden ; used with permission

September 9, 2024 EDITOR'S NOTE - Our friend Joe Amodei, Founder and President of Virgil Films (and co-producer of the 2019 documentary Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am? ,) attended last night's world-premiere screening of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF.) We're pleased to share with our readers Joe's firsthand account of the event: I was one of the fortunate ones to be in attendance last night at Roy Thomson Hall here in Toronto to witness the world premiere of Thom Zimny’s new film, Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band , which follows the band on their current tour throughout the world. I won’t go into detail on why I think this is one of Zimny’s best works to date, but I will say that the film gave me everything I wanted, and reaffirmed my love for anything E Street and my wish to see the band again and again. There are emotional moments throughout that will stay with you for a while. That’s what great films do. Roy Thomson Hall is where all the super-big films premiere here at TIFF. This is where the big ones come to play, so it’s meaningful to not just Bruce Springsteen but to Thom Zimny to have their film play here. And it looks fantastic on the big screen, which is kind of a shame, because the film will be premiering on Hulu/Disney+ in October and after a few more screenings here in Toronto , it's not currently scheduled to play in any other theaters. So seeing the film in a venue like this was an added treat, and something I wish more fans could experience. What was even more of a treat was that I got to watch this movie sitting five rows behind Bruce, Steven, Landau, and Zimny himself. Thank you, Thom!!! Being a film premiere in a film festival means there were not scores of Bruce fans lined up outside and screaming his name throughout the evening. Instead, this was an audience of film lovers, film executives, and film-festival-goers. A lot of them also were Springsteen fans, of course, but a lot were there mainly to see a good documentary, and they got their wish. Look out for this on Hulu/Disney+ on October 25th. You will love it. ---------- We have more Road Diary coverage planned for our Letters To You readers, as the film's Hulu/Disney+ streaming-premiere date draws closer next month. In the meantime... Click here to check out The Hollywood Reporter 's article on the film, featuring an exclusive clip from it. And click here to read People.com's report on Patti Scialfa's Road Diary revelation about the personal and professional challenges she's been facing in light of her 2018 cancer diagnosis. All of the above photos from last night's TIFF world-premiere screening of Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are by Joe Amodei, and are used with permission.

September 6, 2024 Patti Scialfa and Bruce Springsteen have each been billed as part of the officially announced lineup for the 2024 edition of the annual Stand Up For Heroes benefit concert , a joint project of The Bob Woodruff Foundation and The New York Comedy Festival , supporting The Bob Woodruff Foundation's efforts to meet the needs of U.S. military veterans, service members, and their families. This year's event will take place on Veterans' Day, Monday November 11, in David Geffen Hall at New York City's Lincoln Center. Also on this year's bill: Jim Gaffigan, Norah Jones, Mark Normand, DJ Questlove, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jon Stewart. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets. [NOTE: If you are an active member of the U.S. military, a veteran, and/or a first responder, you may be eligible for a special discount on your ticket(s)-purchase. Click here to verify your discount eligibility. ] The official billing of Patti Scialfa, listed separately from her famous spouse, is somewhat intriguing for fans of Scialfa's solo work (like us.) While of course Scialfa is very likely to perform at least one of Springsteen's songs with him, perhaps she might also perform some of her own material in a separate solo set, maybe even offering attendees a live taste of what will be featured on her long-awaited (and still yet-to-be-officially-announced/released) fourth solo album . Whatever happens or doesn't happen in that regard at Stand Up For Heroes 2024, this much is certain... If you attend, you'll hear some great music and some great comedy, as well as a few dirty jokes told by a certain mid-septuagenarian rock star, presuming that grand tradition continues. And of course you'll be supporting an important cause, to boot. Again, you can click here to purchase tickets.

September 5, 2024 As per this afternoon's official press release... Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music Announces “Springsteen on Screen: From the Vault with Thom Zimny” WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (September 5, 2024) – The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University (BSACAM) is pleased to announce “Springsteen on Screen: From the Vault with Thom Zimny.” This special event celebrating Bruce Springsteen’s 75th birthday will be held on Saturday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m. in Pollak Theatre on the campus of Monmouth University (400 Cedar Ave, West Long Branch, New Jersey). Emmy and GRAMMY award winning film director and editor Thom Zimny is a valued friend to the BSACAM. His numerous credits include the Springsteen concert special Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City (2001), Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run (2005), The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (2010), the Netflix film of the Springsteen on Broadway concert residency (2018), Western Stars (2019), Letter to You (2020), and the upcoming Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band , releasing on Hulu and Disney + in October. At this event, Thom will screen Springsteen footage and discuss his work documenting, preserving, and interpreting Springsteen’s legendary, 50-plus-years career. “We look forward to another memorable evening with Thom Zimny as he shares with us rare and intimate glimpses into the life of Bruce Springsteen”, said Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music Director, Eileen Chapman. “Thom’s films will show the history of Bruce’s prolific career and will give us an intimate look into the mind that created such amazing music.” Tickets are $50.00, will go on sale Monday, September 9 at noon ET, and can be purchased online at Springsteen-On-Screen-Tickets or at the Monmouth University Box Office located in the Ocean First Bank Center. Cell phones will be prohibited at the event. Proceeds supports the educational mission of The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University, a 501(c)(3) .

September 5, 2024 As we reported last May , Hulu and Disney+ will stream exclusively Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band , beginning in October. At the time of our May report, the specific date in October on which Hulu/Disney+ subscribers can begin streaming the film, directed by Thom Zimny and produced by Zimny, Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen, Adrienne Gerard and Sean Stuart, had yet to be announced. Today it was announced officially that October 25 is the Hulu/Disney+ premiere date, via an Instagram Reel featuring Springsteen himself: Stay tuned for more from Letters To You on Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band , coming soon, as the film's world premiere takes place this coming Sunday at The Toronto International Film Festival . We'll have our on-the-scene coverage from Toronto posted as soon as possible.

September 4, 2024 If there is a better way to close out a summer at the Jersey Shore than witnessing Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes do their annual Labor Day Weekend thing at The Stone Pony Summer Stage, I have yet to find it. Once again, Southside and his boys helped put a big bow on the summer-vacation season this past Saturday night, “even if there are a few weeks left,” as Johnny Lyon himself said onstage at one point, reminding all of us that summer is not yet officially over. Johnny and his Jukes delivered their Labor Day Weekend 2024 extravaganza as only they can: with plenty of soulful singing, dancing, a big horns section, and some friends along the way to help. Earlier in the week, the weather forecasters were calling for rain in Asbury Park over the approaching weekend. But as the days got closer, the weather improved, and the chance of rain decreased. By Saturday night, it was another beautiful evening in Little Eden for the show to go on. The evening opened with a reunion of LaBamba and The Hubcaps, the horns-a-plenty R&B band that has a long history at The Stone Pony. Legend has it that the “Hubcaps” name was born on a cold night at the Pony in the early ‘80s. The main cast included Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg, Mark “The Loveman” Pender and Bobby Bandiera - three Asbury Park music-scene stalwarts who were back together on this night. After the Hubcaps finished their set, the crowded continued to gather, many sporting Southside Johnny tee-shirts…but also fresh-off-the-tour tees of that other guy who made his bones at the Pony. Wishful thinking of an appearance, maybe? Another reunion of sorts? In any case, right at 7:59 p.m., the opening strains of "Angel Eyes" started, the stage filled, and Southside and the Jukes were off and running. They delivered a stellar setlist that also included "Forever," "All I Needed Was You," "Crying"/"This Time Baby’s Gone For Good," "Hearts of Stone," "Woke Up This Morning," "Passion Street," "Love on the Wrong Side of Town," "Broke Down Piece of Man" w/ a snippet of "Walk On The Wild Side," "Help"/"Walk Away, Renee," "All the Way Home" (LaBamba and Bobby Bandiera joined here and stayed for the rest of the set,) "Without Love," "You Can’t Bury Me," "This Time It’s for Real," "Looking For A Love" (sung by Jeff Kazee,) "The Fever," "Talk To Me," "I Don’t Want To Go Home," "Working Too Hard"/"Let It Bleed," and of course an encore of "Havin' A Party" (with ex-Juke and current Weeklings drummer Joe Bellia.) [Attention all E Street Radio /SiriusXM subscribers... A professional recording of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes' complete Labor Day 2024 concert at The Stone Pony Summer Stage is now available for listening on demand via the SiriusXM app . Just go the E Street Radio channel on the app, and you can find the concert-recording under "E Street Radio Specials."] As the final strains of "Havin' A Party" drifted over the AP boardwalk, the Jukes left the stage, leaving us to contemplate the end of summer and the age-old question: Did we all make the most of this summer? Did we put our toes in the sand enough? Did we see enough live music? Hope so…because now we’re faced with the looming winter months, those cold blasts that are sure to hit after the smell of pumpkin-spiced everything has dissipated, when the snow starts to fly on the boardwalk. But what’s that you say? You SEA something in the not-too-distant future? You HEAR there’s more music to come from a local band, on the beach in Asbury Park, no less? NOW you’re talkin'! Click here to see a slideshow of more photos from Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes at The Stone Pony. All photos and text by Mark Krajnak, JerseyStyle Photography . Used with permission.

September 2, 2024 Workers employed by Aramark, the company that handles all of the concessions at Philadelphia's ballpark, sports/concert arena, and football stadium, as well as other local venues, are unionized and in the midst of negotiating their latest contracts, fighting for - among other things - better wages and healthcare coverage. On Friday, August 23, members and supporters of Philly UNITE HERE! Local 274 staged an informational protest outside the Philadelphia Phillies' ballpark, Citizens Bank Park, at the second of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's two Philadelphia concerts held there. Among the signs they carried while protesting were ones that featured a Springsteen quote from the Ghost - of - Tom - Joad -Tour period about the importance of labor unions. Many Springsteen fans entering the ballpark for that night's concert expressed their support of the workers, as did Stevie Van Zandt via his social media: To learn more about Philly UNITE HERE! Local 274's efforts and how you can support them, click here and here . Meanwhile, in between those two Philly shows, Mighty Max Weinberg , at 73, continued to demonstrate amazingly his eligibility for the title of Hardest-Working Drummer in Show-Biz. "Day off, schmay off" seemed to be the philosophy of the Mighty One, down the (South Jersey) shore where everything might've been all right, but Max and his band were by no means doing the typical day at the beach: And finally, in the "You had one job!" department... Happy Labor Day 2024 to all of our hard-workin' friends out there who are celebrating it today! Solidarity, baby!

August 29, 2024 Yesterday saw the official release of "She Don't Love Me Now," Bruce Springsteen's sweet, soulful contribution to   Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin , the various-artists tribute album that will be released on September 20 to raise additional funds for Malin's continuing recovery efforts after suffering a rare spinal stroke last year. Springsteen and the E Street Band's Jake Clemons recorded the track with the Jesse Malin Band. Below you can listen to it for free right now, since we've embedded the YouTube "Official Visualizer" version of it via Jesse Malin's official YouTube channel, BUT please also click here to pre-order your copy of "She Don't Love Me Now" and the rest of Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin , as all proceeds will benefit Jesse Malin's Sweet Relief Fund . (If you already are able to access "She Don't Love Me Now" and/or Silver Patron Saints... via your streaming-service subscription but still want to donate to Jesse Malin's Sweet Relief Fund, you can click here to do so .) On his social media, Jesse Malin also has expressed his thoughts on the track: Click here to read Letters To You's previous July 24 report for more information on Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin . And finally, we dug a bit deeper to get our readers the most accurate production credits/information we could track down for "She Don't Love Me Now" from Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin : Performed by Bruce Springsteen, Jake Clemons, and the Jesse Malin Band Produced by Derek Cruz & Rob Lebret Written by Derek Cruz, Don DiLego, and Jesse Malin Vocal by Bruce Springsteen Drums by Paul Garisto Bass by James Cruz Piano & B3 by Rob Clores Guitar by Derek Cruz Saxophone by Jake Clemons Engineered by Daniel Sanint, Howard Bilerman, and Rob Lebret Assistant Engineering by Bailey Kislak Recorded at Flux Studios NYC and Thrill Hill Recording - Colts Neck, NJ Mixed by Geoff Sanoff Mastered by Fred Kevorkian, Kevorkian Mastering

August 28, 2024 Our friend Patrick Humphries , the veteran London-based music journalist and author who, way back in the mid-1980s, co-wrote the first British book about Bruce Springsteen, has just published his Beatles biography, With The Beatles: From The Town Where They Were Born To Now And Then . It's the first full-length biography of The Beatles in almost two decades, covering their lives and careers from the early days through the post-breakup period, the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison, and the surviving band-members' continued Beatles-centered business activities and artistic endeavors together in the 21st century. With The Beatles... also draws on material from the exclusive and previously unpublished interviews that Patrick has conducted over the years with George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. Like us, Patrick is a big fan of both The Beatles and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (as well as many other great musicians.) In fact, Patrick co-wrote 1985's Springsteen: Blinded By The Light , the first published book about Springsteen to come out of the British fan scene. Therefore it's not surprising that With The Beatles... includes some observations and reflections from Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Van Zandt, and Max Weinberg on The Beatles' massive and enduring greatness and influence. (Nils Lofgren also gets listed in a section where Humphries enumerates the many great and famous musicians heavily influenced by The Beatles through the years.) Some additional and tantalizing information regarding what to expect from With The Beatles... , as per the official press release from its publisher, Great Northern Books: For the first time… Paul talks about the controversial Lennon/McCartney songwriting credit! George reflects on Beatlemania! Ringo reveals his skiffle musical roots!  Full details of the unmade Beatles’ film are revealed!   Also included: Plans for Lonnie Donegan to coax John Lennon out of his New York exile! First-hand accounts of Liverpool and Hamburg; The Beatles’ roots!  An exhaustive analysis of how their American breakthrough was achieved!  Fly-on-the-wall accounts of Paul rehearsing for a world tour! The Beatles’ Love musical in Las Vegas!    Listen to what the men say: Never-before-printed insights with producer George Martin, “fifth Beatle” Chas Newby and Cavern DJ Bob Wooler.  E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg and his memories of Beatlemania. Tom Jones discussing plans for him and Elvis Presley to recruit the Beatles as their backing band! Read the very last words that John Lennon said to Paul McCartney.    As well as telling the story from the birth of Ringo Starr in 1940 to the group’s break-up in 1970,  With The Beatles  also tells the story of how the Beatles’ brand continues to live on long after their demise. With unique access to archives, interviews and all media,  Patrick Humphries  traces the Beatles’ progress in cyberspace, on film, and in print. The author reveals how the group dominates auction house sales, including an interview with  Hilary Kay  from BBC’s  Antiques Roadshow  on the group’s enduring appeal. The long battle with Steve Jobs’ Apple is chronicled, and how the Beatles’ own Apple meticulously guards their legacy with box sets, re-releases and documentaries.   With The Beatles  is that rarest of things, a new look at the enduring impact and legacy of the world’s most influential band. Click here to purchase your copy of With The Beatles: From The Town Where They Were Born To Now And Then . Fans who live in or near London also can attend tomorrow's special book-launch event, meet Patrick Humphries in person, and obtain a signed copy of With The Beatles... Click here for more information and ticket-purchasing links. And in celebration of Patrick's newest book, The E Street Cafe Podcast has recently spotlighted its archived 2023 conversation with Patrick about his life and career in music journalism, especially his notable encounters and conversations with Bruce Springsteen. Click here to listen.

August 27, 2024 Okay, gang, first a bit of personal as well as musical history, just about as condensed as I can make it... It was late summer in 1984 when I experienced my first concerts by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. I was seventeen years old and still living in Southwest Philadelphia, the working-class neighborhood where I grew up, so it's not surprising that those early concert experiences also occurred within Philadelphia's city limits. In September of that year, Springsteen and the E Streeters held court at Philly's old Spectrum arena for a six-show stand, and I got to see two of those shows (both the opening night and the closing one, if I recall correctly.) Although my serious Springsteen fandom began in the early eighties, it wasn't until more than eight months into '84 that I first got to experience a live concert in person, just as Springsteen's national and international popularity had begun to explode exponentially with that year's release of the Born in the U.S.A. album, along with the string of hit-singles, music-videos, and the 1984-85 tour that followed it. Those September '84 Philly shows also were the final Springsteen concerts performed before President Ronald Reagan, then running for re-election, would attempt just a few days later to capitalize on Springsteen's popularity by name-checking him in a New Jersey campaign-stop speech. Shortly thereafter Reagan's '84 Democratic Party opponent, Walter Mondale, made the false claim that he had received Springsteen's endorsement, but was quickly forced to retract that statement, since in actuality Springsteen never endorsed either Presidential candidate that year. Reagan's and Mondale's moves inspired Springsteen to begin making a variety of his own countermoves and responses as the Born in the U.S.A. tour and juggernaut continued. One of Bruce's most notable actions, however, occurred very quickly and had a long-lasting effect. In just under a month after that '84 Philly run at the Spectrum had ended, Springsteen had begun spotlighting at each show a local organization focused on hunger, poverty, and/or other important economic or social concerns. For a few minutes during each concert, he'd take a moment while introducing one of his songs and talk to his audience a bit about how the organization's goals and activities connected with the ideals expressed in his music, and he'd encourage his audience to support the organization with a donation and/or other forms of support. It became an essential element of his live shows, something that has occurred virtually each and every night on every tour since then, and continues to do so. Flash forward now, four decades later. It's late summer in 2024, and once again - as I've done previously in the late summers of 2012 and 2016 - I am standing inside Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Phillies, the City of Brotherly Love's baseball team (Go, Phils!,) watching Springsteen and the latest version of his " heart-stoppin', pants-droppin', earth-shockin', hard-rockin', booty-shakin', earthquakin', love-makin', Viagra-takin', history-makin' ...legendary E Street Band!" once more hold court over the course of two evenings, just last Wednesday and Friday. The two venues where I saw my earliest Springsteen concerts back in 1984-85, the Spectrum arena and Veterans Stadium, have long since fallen to the wrecking ball. Two more big changes, of course, forty years down the road...Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici are no longer onstage. The great Charlie Giordano took on the simultaneously enviable and unenviable job of replacing Danny on keyboards and accordion back in 2008, shortly after Danny's passing. For the first tour to follow Clarence's death in 2011, just as when Stevie Van Zandt left the band in the early eighties for about sixteen years, it took more than one person to fill the void that was left behind. (In Stevie's case, it took Nils Lofgren on guitar and Patti Scialfa on vocals. In the Big Man's case, however, it appropriately took an entire horn section!) And having passed just recently, music-journalist/writer/editor/publisher Charley Cross is now also gone , as is his Backstreets magazine and website for Springsteen fans, to which I first subscribed back in the early eighties and later became a contributing writer for almost two decades. (For all intents and purposes, Backstreets already had ceased all of its major operations, more than a year ago, which is the main reason I started this website last year.) Shortly before this pair of Philly shows, while performing at the tour's previous stop in Pittsburgh, Springsteen delivered a sweet, beautiful little onstage tribute to both Charley and Backstreets . (Incidentally I felt Bruce's tribute to be especially significant, generous, and graceful on his part, given Charley's and Backstreets ' very public disagreements with Bruce over his current concert-ticketing policies.) Charley's passing, and Bruce's public response to it just days before he began his two-night Philly stand, probably drove all of this home in my head even further, but in case it isn't obvious already, I witnessed last week's two Philadelphia shows while very, very aware of my own personally significant anniversary of first seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert, just across the street from where I first caught one of his performances back in '84 in a building that no longer exists, and everything else that also has changed over the four decades since then. In addition to all of those changes already referenced above, there are, of course, the myriad of other kinds of personal changes that anyone is bound to experience if you've been fortunate enough to reach your late fifties as I have. Lots of folks in and out of my life over the past forty years, for sure, due to births, deaths, disputes, and various other forms of departure, as well as of arrival. I also began and ended a lengthy career with Philly's public schools, and am now enjoying semi-retirement, still living in the Philly area where I was born and raised - though now in a nearby suburb - with the woman I've loved for more than three decades. Of course, Bruce Springsteen himself certainly has been through more than a few changes, as well. Among the most notable, he eventually married that redheaded backup singer who helped to replace Stevie Van Zandt, they're now grandparents, and in the years since all of that '84 Reagan/Mondale ridiculousness, Springsteen has become much more active in electoral politics than he ever was back then, openly endorsing and supporting a string of Democratic Presidential candidates beginning in 2004, and even recording a podcast and co-writing a book with the only winner he's backed to date: former U.S. President Barack Obama. But despite all of those various changes involving the folks onstage and those of us in their audience like myself, some very important through lines still exist. First and foremost, a Bruce Springsteen concert in Philadelphia remains something very special indeed, as it feels like it's always been. Philly is one of his oldest and strongest fanbases; every single one of his Philadelphia concerts that I've attended (and I've managed to catch at least one Philly show on every one of his tours since '84, with the exception of that '88 "Tunnel of Love Express" tour that scheduled only two nights at the 18K-or-so-capacity Spectrum, making it one super-tough ticket to score) has been filled to the rafters with rabid fans. And Springsteen remains the masterful songwriter and live performer that he became after starting out as a scraggly, struggling working-class kid leading his New Jersey-based band in the 1970s, always finding a way somehow to connect with all of us in the crowd, and... this is the important part... directly in that space, directly in that moment... so very much live and in person. Last week in Philly definitely was no exception. "I expect nothing less," said Springsteen onstage, with a grin and a chuckle, on Night One. So once more he went about doing what he does so well every time he performs with the E Street Band in Philadelphia: constructing one awesome setlist and performing it with all of the heart, soul, intensity, and skill they can muster. The state-of-the-art video projection and vastly improved sound - especially compared to what was possible back in '84 - help him immensely in connecting to all sections of larger arenas and outdoor venues like ballparks, but we're still experiencing very much the same basic thing that Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band have been offering onstage here for more than fifty years, since the days when they were playing tiny Philly-area clubs like the legendary Main Point: a nightly attempt - and one that virtually always succeeds far, far more than it fails - to deliver the best, deepest, funniest, most inspiring, powerful, and ultimately life-affirming mix of rock, folk, funk, soul, stage-schtick and artful drama that anyone possibly could - with every single note played and sung live, and very much in the moment, no matter how much rehearsal may or may not have preceded it. Night One opened up with a blistering version of one of the two Springsteen songs that actually name-check the City of Brotherly Love in their lyrics: "Atlantic City." Two weeks earlier, Springsteen also had performed "Atlantic City" in Philly, duetting with Zac Brown as a special guest at one of Brown's two Philadelphia concerts. That countryfied version with Brown was great, but of course it rocked nowhere near as hard as what Bruce and the E Streeters laid down as Night One's Song One. Bruce and the band played it like they were out to draw blood from the get-go, and the intensity of their performances never let up moving forward. From there Night One featured much of the core material on which Springsteen has relied for his current setlists, but of course with some pleasing curveballs for a summer ballpark show in Philly, beginning with the great Born in the U.S.A. raveup "Working on the Highway," brought in to pinch-hit at the last minute for the setlisted "Letter to You" (which meant that the title track of Bruce's latest album with the E Street Band didn't get played at all in either of his Philly shows,) and marking the first time that "Working..." has been played in a U.S. show this year. The guaranteed sing-along crowd-pleaser "Hungry Heart," the first-ever Springsteen-recorded top-ten single, also was a smart non-setlisted addition. The one-two punch of "Youngstown" followed by "Long Walk Home," a sequence that got added to the set only about a month ago while the band was still touring Europe, has given the current tour - on a regular nightly basis - the most explicit political component it's had since it began. The looming 2024 U.S. Presidential election was most likely on Springsteen's mind as he added these two songs in sequence to his set last month. Coincidentally, the day after this new sequence debuted in Helsinki on July 12, the Pennsylvania campaign-rally assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump occurred, killing a rally attendee, critically injuring two other attendees, and minorly injuring Trump himself. Since that time, Bruce has consistently introduced "Long Walk Home" at each show as "a prayer for my country," just as he did on both nights in Philadelphia last week. It's a moving, powerful, and inspiring moment added to a show that's already packed with them. Another "Philly Special" highlight of Night One was the tour debut of "Streets of Philadelphia," the other Springsteen song that name-checked the City of Brotherly Love. He wrote and recorded "Streets..." over thirty years ago for the late, great Jonathan Demme's excellent and groundbreaking anti-homophobia/anti-AIDS-ignorance-and-disinformation film Philadelphia , marking the last time to date that Bruce has scored a top-ten hit single. Among his most moving, powerful, and accessible songs, it still holds up extremely well, and it fits perfectly in a show so focused on loss and grieving. "Streets..." was followed immediately by another of Springsteen's greatest ballads: "Racing in the Street." (The setlist had "Racing..." scheduled to be played before "Streets...," but apparently it was decided at the last minute to reverse that sequence.) It's always something special to hear this hauntingly beautiful, sad, and healing song from the masterpiece that is Darkness on the Edge of Town . And of course the live piano-led outro is one of "Professor" Roy Bittan's greatest moments to shine, every time it's played to heartbreaking perfection, without fail. The current show's consistent loss-and-grief-themed setpiece of the solo-acoustic-with-accompanying-trumpet "Last Man Standing," followed immediately by a full-band "Backstreets," remains one of the best things that Bruce Springsteen ever has pulled off in concert. It's also one of the most scripted things he's ever done, but that doesn't diminish any of its power at all, any more than all of those heavily scripted moments in Springsteen on Broadway felt any less moving or powerful when you viewed or heard them repeatedly. In fact, this sequence of the show almost always - if not actually always - manages to temporarily and amazingly bring a Springsteen on Broadway feel to an E Street Band concert taking place in a giant arena, stadium or ballpark. It remains an incredible thing to witness, and one unique example of why Bruce Springsteen stands among the greatest live performers to ever stand on a stage. As Dan DeLuca noted in his Philadelphia Inquirer review of Night One, "You could have heard a pin drop. It was an astonishingly intimate performance in a vast public space, of a song casual fans aren’t even familiar with — a testament to the bond of mutual respect Springsteen has forged over many decades." The story that Bruce consistently tells before "Last Man Standing," centered around the passing of his old friend and early bandmate George Theiss, was enhanced on Night One with some extra Philly-flavored details about how much Philadelphia-based television Springsteen got to watch - especially the music-based TV shows like American Bandstand  and Summertime on the Pier! - while growing up in Central New Jersey. He also noted that George Theiss' widow, Diana "Dee" Theiss, was in the audience. (Springsteen later dedicated the consistent show-closer - his solo-acoustic version of "I'll See You In My Dreams" - to Dee Theiss, as well as to the memory of his nephew Michael Shave, who died last year. Speaking about The River 's title track in a 2023 interview conducted shortly after Shave's death, Springsteen noted, "You can't get any more personal than the very title of that record. That was my sister, my brother-in-law. The baby that I wrote about in that song just passed away last week. So that song is at the center of a lot of my work.") Night Two opened with a sequence of five - count 'em, five... in a row - songs not played on Night One: "Seeds," "Prove It All Night," "My Love Will Not Let You Down," "Two Hearts," and "Darkness on the Edge of Town." What a stellar way to open, with a super-high-energy delivery of some of his all-time-best intense rockers (even if there was a bit of rare - and hilarious - minor flubbing on "Two Hearts.") The guitar work in this sequence, provided by that amazing (and often underrated) trio of onstage guitar-wizards - Bruce, "Reverend" Nils Lofgren, and relatively recently designated Musical Director Stevie Van Zandt - was simply off the charts, and they continued - both individually and collectively - to impress throughout the evening. "Fun Fact" about "Seeds," by the way... I'm 99.99% sure that it's now one of only three officially released Springsteen-penned songs - "Light of Day" and "Red-Headed Woman" being the other two - that he has yet to release in studio-recorded form. "Hungry Heart" was the first Night One song to get played again on Night Two, though this time around it actually appeared on the written setlist, as well. What followed it, however, was not on the setlist, nor had it been played at a U.S. show in almost a decade. "Waitin' On A Sunny Day," complete with the schtick of letting some little kids in the audience sing part of it, apparently was a last-minute call-up to replace the setlisted "Darlington County." I'm sure there remains a group of fans who are less than thrilled whenever this song and its accompanying schtick reappears, but it is a sweet little number, fitting in well with the important aspect of Springsteen's show that emphasizes the more positive, upbeat, and hopeful aspects of life, and there actually still are many other fans who enjoy not just the song, but also the bit where those cute little darlin's try their best to sing along. So lighten up, folks, to each..., live and let live, etc. and just enjoy (or possibly just "endure," depending on your perspective) the relatively brief, pleasant interlude for what it is. The show then quickly returned to much darker and more adult concerns as both Nebraska 's "Reason To Believe" and "Atlantic City" were setlisted and played back-to-back instead of Night One's "Youngstown," to pave the way for this night's performance of "Long Walk Home." The "Electric Nebraska " versions of these two early-eighties songs worked just as well in that tension-before-the-release-of-some-sorely-needed-hope slot preceding the 2024 tour version of "Long Walk Home," as the late-nineties song "Youngstown" had been doing consistently ever since "Long Walk Home" made its tour debut in Europe last month. Two other setlisted items for Philly 2024 Night Two that got nixed at the last minute were another performance of "Streets of Philadelphia" and a performance of "The River." But I'd much rather focus on all that we got on Night Two, rather than what we didn't get: to wit, the return of "The E Street Shuffle," but this time with a spoken intro that hearkened back to those legendary Main Point shows, followed by a non-setlisted "Growin' Up" complete with an actual old-school story inserted into the performance, totally 1970s-retro-style! (It was a cleverly humorous little tale, too, fusing Bruce's battles with peptic ulcer disease last year to that classic W.C. Fields line about our fair city.) It also was cool to hear "I'm On Fire" performed in Philly for the first time in almost a decade, especially since the song hasn't been played here very much since those Born in the U.S.A. Tour shows way back in '84-'85. The crowd really got into it, too. Each night's performance of "The Rising" sounded especially good to me, as well. I don't know how new or old the use of this effect is, and perhaps it was just more noticeable given the especially good, consistent sound quality over both Philly nights, but using an immediate-digital-repeat effect for just certain phrases that Bruce sang, such as "in front of me," "this darkness," "sixty pound stone," etc. added immense power to what already is one of his strongest vocals. Speaking of strong vocals, Springsteen's singing over these two nights sounded consistently strong and impressive to these ears, especially given that there was only one day off scheduled between the two shows. I'm glad, however, that overall the "new normal" for Bruce is now generally at least two days off between each of his concerts, with few if any exceptions. There is absolutely no shame in such an energetic, healthy performer in his mid-seventies just getting some extra rest in between performances, especially if the end result is consistently stronger singing. This current touring version of the expanded E Street Band (a concept first explored on the 2012-2013 Wrecking Ball Tour) deserves special recognition, too. With the additional horn players, percussionist, and vocalists, the song arrangements have become so much more interesting and powerful, which is quite a feat to pull off when you're dealing with the already high-quality E Street Band arrangements. For example, when Jake Clemons hits that triumphant sax solo at the end of "Thunder Road," playing it through the very same instrument that his late, great Uncle Clarence used to play onstage, and then it's followed by an entire horn section echoing those notes with him, that is quite an additional lump-in-the-throat moment to supplement what already is such an emotional musical climax. Kudos to Jake, too, for carefully developing - over the past decade or so since his uncle's passing - an onstage persona that is clearly distinct from the role that Clarence "Big Man" Clemons played onstage, while simultaneously honoring and extending the spirit, purpose, and complexity behind what Scooter and the Big Man got up to together, both musically and theatrically. It also has been equally interesting and moving to watch Stevie Van Zandt take on more of the "longtime friend" part of what was Clarence's onstage role with Bruce. a part that Jake can't possibly take on as a much younger man. My presumption, admittedly as just another audience member witnessing it all unfold, is that even now all of this remains very sensitive ground for everybody involved, and that they continue to work very consciously and diligently to recognize and continue in the best possible ways the important legacy of such a significant fallen comrade. The best part, of course, is getting to see them succeed so consistently in doing so, at least in my view. Some other "only-in-Philly" Night Two moments that I'll continue to treasure... my finding out (or possibly having forgotten and being reminded) that the great Curtis King, Jr. is a fellow Philadelphia native, and hearing Stevie repeatedly reply "Yo!" to Bruce every time Bruce attempted to consult with Stevie (and us) about just how tired and ready to go home we all were during "Twist and Shout." (Yeah, I know Stevie probably says "Yo!" onstage elsewhere, too, but it has an especially pleasing local ring 'round these parts.) Oh, and also yet another brief spotlight/microphone moment for "The Philly Elvis," Bruce expressing onstage just how much he really could go for a cheesesteak once the idea came up, and hilariously doubling down even harder on the "And we ain't going to quit" part only recently added to his "Last Man Standing" intro: "We ain't doin' no farewell tour bullshit. Jesus Christ! No farewell tour for the E Street Band! Hell, no! Farewell to what?! Thousands of people screamin' your name?! Yeah, I wanna quit that!" Then at the very end of the evening, perhaps best of all, "Thank you, Philly! Thanks for two great nights! The E Street Band loves you! We'll be seein' ya!" Forty years later, I find myself still enjoying immensely this part of the ride, still intrigued, inspired, and excited by the prospect of whatever and whenever Bruce Springsteen might record or perform next, with or perhaps even without his great E Street Band again at some point. He's apparently now grown richer than he was even at the height of his popularity, but his best art - whether on record or onstage - always has found a way to remember and reconnect with what his life and his loved ones' lives were like before all of that fame and fortune, and/or a way to connect with the experiences of people whose lives always have at least seemed to be very different from his anyway. And as long as nights like the two that I experienced last week remain possible, I'll continue looking forward to it all. So keep bringin' it all home, Bruce. I intend to still be there with everything that I've got, ready to experience and re-experience this music's power as an audience member, and to continue covering and analyzing it with some of my other fellow travelers via this website. Play ball! All Citizens Bank Park photos by Jo Arlow and Mark Krajnak , as credited individually. All photos are used with permission from the photographers.

August 23, 2024 The music of Bruce Springsteen was heard at two (UPDATE: make that three - see below) key moments during this week's 2024 Democratic National Convention, occurring during Tuesday night's and Thursday night's proceedings of the convention. On Tuesday night, instrumental portions of "Born in the U.S.A." were played as the New Jersey delegation pledged its support for the Harris-Walz ticket during the official in-person "roll call" nomination process. Later that evening, during former President Barack Obama's speech expressing his full support of the Harris-Walz campaign, "Land of Hope and Dreams" was played as his walk-off music: And thanks to useful information from The Asbury Park Press 's Chris Jordan's report , as well as from helpful fellow fan Bernie Dougan, we know that the Democratic Party's candidate for Vice-President, Tim Walz, entered the convention on Thursday night to both "We Take Care of Our Own" and "Born in the U.S.A.": While it certainly wouldn't be surprising if Bruce Springsteen approved the use of his music in these ways, it's also worth noting that the process for things like this is probably at least a bit different than it was during the last U.S. Presidential election season back in 2020. This is because just over a year after that electoral campaign ended, Springsteen sold all of his music rights to Sony Music Entertainment. Nevertheless, Bruce himself recently made the following comment, during his Ivors Academy Fellowship acceptance speech last May: "I’ve met many folks over the last fifty years, who worked at all levels at Sony Music, and one thing they all have in common is the dedication and respect that they’ve shown me, my songs, and my work, none more, of course, than Sony Music chairman Rob Stringer. Rob, thanks... I mean... I sold all my music and they still treat it like it’s mine." Given what Springsteen said at last May's Ivors ceremony about his post-music-rights-sale relationship with Sony Music, a plausible scenario is that the Springsteen tracks played last Tuesday night during the 2024 Democratic National Convention's were played with the official licensing permission of Sony Music Entertainment, after Sony first consulted with and got approval from the artist himself. While such permission also might signal a forthcoming full-scale endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket on the part of Bruce Springsteen, nothing further is yet known officially or publicly about whether that will indeed happen. It's yet another somewhat complex "wait-and-see" moment in an electoral season that's certainly been full of them (though of course it's also a relatively small such moment overall, in comparison to so many of the others.) Stay tuned, political (and music) junkies...