My son has showed me the DITD video and asked me if I knew who Courtney was. I suddenly realized he doesn't have a clue about how much I know about Bruce.
When I die, please someone, somehow, find my oldest son and tell him about Silvia/Louisa. His name is Leon.
With this year's tour postponed, now is about the perfect time to drop an archive release.
It's sloppy when they misspell the city on the artwork.
If you haven't...if it's been awhile...you really should...
Saturday night here in Adelaide, Australia.
Just poured myself a Makers Mark and put on my Western Stars DVD. (I would prefer a Blu Ray, but this was so limited release here Down Under that they only released the DVD version).
Up to the Wayfarer now. That and Hitch Hiking are two of the lesser lights on this album for me, but the beauty of these live versions, the cinematography, Bruce's between song confessionals.. I'm swept up in the magic again.
By the end of this, I guarantee I will have welled up at least once. Moonlight Motel slays me, a great song anyway but the version here is the singular most perfectly filmed piece of Bruce video ever IMO. There's a good chance the song Western Stars will also bring on the flies... one of his greatest achievements. Again, IMO.
I watched the Broadway show last night after such a long time and have really enjoyed it. I needed to hear the stories, I think the therapeutic aspect of his speeches can't be overlooked.
The process of growth Bruce went through is so admirable.
I'm watching The Storytellers tonight...
Just re-watching Hail Hail Rock n Roll.... the Chuck Berry doco.
Bruce being interviewed... according to him (circa late 80's), telling his grand kids when he was 70 or 80 that he 'backed up Chuck Berry' was gonna be a big deal. This interview was post BITUSA... but, if you watch it, to me he genuinely believes that him backing Chuck Berry back in the early 70's would resonate more with his grand kids than anything he might’ve done.
God bless you, Bruce.
How have I only heard this (or found out about it altogether) until now? Someone posted about it on either GL or BTX in the last few days, so I thought it was new... yet the You Tube version was posted 9 years ago.
Only a Bruce fan would understand the significance of getting these two ketchup packets with their crappy fast food lunch.
Thanks, Carl's Jr. You see me.
Came across this one tonight. It's very lovely and I need more Joad shows.
I need everything they have from this tour. This is one of the best things I've ever heard.
Had a nice solo campout in the high desert last night and I'm here to confirm that Western Stars remains an excellent campfire listening experience.
It has never been a song I particularly like, but I love these lines....
I don't understand how you can hold me so tight
And love me so damn loose
New Jersey declares Bruce Springsteen Day
https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/celebrities/2023/04/16/643bbe54e2704e468c8b45ab.html
So.... MTB Plugged is 30 years old... This got me thinking, I checked the date of my first Bruce gig which was May 16th, 1993.
My first Bruce show on this tour is May 18th. It would have been quite symbolic if it were my last show, wouldn't it?
Thankfully, I have tickets for July also, so I won't be as emotional as I would have been otherwise...
Now playing this from Red Rocks #2 and I think I'd love to review the original River Tour someday.
Reading about the Red Rocks shows from August 1981 as I don't know much about them.
I'd never heard this until now. I love it!
I might have to track down both shows in full.
Listening to Heart this evening and it struck me that These Dreams reminds me of Countin' On A Miracle - the storybook imagery, the enchanted forest. I just played them back to back and they pair well as a he said/she said twofer.
To follow up on my March 2nd post...
Since 2017 my Springsteen listening has been split into halves: Archive Series when out and about; Live Downloads reserved for when I review the shows, with the ones I haven't reached yet on the blog 'locked' and only available for listening when the time calls for them - I don't 100% know why I did this, maybe to not overplay anything and tire of it?
Anyway, since February of this year my focus has, of course, been on the 2023 tour, but because of its mostly unchanging setlIsts I'm sometimes finding myself avoiding them after the most recent blog is published so as to keep the music fresh for the next release. What am I opting for on my travels? 2016! No time for the Archives right now (although I definitely didn't listen to Nashville 2008 or NJ 1999 enough). I have a suspicion it's because I'm engrossed in current day E Street right now and want more of it, but I also think it has more to do with that consistent setlist I talked about nearly twenty days ago in this thread.
To listen to songs like "Last Man Standing" from this tour and link it with what he was saying with "Meet Me in the City" and "Wreck on the Highway"; to be blown away by stand outs such as "The E Street Shuffle" and "Kitty's Back" and then play "I Wanna Marry You" and "Crush on You" which shone brightly from January to April 2016 is a blessing.
And it isn't just The River portion that I've been revisiting either, because in the build up to the Philly show, for example, I got stuck back into September 7th 2016 and revelled in "The Fever," "Does This Bus Stop," "Saint in the City" and "New York City Serenade." Would love to see these songs feature again this time around, but while waiting it's a delight to dream and just be grateful that these songs all featured on that night.
This current tour mightn't be giving us what we all wanted, but at least they're touring and I'm happy it's having an equally positive affect on music from previous tours also.
Redressing the balance a little, as there has been a bit of cynicism lately! I met with a friend who works at the Royal Opera House at the weekend. She has recently been working on a show with the woman who designed the lighting for SOB. She says that in 40 years in the business Bruce is one of the easiest people to work with. Knows what he wants, but is charming, friendly and not in the least pretentious. ❤️
The consistency of the 2023 tour setlist has me revisiting one of the 2016 1st leg shows - if we all thought I'd never go back after reviewing them, we didn't realise The River would become one of my absolute absolute favourite albums.
I've felt this for a while, and maybe should've translated it into one of the Jan-Apr blogs (then again there are still album performances to come in the 2016 shows I haven't reviewed...) but every time I listen to The River played live in 2016 I can't help but think it's one of the most special things Bruce ever did, and that when it's all over, we'll look back on it and say, "Damn, he did something really, really lovely with this. The quality of music they were playing, what he was telling us while they were doing it..."
Maybe I'm rambling - I hope not - but I've kinda made myself a bit emotional writing that and thinking about this. Or maybe it's "Drive All Night." Maybe it's both 🤷