Back fromt he weekend, and I touch greatness.

So, saw Springsteen on Sunday. For the first time, got close enough to touch him.

Twice right before this moment, during "Hungry Heart"...I helped catch him when the crowd surf began, and moments before that I touched his foot. Then at the end of the show, during "Higher and Higher," I got a good arm/back pat, and a fist bump from Soozie Tyrell (fiddle). CByrd got a good, solid pat on the back, and a nice bit of "Boss sweat."

I was sticking my hand up there, valiantly, praying that he would just take my hand for a second. Justa moment when he might acknowledge me for a second. Alas, I didn't get lucky. There was a very nice couple on the other side of the rail from us (we made it into the pit, again - three for three - lucky us! They were on the regular GA side), who got a kiss on the hand, and was wiping away tears after. I gave her a big thumbs up, she was so happy.

The show itself turned out to be quite powerful. I've been on record as being a bit disappointed that the album-in-full that evening was to be Born to Run, simply because I'd already seen that at the United Center in Chicago in Spetember. That being said...it's quite different being in the pit, compared to the rafters.

Oh, and lady in the 100 level on the stage right side, with the "Jungleland" request sign...I just....**shakes head** ....When they say they're playing the "whole album," that means all the songs on that album. Just FYI.

Born to Run, as a whole, was, of course, amazing, but we also got a ton of rarities in the request section. Seeing "Living Proof" come off the shelf, for a man in the pit who'd had his fist son 2 weeks prior, was worth everything. Especailly when the band simply did not know it, being from that "other band" period of the early 90's. I truly hope that this might encourage Bruce to revisit some of theose Human Touch and Lucky Town tracks...there's some fantastic songs in there.

I can't say I ever really wanted to hear "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," and was a little annoyed by all the signs for it. I'm with Bruce, it's "too early," but he played it anyway, and it was fun. Another one I can check off the "seen it live" list. The Christmas tree sign he brought up during the song was downright impressive. Five feet tall with battery-operated lights.

"Jole Blon," "Loose Ends," and, my favorite Bruce song ever, "Growin' Up," were all amazing. The show was so high-energy after Born to Run wrapped up, it was kinda hard to keep up. My throat still hurts today from screaming and singing along. There was all sorts of fun on display, several jokes about where we were, in refrence to his faux pas in Michigan...

"Hello Ohio! Aw, I'm just fucking with ya!"

"Don't worry, I'm on my meds tonight!"

"Kitty's Back" was amazing, but, if you ask me, went on a little long.

During "Dancing in the Dark," the usual dance partner request signs went up...but one caught Bruce's eye...asking for a dance with Little Steven Van Zant. Stevie begged off, but Bruce was leaving no chance to embarass the band unturned...and what followed was a pretty painful example of Stevie's lack of dancing skill. He didn't really dance WITH her, more like kind of in the same area...LOL. I've never seen a more horrifying "mashed potato" in my life. Love ya, Little Steven!

"Higher and Higher" was a tremendous way to wrap up the show and gave a real spotlight to backup singers Cindy Mizelle and Curtis King.

The show ran about three hours fifteen, which, I think, makes it the longest Springsteen show for myself, personally. Bruce was on fire, and I thing the impending end of the tour (4 to go), and break from the E-Streeters for, I'm betting, a year at least, was driving him to send this tour off on a powerful note, and he did it.

Setlist:
Cadillac Ranch
Badlands
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (with Curt Ramm on trumpet)
Night
Backstreets
Born to Run
She's the One
Meeting Across the River (with Curt Ramm)
Jungleland
Darlington County
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
Loose Ends
Jole Blon
Growin' Up
Into the Fire
The Rising
No Surrender
* * *
Living Proof
Kitty's Back (with Curt Ramm)
American Land (with Curt Ramm)
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita (with Curt Ramm)
Higher and Higher (with Curt Ramm)

Thursday's been rough.

This has been a dark day for me. Honestly, it's been a string of dark days. The sun is setting earlier, and it sucks to look out the window at 4:30 to...night. I've also been out of the house a lot. Lots of evening commitments. So, tonight is the only night this week I can go home and relax. Tomorrow I have a rehearsal for a reading, Saturday, said reading goes up, and immediately after I go to another rehearsal. Sunday, of course brings another shot of the Boss' love...

I has so hoped that the weather would hold for Sunday. We have General Admission tickets, so a lot of waiting in line is on the menu. That's, of course the day when showers are in the forecast. So, we shall see. It could've been a LOT worse, I suppose, I mean it is mid-November, we could be knee-deep in snow.

Plus, I HATE having a big coat if I'm on the floor at a show. So, I try to dress as lightly as possible. Bad news at the Metallica show last January, when I ended up quite sick after. There's a joy in being able to take public transport to concerts easily, but you also miss that ability to just jump in the car to warm up, y'know?

So, anyway...I don't know what's eating at me. I'm just kind of in a "sick of it all" funk. the sort of thing that comes and it goes, I guess. I feel like playing the guitar tonight, but, with it being my only night home, I feel bad just retreating into the office.

I do feel like I've got a sound in my head now that I can really run with. It's definitely hard rock, metal even, but a little muddy, not as sharp-edged. In preparation of the Them Crooked Vultures release, I've been listening to a lot of Kyuss, and I think it's rubbing off on me. "Stoner Metal" was the term, I guess.

My friend Tom B. introduced me to Kyuss a few years ago. He put a song or two on a disk with the Probot album. I thought that song, "50 Million Year Trip (Downside Up)," was pretty damn cool, but didn't really click with the band until I heard "Demon Cleaner" on the Metallica: Guitar Hero video game. (So I guess there is something to be said for those games introducing new music to people.)

So, anyway...it's a dark Thursday.

New Springsteen song....

Well, OF COURSE he'd write a special song for his last stand at Giant's Stadium.

Bruce Springsteen performs his new song Wrecking Ball at Giants Stadium

I was raised out of steel here in the swamps of Jersey, some misty years ago
Through the blood and the beer, and the mud and the cheers,
I've seen champions come and go...

Cool.

Video here for my Facebook friends, who probably don't know there's an actual blog.

The Boss' Birthday

Bruce Springsteen turns 60 today.

It's hard to put into words what the man has meant to me, over the last several years, especially. I think moving to Chicago has made the meaning of his music that much more clear to me. Chicago is the "city of the big shoulders," we work for a living here. We have dreams, and sometimes those dreams don't come true, you may join up with the Big Man and "break the city in half," or you might walk out to the highway in the middle of the night and "find nothing but road." You don't get things handed to you, you have to work for them...

But you also get a fair shake. You get your fair shot to make those dreams come true.

A lot of people have taken Springsteen to task for his political stance in recent years, as if his leftist leanings were something new. I want to punch people who think "Born in the U.S.A." is some sort of jingoistic Regan-era anthem, if for no other reason than they're too damn stupid to listen to the fucking words. When Regan tried to appropriate it as such, Bruce denounced the whole administration from the stage.

What Springsteen wants is a fair shake for everyone. Not for everyone to have success handed to them, but for everyone to have the opportunity to carve out their little piece of the American Dream no matter where they started from. For, you see, there is a difference in how you are treated, the opportunities you get, depending if you're the son of a corporate CEO, the son of a New Jersey factory worker, or a black kid from the Chicago projects.

Anybody who can't see that is living in fantasy land. I'm sorry but it's true.

A completely free market is a wonderful idea, but, like Communism, it doesn't work worth a damn in practice. Why? Because people are no damn good, and there's always some dirt bag ready to take the system and squeeze it until it breaks.

Of course, we're all too busy defending our precious idealogical ground, and we've forgotten that the idea is to give everybody a fair shot. And, YES, the idea IS to give everyone a fair shot, not to prove your economic theory is superior, and MOST LIKELY that means something in the middle.

Because, "Nobody wins unless everybody wins."

The Day After

So, last night I saw what had only been done once before...

I saw Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band play Born to Run in it's entirety. So, so very cool. I have to say I was a little disappointed to be in the rafters for this show, after having made it to the pit in front of the stage the last two tines we'd seen the band at the United Center. CByrd's mom was with us, and we did have a great time, but looking down into the crowd down front...I did have moments of real envy.

Oh well, we can't all make it up front every time.

Colene had a brief chat with a gentlemen coming from the bus to the arena, he asked her how many times she'd seen Bruce, she answered 10 times. He responded that it was only his second, and the last time was 32 years ago. It was a nice moment to remind me of how far Springsteen's reach is, and how many people his music speaks to.

Setlist:
Seeds
No Surrender
Johnny 99
Cover Me
Outlaw Pete
Hungry Heart
Working on a Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
Night
Backstreets
Born to Run
She's the One
Meeting Across the River
Jungleland
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Badlands
* * *
Hard Times
Da Doo Ron Ron
Rockin' Robin
I'm Goin' Down
American Land
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita

So, we started with the very welcome "Seeds," I've loved that song since it first appeared on the Live '75 - '85 box set. So powerful and angry, and so very appropriate for the current state of the US. The whole first bit of the show, from Seeds to Cover Me, were clearly the "recession set" for the night. Ending with Bruce repeating "Times are tough now" several times over to end Cover Me.

After that things got more fun, with Bruce going into the crowd for "Hungry Heart," crawling along the wall that separated the pit from the rest of the general admission floor, singing, and calling for the audience to sing along, the whole way. It was quite a moment, and my pang of envy was very, very strong for a few minutes there.

"Working on a Dream" was rough, and Bruce laughed that "Ladies and gentlemen, I hear the sound of the E Street Band fucking up! It can still happen after all these years... It ain't pretty." Little Steven Van Zant sidled up, and Bruce continued, "Steven said I missed a verse, so it was the Boss-man's fault."

Then, Bruce stopped....

"What we are about to do we've only done once before, in a little theater in Red Bank.” He added, “When we made this record we were close to being dumped by our record company. This was our last chance."

I gotta say, seeing the band run through the album in toto (in red above) was a real emotional experience for me. CByrd and I had our first dance to a live version of "Thunder Road" at our wedding, and she and I held each other as the song invited us into the album. I found tears on my cheeks during "Backstreets," which always makes me think of my closest friends, no matter how far away they may be, and how long it's been Dave, Larry, Ken, Shea...the whole "San Diego Crew." Then again with "Meeting Across the River" (With Richard Davis guesting on stand-up bass, just as on the record, and Curt Ramm, who also played on "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out," on trumpet) going into "Jungleland," which is just a musical statement that I find amazing every, single time I hear it. Bruce's wails as the album closes out are simply heart-wrenching to me.

After they wrapped up Born to Run with Jungleland, the band took a deserved bow, then went into a string of what have to be called tour staples at this point. "Promised Land" is a very important song for Bruce, so I always welcome that, but I may start adding my voice to those who say we don't have to hear "The Rising" at every show anymore. I love it, it's one of my favorites, but it would've been nice to see something that we don't see all the time. Hell, I'd even welcome "Born in the USA" at this point. "Waiting on a Sunny Day" was fun, with Bruce pulling a kid from the pit to sing a chorus, and almost not making it all the way there tossing the acoustic to his guitar tech. "Uh, sorry," got a laugh.

The main set ended with "Badlands," but you'd hardly know it, as they were pretty much right into the requests/stump the band/sign collection section without leaving the stage. This has become a huge highlight of shows for me. I love watching the band scramble to figure out a song and almost always pulling it off. We got a bonus with two "stump the band" requests, "Da Doo Ron Ron," and "Rockin' Robin," neither ever played by the E-Street Band before. Good fun, but I have to say the "Mony Mony" from the Spring was more exciting (of course, I was in the pit). Then to "I'm Going Down" by request, "American Land," "Dancing in the Dark" (with a whole chorus line of kids from the pit), and the always-welcome "Rosalita" ending the night.

A few thoughts from the rafters....

Who are these people who go to shows and act like they don't want to be there the whole time? The family of three right next to me, well...they never cracked a smile the whole night. I understand some people don't dig Springsteen (philistines, but whatever...), but why in the hell are you at the show? Why sit there with a sour look on your face the whole time? And it wasn't like dad dragged mom and son out, he looked like he was pissed off, too. Amazing.

Very much looking forward to Milwaulkee in November. Back into the general admission, and another crack at the pit.

I used to be an INTENSE headbanger

I mean a total heshian. (At least that was the term in my day, now, apparently, it's some sort of skateboarder.) Gave myself whiplash many times. Hair down to my ass, and the whole bit. Loved Metallica, Megadeth, etc...

Not saying I don't still like those bands, I do. A lot. I've just also really connected with a more, um...lyrical form of rock and roll. Springsteen is the king for me, as he plays as hard as any of those bands mentioned, but also writes true poetry. I've also gotten really into the "prog" area, Rush, King's X, etc...

In the old days I was very taken with an act you might have heard of, Anthrax. Specifically, when they picked up a new lead singer, a guy named John Bush, for their 1993 album The Sound of White Noise. LOVED that record.

I'd been a fan of John Bush with his original band, Armored Saint. Symbol of Salvation is, for my money, one of the best metal albums ever. The guy has a fantastic voice, and was even asked to join Metallica, at one point, early in their carreer. (James Hetfield just wanted to play guitar) Armored Saint was a great band, but they never really "made it." Plus, one of their founding members succumed to cancer, so I guess Bush was ready for a change when Anthrax came calling.

The pairing was fruitful. I consider every one of the Anthrax albums with Bush, Sound of White Noise, Stomp 442 (1995), Volume 8: The Threat is Real (1998), and We've Come For You All (2003), to be top-notch metal records. I also like them much better than any of the earlier albums with Neil Turbin (1 album) or Joey Belladonna (5 full-length albums).

However, Joey is considered their "classic" singer. Among the Living (1987) and Persistance of Time (1990) are probably the two best with Joey. Where the impression of "classic" exists, there's money to be made, and from 2005 to 2007 Anthrax toured with the "classic" lineup (also with original lead guitarist Dan Spitz). Apparently, the original idea was to tour with BOTH Belladonna and Bush singing.

They had tried this before, after releasing the Attack of the Killer A's Greatest hits package in 1999, covering both the Belladonna and Bush eras. They even recorded a cover of "Ball of Confusion" with Joey and John dueting on vocals. The idea was to put both signers on stage. Belladonna apparently balked at this, and opted out. The tour went on with just Bush.

This time, Bush went home. The reunion tour with Joey was pretty successful (saw it myself), but I always felt that Bush was the best singer for the band. The fan community felt that Bush had gotten the run-around. As Bush said later:

"No. Bitter is not the way I wanna be about anything. I'm not bitter at all. There was probably not a perfect way to do that, what they did. It was like, how are they gonna say...? I mean, they asked me to do it—the tour with Joey—and it just wasn't right for me, I couldn't do it. So, whatever...if they felt they had to do that, I understand. It wasn't like I was going, 'Yeah, do it. That's great.' But once it happened, I was like, 'okay.' It was like a book ended. It's okay. I mean, it's much better to look at it that way than to be angry or frustrated, 'cause I really don't feel that way."

But the tour went on, and was successful enough that the band started thinking, "hey, new album with Belladonna." Surely it would sell well.

It probably would've, but Joey ultimately opted out. Was this beacuse the band wanted to treat him like a hired gun, and pay much less, or because Joey was an egomaniac, and wanted more than his fair share? Who knows? The fact is, Joey left, again, and apparently, the band went back to John Bush, who also said, "no."

"I was asked to write, and it just wasn't right for me. I couldn't go back and say, 'Here I am...' It would be like coming in with my tail between my legs, and that's not right for me. I just couldn't do that. It just didn't feel right to do that. It was about soul, your gut. How does that feel? Does it feel right? Good enough. Sold. Answer."

So, now what does Anthrax do? As any good aging metal band, they go looking for a new singer. Who do they find? Some dude no one's heard of named Dan Nelson. The band starts working on a disk called Worship Music, and plays a few gigs. Introducing Nelson to the fans with a show at The Double Door here in Chicago, which was apparently well received.

So, all is well, right? Nelson's in, they're touring Europe, including a date at the Sonisphere Festival on August 1st, Worship Music is set for release in September, with a US tour supporting Slipknot. The band is on it's way back....

Then, SOMETHING happened.

On July 17th, 2009, via a press release, Anthrax cancelled all European dates, indicating it was because Dan Nelson was ill. On July 21st, again via press release, that Nelson was out of the band, the tours were cancelled, and Worship Music was pushed back. Also added; the Sonisphere date was NOT cancelled, and John Bush was returning for a "one-off" date with the band.

Nelson's reaction to all this?

"I was never seriously ill or sick at all, as reported in Anthrax’s 7/17/09 press release. This extremely inflammatory statement hurt me tremendously. This statement misled fans, friends and family members into believing that I was seriously ill when I was not. I was not aware such a statement was being issued and it came as a total shock to me, as I’m sure it did to all of you. It was the other band members’ decision to cancel the tour dates, not mine. I was ready, willing and able to do my job. After issuing the press release the other band members decided, on their own accord, that I had 'resigned' from the band. I never resigned from the band."

What the HELL is going on here? I mean, I'm happy as a clam that footage such as this:



Is available, even if this is Bush's last fling with Anthrax.

I can't even say I really care anymore. I was planning to buy Worship Music, give Nelson a shot, but in the back of my head, I knew it was all wrong. They sorta pushed John aside to tour with Joey in what was a naked cash grab. Then came back when they needed him, and Bush (Rightly!) told 'em to take a hike. They find some nobody, and they can't get along with him. (though the rumors of what exactly happened are NASTY, and paint Nelson in a very bad light.) This seems to be a whole mess of crap they brought on themselves.

I LOVE this band with John Bush, but even if this one-off leads to a full reunion (and Anthrax members have flat out stated this is "right at the front of their minds"), I don't know that I can follow them again. The well seems poisoned.

Bush had been working on some new music with a reunited Armored Saint, which I KNOW I'll buy. I think I'd rather he stuck with that.

What's really become clear here is that John Bush is a class act, in every way. The video makes it clear he came, he saw, and he kicked ass. He brought his A-Game, no matter what the backstage situation. These guys he'd spent a ton of time working with called and needed a solid, and he delivered.

That's the kind of person I strive to be.

Well, Sorry Kathy

Dear Mother-in-law Kathy...

We tried our best, but we're in the rafters. At least we're in the building. :)

T-Minus 14

Lots of message board chatter about how easy the Milwaulkee sale went. Got to agree.

I know they're all holding off for Chicago. That Born to Run thing is making people rabid. Rumors of a second show to be added on the 22nd.

Well, guess I'm going to the Milwaulkee show, too

I did a "test run" on the Milwaulkee, November 15th, Bradley Center tickets when they dropped at 10:00...and pulled up GA tickets. I couldn't let them go.

Silly, I know.

Thanks for the Birthday money, mom! It's feeding my beast. :)

Still unsure how the pit lottery will work. It required physical tickets for the last few years. It also required standing in the venue parking lot for several hours. (Which would not be fun in Milwaulkee on November 15th) I have heard that, with the new paperless system, some artists have made pit selection completely random.

I'm OK with that. I've done the pit twice, I'm good.

Waiting on the boss

It's ticket on-sale day for the two shows closest to me.

Last time around it was a pain in the ass to get tckets for the Chicago show, I'm REALLY hoping this announcement of playing Born to Run in it's entirety doesn't make things worse. Although, there was also all the Ticketmaster hijinks last time too.

Milwaulkee goes in 12 minutes. We shall see.