Caryn Rose's jukeboxgraduate.com

It would be easy to write a review of Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball album and salute it as new, novel, angry and revolutionary, but it would also be unfortunate and uninformed to do call it any of those things. I’d easily go out on a limb and state that I believe that Wrecking Ball is the most interesting album Springsteen has released since Tunnel of Love, but the only thing new is that this is the first time that he has taken a select group of the elements he has been talking about and listening to and engaging with for the length of his entire career and put it on album. The only thing that surprises me is that it took him so long to get here.

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SPOILER ALERT.

Back for night two.

Monday was calm and uneventful, today was security checks and lists being oversold (okay, not oversold, but overcommitted). Many band bench ticket holders were placed in the audience proper, while the bench itself ended up filled with shiny youthful boys and girls of the correct demographic for the show (and the demographic Bruce is trying to reach, hence committing to the show), but who looked confused during the entire set, when they weren’t doing ‘white boy tries to dance to hip hop’ hand gestures…But I get ahead of myself.

Bruce and the band being the only guest tonight was, I thought, going to make the entire “waiting to see the band” thing much less painful. I was looking forward to not sitting in the audience through comedians or actors I didn’t care about, figuring it would all go much faster tonight…but it didn’t.

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The performance was, quite honestly, amazing.

It was amazing because they are clearly rehearsed within an inch of their life, and everyone looks good and healthy and strong and the playing is strong. I predict the usual start-of-tour roughness we are all accustomed to will just plain old not exist in the early shows.

We got routed to the platform on stage left, in the front row right above Roy. As anyone who has ever read my show reports previously, you will note that that is the location we almost always end up sitting in, without fail. We seemed to be the fans closest to the band (fans as opposed to random people who got tickets to Jimmy Fallon and weren’t even sure who was Bruce Springsteen from behind–I wish I was kidding but I am not) and so as everyone came out of the dressing room under the platform on stage right and carefully wormed their way into their places (everyone is there, including Curt Ramm, Patti and both Curtis and Cindy, which did not leave a lot of real estate on that stage) it was one of those “Oh, hey, Garry!” moments, where you feel like you are seeing old friends but they of course have no fucking idea who you are. That said, we got a lot of hellos and nods and smiles from everyone, including a funny moment with Roy as he stepped into place right below us, and with Patti as some asshat behind me kept yelling ‘HEY MRS. SPRINGSTEEN’ and I finally said ‘That’s Ms. Scialfa to you, buddy’ and she HEARD ME and made eye contact and laughed.

It was all kind of surreal, and I say that as the person whose last E Street show was the Carousel House.

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Found in an old notebook from college (Civil Rights & Discrimination, if you care), a letter I started to someone I must have met at the BITUSA shows I went to in Greensboro, North Carolina, January 1985.

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STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS:

• I hear a sax in my head instead of Nils in the intro. (Is it Nils? I don’t know. WOULD LOVE SOME ACTUAL CREDITS, so I knew who was playing what. Big downside to downloading. We’ll have them in the morning.
• I almost wish it was less pop and more of a barn burner with more electric guitar and less strings, but obviously we have no idea what this will sound like live.
• I like the piano, a lot. I like the other textural effects a lot less.
• I get the “angry” part – he’s saying, “this is what’s supposed to happen, and isn’t happening”
• This is going to be an interesting record to hear on tour in Europe.
• The bridge is absolutely killer and redeems any shortfalls I think I hear right now.
• This will be the most misappropriated/misinterpreted song he’s released since BITUSA. (Please leave your flags at home on tour, or at least don’t stand in front of me if you feel the need to wave them during this song.)
• Overall, I like it, am less worried about the record as a whole, and far less worried about the fact that I’d already bought tickets to 7 shows without having heard one note of the album.

More later.

Where’s the eyes, the eyes with the will to see
Where’s the hearts that run over with mercy
Where’s the love that has not forsaken me
Where’s the work that’ll set my hands, my soul free
Where’s the spirit that’ll rain rain over me
where’s the promise from sea to shining sea
where’s the promise from sea to shining sea

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This week over at Fuck Yeah, Setlists I’ve donated five setlists from my collection: Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers, R.E.M., Springsteen and the New York Dolls. If you like setlists, it’s an amazing site. If you’ve got your own setlists, he’s always looking for submissions!

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For some reason I put this on my Tumblr but not here – me and Rolling Stone‘s Anthony DeCurtis on Good Day NY on June 20th:

Reaction To Clarence Clemons Death: MyFoxNY.com

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Give my regards to Junior Walker and King Curtis.

–
more later, when I can manage it.

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The E Street Band needs to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Call in the chips, rally the troops. Now.

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The contest was announced on Friday: enter to be an audience member at an exclusive Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (emphasis on E STREET BAND) video taping on Tuesday, December 7th, for a Springsteen webcast to be broadcast at a future date. Obviously, I entered; it was likely that this would be the only such sighting in 2010. I spent all Monday night hitting refresh on my phone, waiting to hear if I’d won, which I didn’t; only 15 people out of 2500+ entries got in. While it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve stood on the boardwalk in the cold hoping for a miracle, I wasn’t heading down the Shore this time without a way in; it was too uncertain, due to the small space, and it was too goddamn cold. The phone call extending me a way in came at 10:09am the next day; we had to be in Asbury by no later than 2:30. I put on tights, wool socks, jeans, tank top, thermal, long sleeve shirt, short sleeved shirt, sweater, hood, two scarves, a coat and a wool hat. (If you think this is unnecessary detail, you have clearly never stood in December cold in Asbury Park waiting for some Bruce Springsteen event.)

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