Category: Bruuuuuuuuce!!

Bruce Springsteen nails down more shows
With one show left on their 2007 North American tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band continue to roll out dates for another run across the continent early next year.
The veteran rockers have been announcing 2008 shows in drips and drabs, with the latest additions comprising March shows in Hamilton, Ontario; Milwaukee; and Vancouver, British Columbia. Tickets for the Hamilton and Milwaukee shows will hit the box office during the coming week; an on-sale date for the Vancouver show was not available at press time. Details are listed below.
In addition to penciling in the aforementioned handful of new shows, strong ticket sales last weekend in Anaheim, CA, prompted the group to add a second consecutive night in that city, as well.
Springsteen and company are due to wrap up their current North American outing tonight (11/19) in Boston. From there, the group will tackle a European tour that launches in Spain next Sunday (11/25) and runs into mid-December. Details for that jaunt are posted at Springsteen’s website.
On Oct. 2, Springsteen and the E Street Band hit the road for the first full-scale tour of the US and Europe since 2003. That same day, the group issued “Magic,” its first new studio set since 2002’s Grammy-winning “The Rising.”
On tour, Springsteen is joined by E Street Band keyboardist Roy Bittan, saxman/percussionist Clarence Clemons, keyboardist Danny Federici, guitarist Nils Lofgren, vocalist/guitarist Patti Scialfa, bassist Garry Tallent, guitarist Steven Van Zandt and drummer Max Weinberg.
November 2007
15 – Albany, NY – Times Union Center
18-19 – Boston, MA – TD Banknorth Garden
February 2008
28 – Hartford, CT – Hartford Civic Center
March 2008
3 – Hamilton, Ontario – Copps Coliseum (on sale 11/23)
6 – Rochester, NY – Blue Cross Arena
7 – Buffalo, NY – HSBC Arena
16 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
17 – Milwaukee, WI – Bradley Center (on sale 11/26)
31 – Vancouver, British Columbia – General Motors Place
April 2008
7, 8 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
25 – Atlanta, GA – Philips Arena

Arcade Fire Rocks With Springsteen In Ottawa
The Arcade Fire made a surprise appearance during the encore of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s show on Sunday night at Ottawa’s Scotiabank Place, playing on two of the latter’s songs as well as one of its own.
The collaboration began on “State Trooper,” its first airing on the tour so far and first E Street Band performance since 1984, according to Springsteen’s Web site. Springsteen then yielded the spotlight to the Arcade Fire, who, with E Street assistance, played its song “Keep the Car Running” from this year’s acclaimed “Neon Bible.” The group remained onstage for “Born To Run.”
The show also featured the tour premieres of “Tougher Than the Rest” and “Backstreets.”
Springsteen’s outing in support of the just-released “Magic” continues tonight in Toronto and will play two shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden later in the week.

Another New Springsteen Album Already Done?
Bruce Springsteen isn’t always known for working quickly, but he just may have another new album already in the can on the heels of “Magic,” released earlier this week via Columbia.
“There’s another group of songs that exist that I think are great songs and should end up somewhere, but they just didn’t quite fit with this group,” says producer Brendan O’Brien, who helmed “Magic” as well as 2002’s “The Rising” and 2005’s “Devils & Dust.”
O’Brien declined to comment on murmurs that the new album could be out as soon as next spring, saying only, “I’ll defer to others on that one.”
What’s clear is that O’Brien has played a key role in one of the most prolific period of album releases in Springsteen’s storied career. Before “The Rising,” the Boss hadn’t made a new studio album in seven years, and hadn’t recorded with the E Street Band in nearly 20.
“He had produced his own music with other people for a long time,” O’Brien says. “If he was meeting with me, it meant he maybe wanted to try something new and inspired. He needed somebody to help him get over the hump.”
In contrast to the somber, Sept. 11, 2001-themed “The Rising,” the folk-leaning solo album “Devils & Dust” and last year’s all-traditional “The Seeger Sessions,” “Magic” offers some of the most melodic songs Springsteen has written in years. The material is tailor-made for the onstage power of the E Street Band, which has just begun a North American tour.
O’Brien credits Springsteen with allowing him to participate in the vetting process, which in turn shaped the mostly high-energy vibe of the new album.
“It was clear he wanted that kind of input, and I let him know right away that that’s something I like to do and am helpful with,” he says. “On this one, we met at his place and he sat down and played me a bunch of songs. I would be looking at the lyric book while he was singing them. He’d finish, we’d talk, and we’d make notes.”
Once ensconced at O’Brien’s Atlanta studio, the producer set Springsteen up with a pared-down core band of drummer Max Weinberg, bassist Garry Tallent and pianist Roy Bittan to record basic tracks. Contributions from E Streeters like guitarist Steven Van Zandt, keyboardist Danny Federici and saxophonist Clarence Clemons were added later.
“As best I can tell, everyone else seems at peace with that,” O’Brien says. “We’ll bring Danny and Steve in, but by that point, I have a better idea as to what we need them for. It makes their overdubbing much more specific.”

The Boss gets his own day in Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. – It isn’t just any Tuesday in Connecticut. It’s officially “Bruce Springsteen Day” ó according to Gov. Jodi Rell.
The Boss and his E Street Band open their first tour in four years Tuesday night at the Hartford Civic Center. They’re promoting their new album, “Magic.”
Rell issued a proclamation honoring the multiple Grammy winner for his contributions to American music and declared Oct. 2 as “Bruce Springsteen Day in Connecticut.”
Aside from the atmospheric title track, “Magic” returns Springsteen, 58, to rock ‘n’ roll, and all 11 songs are new. He released a solo acoustic effort, “Devils & Dust,” in 2005 and the folk-inspired “The Seeger Sessions” last year.
“Magic” is the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s first album with his longtime bandmates since the Sept. 11-inspired “The Rising” in 2002.

CD Review
Bruce Springsteen – Magic
There’s only one event in music guaranteed to generate more buzz than a new album from Bruce Springsteen: A new album from Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band.
Why? The answer is right there in the title of The Boss’s 15th studio disc.
As spellbinding and brilliant as the 58-year-old rock icon is on his own, when he plays with The E Streeters, it’s magic. Call it a spark or chemisty or anything you like; whatever it is, it has always been an unmistakable, inimitable sound far greater than the sum of its parts. That’s what you get on Magic, their first collaboration since 2002’s stirring album The Rising (and perhaps their final album together, based on some reports).
But that’s not all you get. Along with the heartland-rock sonic touchstones and everyman lyrics that preach to Bruce’s congregation of fans, the dark 11-song album – recorded in Atlanta with Rising producer Brendan O’Brien – includes forays into ’60s-style orchestral rock.
And while it doesn’t equal Born to Run or Born in the U.S.A. – really, how many albums do? – Magic’s gritty intensity almost puts it on par with Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River.
Which is to say: Bruce and the E Streeters still have a few tricks up their sleeves.
Radio Nowhere 3:18
“I want a thousand guitars, I want pounding drums,” The Boss demands. And on this driving rocker, that’s what the band supplies – along with a howling sax solo, a jangling riff that echoes Tommy Tutone’s 867-5309/Jenny and a darkly yelpy vocal reminiscent of Warren Zevon. A killer single – assuming radio will play a song about how much it sucks.
You’ll be Coming Down 3:45
After Radio Nowhere, the downtempo gait of this karmic warning seems slight at first. After a few listens, the shimmery U2ish guitars, ’60s folk-pop overtones and seductive chorus hook you.
Livin’ in the Future 3:56
Between the bouncy swagger, twangy guitar licks, wailing sax and shimmering organ, this is a soulful celebration in the style of Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out and Hungry Heart – though lyrics about liberty sailing away add political overtones.
Your Own Worst Enemy 3:18
Bruce gets in touch with his inner Brian Wilson on this midtempo ballad, wrapping his dour melody and weary vocals in a lush blanket of sombre strings, kettle drums, percussion and bells.
Gypsy Biker 4:31
The band kicks back into high gear with a swelling, anthemic roots- rocker about a small-town hero coming home – in a coffin. The revving guitars and piercing solo are outstanding.
Girls in Their Summer Clothes 4:19
Another orchestrated pop ballad, with sweeping strings and a growling sax that follow Bruce’s heartbroken protagonist as he roams the streets looking for love – and getting passed by.
I’ll Work for Your Love 3:34
The tinkly piano at the start harkens back to Thunder Road – but the tune breaks into a bittersweet, Dylanesque folk-rocker laced with Biblical lyrics symbolizing the sanctity of love.
Magic 2:45
A woozy carnival organ, a sawdusty beat, a fluttery mandolin and a ghostly violin decorate this dreamy vignette in which innocent deception quickly gives way to monstrous trickery.
Last to Die 4:17
Another gritty, hard-hitting rocker accented with strings and fuelled by lyrics built upon John Kerry’s famous statement about the Vietnam War. One guess what this one is about.
Long Walk Home 4:34
With its lightly strummed guitar and gently melancholy vibe, this one opens like Streets of Philadelphia, but quickly moves into a roots- rock lament about finding your way back home.
Devil’s Arcade 5:05
The disc’s most overtly poltical cut is this tale of a soldier wounded in battle. The striking arrangement elegantly builds from mournful strings and guitar to a richly intense orchestration.
Bonus Track: Terry’s Song 4:11
Springsteen pays tender tribute to his longtime assistant Terry MacGovern, who died this summer at age 67. It’s the most nakedly personal song he’s written in years. And one of the most moving.

Springsteen gives fans preview of tour
ASBURY PARK, N.J. – Bruce Springsteen was back in familiar territory with a rehearsal show Monday night in the city that has become known worldwide through his songs.
The show at the oceanfront Convention Hall was the first of two benefit rehearsals for Springsteen and the E Street Band, who are about to embark on their first tour together in four years. They will also play Tuesday night, and a third rehearsal concert has been added for Friday at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford.
Springsteen and the band opened up with “Radio Nowhere,” a song from their new album.
“We’re going to run through some things, some new things, some old things. There may be some mistakes ó but I doubt it,” Springsteen told the crowd.
Asbury Park and the boardwalk where the Convention Hall is located have been featured prominently in the New Jersey native’s work. His first album was titled “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.,” and the boardwalk Casino was the scene of the title track video for his 1987 “Tunnel of Love” album. Blocks away is the Stone Pony nightclub where Springsteen has performed numerous times.
Fans young and old gathered for hours before the show in warm sunshine on the boardwalk outside the hall.
“I think it’s rare that you get any musician who appeals to so many generations,” said Dara Webster, 34, of Westport, Conn. She was there with her 63-year-old mother, Maida Webster.
The elder Webster, a retired social worker from New Canaan, Conn., was attending her 20th Springsteen show. “I think he speaks from the heart,” Maida Webster said. “He’s down to earth.”
Those without tickets, which cost $100, hoped to be included in the group of 100 people traditionally given last-minute admission. Standing among 300 hopefuls, Kevin Statesir, 52, a nightclub owner from Burlington, Vt., said he wasn’t optimistic.
The hall isn’t far from the clubs ó many now closed ó where Springsteen and the E Street Band rose to fame in the 1970s. Springsteen has used Convention Hall for other pre-tour rehearsals.
A native of nearby Freehold, the 58-year-old rocker still lives in Monmouth County.
Springsteen and the band are to begin a tour in support of their new album, “Magic,” which is due out Oct. 2. The tour opens with a show in Hartford, Conn., that night.
Springsteen will be back at the Continental Airlines Arena Oct. 9-10, and is scheduled to perform Oct. 17-18 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“Magic” is the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer’s first album with his longtime New Jersey mates since the Sept. 11-inspired “The Rising” in 2002. Their 15-month tour in support of the album has sold out stadiums and arenas around the globe.
Aside from the atmospheric title track, “Magic” returns Springsteen to rock ‘n’ roll, and all 11 songs are new. He released a solo acoustic effort, “Devils & Dust,” in 2005 and the folk-inspired “The Seeger Sessions” last year.
“Magic” features guitarists Steve Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, bassist Garry Tallent, drummer Max Weinberg, keyboardists Danny Federici and Roy Bittan, “Big Man” Clarence Clemons on saxophone, violinist Soozie Tyrell and vocalist Patti Scialfa, Springsteen’s wife.

Springsteen’s wife records new album
NEW YORK (AP) – While writing songs for her new album, Patti Scialfa was inspired by a wide range of women: Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, doomed poet Sylvia Plath, renowned author Joan Didion, and, shifting gears, drag racer Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney.
Ladies and gentlemen, start your iPods.
“I didn’t realize I’d done that, believe me!” the singer-songwriter says, laughing about the seemingly mismatched group. “I just like strong women. No matter how old you are, you still need your role models.
“That’s why churches were built with high ceilings, you know? To look up.”
For “Play It As It Lays,” her third solo record, the 53-year-old Scialfa raised her personal bar for success. She decided to write about relationships, with her lyrics matched to the R&B sounds of classic Aretha and Al Green.
“I did want to expand myself musically, lyrically and emotionally,” Scialfa says between sips of Earl Grey tea. “I wanted to push myself. I like to hide. . . . I had to come up a little tougher.”
The effervescent Scialfa wears a black jacket and pants, her red hair falling past her shoulders and a white ruffled shirt. Sitting in a Manhattan hotel suite, she’s excited and expansive about the album.
“This record for me is exploring the complexities of long-term relationships,” she says. “Real relationships. A partner, people who’ve been together for a long time. At this point in my life, that’s very fascinating to me.”
Not just romantic relationships – one track, “The Word,” was initially written after her father’s death. And, as she observes on “Like Any Woman Would,” Scialfa’s been a mother, sister, friend and confidant, as well as a spouse.
Her husband of 16 years is Bruce Springsteen; now the mother of three, she joined his band in 1984, and became his wife seven years later.
But Scialfa said she wasn’t worried about people reading her lyrics as a referendum on their marriage.
“No, that’s OK,” she said. “First of all, when you’re writing, you’re pulling from many, many different areas. I like to start out with something – a seed of some sort of feeling that I know deeply about, or else I feel that I don’t write the song well.
“But once it gets going, you can pull anything into it.”
While Scialfa’s music reflected her love of great R&B, her lyrics were influenced in part by Plath (on “Like Any Woman Would”), Didion (on title track “Play It As It Lays”) and Muldowney (on “Run Run Run”).
Helping along the way was a great band assembled for the album, featuring guitarist Nils Lofgren, drummer Steve Jordan, bassist Willie Weeks, keyboardist Cliff Carter and utility player Springsteen (harmonica, guitars, B3 organ).
The improbable group improbably dubbed itself “the Whack Brothers.”
“They had a lot of fun playing with each other – the jokes and the fooling around all the time,” she explains.
Lofgren, a fellow member of Springsteen’s E Street Band, praised Scialfa’s effort on his website. “Her new album is really amazing,” Lofgren wrote, “and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
Scialfa, who grew up in Asbury Park, N.J., emerged from the same Jersey shore music scene that spawned her husband, Little Steven Van Zandt and Southside Johnny Lyon. She wound up as a backing vocalist for the Rolling Stones, Buster Poindexter and Southside’s Asbury Jukes.
Her first solo record, “Rumble Doll,” was released in 1994 – and then came children, and band tours, and 10 years elapsed until her autobiographical “23rd Street Lullaby.” Three years later comes “Play It As It Lays,” which Scialfa deliberately limited to 10 songs.
“I thought, ‘Clear, about one thing – it’ll be like reading a short story,’ ” she says. “And that’s how I wanted it to go down, like a short story. Trim the fat. . . . I don’t like the excess.”
There will be a tour of some sort, most likely in early 2008, for Scialfa to perform her own music. It might be during a break from her other musical gig with Springsteen’s E Street Band, which has a new album out Oct. 2 and a tour.
“Really, just selfishly, I have to do something for myself,” she says. “You don’t want to be resentful, when things come up in your life and you can’t do the things that are important to you. My kids are a little older now. So I can go out – even if it’s only for a month – just to get out there.”

Springsteen Hitting North America, Europe This Fall
As expected, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will tour North America and Europe before the end of the year in support of their new album, “Magic.” The trek begins on street date for the Columbia set (Oct. 2) in Hartford, Conn., with North American shows wrapping Nov. 18 in Boston. A European leg begins a week later in Madrid.
In addition, the new album’s first single, “Radio Nowhere,” is available as a free download for a week beginning today (Aug. 28) via the iTunes store. Fans can also pre-order “Magic” and receive the single plus access to its video and a digital booklet.
In an interview with noted fan site Backstreets, Springsteen says this will not be his final tour with the E Street Band, which hasn’t been on the road with him since 2004. “I envision the band carrying on for many, many, many more years,” he says. “There ain’t gonna be any farewell tour. That’s the only thing I know for sure.”
Of “Magic,” he says, “It’s just built” to be played live. “I wrote with a lot of melody, and with a lot of hooks, and there’s a lot of band power behind the stuff that I wrote this time out.”
Here are Bruce Springsteen’s tour dates:
Oct. 2: Hartford, Conn. (Civic Center)
Oct. 5: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Oct. 9-10: East Rutherford, N.J. (Continental Airlines Arena)
Oct. 14: Ottawa, Ontario (Civic Centre)
Oct. 15: Toronto (Air Canada Centre)
Oct. 17-18: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Oct. 21: Chicago (United Center)
Oct. 26: Oakland, Calif. (Oracle Arena)
Oct. 28: Los Angeles (TBA)
Nov. 2: St. Paul, Minn. (Xcel Energy Center)
Nov. 4: Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
Nov. 5: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Nov. 11: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Arena)
Nov. 14: Pittsburgh (Mellon Arena)
Nov. 15: Albany, N.Y. (Times Union Center)
Nov. 18: Boston (TD Banknorth Garden)
Nov. 25: Madrid (Palacio De Deportes)
Nov. 26: Bilbao, Spain (Exhibition Centre)
Nov. 28: Milan (Datchforum)
Nov. 30: Arnhem, Holland (Geldredome)
Dec. 2: Mannheim, Germany (Sap Arena)
Dec. 4: Oslo (Spektrum)
Dec. 8: Copenhagen (Forum)
Dec. 10: Stockholm (Globe)
Dec. 12: Antwerp, Belgium (Sportspaleis)
Dec. 13: Cologne, Germany (Koln Arena)
Dec. 15: Belfast (Odyssey Arena)
Dec. 17: Paris (Palais Omnsiports De Bercy)
Dec. 19: London (O2 Arena)

Springsteen Finds ‘Magic’ With E Street Band
Bruce Springsteen is ready to rock again with the E Street Band. The artist will on Oct. 2 release “Magic,” his first Columbia album with his longtime backing group since 2002’s “The Rising.” A North American arena tour is expected follow, but dates have yet to be announced.
The 11-track “Magic” was produced by Brendan O’Brien and includes such tracks as “Gypsy Biker,” “Last To Die,” “Devil’s Arcade” and “Long Walk Home,” which is the only song to have previously been played live. Springsteen manager Jon Landau describes the project as a “high energy rock CD.”
After “The Rising,” which has sold 2.1 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Springsteen went solo with 2005’s “Devils and Dust” and last year rounded up a host of new musicians for his “Seeger Sessions” album and tour.
His return to the road with the E Street Band should provide a big boost to the industry’s fourth quarter bottom line. Springsteen’s 2003 tour with E Street was the most financially successful of his stellar touring career, selling out stadiums in both Europe and the U.S., and dozens of arenas across North America.
Springsteen’s $182 million gross from 82 shows, on one of the most conservative ticket prices among all superstar acts at $75 in most markets, was second only to the Rolling Stones in 2003. The Boss’ remarkable 10 sellouts at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey that summer, with a gross of $38.7 million and attendance of 566,650, remains the top Boxscore ever reported to Billboard.
Prior to the release of “Magic,” Springsteen will unveil some new recordings with Pete Seeger on two separate compilation albums due next month from Appleseed Recordings. He also guests on his wife Patti Scialfa’s new Columbia album, “Play It As It Lays,” due Sept. 4.
Here is the track list for “Magic”:
“Radio Nowhere”
“You’ll Be Comin’ Down”
“Livin’ in the Future”
“Your Own Worst Enemy”
“Gypsy Biker”
“Girls in Their Summer Clothes”
“I’ll Work for Your Love”
“Magic”
“Last To Die”
“Long Walk Home”
“Devil’s Arcade”

Scialfa Album Beats Springsteen’s To The Punch
Patti Scialfa admits the prospect of releasing her third solo album just in front of husband Bruce Springsteen’s next project is “challenging.”
“It’s just the way it worked out,” Scialfa, who releases “Play It As It Lays” on Sept. 4, tells Billboard.com. “When we came off ‘The Seeger Sessions,’ I had already started this record and had three or four things cut. I was dying to get back to work and I stared working and (Springsteen) started working … and then we knew we were coming close together and he wanted me to be able to put mine out before his. When I was younger I would probably have wanted more room to myself, but at this point it doesn’t matter.”
What it has meant, Scialfa says, is that “it’s been an exciting time at home because we’re both pretty busy. It feels like a great, creative time. It just feels very positive.”
As part of the E Street Band, of course, Scialfa appears on Springsteen’s album, which is expected out in October, while Springsteen plays guitar and organ on four “Play It As It Lays” tracks, including the first single, “Town Called Heartbreak.”
Scialfa wrote all 10 songs on the album, her first since 2004’s “23rd Street Lullaby,” and co-produced it with Steve Jordan and Ron Aiella. Besides Springsteen, players include E Streeters Nils Lofgren and Soozie Tyrell, as well as Jordan, bassist Willie Weeks and keyboardist Clifford Carter.
Scialfa has a number of TV appearances set for the week of the album’s release, but she says her own concerts will have to wait until “maybe in the new year,” during a break from a Springsteen tour that’s expected to be announced shortly.
She said his new songs “are going to be a lot of fun to play live,” but she plans to carve out time to give her material a live airing, too.
“I went out with ’23rd Street Lullaby,’ and I had so much fun,” she says. “It was a really liberating experience for me. It’s fun after working alone on a record to take it out there. I’d like to do that with this one, too.”