The Boss!!

[duhvoodooman***]

Just bought a total of 6 tickets for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at the Times Union Center in Albany on Nov. 15. Our family (4 of us) is going, and I'll sell the remaining two (at cost, of course) to friends. Saw him here three years ago--fantastic band, fantastic show! ude:

[helliott***]

Good for you! We gotta wait until Sept. 17 when they go on sale for Air Canada Centre. Did you have any trouble getting yours? Apparently European dates are selling out very quickly. Any advice on getting in early?
Did you get GA or reserved? I need four for Toronto and intend to get the best reserves I can as my wife isn't up for GA.
By all accounts, this is going to be a great show and tour. I hope to catch him on this end and again when he does his summer leg through the east.

[sunvalleylaw]

That sounds great! Congrats! He is not coming any where near here yet, so I am out for now. Maybe he will expand and pick up Salt Lake City or Boise, more likely SLC.

[duhvoodooman***]

Tomorrow night!! Oh boy, oh boy, ohboy!!! ude:

[duhvoodooman***]

Great show last night at the Times Union Arena in Albany by the Boss and the incomparable E Street Band!! I don't think it's possible for this group of consummate musicians to put on a bad show. They played for a bit over two hours, between an 19-song main set and an incredible 5-song encore. Here's the set list:

Main Set:

Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason To Believe
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Candy's Room
She's The One
Livin' In The Future
The Promised Land
I'll Work For Your Love
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
The E Street Shuffle
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

Encore:

Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Thunder Road
Born To Run
Dancing In The Dark
American Land

The songs on the new Magic album were strongly represented--9 of the total 24 tunes performed. But there were plenty of his "standards" for the crowd to cheer & sing along to, including two "tour premiere" song performances--4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) and The E Street Shuffle. His website states that this performance was "the first time those two songs from The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle have been played at the same show since...1975!". The final tune of the night has the distinction of being the only rock concert song I've ever seen that featured two accordions (played by keyboardists Federici and Bittan)!

The band has two more US performances--both in Boston, on 11/18 & 19--before heading to Europe to play 13 dates there (including Stockholm, Swede!), finishing in London on 12/19. After a couple month's break, they have another 6 dates scheduled in the states between 2/28 and 4/25, but I'll bet they add some more shows. See concert details HERE.

[sunvalleylaw]

Man that sounds like it was GREAT!!!!! Congrats on taking yourself and your family to such a memorable night!

[ted s]

Helliot, I heard they may be playing in Hamilton, to be announced Monday I think.

[helliott***]

Yes, should be finalized Monday. My paper broke the story on the web Thursday. I'll be there if it happens, for sure.
We saw him in Toronto in October, and it was fantastic. We didn't get the rare gems Albany got, but it was a super show nonetheless. The new stuff is great. I was also happy to see that Bruce's guitar playing is sharper than the last electric tour, and Steve was showing his stuff more than he typically does. There's a blistering duel between the two of them in Gypsy Biker. And Nils is a great player, though not featured as much.
An added bonus during our Bruce night in TO was meeting many of The Raptors, since my son and I are bball fans and they were practicing that night. Bit of an odd mix, all the Bruceheads and Raptors under one roof.
Anyway, sounds like Albany was a blast. He's also doing Rochester and Buffalo, and I think I'll catch one of those two, in addition to Hamilton. Sounds excessive, but this is one killer show. Catch it if you can.

[ted s]

You work for the s*ec+ato$ Helliot ?

[helliott***]

Yes, I do.

[ted s]

Small world.

[helliott***]

How so?

[ted s]

I live in Burlington and read it every day. Also done some work in the building a few years ago.

[helliott***]

You're right. Who'd a thunk it? We're pretty much neighbours.

[helliott***]

Got my tickets for Bruce in Buffalo for March. All that's left now is to get a bunch for March 3, when he'll come to Hamilton for the first time. Hamilton entertainment bookers have been trying to land him for 15 years, but finally succeeded. 'Bout time, too, because Hamilton is Bruce's kind of town.

[R_of_G]

he'll be playing in Atlanta [closest he'll be getting to me] in april. if there's anyway i can wind up swinging tix for that, i'll be on my way. i haven't seen bruce in over 20 years, and my wife has never seen him, so i'm hoping for some kind of miracle which results in my obtaining tix. from what you guys have been saying, it sounds like he still puts on an amazing show.

[Born2Run]

Word on the street is Danny Federici is leaving the E Street Band. I've heard he has cancer. I wish him well.

[helliott***]

It's true, Danny has had to leave the tour to receive treatment for melanoma (pardon my sp.) Much grief, worry and support among fans of the band. Danny's been with Bruce since his early bands, such as Steel Mill. He'll be replaced musically, but his spirit and soul will be missed. Here's praying they caught the cancer in time and he'll have a full recovery. We might even see him on the last leg of the tour in summer, who knows?
There's some very moving video on Backstreets.com of the second show in Boston, when it was widely known he was not well and probably not continuing on to the European leg. If you're interested, check it out, but have Kleenex on hand.
Got my tickets today, pretty good ones. It'll be weird seeing E-Street missing a cornerstone, but I'm thrilled anyway. Friday night in Buffalo, the following Monday in my hometown, affectionately called The Hammer.