Can somebody explain to me the Springsteen popularity?

I like Neil Diamond. Elvis liked Neil Diamond.

Nothing wrong with that.

 

"THunder Road" is an amazing song. And at Giants Stadium, he sang it like it was a dirge.

 

At times, especially as you're nearing 60, it is.

 

Thunder Road is one of my two favorite Bruce songs (along with Incident). But Bruce hasn't had the passion for the song for many years. Sometimes, he gets a kick out of the crowd singing the "show a little faith" line, but it seems like the song is more of an obligation than anything else. Really, only the closing sax solo by Clarence conveys the romantic desperation of the song.

 

Stumbled upon the 1978 Passaic shows on youtube. Holy crap! This has got to be on CD somewhere, right? Can't find anything on Amazon. Please tell me this professionally-recorded stuff is in album format. Thanks.

 

perfectly understandable. i felt pretty much the same way after the 'born to run' hype. i thought his voice was awful, too. i turned down a ticket to see him for i believe 15 bucks in '75 or '76. i saw bruce for the first tie by accidentm really -- he was on the bill of one of the 'no nukes' shows to was going to, primarily to see jackson browne and bonnie raitt...

the whole night, fans at msg were screaming 'brooooce!!' whie the other artists played their sets. i believe chaka kahn (excuse misspelling) ran off the stage hysterical, thinking she was being booed. when it was explained to her those weren't boos but chants for springsteen someone cracked, 'what's the difference?'

anyhoo, as a broooce cynic pretty much pre-determined to think, 'what's the big deal?' i was ABSOLUTELY BLOWN AWAY BY EVERYTHING! springsteen's charismatic performance was mezmerizing. the estreet band amazingly tight. the energy of the crowd responding to every move bruce made, every word he sung, heck, singing along word by word... the hour-long set closed the show and i had been transformed into a FANATIC who suddenly 'got it.' i've seen him live now about 45-50 times, i reckon, from coast to coast...

ijag, i havent read this entire thread so maybe you finally had a chance to see his act or one of his live dvds and get it now, too. if not, i'm telling you as someone who knows precisely how you feel, you've missed out on much enjoyment -- unless you simply dont like rock 'n roll.

 

i have a ticket in hand, bitches!

 

oh, and fwiw, it's 'thunder road' and it's not even close, imho. a whole bunch of other songs are fighting it out for the second slot. but 'thunder road' is perfection.

 

naw, man. it's the river.

 

After 17 years together and shows including REM, Metallica (multiple times), various other metal bands I don't care to name, Ozzfest, David Bowie, etc. . . . took the wife to her first Bruce show two months ago, at Wrigley Field. It was the Night Two show, a fun party but not a set for the diehards.

She has often asked for Bruce moratoriums. She appreciates his music, but would prefer I mix it up a bit. So I put on Rush, to teach her to be careful what she wishes for. Didn't listen to Bruce for a month before the show. She really enjoyed it. She likes the rock star vibe, and Bruce is a master showman. We just caught the show in Kansas City. She liked that one too.

She notes that she did NOT find it transcendent or anything, as I did at my first show. She had no epiphany. She simply enjoyed the show. Says she doesn't need to see it again.

Fair enough. Not everyone can say they got Tom Morello doing Ghost of Tom Joad, Eddie Vedder doing My Hometown and a full-band Incident on 57th Street in their first two shows (these things seem to be important to Bruce fans, who don't realize that being among 18,000 fans who bought tickets to a show where he happened to play a certain song does not make one special. Among Metallica fans, there is simply a joy at having been at certain shows, not a member-measuring contest. But I digress).

Anyone who likes his music at all should catch a show. If you don't like his music at all, save your money for a show you want to see.

 

Is that the show that has been making the round forever under the title The Boss's Birthday Party? I have it on cassette somewhere, bought it years ago when you just couldn't download stuff like this anytime you wanted.

 

I've never seen Springsteen in concert, but I feel the best of his songs are really unique. My favorite songs of his like Racing in the Street and Point Blank are incredibly evocative.