Kingdom of Days

The seeds of a new tour

Ten new songs added that weren't played the night before, plus some important changes in the song order gave the feeling of a more real show last night at Convention Hall.

"Badlands" opened the set to great effect, and two hours later Jay Weinberg joined on drums for the last songs on the main set: "Lonesome Day", "Radio Nowhere" and "Born to run". Quite a finale. The 5-song encore included "Dancing in the Dark", "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and "Land of Hope and Dreams".

But most important, the band and the set list was a lot better than the first night, some great songs were added (those electrified versions of "Seeds" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad") and, voilà, "Mary's Place" was dropped (here's hoping it's forever). Still, a rough set with, surprisingly, not too many songs from the new album. Next stop: the tour's official kick-off on April 1st in San Jose.

See the complete set list from last night.

Springsteen debuts his new songs at first Asbury Park rehearsal

Bruce Springsteen rocked Convention Hall last night, in the first of two public rehearsals with the E Street Band. Three new musicians joined the band for this concert. First there was Cindy Mizelle and Curtis King Jr., both members of the Seeger Sessions band now joining the E Street Band to add some great backing vocals. Then there was Jay Weinberg, Max's son, who joined the band to perform on seven songs.

The first public show of the tour featured 24 songs, opening with "Outlaw Pete" and closing with "Seven Nights to Rock", and included 7 tracks from the Working on a dream album, two new covers (Woody Guthrie's "I Ain't Got No Home" and Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More", a song from 1854 that's been covered by a multitude of artists, from Dylan to Emmylou Harris to Johnny Cash).

It wasn't the most intense Bruce Springsteen performance ever (which no one can expect from a first tour performance) but the new songs surprised the audience, and the classics sounded as strong as ever (not strange as the set list is very similar to the Magic tour standard, even the stage looks the same). NJ rocker John Eddie joined Bruce for an encore cover of "Mustang Sally".

See complete set list for the first Asbury Park concert.

Bruce Springsteen performs Lucky Day in Asbury Park



Bruce Springsteen performs Outlaw Pete in Asbury Park

Springsteen jams at Long Branch benefit

Bruce Springsteen attended a benefit show in Long Branch last night, for the Ranney School, and ended up onstage jamming with the The Panther Club band. Bruce played guitar and sang on three songs: "634-5789", "Mustang Sally" and "Twist and Shout", with help from some fans who joined him onstage to sing on "Mustang Sally".

Jay Weinberg will join the E Street Band for "small number of shows"

Statement from Bruce Springsteen's publicist:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 20, 2009
Printable Version


Statement About Tour Personnel

In response to the many questions concerning the upcoming tour, the drummer on the small number of shows that Max Weinberg won't be able to appear at will be a brilliant young drummer from New Jersey named Jay Weinberg. Commenting on the situation, Bruce said: "Once again, I want to express my appreciation to Conan O'Brien, and everyone on his team, for making it possible for Max to continue to do double duty for both us and for him. We promise to return him in one piece."

You got doubts about Jay? See for yourself: Jay playing "Born to run" with The E Street Band at Giants Stadium, July 28, 2008:

Bruce Springsteen on The Daily Show

Bruce Springsteen on "The Daily Show" (Interview)

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
comedycentral.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Important Things w/ Demetri Martin Political Humor

Two public rehearsal shows on sale Friday March 20th

Get ready. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are set to perform two rehearsal shows on Monday March 23rd and Tuesday March 24th, both at 7:30pm and held at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ.

Tickets are $100 and will go on sale thru Ticketmaster Charge-by-phone-only tomorrow, March 20th, at 12:00 noon. There's a 2-ticket limit per person. Orders will be taken by phone only. Ticketmaster’s toll-free number is 800-745-3000. For deaf patrons, Ticketmaster’s automated, toll-free TDD number is 866-448-7849.

Springsteen to play Pete Seeger tribute concert

Correction March 18th: Bob Dylan is not part of this show. Check out the complete artist line-up here.

The date is May 3rd, the place is Madison Square Garden in New York City. Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and others will pay tribute to the great Pete Seeger and will celebrate his 90th birthday with a big concert in New York. Other artists on the line-up include Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Eddie Vedder and John Mellencamp. The tickets will be on sale soon and all the benefits will go to Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an environmental organization founded by Seeger in the 60's.

Meanwhile in Asbury Park rehearsals for the tour continue. Yesterday there was no sign of Bruce or Patti, but the E Street Band kept rehearsing, with Nils Lofgren singing and Jay Weinberg sitting on drums. Max's son is rumoured to be the designed drummer for the European leg of the tour.

Springsteen to appear on The Daily Show

This Thursday, March 19th, Bruce Springsteen will finally appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Check it out on Comedy Central at 11pm Eastern.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Intro - Righteousness

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Tickets for Valladolid, Sevilla and Santiago concerts

The tickets for these 3 shows will go on sale Thursday March 6th at 10am thru Ticketmaster.es.

The Boss goes to Scotland!

Good news for Scottish fans: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at Hampden Park in Glasgow, on Tuesday July 14th 2009. This will be return of the E Street Band to Scotland since their first show there in 1981. Tickets will go on sale Friday March 6th.