Great interview with Nils in Rolling Stone

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nils-lofgren-i-dont-know-if-americans-can...

Forgot to mention this when the album came out: The fuzzy intro to "American Land" sounds like a mini-tribute to "Between the Buttons."

Right on cue. Nils backtracks and apologizes if he offended a couple of million american Springsteen fans
  Just saw Rolling Stone quotes. They of course sensationalized where they could with headlines. I do tend to ramble. Anyway, if I offended anyone, I apologize. Obviously these long shows should leave all audiences appropriately tired and exhilarated. I know we sure are. I'm sure all crowds will happily take as much as Bruce and E St can give, every night, and I'm grateful for every opportunity to play for you all.

Just confirmed.

Springsteen will perform tonight at a memorial concert, honouring the victims of the Utoya massacre in Norway exactly a year ago.

Apparently he'll do at least one acoustic song.


Link to the broadcast here :

Norwegian TV :
http://www.nrk.no/video/minnekonsert_for_22_juli/E66859FED4C34B3D/

Swedish TV :
http://www.svtplay.se/live/193696/minneskonsert-for-offren-i-oslo-och-utoya

Concert is from 20.00 - 22.30 local time (thats 6 hours ahead of ET in the USA).

Here you go Ellen. This is Bruce and Steve from the show tonight doing We Shall Overcome.
http://www.svt.se/wd?widgetId=23991&sectionId=532&articleId=198837&type=embed&co...

Now on Youtube in case that link disappears. Nice performance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1VjFneRVag&sns=fb&noredirect=1

Steven van Zandt apologises for Hyde Park commentsE Street Band guitarist says sorry for blaming police over curtailed Bruce Springsteen gig, turning his anger to the 'toxic bureaucracy' of Westminster Council

guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 July 2012 05.22 EDT
 
Bruce Springsteen and Steven van Zandt perform at Hyde Park in London on 14 July 2012. Photograph: Jim Dyson/Getty Images
The E Street Band's Steven van Zandt has apologised for blaming police over the abrupt conclusion to Bruce Springsteen's recent gig in London's Hyde Park. Although he still fears the "toxic bureaucracy … [of a] rigid and mindless" Westminster council, he said that it was "obviously hyperbole" when he called England "a police state".

Van Zandt was clearly angry after the plug was pulled on 14 July, cutting short a concert that had run for more than three hours. "We break curfews in every country but only English cops needs to 'punish us' by not letting us leave until the entire crowd goes," he tweeted. "The cops got nothing more important to do? How about they go catch some criminals instead of fucking with 80,000 people having a good time?"

But Van Zandt has now backed away from those comments, in an essay published by the Huffington Post. "I want to officially apologise for blaming [the police]," he wrote. "I was mistakenly informed it was they who pulled the plug. We know now it wasn't. I apologise because I was wrong, because I have a lot of cop friends, and because I don't want the obviously hyperbolic question I asked, 'when did England become a police state?', to be misinterpreted as a criticism of the police themselves."



Despite words of support from mayor Boris Johnson, Van Zandt is still upset. The problem, he explained, is "the system". "No one person is ever responsible. No one accountable. No one to complain to … [This] is the mechanism of the Orwellian police state in a nutshell and worthy of being nipped in the bud because a bit too much of our most frightening science fiction is starting to become real lately.

"In this case the promoters feared Westminster Council would revoke their licence for future shows. This in spite of being a mere 10 minutes past the 10:30 curfew … Now I'm sure the council has its members and neighbours' best interests at heart. But were those regulations meant to be immutable?"

Calling this the "tyranny of a minority" – a few hundred Westminster homes versus Hyde Park's 70,000 rock fans – Van Zandt called for "someone representing the People" to "sit down and work out a … compromise". "Obviously one song more or less at a rock show doesn't mean anything, but the motivation for the action – fear – should be instructively cautionary when applied to a bigger picture."

Nice setlist on night 1 in Bergen, last night - and finally, a live debut for one of my favourite songs from 'Wrecking Ball'

Bergen is known to be a rainy city, and tonight was no exception. Following two hours of heavy rain it came as no surprise that "Who'll Stop the Rain" kicked things off. What indeed was a surprise, however, was the arrangement we were offered: just Bruce, at the mic, and Roy, at the piano, delivering a soulful version that felt fresh and fitting for the occasion With Bruce saying "Let's do another rain song," we got an inspired "Downbound Train" followed by "one more from Born in the U.S.A.": "Cover Me," another song filled with references to rain and storms As the weather got somewhat better, the set switched back temporarily into a more standard mode, but it was clear that Springsteen was still deviating from his original setlist. As Bruce gave the usual five-finger sign to start "Death to My Hometown," Max started playing "Badlands," and the song had to be restarted. After the song, Bruce noted that "We've actually got a setlist, but I tend to go away from it, showing mysterious signs to the band members." A really funny moment. He exclaimed later in the show that "Max was right!" — referring to the Mighty One following the setlist, but showing that sometimes not even the closest Springsteen-watcher in the world (Max, that is) can keep up with what Bruce is doing.


During the sign section, Bruce picked a sign for "Jungleland" ("In honor of the Big Man") but chose to play "Seaside Bar Song," which has never been played in Europe before. The band nailed it, but few outside the pit seemed to recognize the song. We then got the world premiere of "This Depression," performed by Bruce alone on 12-string acoustic and harmonica. In my view, this was a long-overdue outing of this song, and a wonderful one, even though it slowed the pace of the show.

As in Bergen in 2009 when Steve's acoustic guitar did not work during the intro to "The River," this time he played the wrong notes during the first few bars and they had to start all over. With a fairly standard redention of "The Rising," the show lost some energy, and Bruce seemed to notice it as well. Skipping "Land of Hope and Dreams" and "We Are Alive," he went into high-energy mode, delivering hard rocking versions of "Radio Nowhere" and "Badlands."


With "I'm on Fire" kicking off the encore, this was a concert relying heavily on Born in the U.S.A. material (seven songs from that 1984 album, versus five from Wrecking Ball). During "Dancing in the Dark," Bruce was pointing at a sign saying, "I want to dance with Max while Bruce is playing drums." What actually happened: Bruce picked a girl to be his dance partner while the girl with the sign ran up to Max's drum kit, got the sticks, and started to pound away. Max stood by the side of his kit cheering while Bruce was doing the regular dance routine at the lower stage. An amazing moment, and the girl could drum, too! As Bruce noted: "This has never happened before!" If that weren't enough, during the now-regular "Steve squeezes the water sponge on Bruce" routine before "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out", Steve pulled a little girl of five years or so up on stage and gave her the honor of shaking even more water onto Bruce's face. A funny yet touching moment. With "Twist and Shout" about to end and Bruce down on the lower platform delivering a final, final round of twisting, he got the little girl to do it all over again. A perfect ending to a night filled with all but standard procedures. With a "We'll see you tomorrow," we could all go home with smiles on our faces, looking forward to more setlist shakeups tomorrow. - Backstreets


1.) Who'll Stop The Rain
2.) Downbound Train
3.) COVER ME
4.) We Take Care Of Our Own
5.) Wrecking Ball
6.) Death To My Hometown
7.) My City Of Ruins
8.) Spirit In The Night
9.) Seaside Bar Song (request)
10.) THIS DEPRESSION (solo acoustic)  +WORLD PREMIERE +
11.) Atlantic City
12.) Because the NIght
13.) Promised Land
14.) Darlington County
15.) Shackled and Drawn
16.) Waiting On a Sunny Day
17.) For You (solo acoustic)
18.) The River
19.) The Rising
20.) Radio Nowhere
21.) Badlands
22.) I'm on Fire
23.) Thunder Road

24.) Born in the USA
25.) Born to Run
26.) Bobby Jean
27.) Dancing in the Dark
28.) Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
29.) Twist & Shout

Hoping he breaks out "You've Got It" soon. Love the song, but I'm surprised it made the album -- and even less surprised that Bruce hasn't aired it live. Still ... a good song.

Mel Belli wrote on Jul 24^th, 2012 at 7:29am:


That one and the special edition 'bonus' song 'Swallowed up (in the belly of the whale)' are the only Wrecking Ball songs he hasnt played yet. Wouldnt hold my breath waiting on the latter being performed (although you never know), but I'm surprised 'You Got It' hasnt made it yet.

Edith Grove wrote on Jul 24^th, 2012 at 10:28am:

That would be good. I'd happily road trip for that.

Bergen night two - some surprises and a few premieres :

Start Time: 7:55 p.m.
Setlist
1. LONG WALK HOME (acoustic)
2. We Take Care Of Our Own
3. LUCKY DAY
4. Out In The Street
5. Wrecking Ball
6. Death To My Hometown
7. My City of Ruins
8. E Street Shuffle
9. RED HEADED WOMAN
10. PROUD MARY
11. Fire
12. This Depression (full band this time - last night was acoustic)
13. Youngstown
14. Murder Inc.
15. Johnny 99
16. Working On The Highway
17. Shackled And Drawn
18. Waitin’ On A Sunny Day
19. YOU’VE GOT IT
20. Racing In The Street
21. The Rising
22. Radio Nowhere
23. Badlands
24. We Are Alive
25. Born In The USA
26. Born To Run
27. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
28. Seven Nights To Rock
29. Dancing In The Dark
30. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
31. American Land
End Time: 11:20 p.m.


Read more: Bruce Springsteen in Bergen Setlist Night Two 7/24/12 | Blogness on the Edge of Town http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/springsteen/2012/07/24/bruce-springsteen-in-bergen-...