thanks meg....when are you heading to the island?

sounds like an incredible show.
let's hope  a good quality boot of this surfaces, in the near future.

"Sandy" was a composite of girls Springsteen knew growing up in New Jersey.
Springsteen: "A goodbye to my adopted hometown and the life I'd lived there before I recorded."
Asbury Park is a resort town in New Jersey that has gradually deteriorated. It provided the name for Springsteen's first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
E Street Band member Danny Federici played the accordion.
Springsteen whispered his vocal to create a sense of intimacy.
The summer romance and the images on the boardwalk struck a chord with just about anyone who grew up in New Jersey.
The choir is really one female singer with lots of overdubs. Springsteen wanted to use a children's choir, but ended up using Suki Lahav. She played with the band from September 1974 - March 1975, but was not credited on the album.
This evolved out of 2 songs that did not make Springsteen's first album: "Casper" and "Glory Road."
"Madam Marie" was a real fortune teller on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.
The Hollies covered this in 1975 with its title shortened to "Sandy." It was the first song written by Springsteen to chart, hitting #85 in the US.
The version included on his box set Live 1975-1985 has some extra lyrics in the 3rd verse.

Ade wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2008 at 6:09am:


hopefully on Jungleland. If its uploaded on dime and includes the pre-recorded intro, they'll almost certainly ban it.

"I'll Fly Away" sounds like a great choice for an encore. Its been performed by quite a variety of notable artists -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'll_Fly_Away

4th of July-Sandy, is just about the best song Bruce has written.
When I was in Asbury for the Seeger Sessions, waiting @ 5AM to
get in for the GMA taping, standing on the boardwalk,  it was that song
which was contstantly on my mind.  All of the visual images it portrays
were crystallized just looking around the boardwalk.  It was all I could think about.
I was very lucky to see it played in Bahston last November, with Phantom Dan on accordian.
I had a feeling that one chapter in the E Street Band was beginning to end that night.

From the looks of last night's great set, the page has been turned.

Thanks for all the great moments in so many Bruce songs which you
were part of~keep playin the squeeze box Phantom!
Your legacy will live on.....

By Sean Daly

http://blogs.tampabay.com/popmusic/?origref=&alias=http://www.sptimes.com/blogs/...

April 22, 2008
LIVE REVIEW: Bruce Springsteen

TAMPA –- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band just don't lose fights to Father Time. For four decades, it’s always been a mismatch. From epic concerts that rumbled on with disregard for deadlines to thunderous anthems about thumbing your nose at destiny, the Jersey-born brotherhood is inherently built to push, and punish, the boundaries of the clock.

But last week, Father Time -- with his tin ear for the youthful urges of rock ’n’ roll -- landed a suckerpunch, as longtime E Street stalwart Danny Federici, 58, died from melanoma. As well as being the group’s organist, keyboardist and accordion whiz, Federici had been friends with Springsteen for 40 years. Bruce called his pal “the Phantom,” quiet, crafty, cunning.

On Tuesday, at the St. Pete Times Forum, the Boss and his band, who postponed three Florida dates to deal with the loss, staged their first show since Federici’s death. (The Tampa night was originally scheduled for Monday.)

But if you thought the Blue-Collar Bard would respond with a long, sad see-ya-later – no way, not a chance. For more than two-and-a-half hours, they rocked and remembered in front of 16,332 faithful fans fully aware of the emotional undercurrent.

With house and stage lights dark, the band took the stage, familiar shadows walking to the well-worn spots they've worked for years. "This night is a special one," said the somber voice of the Boss. "So we'd like to start with something for Danny."

With that, a video tribute unspooled onscreen, as a recorded version of gentle acoustic homage "Blood Brothers" played. With a spotlight illuminating Danny's workplace, the band then launched into a crescendoing, cathartic "Backstreets," with its notable refrain of "You swore we'd live forever."

That's the way this memorable night went, the wistful giving way to the robust. Springsteen referenced Federici several times, including "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," which was always Federici's time to shine on the accordion. On this night, piano man Roy Bittan took the squeezebox, as a bemused Springsteen noted, "Somebody's watching." That was followed by what Springsteen called "another fairy tale," the jubilant "Growin' Up."

For all the emotion, the night's most memorable songs were the roof-raisers, the throwdowns, songs in which your pounding fist acted almost independently: "Radio Nowhere" and "Gypsy Biker," from 2007 album "Magic." "Because the Night," with its downright fiendish guitar solo from Nils Lofgren. The tent-revival fun of "She's the One." The defiant blasts of "No Surrender" and "Long Walk Home."

Springsteen, always eager to ruffle the lapels of the proverbial powers-that-be, kept the speechifying to a minium. But after a quick tsk-tsk to the Bush administration, he threaded a series of songs about the shaky state of the union: "Livin' in the Future," "The Promised Land," "Waitin' on a Sunny Day."

The set built to a resounding, resilient wallop, especially fan fave "Badlands," in which the Big Man, Clarence Clemons, hobbled to the forefront and blew a big, fat sax solo that jolted the joint. That was followed by the chiming joy of "Out in the Street" with its chorus of guttural wahoos.

"This one's for Dan," Springsteen said at the start of the encore, as the band roots-rocked an acoustic cover of 1929 gospel hymn "I'll Fly Away" ("Some bright morning when this life is over, I'll fly away.")

As part of this tour, Springsteen has been reaching into the crowd each night and grabbing random signs with song requests. Tampa just about blew its top for tonight's winner: "Rosalita." The rambling, rollicking song, considered by many the queen in the canon, showcased a band still intent on raging into the night. And, well, they did. "Rosalita" eventually morphed into "Born to Run," for which the house lights exploded for an all-together-now singalong. And that turned into "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out." And they just kept playing, hard, fast, ferocious, as if they had all the time in the world.

My dad's girlfriend ended up taking my dad to the show yesterday. She has seen tens of Bruce concerts and said last night's show was by far the best she had ever seen. She was pretty ecstatic and she said the tribute was very touching. I'll share some more details when I get the chance to talk to her some more about it.

Damn Orlando got another one.. .  Start the show with Blood Brothers and another premiere:"Does the Bus Stop at 82nd Street"...Not to mention "The River"  Then in the encores Roger McGuinn on stage with Bruce to do Turn Turn Turn and Mr. Tambourine Man.  DAMN!!

Oh and Jungleland as a "sign request:"
sign: side one: To our good friend Danny: You'll always be in our hearts
other side: It's been 30 yrs waiting for Jungleland live!

Roger McGuinn WTF?....But hey that's cool. From Bon Jovi to Roger McGuinn. Bruce is clearly just having fun. Good for him,jamming with all era's of rockstar's who clearly love Bruce.....Hot 'Lanta next.

Yet another amazing setlist. Most likely delivered in amazing fashion as usual. What an incredible example of what an Icon rock act can and should be.

Karen and I got an INCREDIBLE, high energy show last night from Bruce and his band at Amway Arena in Orlando...after opening with the film montage of Danny Federici's life set to the song Blood Brothers the band tore into an alternate version of the song...to get to see Roger McGuinn from the Byrd's join them for TWO songs was AMAZING!(McGuinn lives here in central Florida.)
Here's the review from the Backstreet's website:
April 23 / Orlando, FL / Amway Arena
Notes: More greatness in Florida. Tonight's was an energetic, unpredictable show, with the standard setlist (including much of Magic) all but thrown out the window. A tour premiere -- one of four -- started things off. When word of Tampa's Danny Federici montage started going around, the video tribute with a musical backing of "Blood Brothers," there was some initial confusion: was it the recorded studio version, or played live? Tonight, the Orlando crowd got both. After the montage, Bruce and the band revisited "Blood Brothers" in a new live arrangement, more akin to the Alternate Version on the Blood Brothers EP, a fierce performance with no question who it was for, especially as Springsteen repeated the singular "my blood brother."
"Spirit in the Night" was "for Dan," too, a very physical performance from Bruce, hanging every which way from the mic stand. And the oldies just kept on coming, with the tour premiere of "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" "Gonna test the band's memories," said Bruce, "We did 'Growin' Up' last night, and we're gonna try to get through this one." (Soon, he had reason to add, "I don't remember it!") "Prove It All Night" found Nils reaching new heights and even finding new sounds on his solo, wowing veryone, Bruce and the band included.
"Fire" was the local radio pick-a-song contest winner, giving Springsteen occasion for his longest, funniest banter to date on this tour. "This is what puzzles me," he said about the contests, mention of which got little to no reaction from the crowd, "Every time I mention it, every one says I don't know!... This was a management decision." He also gave a history of the song, saying he originally wrote it for Elvis and jumped the Graceland wall with Steve to try to get it to him ("Don't go trying that at my house, now!"), recalling covers by the Pointer Sisters and Robert Gordon, and highly recommending the latter's "All for the Love of Rock & Roll" wih his band Tuff Darts ("Go home and look it up on your damn thing," Bruce said, miming fingers on a keyboard). And then there was Babyface's "Fire" cover: "The best version I ever heard. I was sure it was a hit -- I ran out and bought a new car. But the cruel vicissitudes of rock 'n' roll... it wasn't. I should have been sitting on the beach with my new car parked at the curb."
"Lost in the Flood" up next -- forget talk, all action. This one killed, as did Bruce's solo.
In the encore, perhaps the biggest treat of the night, "the incredible Roger McGuinn" joined the band for two songs. Bruce set the bar high with his introduction, praising the Byrds leader for singlehandedly inventing Folk Rock, Space Rock, and for his profound influence on Bruce and the band. At 15, Springsteen said, on a little stero in his room, "I played that first Byrds album over 200 times in the dark." McGuinn did not disappoint, taking lead for "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and trading verses with Bruce on "Mr. Tambourine Man," a knock-out guest spot that was clearly a thrill for the band. Just one look would have told you Steve was in heaven, he and Roger playing matching black, 12-string Rickenbackers. "Some of the most beautiful music ever written and sung," Bruce declared, before offering up one of his own that could arguably fit that description. It was "Jungleland," an audible, played by request -- "Kitty's Back" was on the setlist, but with all those "Jungleland" signs, how could he not?
Setlist:
Blood Brothers (Alt. Version)
Night
Radio Nowhere
Out in the Street
Spirit in the Night
The River
Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
Candy's Room
Prove It All Night
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Fire
Lost in the Flood
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
* * *
Turn! Turn! Turn! (with Roger McGuinn)
Mr. Tambourine Man (with Roger McGuinn)
Jungleland
Born To Run
Dancing In The Dark
American Land

MRD8 wrote on Apr 24^th, 2008 at 7:13am:



Cheers, Bob. Glad you had a fantastic time. Think I read a while back that Joshy was going to one of the Florida shows as well. Hope he had fun too, if he did.

if anyone knows of a spare STANDING ticket, for either of the Bruce London shows,
at the end of May, please let me know.
thanks