Bruce Springsteen on Broadway

If it weren't for my wife, kids, dog, job, health, and finances I would absolutely go see this thing.

 

Yes, I was one of the doubters. Sounds like once again, his instincts have proven correct. He really is a unique, driven artist. Silly to doubt his skill set.

 

Can anyone who has gone confirm security checks? I may need to bring my bag as coming straight from the airport...
Do they allow bags in?

 

Bob might be the longest working man in Show business, but hardest working man? Don't think working up a sweat is part of Bob's M.O.

 

He has.
A review in the Asbury Park Press says the performance is weakest when it becomes more of a musical gig, and less storytelling.
The first 30 mins only has 2 songs played.
And as noted there is Bruce accompanying himself musically while storytelling.

 

So in other words - if it weren't for life, you'd be there!

 

I'd imagine it might loosen up toward the end a bit, but I think the focus now is sharpening up the show as much as possible before a one off performance before Tony voters. When that happens I don't know.

 

For those who have the book.............

So he is telling stories and anecdotes that aren't in the book? One of the issues I have with the book is that there had to be SOME funny stories about Danny or Clarence that occurred during those many years of touring.

 

It's hard, because it requires the artist to open up, try to explain things, many of them aren't good at it, so they let the music speak for itself.

I can't imagine Dylan opening himself up like this for 2 hours.
If he did, how'd you think that would sell? Pretty well I'd imagine.
Neil Young would be another. While Neil tells the occasional revealing story at a show, I can't even imagine a guy self absorbed as Neil, spending 2 hours talking about his life and what's important to him in an entertaining fashion for 2 hours.

 

I thought the story about trying to get a stoned, paranoid Danny out of the car to perform at Monmouth U, while he was on the lam after pushing an amp stack over on the cops was pretty good. As well as the observation that Phantom Dan was always spot on when it came to his playing, but off stage his personal life was an unruly mess.

While the relationship between Bruce and The Big Man was unique, my feeling is that besides the music, these 2 were pretty notorious for chasing tail. Thats just not going to make the book in any great detail.....

 

He had a great Danny story about weed during one of the solo tours, also a story about his aunts and thunderstorms. Both really funny. Neither in the book, sadly

 

I used to love Bruce. I read everything I could about him--I probably own every magazine cover he was on ( except for the main two, the Time/Newsweek) and spent a fortune on bootlegs. I probably 'only" saw him a dozen times--the first at Nassau Coliseum in 1980, the last at Met Life, last August ( I was reluctant, but glad I went)--and was never disappointed. I say "only" because how many times you see him seems to be a big thing with Springsteen fans, along with what year you got on the Bruce Train. You say 1978, someone will claim 1974--or even the Steel Mill days. Measuring their passion for Bruce by "how long" he played at the show they attended is another "thing" with Bruce fans.
I think he's an artist with plenty of integrity and an awesome work ethic. And I always felt a kinship with him--I like the fact that he's an Irish/Italian/RC working class guy from NJ--just like me ( and there are a lot of us). I read the autobiography.
I just don't listen to him much anymore. I don't buy into the "church of rock and roll" hype anymore. I find his music doesn't grab me as much as it used to and it can't just be because i'm getting older because the music of some of Springsteen's contemporaries--such as Neil Young and Tom Petty--continues to amaze me. Most of the time when I do listen to Bruce, it's his first two albums. And it's not his politics--I always knew where he stood. And besides, we agree on some things.
What bugs me is that it seems that to a lot of people Bruce can do no wrong. It's as though the man walks on water. Glowing reviews follow every move he makes and writers trip over each other trying to come up with new superlatives to describe his art. He will surely collect a Tony award for his one-man Broadway show just as he won an Oscar for "Streets of Philadelphia" and will win some book award for his autobiography. And these trophies will be listed by Bruce fans whenever anyone tries to tell them how great some other artist's music is or how much more worthwhile that artist's album is than anything Bruce has put out in years.
Yeah, the "workingman's" shtick has gotten old, but some of the devotion shown to him is way over the top.
Can't this guy ever fall flat on his face? And if he does, would anyone ever admit it?

 

Oh, he's had some missteps for sure. Remember Human Touch? Working on a Dream and High Hopes? Not held in high regard by many, critics included. But the fact remains that the book is superb (brave and revealing) and shows off outstanding writing chops (no surprise). The show by all accounts is very special. Credit where credit is due. Also, that Streets of Philadelphia song deserved the Oscar. One of his greatest achievements.

 

Read the Philadelphia papers. We have a music critic who not only feels he can do no wrong, but he brags about how many shows he's seen in his 'reviews'. I was just like you, believe me. But Tunnel of Love (album, not the song) changed everything. And being married meant that his tickets weren't really an option.
We were with friends on Vacay at the Outer Banks and they have also soured on him; their politics is so polar opposite to his they've finally said 'enough'. First time I think I've ever been with them and they haven't played (old) Bruce on the their cd player. I offered them copies of one of the released '77 shows and he had no interest.

Streets of Phila is a song we and the friends above make fun of; it's just awful. Dead Man Walking would have been the correct Oscar song. It's not a typical Bruce song by any stretch, and twice as powerful.

 

His song from "The Wrestler" was the best of his movie songs--and it wasn't even nominated.
Shocking, right? But then ,there was no social issue attached to it.

 

I do think his the autobiography is superbly written. He should write more and he probably will. But I don't think there was anything particularly "brave or revealing" about it. Nothing was revealed that long-time fans and watchers didn't already know. Yes, some of the stories fleshed out the basic facts and were enjoyable enough, but there was nothing that he admitted that could be considered "brave"--meaning that he took a risk in telling us.

 

a lot there to digest.
I only became a fan late (in 99) after seeing him live for the first time, about 2 years after I moved from Jersey.
Then I started studying the music, but initially living in the South, I disliked Springsteen immensely, not because of his music, which I didn't get, but because of his fanbase.

So it seems the problem is less Bruce and more about the unfawning support of his fans.
What could Bruce possibly do about that?
Ironically enough, the locals leave Bruce alone, and that allows him to be out and about, surprisingly quite a lot, I've even seen him a few times said hi, and had a brief conversation with him once down in Pt Pleasant.

But I am curious, except for school, his first marriage, where has Bruce fallen on his face?
Some of the catalog isn't quite as good as others, but I don't remember anything truly horrid that only a sycophant would love.

 

I don't like it more than Dead Man Walking, but yeah, great song.

 

I believe that "The Wrestler" was subject to a technicality such that it wasn't eligible for the Oscar. Something about it being played over the end credits and not during the actual movie if I recall.

Yes, it was shocking to not even been nominated since (1) it just won the Golden Globe for the same category, and (2) the number of nominees in the category was enlarged.

 

Next time bring "Cat Scratch Fever" and some post-rap Kid Rock for their CD player

 

The tour with the non-E Street band is generally seen as his biggest misstep, though I enjoyed it a lot myself.

 

I think that was the last time Bruce was treated harshly by critics at large. The two albums were a relative dud, the singles made little impression on the charts, his band was iffy at best. Bruce was stepping out in a big way for the first time since he became a mega-star and his artistic choices weren't adding up. He was still young enough and not quite bulletproof in the public consciousness, so the 1992-1993 years were tough on him. But I think once he weathered that storm he's been treated as a deity by the press (both musical and at large), and it has been a detriment to his art.

 

Was that the year some song about a pimp won the Oscar?

 

True, but we've since entered an era where no veteran superstar is treated at all harshly by critics at large.

 

No rule preventing bags in general, but it is the tightest security I have experienced anywhere other than what we have in US airports since TSA took over post 9/11.

If by bag you mean suitcase, I do not know if the rules permit that. And there is really no room to put something like that at your seat either unless you want it on your lap for the whole show. Don't know if there is a place to check bags there or not.