RED HEADED WOMEN
Catching up with "the girls"
Tonight, Lisa Lowell headlines the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, with her band Beautiful Behavior, including fellow Sessions Band players Jeremy Chatzky on bass and Larry Eagle on drums. [Photo above from a gig earlier this year, by John Cavanaugh.] They'll be performing her original material tonight, "all stuff I've written in the last four years," she told the Asbury Park Press. Look for them to go on at 10 p.m., but there's a great undercard too, including Sonny Kenn and Maybe Pete opening. Visit her site at www.lisalowell.com.

Patti Scialfa rejoined the E Street Band in Red Bank on Wednesday for only her second show with them this year. Previously, she played the April 22 Magic show in Tampa, bringing the band back to full force the day after Danny's funeral, but otherwise has been "soaking up the last hurrah of having all three of the kids in the house at once," she tells Backstreets. "Our oldest is off to college next year, so I wanted to be here and just go through the whole college process with him. I'll do the European tour, and some of the shows at the end of the tour. I miss being there! But I have to say, I'm really enjoying my kids... it's harder to leave as they get older, in a funny kind of way." But Europe is a go? "Oh, definitely -- I'm already booked in. I will be there."

In the meantime, Patti's "honorary First Lady of New Jersey" work with Habitat for Humanity ramps up on Monday, May 12. She'll lead a Wall Raising ceremony for Paterson Habitat's "Women Build" project that afternoon, along with her mom Vivian and her daughter Jessica. That's preceded by a fund-raising luncheon hosted by Greenbaum Interiors. For tickets and more information, visit patersonhabitat.org.

And check out Sister Soozie Tyrell's website, which has just gotten a major redesign and looks great. Of course with so much of her energy going into the Magic tour right now, the schedule listed there matches Bruce's exactly... but this is where you'll find her future gig listings, along with, at present, a full discography, great photos, streaming tracks from her 2003 solo album White Lines, and more, at soozietyrell.com.
- Updated May 9, 2008

ALBUM ORIENTED ROCK
Darkness and Born to Run in their entirety at the Basie, May 7
Ah, the stuff that dreams are made of... or at least the stuff that fan rap sessions are made of: "They should do the Darkness album start to finish!" Well, they just did, at the 1,500-seat Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ. And it wasn't just a Darkness 30th anniversary celebration -- Bruce and the E Street band tackled the full Born to Run album in order, too, for what he described at the outset as "something we've never done before and you're not gonna see anywhere else." An E Street Band theater show -- finding them packed tighter than ever on a small stage like this, with Nils, Patti, and Soozie all added to the line-up since the theater days -- would have been exceptional enough, but the four Perfect Album Sides of the setlist put this one over the top.

The evening began with the Basie's Rusty Young describing the benefit show's mission, to raise money for the restoration of this 80-year-old theater to its original glory -- "when the ceiling wasn't covered in netting" -- and this night alone brought in more than three million dollars. Young noted that Patti Scialfa is the "honorary co-chair of our capital campaign," and after he asked her for ideas... "tonight is her answer." Generous donations also made it possible, Young said, for 37 wounded veterans to attend the show, talking the bus in from Walter Reed.

Patti came out next to a mighty standing ovation -- "I'm supposed to welcome you, and you're welcoming me!" -- speaking of her and the rest of the band's history at the Basie, and of the importance of saving venues like this one. She was followed by NBC anchor Brian Williams, who goes back a long way as a fan and was clearly psyched just to be talking through Springsteen's mic ("the first and last time that will ever happen"). He recalled hitting the Stone Pony and the Tradewinds back in the day, ever on Bruce-watch; he also touched on the recent loss of Danny Federici, saying that "Great families endure. And great, great bands endure." "The netting is just to keep the larger pieces of debris from falling down," he added, "and if there's an entity that could cause the big ones to fall, it's this group here.... Ladies and gentlemen, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band!"

And with that, it was Darkness, side one, to start the show. "We're gonna start with Darkness, so we don't send you home suicidal!" Bruce quickly aborted "Badlands" seconds in, after a rough start: "We fucked it up already! I knew there was a reason why we didn't do this," he laughed. "Maybe we shouldn't do it!" But they did it. And man, they did it. From track to track, for the first time live, it was Darkness sequenced as Bruce originally intended it to be heard, full of intensity from the howls on "Something in the Night" to the seemingly never-ending coda of "Racing in the Street," a straight-ahead "Factory" (not the Bruce/Patti duet of recent years) with Steve on mandolin, the modern twist on "Prove It All Night" as Nils rocked the new solo, and at the end of "side two," a hugely powerful vocal on the title track. Loads of guitar from Springsteen, too -- every solo except that Nils spectacular, in fact. Bruce offered a solo to Steve at one point, which was respectfully declined.

After an only-fitting intermission, Born to Run got the same sequential treatment, offering a distinct reminder of what a freakin' masterpiece it is, as well as of the difference in tone between the two records. After the ferocity of the first set, here Bruce was having a blast, jumping into the crowd on the "Freeze-out" and even being held up by the crowd -- did we mention this was a theater show? Several clambers up on the piano throughout this second set, too. "Tenth" also brought a full horn section to the stage -- "The Mighty Max Horns," as Bruce later called them -- consisting of Mark Pender on trumpet, LaBamba on trombone, Jerry Vivino and Ed Manion on saxes. Pender came back out for "Meeting Across the River," giving his own spin to Randy Brecker's original trumpet part for a few minutes of absolute magic, also thanks to the beautfiul accompaniment from Roy and Garry. "Jungleland" had Steve stepping up for a soaring solo, and of course Clarence -- invigorated, up and around for much of this night -- did his thing and did it well.

And that wasn't the end -- as the needle hit the runout groove, Bruce said, "Let's bring out the horns! We've got a few more for you!" And they used the horn section to maximum effect for the entire encore, four bonus tracks starting off with BTR/Darkness outtake "So Young and in Love." "Kitty's Back" was next -- "and she's got somebody with her!" Bruce teased at the end, "Kitty's back, and she's got somebody with her!" That somebody was "Rosalita," and finally, Eddie Floyd's "Raise Your Hand" made sure we got an R&B cover in there for the full effect of this '70s theater revival.

It was a particular bygone era brought back to life, a celebration of the band's history and just one of its heydays, and a tip of the hat to a couple of 30th anniversaries... yet as ever with Springsteen, it was most notably moving forward and trying something new at the same time. And playing for a take-'em-all-in-with-one-glance crowd from the orchestra to the balcony, a packed theater practically on top of Bruce and the band (at least compared to where they have been and will be playing in this new millenium), it was the perfect crucible for revisiting the passion and the power of these classic records. An experiment, no doubt -- and an electrifying success.

ALBERT EINSTEIN AND BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN!
Last night at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Bruce Springsteen was part of the inauguaral class inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame -- and he was there for the honor, also giving the speech to induct Frank Sinatra and joining LaBamba and the Hubcaps for "Glory Days." It was a nice birthday present for Bruce's mom Adele, too, who was in the crowd with Patti. Read a report in the Star-Ledger, and we'll let YouTube tell the story (with thanks to John Zur).

Watch: Bruce being announced, Bruce's induction speech, Bruce inducts Frank Sinatra, Bruce jams with the Hubcaps before "Glory Days."
- May 5, 2008

MAY 2, FT. LAUDERDALE
With this their seventh Magic show in the less than two weeks since Danny Federici's death, Springsteen and the E Street Band have made it to the end of the spring leg in fine style. Wrapping things up at the rescheduled Ft. Lauderdale show, energy was back up after a little dip in Charlottesville, with the band on top of their game tonight.

The tour premieres keep coming, with "I Wanna Be With You" getting its first outing for an audience that was worthy of the sentiment -- a tremendous crowd. While "Streets of Fire" has inexplicably remained unplayed since Milwaukee, despite numerous appearences on the handwritten setlist for this recent stretch, "This Hard Land" made good on recent setlist teasers and was great to hear.

A long story before "Growin' Up" was about Danny's love for CB Radio -- "a really, really crude version of a localized internet," Bruce observed. In '69, Springsteen's parents moved out to California, and on the same day, the band moved in. Danny, Clarence, Mad Dog, and Garry -- that lasted exactly 30 days, Bruce said, before the landlord kicked them out. But while they were there, Mad Dog kicked out the window on the second floor so he and Danny could go up to the roof and mess around on the CB -- Bruce said he'd come home and find "a lot of truckers sitting in the living room."

In the encore, "Thunder Road" was played for Barbara Carr and Soozie Tyrell. "Tenth Avenue Freeze-out" featured a special guest -- James Michael Brown is their airplane pilot, "and he plays the trumpet!" said Bruce. So with Mike joining Clarence, the horn section effectively doubled. And there was one more magic trick in store after "American Land" -- after the bows, Bruce said, "This is our last night!" and offered one more visit from Kitty to close out the leg.

SPRINGSTEEN ENTERS NJ HALL OF FAME ON SUNDAY
The inaugural induction ceremony for the New Jersey Hall of Fame is Sunday, May 4, honoring Springsteen along with numerous other Garden State greats like Frank Sinatra, Toni Morrison, and Vince Lombardi. The event is at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, with La Bamba and the Hubcaps serving as the house band. For more information, visit www.njhalloffame.com.
- May 2, 2008

ENTER THE TEMPLE OF SOUL
Amid all the March Magic madness, we somehow missed the debut release from the latest version of Clarence Clemons’s group Temple of Soul, titled Brothers in Arms. The album, out now, features ten tracks -- including a cover of Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” -- blending contemporary R&B, danceable funk, and neo-soul. Along with C on sax and vocals, the band is very much a Who's Who: producer/drummer/songwriter extraordinaire Narada Michael Walden, a longtime Clarence collaborator, sings and drums; T.M. Stevens, former Pretender and Disciple of Soul (he appeared on Little Steven's Freedom No Compromise album), sings and plays bass; and in-demand session man Vernon "Ice" Black (Santana, Herbie Hancock) handles guitar and vocal duties. A fun, summer party album, and a definite change of pace from E Street. The album is in stock now in the Backstreet Records shop; check out a preview below. In addition to the Big Man blowing his horn on "Anna," don't miss him taking a verse at the 2:25 mark.

UK CD REISSUES, MORE OF THE SAME
As Uncut reports, 17 Springsteen albums will be reissued on CD in the UK later this month, from Greetings to The Rising, to coincide with the E Street Band's visit.

We've determined that these will be the same as the 2005 deluxe reissues from Japan (with the exception of the Japanese-specific packaging content, obi strips, etc.). In other words, no new sound improvements here, just the swell "miniaturized LP sleeve" treatment previously available. More details on the new UK series once we have them in hand; in the meantime, see our online shop for more on the 2005 Japanese reissues, most still in stock.
- May 2, 2008

TIME OFF? HA! THE BAND COMES TO THE BASIE
After wrapping up this spring North American leg of the Magic tour tomorrow in Ft. Lauderdale, Springsteen will be playing a smaller show closer to home less than a week later. Wednesday night's Count Basie Theatre benefit was originally billed as "An Evening with Bruce Springsteen." Now, we're anticipating "An Evening with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band," as Bruce plans to bring the whole crew to Red Bank for their first full theater show (the Basie holds roughly 1,500) since 1980.
- May 1, 2008

ONE STEP CLOSER TO "PERSON OF THE YEAR"
In the latest issue of Time magazine, due out tomorrow, Bruce Springsteen is named one of "The Time 100," their list of the 100 most influential people in the world. None other than Sean Penn writes: “Sense of self, and the way one shares it, is perhaps the most valuable and poetic gift in the arsenal of one's life and craft. In contemporary American music, Springsteen, 58, is its most enduring and robust giver...." Read Penn's full piece here.

Also on newsstands, the May 1 edition of Rolling Stone is the magazine's "Best of Rock 2008" issue, naming Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band the year's Best Live Band. Check it here, with an appreciation by David Fricke.
- May 1, 2008

ALWAYS A FRIEND - LIVE IN HOUSTON
You may have already seen this video on YouTube, but here it is with improved and remixed audio: Alejandro Escovedo performing his new single with Bruce and the E Street Band in Houston, 4/14/08. Alejandro's new album, Real Animal, is set for release on June 24.

SWEET VIRGINIA BREEZES
Normally we'd just make this a link in "Out on the Wire," but there's just too much good stuff in this Charlottesville prep piece, the cover story from this week's edition of The Hook. Scroll down through the Boss Glossary, and you'll find a nice piece on Robbin Thompson (who got a tip of the hat from the stage last night) on his Steel Mill days with Springsteen, and a few more more local Boss retrospectives.
- May 1, 2008

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