Official Bruce w/Tom Morello

I know I posted this before but this is the officially remixed and professionally shot version of Springsteen's "Ghost Of Tom Joad" with Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine. They performed this in Anaheim on April 7th of this year. This gives me goosebumps when the first guitar duet ends, the accordian lingers on and Bruce sings, "And Tom said, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy....". Check it out and turn it up: http://media.brucespringsteen.net/non_secure/videos/080407_1S_p8k.mov.

Arrested Development, Wyclef, GWAR, Indigo Girls

Hooray, the weekend is here! Friday Cheers this week features Arrested Development. Not the awesome but now canceled TV show, but the alternative hip hop group from Atlanta. You may remember their hits from the early 90's: Tennessee, People Everyday and Mr. Wendel. They broke up in 1996 but got back together in 2000. Show starts at 6:30 with local reggae band Crucial Elements opening. As always, Cheers is FREE and on Brown's Island. And remember (thanks Beth S.) thousands of parking spaces are available at Riverfront Towers and Riverside on the James parking decks. Take Byrd Street to 10th Street; go right on 10th for $5 spaces all within a block of Brown’s Island.

Wyclef Jean plays at Fridays at Sunset on Kanawha Plaza on Friday. Tix are $25 and the gates open at 6 PM.


Friday night at The National is bloody theatrical metal band GWAR. The show starts at 8 and tickets are $22. Don't wear your nice clothes because fake blood will run rampant.

Saturday at The National is earnest folk-rockers, Indigo Girls. Show starts at 8 and tickets are $28.

If you are in the mood for three of my favorite things, check out the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival at the Richmond Raceway. The event goes from 2 PM to 6 PM on Saturday. Tix are $35 at the gate.

I'm outta here. Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Help the Palominos play Lollapalooza

Sonicbids is having a contest for an unsigned band to play at Lollapalooza in Chicago and Richmond band, The Palominos are vying for the slot. You can click here and vote for them. They are currenlty in 20th place and need to be in the top 100 to move onto the next round. You can vote once per day per e-mail address between now and June 22nd. Support your local music!

Review of Eagles concert in Charlottesville

I was unable to attend the Eagles concert in C'ville, primarily because I didn't want to spend $125 to see them. But Chris P. and Joe L. went and they provide this review. My comments are in [italisized brackets].

Chris P.: "Tony....here's my review on the EAGLES man.....AWESOME concert....great acoustics, the sound overall was superb. We were center stage on the floor, and you talk about old timers....even on the floor they sat down quick. We got a little Don solo action with "boys of summer" with all the band playing, which surprised me, because they have enough music as The Eagles to play for 5 or 6 hours easily.

Just thought I'd give you a little info...I know you have many other places but from a guy there, grew up listening to this group, what a privilege it was to be able to see this band play again after possibly not ever getting back together again....I'd pay to see this one AGAIN."

Joe L.: "I agree 100%.

No Opening Act and this band played for almost three hours!

First... I have two words to say about Don Henley...... "Joe F***ing Walsh." I'm quoting Dennis Leary there.... but damn, Joe Walsh is amazing.

First, I'm glad I finally got to see Hotel California performed lived.
Second... I have to study the band a little bit. I don't know which songs are band songs and which songs are individual songs. Example... I know that Dirty Laundry is Don Henley's song and not the Eagles.. but I really like that song (amazing lyrics, great message, really good instrumentation, etc). But what about "My Maserati goes one eighty five..." Is that a Joe Walsh song or an Eagles song? [Joe Walsh solo, "Life's Been Good", 1978] In any event, they have an extensive catalog to fill the set list. And I like that.. I like the variety.

Third... this band has a pretty deep bench... Don Henley sings, Joe Walsh sings, Glenn Frey sings, that other guy sings... LOL (sorry other guy, but you did do a great job on Peaceful, easy feeling).

And I would pay to see this band again. Even with tickets costing as much as they did. In fact, I would probably pay more just to try to sit in the front row.

Awesome Show!!!"

Chris P.: "The other guy is Timothy B. Schmidt....he sings "I can't tell you why" and the one off of Hell freezes over album, "Love will Keep us Alive" he sang those really well also.....Yeah Joe, what can you say...Helmet CAM..."

As a bonus here are two cool videos from 80s era Glenn Frey. "The Heat Is On" from "Beverly Hills Cop". I think I have this single. And a great mini-movie video, "Smuggler's Blues".

And from eaglesfans.typepad.com, the setlist:
1. How Long
2. Busy Being Fabulous
3. I Don't Want To Hear Anymore
4. Guilty Of The Crime
5. Hotel California
6. Peaceful Easy Feeling
7. I Can't Tell You Why
8. Witchy Woman
9. Lyin' Eyes
10. Boys Of Summer
11. In The City
12. Long Run
Intermission
13. No More Walks In The Wood
14. Waiting In The Weeds
15. No More Cloudy Days
16. Love Will Keep Us Alive
17. Take It To The Limit
18. Long Road Out Of Eden
19. Somebody
20. Walk Away
21. One Of These Nights
22. Life's Been Good
23. Dirty Laundry
24. Funk #49
25. Heartache Tonight
26. Life In The Fast Lane
Encore
27. Take it Easy
28. Desperado

Sam Bush, Lots O' Beatles, Van Halen review (finally)

Should be a great night for Friday Cheers. As of this writing, looks like it will be rain free and in the 60s. A perfect night for enjoying a few adult beverages and watching Sam Bush. Sam plays mandolin but blends the bluegrass mandolin style with rock, reggae and jazz. Its hard to describe, but if you enjoy watching great instrumentalists, you'll enjoy Sam and his band. Here is what they say about Sam on allmusic: "Sam Bush extended the musical capabilities of the mandolin and the fiddle to incorporate a seamless blend of bluegrass, rock, jazz, and reggae. As the founder and leader of the New Grass Revival, Bush pioneered and guided the evolution of modern hill country music. Together with the bluegrass supergroup Strength in Numbers, he pushed the traditions even further. During a five-year stint with the Nash Ramblers, he provided a diverse range of textures for the songs of Emmylou Harris. On his own, Bush has continued to explore an eclectic musical spectrum. " If you dig Leon Russell, Lyle Lovett, David Grisman, Jerry Garcia, Bela Fleck, Bill Monroe, and/or Little Feat, you'll dig Sam. As always, Friday Cheers is free and starts at 6:30 with opener The Whiskey Rebellion.

If you are going to the show, let me know. I should be going with my 3-year old, Zach, and perhaps my wife, Kathy, and the 8-month old, Willie.

At the National on Friday night, you get The Beatles' Abbey Road performed by the Upper East Side Big Band along with openers Bio Ritmo and the Mills Family Band. Here is how the National web site describes it: "Three Richmond bands making their debut at The National! There will be a wide range of music happening that night: A blend of Americana & jazz from the Mills Family Band, old-school salsa with Bio Ritmo that will get dancers moving, and topping it off with the 17-piece Upper East Side Big Band (w/ guest vocalist & pianist Adrian Duke) under the direction of Samson Trinh performing "Abbey Road" by The Beatles (considered their best album) in its entirety!" Show time is at 8 PM and tix are $13.

Check out the Beatles' web site, linked above. I had never been on it and its pretty cool.

Tuesday night, progressive rock band Dream Theater plays at the National. Tickets are $35 and the show starts at 7:00.

Wednesday night at Innsbrook its Beatles tribute band, 1964: The Tribute. According to their web site, Rolling Stone magazine has called them "The best Beatles tribute on Earth." Doors open at 6 PM, tix are $10 in advance, $15 at the gate, and $25 for Gold Circle. Local 60s cover band The English Channel will open. So you can get all Beatles'd out the next couple days.

Because that's about it this week, I finally have a chance to get to my review of the Van Halen in C'ville a few weeks ago.

Here is the set list (courtesy of Van Halen Tour 2007-2008)with my comments:
01. You Really Got Me (from Van Halen, 1978) - This got the show off to a great start with David Lee Roth appearing on the upper part of the stage swinging a giant red flag and rallying the band and the crowd.
02. I'm the One (from Van Halen, 1978)
03. Runnin' With the Devil (from Van Halen, 1978) - The first three songs ran without a stop and you could tell there were no lingering effects from Eddie's illness. He was on fire from the get-go. Unfortunately, DLR slowed things wayyyyy down at this point with a long story that ended with a bad punchline. I thought maybe he was stalling for time because of a technical glitch but that didn't appear to be the case from where I was sitting. They lost some of the momentum from the opening salvo of songs here. Otherwise, DLR was fantastic. His voice sounded great and got better as the night went on. He was never a great singer, technically, but he knows how to use his voice to serve the songs and he never overreached. He uses the mic stand like a drum major uses the baton and never dropped it once. His cornball burlesque comedian schtick was nicely played, always with a nod and a wink and was a welcome change from the horny party boy persona of Sammy Hagar.
During a couple tunes, he stood next to Eddie and led the band into bits of The Who's "Magic Bus" and Robert Johnson's/Cream's "Crossroads". The band was interacting with each other and looked like they were having lots of fun together. It certainly gave one hope that the reunion will continue after the tour and produce some new music and more tours.
04. Romeo Delight (from Women and Children First, 1980)
05. Somebody Get Me a Doctor (from Van Halen II, 1979) - It was approximately this point that Joe and I were asked to sit down by some loser behind us. SIT DOWN!?! Its a freakin' rock n' roll show! Why would you pay $90 to sit on your ass? The show is only two hours long, can't your old bones handle it? I will gladly sit down during a slow song (which VH doesn't have) or between songs. But when a band is rockin', I need to stand up to feel the show. I have to move my legs and hips, play air guitar, clap and shout. If someone wants to sit down, that's fine, but don't ruin my good time. This is a rock n' roll show and full participation is expected. Not only is it good for you, but the energy from the crowd can drive the band to a higher level. And even though we were in the upper level of the arena, that is actually more of a reason to get up and boogie. You don't have that close interaction with the band members on stage so you've got the music. Turn it into a dance party and have a good time. Rather than get into an argument (and I have gotten into arguments with people about this before), Joe was itching to move closer anyway, so we moved to the edge of the balcony on the side (Eddie's side) of the stage. That is where we remained for the rest of the show and we managed to get right in front of a wall for the most part so we wouldn't upset any more losers who could have waited for the DVD to come out so they could sit on their fat ass in the comfort of their own home, stuffing their face with cheese curls and not bothered those of who wanted to ROCK! I waited 25 years to see VH with DLR and I wasn't about to let some lame-ass bring me down.
06. Beautiful Girls (from Van Halen II, 1979)
07. Dance the Night Away (from Van Halen II, 1979)
08. Atomic Punk (from Van Halen, 1978) - These last two songs really showed me that this band was ready to rock. Dance the Night Away was preformed well but its a pop number and the band seemed to walk through it quickly though competently. It was on the deep cut (and one of my favorites), Atomic Punk, that showed that this band was really into the harder rock numbers. I always thought this song was indeed almost punk and the band crackled with energy on this one and the next one.
09. Everybody Wants Some (from Women and Children First, 1980)
10. So This Is Love? (from Fair Warning, 1981)
11. Mean Street (from Fair Warning, 1981)
12. Pretty Woman (from Diver Down, 1982)
13. Drum Solo - went to get a beer during this. I've seen a gazillion drum solos and I was only one section from the beer area, so I figured what the heck. I was able to drink one quickly and make it back to my seat in time for.....
14. Unchained (from Fair Warning, 1981) - One of my favorite VH songs. They didn't quite nail the "One break comin' up...." part, but it still kicked ass. The rhythm changes sometimes got sloppy throughout the night but it didn't bother me. VH always seemed like the world's greatest bar band to me anyway, so a little bit of dancing on the edge of disaster (but never descending)made it more fun. And one of the great things about DLR is he never seems to sweat it, he just rolls on with that giant smile on his face and you roll on with him. Of course, when Eddie nails the guitar parts, which he did consistently, adding little bits around the main riff and being more bluesy than I remember him being, you forget what came before and are completely in the NOW, amazed at what he can do.
15. I'll Wait (from 1984, 1984)
16. And the Cradle Will Rock (from Women and Children First, 1980)
17. Hot for Teacher (from 1984, 1984) - Alex got the drums thundering on this one.
18. Little Dreamer (from Van Halen, 1978)
19. Little Guitars (from Diver Down, 1982) ... not played at JPJ*
20. Jamie's Cryin' (from Van Halen, 1978)
21. Ice Cream Man (from Van Halen, 1978) - DLR had another way too long story before this one but it was so the band could take a break, so it was more excusable. And it was a little funnier than the first story.
22. Panama (from 1984, 1984)
23. Guitar Solo (incl. "Women in Love" intro, "Cathedral", "Eruption") - mind-blowing. I knew we'd really find out it Eddie was OK during the solo and believe me, he was more than OK.
24. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (from Van Halen, 1978)
Encore25. 1984 (from 1984, 1984)
26. Jump (from 1984, 1984) - DLR wore the giant Napoleon hat and brought back the giant red flag to start this off. We got the mirror ball and confetti falling from sky to end it. It was true rock grandiosity, completely over the top and completely fun, just what I wanted from a VH with DLR show. I was not disappointed. This was a great show and I would love to see them again. Hopefully, they can all get along and Eddie can stay healthy and this won't be a one time deal.

Lastly, a cool article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about a riot at a rock festival they had here in Richmond in 1974. Make sure you check out the short (less than two minutes) slide show for some great pictures of naked hippies, cops beating hippies, hippies burning cars, etc. It looks like it was a fun day. I'm going to give you the link to the story about the story on River City Rapids, because that is where I found it, and you can get to the Richmond Times-Dispatch story from there: http://rivercityrapids.blogspot.com/2008/05/richmond-had-hippie-riot.html. I bet Mike L. was there.

Have a great weekend.

Tony Jordan

Carbon Leaf, N MS Allstars, Erykah Badu, Roots, and great food!

Another good weekend for music.

I was planning on going to see Carbon Leaf at Friday Cheers tonight. But surprise, surprise, its going to be raining on a weekend. Since my wife and I were going to bring the kids, we won't be going because we don't want to drag them out in the rain. If you don't have a three year old and an 8 month old and you want to brave the rain, the show is free and will start at 6:30. Moossa will be opening. If they cancel it, I have no way to tell you how to find out. Perhaps they would say on one of the sponsoring radio stations. But there is no hotline to call or web site to check.

The show at Toad's Place tonight with The Swell Season (the duo from the movie "Once") is sold out. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I've heard some stuff by them and its pretty good. They do a great version of Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey" too.

The Capital Ale House Downtown has the Jesse Chong Band tonight. Doors are at 9 and tix are $7. Here's what the Capital Ale House says about them: "The alternative folk styling’s of Jesse Chong are imbued with such hook one wonders how the music keeps from totally assimilating its listeners and forming a worldwide cult of Jesse Chong followers. Not that that would be such a bad thing. His music carries a bit of wry humor, a touch of the southwest and not a little melancholy. It touches gently on a variety of human emotions and eases the listener into a world of beauty and life."

Saturday night at The National is excellent blues band North Mississippi Allstars with Alvin Youngblood Hart opening. Doors at 8, show at 9, tix are $20.

On Sunday night, two of the top alternative hip-hop/soul acts team up for a show at the Landmark, Erykah Badu with The Roots. Show starts at 7 PM and tix are $40-48. Check out this way cool video of Erykah's new song, Honey. See how many classic R&B/soul album covers you can recognize.

In non-music events, there is the Lebanese Food Festival out in Glen Allen at St. Anthony’s Maronite Catholic Church, 4611 Sadler Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060. That runs Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17, 10 AM to 10 PM and Sunday, May 18, 2008, 10 AM to 8:00 PM.

There is also Broad Appetit, featuring the best chefs in Richmond, food (obviously), drink (beer & wine), music, etc. This event is on Broad St. in downtown Richmond between Adams & Monroe. The event takes place on Sunday from noon - 5 PM. There will be stuff for the kids too.

Hope to hit at least one of those events, weather permitting, with the kids and eat some great food.

I gotta get to work. Had to do this here because my computer is about to die at home. Its buzzing with a horribly loud noise in the hard drive. I spend an hour and a half last night backing up files onto a flash drive and paying bills and when I got done, my whole body was buzzing and I felt like I had undergone some weird torture. Actually, felt a little sick to my stomach because of it. Anyway, I'm out.

Have a great weekend!

Tony Jordan

Bruce videos from C'ville and Sunrise shows

A friend of mine, we'll call him "Hazy Davy", has posted some video from the Springsteen shows in Charlottesville on 4/30/08 and Sunrise, FL on 5/2/08. The camera work is a little shaky, as would be expected, but the sound is pretty good and you can get a good feel for the show and, if you were there, relive or enhance your memories of the show. The link is: http://www.youtube.com/user/roulette909.

Enjoy!

Tony Jordan

Live & Gin Blossoms tonight at Innsbrook

Live & Gin Blossoms play tonight at Innsbrook. Looks like a nice night weather-wise. Tix are $20 at the door for General Admission and $35 for Gold Circle. Also, as a bonus: Anyone who buys a ticket for this show will receive a free general admission ticket for the The Greatest Beatles Show in The World-1964 "The Tribute" show on 5/28. Free tickets will be issued at the gate as you enter the LIVE show on May 14.

Live & Gin Blossoms both saw their greatest success in the 90s, with Live having #1 albums in 1994 (Throwing Copper) and 1997 (Secret Samadhi). More recent albums haven't made a huge dent on the charts or been as well receieved critically, but Live always put on a great show and I'm sure that hasn't changed.

Gin Blossoms commercial success peaked with New Miserable Experience in 1992 (4x platinum) and Congratulations...I'm Sorry in 1996 (#10 on the charts). They had some nice acoustic-type pop-rock hits but nothing that ever blew me away. I can't really speak to their live show. I don't think I've seen them live.

Tons Of Music This Weekend!

Lots going on this weekend so let's get started.

Friday opens with the first Friday Cheers of '08. Friday Cheers takes place down on Brown's Island, shows go from 6:30 - 9:30 and its FREE! Its a big island, always lots of families, the kids can get ice cream, you can have a beer and enjoy the music along the river. The first show is with Easy Star All-Stars with Trumystic. The Easy Star All-Stars are a reggae group best known for doing reggae version of Radiohead's "OK Computer" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon".

At the National on Friday, is jam band Perpetual Groove. Show time is 9 PM and tix are $15. The Groove hail from Athens GA and are playing at big festivals this year All Good and Rothbury later in the summer.

At the Tobacco Company, at 9:30 on Friday & Saturday night, you can catch great Johnny Cash cover band, Black Cash & The Bad Trips. This show is FREE!

Grateful Dead cover band, Cosmic Charlie, also from Athens GA, will be at the Canal Club. Show starts at 9:30 and tix are $10. So we have dueling Athens jam bands on Friday night.

Saturday afternoon from 3 - 9:30 an excellent bill for the CitySlickers Bluegrass Festival at the Science Museum in Richmond. Bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley and His Clinch Mountain Boys are the headliners and will go on at 8 PM. Opening are local bluegrass greats Special Ed & The Short Bus and Jackass Flats. Tix are $15. The web site says "golden beverages" (which I hope means beer) will be served.

Gretchen Wilson plays at Innsbrook on Saturday night. Show starts at 6 PM, tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. I kind of like Gretchen. She's pretty cute and she's not one of those soft, simpering country diva American Idol wanna-bes or American Idol has-beens. She sings about classic country themes like drinkin', cheatin', and more drinkin'.

Sunday night, the master blues man, BB King, plays at the Landmark. Show starts at 7:30 and tix are $45 and $55. The man can still play better than ever and better than just about any blues guitarist that's ever lived. He's influenced them all. Hell, they are opening a museum about this guy in King's hometown of Indianola, Mississippi. The web site for the museum is pretty slick so check it out.

So there you have it, a great music weekend, with free events on two of the three nights. Get out and see some music!

Tony Jordan

Mason Brothers, Tim Reynolds, TheRadio.com

Friend Ariel B. reports: "Just an FYI that Zak's (that's her husband) band, the Mason Brothers, are playing at the Camel at 1621 W. Broad Street on Thursday. It's their CD release show for their new album, The Sun, The Moon, and the Sea. The show starts at 8 and I imagine the Mason Brothers'll be on by 9:30 or so. There's a $5 cover, and the CD will be on sale for an additional $5. Hope to see some of you there!" The Mason Brothers web site says that their last album, Carnival Sky, drew comparisons "to the late Nick Drake, the late Elliott Smith, and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd."

Also tonight at the Capital Ale House Downtown, is Tim Reynolds & TR3. Show starts at 8 PM and tickets are $25. The Capital Ale House site says:
"This will be their last tour date as Tim will go on tour with Dave Matthews this summer.
He sold out his last show and we had to turn people away. Get your tickets in advance while they last.

Tim Reynolds has been playing music all of his life. Starting as a bass player in a gospel band in his hometown of St. Louis to his break through band in the 80’s TR3 and forward to recording with and touring with the Dave Matthews Band and the Dave Matthews Tim Reynolds Acoustic Duo. Tim’s progression has continued through his last 8 years on the road as a solo acoustic guitar wizard playing for packed houses who have come to realize this is not Dave side man this is one of the most talented and thoughtful players on the circuit today!!

Now things have come full circle and TR3 is back again in 2008 to Rock and Funk your house down. The songs will be a mix of updated Tim classics to wild covers of everything from James Brown to Prince to Tim’s newest catalogue of material he is preparing just for this tour."

As an FYI, Dave Matthews is not on tour now, and if he's in C'ville, well, I'm just sayin'...

Also, check out a new online radio station, TheRadio.com. Its like Sirius or XM but free. They have 167 different formats, so you're sure to find something you like. I'm not sure if they are beta testing this, because there is no advertising and no way to link to buy an album so I'm not sure how they are making their money.

Tony Jordan

Review: Bruce Springsteen, John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville VA 4/30/08

I have been a Springsteen fan since about 1983 and have seen him numerous times. I've seen him with the E Street Band, solo and with the Seeger Sessions Band. I went to this show wondering if this would be one of the last Bruce show I would see because of his rising ticket prices (now up to $95 + fees).

The show opened with a rarity, "Loose Ends", a song originally recorded in 1979 but not released until 1988's "Tracks" box set. I really like this song but with the typical muddy sound at the start of the show, the unfamiliarity to much of the audience and the mid-tempo of the song, I thought it was an odd song to start the show with. A rocker, even a rare one, would have gotten things off to a better start.

However, Bruce kicked it right into "Radio Nowhere" from the latest CD, "Magic" and the crowd was into it and away we went. Following non-stop with "No Surrender", "Lonesome Day" and "Promised Land" got things off to a rollicking start after all.

Next, we got the eerie title track of the latest CD and then another new one "Gypsy Biker", which featured some great guitar work from Bruce, Nils Lofgren and Steve Van Zandt.

Earlier in the day, my friend, Chris, and I were discussing the upcoming show and I told him how I could do without seeing "For You". This song, from "Greetings From Asbury Park" has never been one of my favorites, is rarely played, yet I had managed to see it in two or three of the previous shows I had been to. So what does Bruce break out next? You got it. "For You". I think he does it just to piss me off. On that note, I chose to use it for a much needed bathroom break and, since its a 5 minute song, got back to my seat with time to spare.

And I was glad I did as the band broke into a blistering "Adam Raised A Cain". That made up for the "For You" as Bruce beat the crap out of that old guitar on this one. Then, bang-bang, right into "Prove It All Night" and "She's the One" for a great mid-set section of classic Bruce.

Another new one was next, "Livin' In The Future" with Bruce making his "PSA announcement" to introduce the song: "this is a song called ´Livin´ In The Future´ but it´s about what´s happening now....along with all the things that we love about America - cheeseburgers, French fries, the Constitution (crowd cheers) Clarence ´Big Man´ Clemons (crowd cheers) ....along with all the things that we love about the place we live, in the last seven years we´ve had to add to the American picture things like illegal wiretapping....an attack on our Constitution, a rollback of civil liberties, rendition....those are the things that ain´t supposed to be happening here that are happening here now....so we plan to do something about it right now....we´re gonna sing about it....as loud as we can.....´´

Some people seem to get angry when an artist gets political but thank God that an artist of Bruce's stature still does that especially in these times when any criticism of the government is attacked as unpatriotic. Bruce has never failed to tell us what in a thinks in a thoughtful, passionate way that acknowledges the gray areas in politics and our lives without banging you over the head with slogans.

Next, Bruce busted one out from "The Rising": "Mary's Place". This song was the centerpiece of the shows on the Rising tour, with Bruce tearing it up and getting into his rock 'n roll preacher mode to introduce the band. This version was more straight-ahead without the mid-song break down for that and never quite reached the fever pitch of the versions on the Rising tour.

The final section of the main set was my favorite part (well, except for "Adam") where Bruce played some of those subtly political songs from the new album and his choice of older songs in this section gave them a new context. First was "Devil's Arcade" from the new album, with an incredible building climax of guitars and violins and the chanted lyrics of "the beat of your heart". That went into "The Rising", originally a song about rising up with life and hope after 9/11. After seven years of Bush, it was now cast as a song of rising up with life and hope after these dark days. Two more new ones, "Last to Die" ("who'll be the last to die for a mistake") and "Long Walk Home":

"you know that flag

flying over the courthouse

means certain things are set in stone

who we are, what we'll do

and what we won't,

it's gonna be a long walk home"

To close the set was the classic fist-pumping "Badlands", that resonated with the feeling of the songs he had just sung and the conviction that "We'll keep pushin' 'til its understood and these Badlands start treating us good."

The encore opened with the jazz noir of "Meeting Across The River" into its companion piece, the mighty "Jungleland". Though I was disappointed that I would once again not be getting "Kitty's Back", there was no disappointment in the performance of one of Bruce's strongest songs. I still get goosebumps when the sax solo ends and all is quiet except for the singular notes of Roy Bittan's piano.

The only song he probably must play, "Born to Run" was next and though I've heard it a lot, it still gets everyone juiced when the house lights are turned up for it and everyone is singing along. "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" was next and then the finale from "The Seeger Sessions", Bruce's own "American Land", a rollicking, stomping Celtic number.

Thanks to everyone in my section and the first level in general, who stood and danced for most of the show and gave energy right back to Bruce. Boos to the majority of the second level who paid $100 to go to a rock n' roll show and then sat on their asses most of the night. But more on that in my Van Halen review.

All in all, a good Bruce show and a good Bruce show is better than 80% of most other shows you'll see. I just hope it wasn't my last one but time and $ will see.

Little Feat & CCR (kind of) at Innsbrook

On Wednesday night, Little Feat and Creedence Clearwater Revisited play at Innsbrook. Doors open at 6, general admission tickets are $12.50 in advance, $15 at the gate and you can get Gold Circle (bah!) for $35. As a bonus, anyone who buys a ticket for this show will receive a free general admission ticket for the 1964 "The Tribute" show on 5/28. Free tickets will be issued at the gate as you enter this show on May 7.

Be forewarned that Creedence Clearwater Revisted contains only two original members from Creedence Clearwater Revival. Those two are bassist Stu Cook and drummer Doug Clifford. I'm sure they are a fine band but since John Fogerty sang and wrote 95% of CCR's stuff, I'm not sure if this is something I would go see.

One might argue the same about Little Feat, having lost founding member Lowell George in 1979. However, George was losing interest in the band during the last two years of his life and throughout Little Feat's first incarnation, guitarist Paul Barrere and keyboardist Bill Payne, wrote or co-wrote a large number of songs. Little Feat has also released a number of critically well received albums of new material after they reformed in 1988 with all original members except for George.

I've talked before about how I feel Little Feat's "Waiting For Columbus" is one of my favorite albums of all time and I really enjoy seeing them live. But because they are splitting the show with CCR and Innsbrook has a curfew, I'm going pass on this show and wait until the Feat return and play the National or Toad's and can do a full show of their own.