LouisvilleGreg

there was word afloat at the fest that a five year contract was being worked out. seems like a no brainer that it'll continue.

got raleigh and both atlanta, not great seats for any of them, but just glad to have gotten through. They should play Fugazi's "Waiting Room" while we're in that hell.

Not sure whether to go north or south. South sort of looks easier, what with the multiple night stands in Atlanta and Nashville. Looks like there is room for more dates up north though. It's nice to have decisions like these to make.

Bruce just released the full text of the eulogy he read at the funeral and it is as touching and eloquent as you would imagine. Worth the time to read:

This is a slightly revised version of the eulogy I delivered for Clarence at his memorial. I'd like to thank all our fans and friends who have comforted us over the past difficult weeks.FOR THE BIG MAN

I've been sitting here listening to everyone talk about Clarence and staring at that photo of the two of us right there. It's a picture of Scooter and The Big Man, people who we were sometimes. As you can see in this particular photo, Clarence is admiring his muscles and I'm pretending to be nonchalant while leaning upon him. I leaned on Clarence a lot; I made a career out of it in some ways.

Those of us who shared Clarence's life, shared with him his love and his confusion. Though "C" mellowed with age, he was always a wild and unpredictable ride. Today I see his sons Nicky, Chuck, Christopher and Jarod sitting here and I see in them the reflection of a lot of C's qualities. I see his light, his darkness, his sweetness, his roughness, his gentleness, his anger, his brilliance, his handsomeness, and his goodness. But, as you boys know your pop was a not a day at the beach. "C" lived a life where he did what he wanted to do and he let the chips, human and otherwise, fall where they may. Like a lot of us your pop was capable of great magic and also of making quite an amazing mess. This was just the nature of your daddy and my beautiful friend. Clarence's unconditional love, which was very real, came with a lot of conditions. Your pop was a major project and always a work in progress. "C" never approached anything linearly, life never proceeded in a straight line. He never went A... B.... C.... D. It was always A... J.... C.... Z... Q... I....! That was the way Clarence lived and made his way through the world. I know that can lead to a lot of confusion and hurt, but your father also carried a lot of love with him, and I know he loved each of you very very dearly.

It took a village to take care of Clarence Clemons. Tina, I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for taking care of my friend, for loving him. Victoria, you've been a loving, kind and caring wife to Clarence and you made a huge difference in his life at a time when the going was not always easy. To all of "C's" vast support network, names too numerous to mention, you know who you are and we thank you. Your rewards await you at the pearly gates. My pal was a tough act but he brought things into your life that were unique and when he turned on that love light, it illuminated your world. I was lucky enough to stand in that light for almost 40 years, near Clarence's heart, in the Temple of Soul.

So a little bit of history: from the early days when Clarence and I traveled together, we'd pull up to the evening's lodgings and within minutes "C" would transform his room into a world of his own. Out came the colored scarves to be draped over the lamps, the scented candles, the incense, the patchouli oil, the herbs, the music, the day would be banished, entertainment would come and go, and Clarence the Shaman would reign and work his magic, night after night. Clarence's ability to enjoy Clarence was incredible. By 69, he'd had a good run, because he'd already lived about 10 lives, 690 years in the life of an average man. Every night, in every place, the magic came flying out of C's suitcase. As soon as success allowed, his dressing room would take on the same trappings as his hotel room until a visit there was like a trip to a sovereign nation that had just struck huge oil reserves. "C" always knew how to live. Long before Prince was out of his diapers, an air of raunchy mysticism ruled in the Big Man's world. I'd wander in from my dressing room, which contained several fine couches and some athletic lockers, and wonder what I was doing wrong! Somewhere along the way all of this was christened the Temple of Soul; and "C" presided smilingly over its secrets, and its pleasures. Being allowed admittance to the Temple's wonders was a lovely thing.

As a young child my son Sam became enchanted with the Big Man... no surprise. To a child Clarence was a towering fairy tale figure, out of some very exotic storybook. He was a dreadlocked giant, with great hands and a deep mellifluous voice sugared with kindness and regard. And... to Sammy, who was just a little white boy, he was deeply and mysteriously black. In Sammy's eyes, "C" must have appeared as all of the African continent, shot through with American cool, rolled into one welcoming and loving figure. So... Sammy decided to pass on my work shirts and became fascinated by Clarence's suits and his royal robes. He declined a seat in dad's van and opted for "C's" stretch limousine, sitting by his side on the slow cruise to the show. He decided dinner in front of the hometown locker just wouldn't do, and he'd saunter up the hall and disappear into the Temple of Soul.

Of course, also enchanted was Sam's dad, from the first time I saw my pal striding out of the shadows of a half empty bar in Asbury Park, a path opening up before him; here comes my brother, here comes my sax man, my inspiration, my partner, my lifelong friend. Standing next to Clarence was like standing next to the baddest ass on the planet. You were proud, you were strong, you were excited and laughing with what might happen, with what together, you might be able to do. You felt like no matter what the day or the night brought, nothing was going to touch you. Clarence could be fragile but he also emanated power and safety, and in some funny way we became each other's protectors; I think perhaps I protected "C" from a world where it still wasn't so easy to be big and black. Racism was ever present and over the years together, we saw it. Clarence's celebrity and size did not make him immune. I think perhaps "C" protected me from a world where it wasn't always so easy to be an insecure, weird and skinny white boy either. But, standing together we were badass, on any given night, on our turf, some of the baddest asses on the planet. We were united, we were strong, we were righteous, we were unmovable, we were funny, we were corny as hell and as serious as death itself. And we were coming to your town to shake you and to wake you up. Together, we told an older, richer story about the possibilities of friendship that transcended those I'd written in my songs and in my music. Clarence carried it in his heart. It was a story where the Scooter and the Big Man not only busted the city in half, but we kicked ass and remade the city, shaping it into the kind of place where our friendship would not be such an anomaly. And that... that's what I'm gonna miss. The chance to renew that vow and double down on that story on a nightly basis, because that is something, that is the thing that we did together... the two of us. Clarence was big, and he made me feel, and think, and love, and dream big. How big was the Big Man? Too fucking big to die. And that's just the facts. You can put it on his grave stone, you can tattoo it over your heart. Accept it... it's the New World.

Clarence doesn't leave the E Street Band when he dies. He leaves when we die.

So, I'll miss my friend, his sax, the force of nature his sound was, his glory, his foolishness, his accomplishments, his face, his hands, his humor, his skin, his noise, his confusion, his power, his peace. But his love and his story, the story that he gave me, that he whispered in my ear, that he allowed me to tell... and that he gave to you... is gonna carry on. I'm no mystic, but the undertow, the mystery and power of Clarence and my friendship leads me to believe we must have stood together in other, older times, along other rivers, in other cities, in other fields, doing our modest version of god's work... work that's still unfinished. So I won't say goodbye to my brother, I'll simply say, see you in the next life, further on up the road, where we will once again pick up that work, and get it done.

Big Man, thank you for your kindness, your strength, your dedication, your work, your story. Thanks for the miracle... and for letting a little white boy slip through the side door of the Temple of Soul.

SO LADIES AND GENTLEMAN... ALWAYS LAST, BUT NEVER LEAST. LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE MASTER OF DISASTER, the BIG KAHUNA, the MAN WITH A PHD IN SAXUAL HEALING, the DUKE OF PADUCAH, the KING OF THE WORLD, LOOK OUT OBAMA! THE NEXT BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES EVEN THOUGH HE'S DEAD... YOU WISH YOU COULD BE LIKE HIM BUT YOU CAN'T! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BIGGEST MAN YOU'VE EVER SEEN!... GIVE ME A C-L-A-R-E-N-C-E. WHAT'S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! WHAT'S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! WHAT'S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! ... amen.

I'm gonna leave you today with a quote from the Big Man himself, which he shared on the plane ride home from Buffalo, the last show of the last tour. As we celebrated in the front cabin congratulating one another and telling tales of the many epic shows, rocking nights and good times we'd shared, "C" sat quietly, taking it all in, then he raised his glass, smiled and said to all gathered, "This could be the start of something big."

Love you, "C".

Is Tweedy wearing a Catcher In The Rye shirt? Very cool!

There will be North American tour dates this September.

There were "rumblings" from some in the know in North Adams this weekend that a northeastern September run will be announced very soon.

all 6 were out there along with about a dozen members of levon's band, made for quite the Last Waltz finale feel. The sun came out bright for the first time all weekend and it was quite a beautiful closing to great weekend.

Here in North Adams now and it's a rainy, foggy kind of day. Got nothing much going on today, though there are multiple art openings in town tonight. Anyhow, if anyone else is here and wants to meet up somewhere I'm all ears. Feel free to call or text, but I don't imagine I'll be online much, Greg 502-338-3825

Here's one of my favs with Clarence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHJGSGbhFwk&feature=related

Well fuck! Glad to have spent so many wonderful and life-affirming nights in his presence and hundreds more as the soundtrack to my life. If indeed this is the end of the E Street Band, than it marks the end of one of the greatest American bands of all time. Danny and now Clarence both passing without being in the RNR HOF is a crime. Can't listen to "Jungleland" just yet, maybe in a couple of days.

To me he has always been the one member of the E Street Band that is totally irreplaceable. Sure it's hard to imagine the band without Roy or Garry, but no harder than Danny and they persevered after his death. Max missed multiple shows on the last tour as his son filled in, and Stevie quit the band even before Bruce let everyone else go in the 80's, but really it is hard for me to fathom how they could even call it the E Street Band without Clarence. I hope against all hope that he gets well, but his health in general isn't going to ever be too great. I spent a lot of time thinking about the legacy of the band on the last tour and wondered if time would allow them to continue much longer. I hope we get a few more shows out of Clarence, but if and when he goes to be so goes the band.

Agreed...read all of those things over the years too. But, there is always the odd troll who throws a wrench in things. Was your original post from BTX?

It was from Greasy Lake.

While I would love everything in this post to come true....it's this line that makes me wonder if the (original) poster isn't making it up.... Bruce just basically confirmed on the latest Sirius interview that he'd never play the Prove It All Night 78 into again. Doesn't sound to me like someone who would revisit old concerts.....that and Landau has hinted that the next project could be another Seeger Sessions band.

 

But, man, I'd kill for small venues.

There have been some people on some Springsteen boards who have called a lot of this stuff with alarming accuracy in the past. Let's hope that some percentage of it, as well as the unknown is true. I for one, could take or leave more SSB.

Holy shit the whole world is chasing one another now. Dex and Lumen after Chase, Chase after them, Deb and Quinn closing in and Liddy having all the cards. It seems as if Quinn has all of the pieces as well, save for the smoking gun itself, he very well may take out Liddy. Somehow I think the woman whose under Chase's spell may work into this. I don't anticipate this season will end with as big a bang as last year, but the tension is certainly being ramped up amongst a lot more major players versus last year's one on one.

Somebody had to do this at some point, and I can't think of a better place to start:

Wow...I guess with the passing of Terry and Danny, Bruce must have realized that time waits for no one.

I think that he probably gets a lot of enjoyment out of the reaction to these sort of releases and really what's the point in waiting anymore? He's been prolific and very busy the past decade dealing with the here and now, so no surprise to me to have a little downtime and work on some long neglected projects. Also I think that he's gonna take his time and make sure that WOAD isn't repeated. As you said earlier in this thread bring it all on already!

The below article is a few years old, but sheds some light. I'd bet he's still following that career trajectory:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/arts/music/17kun.html?_r=1

I have to say these songs don't do much for me. I respect the guy, but you can see he was running through his influences to get to his own sound.

 

I read years ago that he wanted to do a live series like The Grateful Dead. It looks like that is in the works.

 

I'd like to see a Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle re-master next.

 

Lost In The Flood/Spirit in the Night/Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street? are some of my favorite Bruce songs.

 

Bruce Springsteen - The Promise - Molly Presents: Part 1 of 3 (HQ Audio)

 

Maybe we'll get some Child/Steel Mill tracks one of these days.

 

"The Promise" In-studio Clip (NYC 1978) - Bruce Springsteen

 

It was cool to see that. I can see why he re-recorded it for 18 tracks though. The tempo drags (somewhat) on the one above.

Yeah , it has been stated and restated in the doc, in interviews, that the bulk of these songs are genre-based and didn't fit into their own canon. You're spot on about the '98 version of "The Promise," I feel it packs more punch in that tempo. Did you like the alt "Racing in the Street?" I have several friends in their 20's-40's whose fav is the the first album, and I too love the songs you mentioned in particular. I guess I'm just a bit of a junkie, because there is very, very little in the catalog that I don't enjoy heavily, though I agree with you on the latter half of Tracks. Nonetheless it looks/sounds as if the vaults may be totally opened in the coming years. Hopefully that includes some thoughtful remasters.

These things are to be taken with a grain of salt, but supposedly the below is from someone with inside knowledge in the Bruce camp regarding the next year or so worth of projects:

It will be several independently released DVDs, maybe more than 8, maybe less (depending on how good they sell), over the next 4-5 years. Volume 1 is scheduled for release early May 2011 and will be called BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & the E STREET BAND - Live Anthology Volume 1, and will featured never before seen footage from the Born to Run Tour. No complete shows exist on tape, so the 100 min long DVD will contain recordings from several shows. I heard the most is supposed to be from the shows at the Roxy in Los Angeles.

Two more Live Anthology releases are scheduled to come out before christmas 2011. A compilation of material from the Chicken Scratch Tour in August and another full Darkness show in October. Around that time Bruce and the band will hit the road for around 25 shows, reenacting the famous 1978 concerts in North American theaters and other small venues. Several shows will be broadcasted live on the radio, internet and youtube.

Early 2012 will see the release of a multi-disc box-set containing outtakes, alternate versions of know songs and yet unknown compositions, spanning Bruce's entire career. They're not sure about the name yet but I heard that Tracks 2 is a very likely possibility. The interesting thing is, that Bruce and the band will go into the studio in the fall of 2011 to record some new songs that Bruce hasn't even written yet! That's what I call inside information!

Following the release of "Tracks 2" and another couple of "Live Anthology" DVDs, a worldwide european and north american tour will be announced. And don't even ask - I don't have any exact dates yet. And I really don't want to get your hopes up with rumours.

Here ya go A'Man this will get you started, one of my favs from "The Promise":

more cheap trick please:

These links never last long. F'n Aces:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM57gILdf_U

The Raspberries.

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wT_NpsYdes

Seconded! They have about a dozen perfect pop songs, but this is high atop their list.

Here are the Billboard numbers. I was wondering if they were gonna count the set and the 2 disc alternative seperately. Appears they did, and both did pretty well.

PROMISING CHART ACTION

The numbers are in... The Promise: The Darkness on the Edge of Town Story, in all its six-disc glory, debuted at #27 on the Billboard chart, becoming the fastest-selling box set of 2010, according to today's Shore Fire press release.

The Promise, the two-disc release, charted even higher, at #16 here in the U.S. Overseas, it debuted at #1 in Germany, Norway, Spain, and Sweden; #4 in Ireland and the Netherlands; #5 in Denmark and Austria; #7 in the UK, and #9 in Switzerland.

- November 24, 2010

On the homefront, especially after this last ep, seems like all of the kids and dex and lumen could end up living together next season. I still think a strong ending to the series is deb finding out dex's secret, him being killed off in some as yet unforeseen manner and her taking over the code and running with it.

I agree that there are a lot of people that need to be killed in the remaining eps, still not sure that LaGuerta will be one of them though.