June 6, 2006: Special Bruce Springsteen Edition: The Seeger Sessions

Concord, CA
Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord

Wow, whatta night! Bruce always puts on an amazing show, and last night was no exception! Before I get into the show though, a little background. When my mother was in high school in the late 1950s, she was a big fan of the early folk music scene. Subsequently when I was growing up in the early 1970s I was constantly hearing The Kingston Trio, Peter, Paul & Mary, The Limelighters, and many other folk albums of the '50s and '60s. It became part of my musical fabric. Leap forward in time to the early '80s when I first hear "Hungry Heart" and "Atlantic City" and file them in my memory bank as great songs with out really paying attention to who performed them. 1984/85 -- Born in the USA hits and like pretty much everyone else that year the phenomenon that is Bruce Springsteen is burned on my brain. I eventually worked my way to the back catalog and realized more and more what a truly amazing songwriter Springsteen is, or perhaps more accurately, what an amazing storyteller he is. His songs always capture such a slice of life and have vivid characters and images, it's no wonder that his music has become the subject of college courses around the country. His songs are folk songs to a rock and roll beat.

So, with all of that hodgepodge, when it was announced that Bruce was releasing an album in tribute to the legendary folk singer, Pete Seeger, I was eager with anticipation. The album did not disappoint -- my first impression stayed true through repeated listenings. It is a joyful album, even when you realize that some of the subject matter isn't all that joyful. It is very celebratory and I can't help but to dance and sing along as I listen to it.

Mercifully, the gods were with me this year and among a spate of shows in June the Springsteen show got scheduled for a date BEFORE I leave the country. I think I probably would have jumped off a bridge if I'd missed this show in addition to the 5-6 other shows happening in June that I won't be seeing. Of course, conversely the timing wasn't that great either since I had a training class yesterday morning which meant I didn't arrive at work until 11:30 and with the show in Concord AND the tickets being Will Call Only it meant leaving work at 4:15. So much for getting the To Do list crossed off before vacation.

Two hours and 15 minutes after I left work, I arrived in Concord (ugh -- traffic!), picked up my ticket, and headed inside to wait for the show to start. While I was waiting, I did a little crowd watching and imagine my surprise when I turned my head to see Joan Baez walking past me to her seat in the next section (just 4 rows in front of my seat -- oh yeah, did I mention this was the best seat I've EVER had to see Springsteen?! WOO HOO!) She got in unrecognized until about a half hour later when she returned to her seat from a different direction (I think she was coming from the back stage area as she joined Bruce on stage during the encore) when people saw her walking along and started applauding and cheering. I'm sure the folks up on the lawn were wondering what the hell was going on as it was quite obvious the show hadn't started yet!

The show was scheduled for 7:30, but Bruce and his 16-piece band didn't hit the stage until after 8:00. The band was absolutely unbelievable and, with one exception at the end of the show, all the instruments were acoustic. And if you think a show that featured solos on banjo, violin, accordian, and tuba (or possibly a sousaphone) can't possibly be a rock show, well I'm here to tell ya to think again! This band was incredible and, like the album, the music was joyful.

The show opened up with "John Henry" and people were on their feet in an instant singing along. For the most part, the crowd in the lower section (where I was) was on their feet for about 75% of the show, but I will say I did enjoy it when, towards the end of the show, Bruce said "Get your Concordian asses out of those Bay Arean seats! I can see you!" and pretty much hassled the crowd in the upper section to move!

Most of the songs were from the Seeger Sessions album, with a few other folk songs thrown in ("Bring Them Home (If You Love Your Uncle Sam)", the first song of the encore, got a HUGE response from the crowd and is the featured downloadable video at AOL Music.) There were also reworked versions of Springsteen originals -- "Atlantic City" appeared early in the set and was a much more up tempo kind of song than the quiet of the original (and definitely one of my favorite songs!) The title track from Devils & Dust worked perfectly in the set. "Ramrod" was totally unrecognizable as a funked up reggae flavored tune. (Completely unexplainable what it sounded like.) And then there was the guy playing, I kid you not, a washboard (strapped to his chest) with what appeared to be spoons for "You Can Look, But You Better Not Touch", definitely Springsteen as you've never heard before!

There were many sing-along parts and songs that had multiple false endings as Bruce egged the audience on for more and more participation. He was going to keep us there and singing the same song over and over until we were singing loud enough for his satisfaction. One of his biggest talents has always been the ability to work the audience into a frenzy and keep that energy running for hours at a time. Last night was no exception. Though there were points where the show slowed down for quieter songs, the energy ramped back up pretty quickly. You know performing is something he loves and it shows.

I only had a couple of quibbles with the whole night. When Bruce sang "We Shall Overcome" it was a quiet part of the show. That's a song that cries for singing along, but the way it was presented did not allow for that. While I'm far too young to remember the civil rights movement, that song is very powerful and has, for as long as I can remember, put a lump in my throat. Bruce alluded to that power when he introduced the song, and it was disappointing that it wasn't incorporated into the show better.

A similar situation arose when he sang "When the Saints Go Marching In." This is a song that EVERYONE knows, but he slowed the tempo down and stretched out the chorus which made it difficult to sing along.

And then there was Tweedledee and Tweedledum -- drunken twin brothers sitting a few rows behind me who found it necessary to shout "Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce" in the middle of virtually every song!! I wanted to smack the shit out of 'em.

The show finally wound down around 11:00 and I left hearing comments like "that was awesome for an acoustic show." Yeah, it may have been acoustic, but it wasn't quiet! The songs may have been folk songs, but the show was pure rock and roll. This is probably the 4th or 5th Springsteen show I've seen and as with every previous show I left exhausted and renewed. Hands down, he puts on the most consistently excellent shows I've ever seen. While it wasn't quite that musical nirvana when all things align for that "one true show" of ultimate perfection, it came pretty darned close.

November 8, 2005: Second Legendary Night

Oakland, CA
Oakland Arena

Two days, two concerts, two legends. Not two bad.

24 hours after seeing Paul McCartney, I'm on my way to Oakland to catch U2 for the second time this year. So very worth it. Since I was off work yesterday, I was designated to pick up some sandwiches for my friend Mary and me to have as dinner before the show. Of course, you can't eat on BART and, naturally, when we arrived at the Oakland Arena we couldn't bring food in. So we gobbled down our sandwiches sitting just outside the entrance before heading in to catch the opening act (one of the Marley kids, didn't catch the first name.) We made our way to our seats, but since the band was already on stage, it was pretty dark when we went in and we wound up sitting in the wrong seats! OOPS. Fortunately, we were just off by a few rows (too far back!) and when the openers finished, we wound our way down to the right seats. For those of you going tonight, the opening act was pretty good -- definitely more energetic than the openers in San Jose! Still, I'm not a huge reggae fan and the songs all kind of ran together for me until they played Bob Marley's "One World" which was the only thing I recognized (and could understand) of their whole set. I still haven't figured out why they had a guy waving a Jamaican flag for the entirety of their set. No singing, a little dancing, and waving that flag...

The openers ended about 8:15 and we sat and watched the stage change over. Unlike LAST time, Mary and I weren't with in spitting distance of the stage, but behind it. Close, but not close enough and we spent much of the night looking at the backs of Bono and Adam Clayton. (The Edge and Larry Mullen were mostly obscured by cabling for the lights and speakers... ah well.) The view this time, however, did allow us the ability to see the production and the whole stage which was pretty neat. It also gave us a slight advantage at the start of the show -- we could see the band walking to the stage from where we sat and as soon as everyone started hustling around back there, we were all on our feet. Still, even with this and knowing that Bono would appear at the far end of the ellipse and watching for it, I couldn't figure out just HOW he got there -- it was just too dark to tell. Oh well, kind of like knowing how a magician does his tricks I suppose. I'll just assume that Bono can appear out of thin air whenever he wishes to because, after all, he IS Bono...

They played much the same set list as they did earlier this year, though since I didn't take notes I can't be completely sure. I do think "Mysterious Ways" was played much later in the set the last time -- it was about the third or fourth song performed last night. The woman Bono pulled from the front of the stage to dance with him (okay, that's just cool) was from Kenya, and later in the show he handed her his microphone and told her to sing what I can only guess was the Kenyan National Anthem, which was a neat bit of spontaneous entertainment.

I'm not sure if it was due to the dramatic difference in my seating or just a difference in the crowd, but the crowd energy last night, while good, didn't feel quite as intense this time around. I mean, I KNOW that being front and center is a totally different vibe, but I just didn't quite get the same energy kick as before. The crowd did stay on their feet most of the night, sitting down only for two or three of the slower tunes. I will have to hurt the people who decided to leave during "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own"... totally disrupted the song for me, which was really annoying. They, and the two dudes who returned from their beer run RIGHT in the middle of "Pride" just need to learn how to be considerate of the OTHER people at the show who are trying to stay in the moment. (grumble mutter grumble.)

One of the other benefits of where we were sitting was that, if we'd had binoculars, we could see what the next song was AND the lyrics. Seems Bono's not infallible -- he has a teleprompter at his feet! GASP! From the front, you'd never know as it looks just like the monitors set up on stage, but from behind -- ha ha busted! I didn't catch him looking at it much, and, in fact, it was kind of funny to see lyrics scrolling by as he was walking out along the ellipse.

Throughout the show, I was thinking back to the previous night and that U2 are the ones who picked up the Beatles torch and ran with it. The majority of songs in both catalogs have a solid foundation in the concept of loving your neighbor -- the Beatles a little more hearts and flowers, U2 a little more activist, but essentially the theme is the same. I also wondered what kind of response U2 gets elsewhere in the US. You can't be a fan of the band and not know their political leanings. The Bay Area is obviously a very friendly place on those terms, but I wonder what the crowds are like in more conservative parts of the country. Do they get it?? When they played "Sunday Bloody Sunday" Bono said "this is your song now America" which is true and completely broke my heart. While Bono was encouraging the crowd chant of "no more," he handed his mic into the crowd again and gave it to a little girl sitting on her father's shoulders and she took up the chant -- just chills.

The show ended much too soon -- sometime just past 11:00 -- and it was off to battle the crowds for BART. Took forever for a train that went further than the Montgomery station to arrive, and when one finally did it was only a 4-car train. Fortunately we were able to get seats, but really... (Cheryl, fix that will ya!) Finally home around 1 a.m. and tired in that good way I crawled into bed with a weird mix of U2 and Beatles songs spinning in my head. A nice way to go to sleep.

November 7, 2005: The Comforts of Sir Paul

San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion

I woke up yesterday mostly refreshed and recovered after a weekend spent doing as little as humanly possible after a particularly stressful week. A new week, start off with a new attitude (or at least don't drag last week back in) and it was going to not only be a short week, but a fun one too with two concerts in two days -- Paul McCartney and U2. Things started off pretty well until my mom called around noon to let me know my aunt Diane had lost her battle with cancer that morning. I contemplated not going to the show, but came to the conclusion that not only would it mean that the alternative was sitting at home feeling down but that it might do me some good. I needed an emotional boost before the day had started, so I definitely needed one now.

Since I was going solo to the show (everyone else I know with tickets are going to tonight's show) I tried to kill some time at work before going to grab something to eat. Concentration wasn't the best, so I just gave up and got in my car and headed off. I'd brought a book with me which I read during dinner and while I was waiting in the arena for the show to start. I'd have stayed longer at the restaurant, but it was getting crowded and I was taking up a table for 4 so I headed over to the arena about 6:30 -- well over an hour before the show was scheduled to start. When I arrived, the line was moving slower than usual to let people in. At first I thought they were doing a more thorough camera search than usual as there were signs posted all around the entrance lines that the concert was being filmed and that no cameras of any kind were allowed period! It turned out that the line was slowed by the fact they had set up metal detectors at the entry and virtually everyone set off the detectors (gee, go figure, everyone's walking through with either a purse or keys and change in their pockets!) Even more effective, once you set off the detector (like I did) you stood to the side while someone waved a wand over you and DESPITE another beep when it passed over my purse that was the end of it. Heck, no one even looked in my purse when I went through the door with my ticket! Rather pointless security wouldn't you say?

Once I got inside the arena, the doors were still closed to the actual seats, so had to kill some time and that was when I had my first celebrity sighting -- as I was leaving the ladies room, I heard someone say "well, we're thinking about a new album", so I turned and looked to see who it was, and it was Johnny Colla of the News. Well, kewl. I finally got to my seat a little after 7 and was quite pleased. It was the first time I'd ever had floor seats for Paul and while it was in the 29th row, that row turned out to be an aisle row, so there was a large gap between me and the row in front of me -- I could see the stage clearly all night long and was in the center in front of the sound board! Excellent! People filled in and I tried to read my book while I waited, but it was made difficult by the two disco balls spinning at the top of the arena. Oh my eyes!

8:00 came and went and the show hadn't started yet (where is Bill Graham when you need him?) About 8:20 the PA music got louder and a few minutes later we were treated to a techno disco DJ remixing a variety of McCartney tunes. Uh... yeah. For those going tonight, bring ear plugs. Trust me. That ended after a while and the video screen above the stage started showing WWII footage and TA-DA! A short film on the history of Paul. (Ear plugs again needed for the scenes with screaming Beatles fans.) Then the curtain was pulled back and the crowd was on their feet and cheering -- it was time!

Paul and his band launched into "Magical Mystery Tour", which I've always thought was a rather odd song, but it is a good concert opener. This was followed by "Flaming Pie", which I was very surprised to recognize quickly as I've probably only listened to the CD once in the last 5 years. As with past shows, the set list was dominated with Beatles songs and so many different thoughts raced through my brain as each one was played. The most frequent of these being that most of those songs are older than I am, yet they still sound fresh. In fact the only song of the whole night that didn't was the only cover tune of the night "Til There Was You," the '50s era tune from some musical I can't recall now. It sounded 40+ years old. The Beatles tunes didn't.

As I suspect most of you know, Paul has a new album out and he played 4 songs from it. I don't have the CD yet and have only heard bits from a VH1 Classic special I managed to catch a few months back, but I really enjoyed them. "English Tea" is a bit of a silly Paul ditty in the vein of many other silly Paul ditties, but "Fine Line", "Any Situation" and especially "Jenny Wren" were quite good. But, of course, no one was there for the new stuff. No one is ever there for the new stuff. Heck, only those 4 plus "Flaming Pie" were recorded after 1980!

No, what people wanted to hear was "The Long and Winding Road" (which zapped me straight back to the very first time I saw Paul in 1989/90 and spontaneously burst into tears when he played that tune), "Eleanor Rigby," "Penny Lane," "Good Day Sunshine" (those going tonight, watch for the false ending[s])... and on and on and on.... And with the amazing age range in the crowd from the 20 somethings (including one who was wearing a t-shirt that said "Mrs. McCartney"!) to people in their 40s with their kids to people who obviously could remember the Beatles on Ed Sullivan (my apologies to those of you included in that category) it speaks to just how timeless that music is. Heck, I still have a vivid memory of being at a party in high school and someone putting on the "red" and "blue" albums of Beatles tunes and all my friends and me singing along. One of the few bands we ALL liked back then -- at that was 20 years after the Beatles first hit the US (and high school is now 20 years in my past.)

Now, unlike every other McCartney show I've ever attended, I was actually on my feet for a good 75% of the show (if not more) as the folks on the floor didn't sit a whole lot. (Wow!) It was fun to be up and dancing for a change, especially when some of those rockin' tunes you forget are in the catalog pop up. The show wound down, and of course we hit the granddaddy of all "na-na" songs... "Hey Jude." It's still very cool to hear 18,000 people singing along in unison and not missing a beat.

The main set closed out with "Live and Let Die" and the pyrotechnics were impressive, and HOT! I could feel the flames all the way back where I was sitting! One thing you are always guaranteed is a great production, and this was just more frosting on an excellent production. As the band exited the stage, I did a mental checklist of what had yet to be played and came up with "Get Back," "Let It Be," and "Yesterday" and guessed that would be the encore and the show would end. I was half right.

The first encore opened with Paul alone singing "Yesterday" -- amazing that such a masterpiece is only 2 minutes long. The band came back and launched into "Get Back" (me dancing wildly) and then holy smokes what a surprise! "Helter Skelter!" Maybe it's because I'm seeing U2 tonight, but all I kept hearing in my head was Bono saying "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles, we're stealin' it back" from Rattle & Hum. Having both "Yesterday" and "Helter Skelter" in the same sequence of songs does remind you of just what a range of style Paul has. He's so often lumped into the "silly love songs" category, that you forget he knows how to rock out too.

The band left the stage again, and still no "Let It Be," so duh, of course they're coming back. People seemed to grasp this and mostly stayed in their seats (as opposed to what happens at so many shows I attend.) The band came back out a with Paul carrying a US flag and wearing his "No More Landmines" t-shirt and one of the band members carrying a California state flag. Long-time band member Wix had a much smaller Union Jack to wave around. They kicked off with "Please Please Me" before lowering the lights and starting "Let It Be" by candlelight (more or less.) I love that song (and c'mon, who doesn't?) and was thinking of my aunt Diane through the whole song.

The show ended about 11:30 -- nearly 3 hours long. Not bad for a guy the same age as my mom! I headed out into a light drizzle for the walk back to my car when I had my second celebrity sighting of the night (yes, remember way back at the beginning I said the "first sighting"?) when I passed this pudgy aging hippy standing outside the door who looked familiar. I took a few steps on when I thought "Was that Herbie Herbert?" I dawdled a bit until he turned around in my direction -- Yep! it was. [For you non-Journey freaks -- Herbie Herbert = Journey's former manager.]

Set List
(as I can decipher from my scrawl, it's a bit messier than usual)

Magical Mystery Tour
Flaming Pie
Jet
I'll Get You in the End
Drive My Car
Til There Was You
Let Me Roll It
Got to Get You Into My Life
Fine Line [new]
Maybe I'm Amazed
Long and Winding Road
[can't read my scrawl]
I Will
Jenny Wren
For No One
Fixing a Hole
English Tea [new]
I'll Follow the Sun
Any Situation (I think) -- cool pyro
Blackbird
Eleanor Rigby
Too Many People
She Came Through the Bathroom Window
Good Day Sunshine
Band on the Run
Penny Lane
I Got a Feeling
Back in the USSR
Hey Jude
Live and Let Die

Encore 1:
Yesterday
Get Back
Helter Skelter

Encore 2:
Please Please Me
Let It Be
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)
The End

October 9, 2005; Last Generation

Los Angeles, CA
Greek Theater

Well, here we are gang, once again at the end of the official tour. Sure, there are dates being added in November and December, but last night's show in LA was the end of the summertime fun. And what a fun time it was...

I took off for So Cal yesterday morning after having spent all of last week battling the Journey flu I had acquired LAST weekend. Saturday was the first day I had felt semi-human in a week, and when I took off Sunday morning, I was wondering how on earth I would make it through a 3-hour concert on zero reserves.

I got to my hotel around mid-day and decided to rest in my room until it was time to pick up Leslie at the airport and head to the pre-show picnic. Cheryl called me just as I'd settled in and said "where are you? we're all in the lobby!" So, I abandoned my plans for a nap and headed downstairs to meet Cheryl, Teresa, Lori, Deb, Jenn and Barb. Imagine my surprise when we walked into the lounge and Caryn (aka Journeycat) popped out from behind a pillar! It was so great to see her at the end of the summer and get a chance to talk to her live and in person. Kudos to Cheryl and Teresa for dragging her outta Texas for the last show of the summer!

I visited with the gang for a bit then headed over to the airport to pick up Leslie and then over to the Greek for the picnic. A very nice, casual affair attended by many. I had been sworn to secrecy about Cat's appearance, but finally had to pull Vincent off to the side and say "stop trying to organize a group photo -- Cat's in town and will be here!" When Cat finally arrived, she was showered with much love as she so well deserves. Above and beyond all the wonderful things she's done for Journey fans over the years, she's just one of the most all-around special people I've met. Journeyland is poorer for her moving on...

Shortly before the picnic broke up, the band's bus pulled up and into the parking lot right across from where we had all gathered. The crowd of 50 or so people cheered and waved as they pulled in. Everyone went their separate ways to kill the few hours between the necessary 5:00 end of the picnic and the 8:00 start of the show.

By the time Leslie and I returned to the Greek, we had just enough time to grab a quick snack and briefly visit with folks as we walked to our seats. I wasn't holding out much hope for my seat as I remembered my previous experience at the Greek in the same section -- I was on the far aisle on Jon's side and was obstructed by the stage construction the whole night and hardly ever saw Jon or Ross. I lucked out this time as my seat was further away from the stage, but also further in so I had a very clear view. Whew!

My energy level still wasn't up to normal, so I intended to sit through most of the first set thinking that, well, everyone else around me will be sitting. Wouldn't you know it, they were up for the first two songs! Top it off, the first set was shorter than usual! Great! So much for taking it easy! Once they hit "Just the Same Way" I was up on my feet and never sat again.

Intermission came and it was time to present the bike to the 17-year old winner. Out on stage walks Matt LeBlanc (aka Joey from Friends) to make the presentation. That was kind of interesting, if somewhat haphazard. I visited with folks during the intermission, and sighed in jealousy at all the familiar faces who had purchased 5-star packages and wound up in the front row.

Heading back to my seat I stopped to chat with Leslie who was sitting in the first row of the same section I was in (Section A, behind the pit) and she said the seat next to her was empty, so I wound up staying there for the second set, and wow, what a good plan that was!

Shortly after the second set began, a crew of security walks out with Matt LeBlanc and his family, and they sat in the last row of the pit, right in front of Leslie and me (and next to Journeypals Diana and Carol!) Gotta say, from that point on it was very difficult to know where to look during the show! I'm pleased to say the whole LeBlanc family was on their feet and having a great time all night long which included singing along to nearly all the songs and a slack-jawed, bug-eyed Matt when Neal hit the "Star Spangled Banner." The only downside of having a celebrity in front of us was at the very end when security came in and stood in the aisle between our section and the pit -- completely obscuring my view of the stage during Jon's harmonica intro to LTS! Someone needs to be slapped!

The guys were really loose on stage and having a great time -- you could tell they knew they've got a few weeks off to be normal and so were just having a blast. Steve nearly took out Neal when he spun and dropped his mic stand. From where I stood, it looked like it nearly hit a few of the die-hards in the front row (and boy, do THOSE folks have some tales to tell!) I think my personal highlight of the show, however, came mid-way through the second set when as "Lights" ended Neal teased us with the opening of "Stay Awhile" (I about had a heart attack when I thought they were going into that) but instead it morphed into Deen singing "Still They Ride"! While Deen wasn't in perfect voice, it was GREAT to hear that song for the first time in several years. It's long been a favorite of mine and it just felt so right last night.

Once again the end of the show came all too soon, and somewhere along the line I got a burst of energy that can only come from a Journey concert -- I was surprisingly NOT tired and ready to crash. Lots of long and lingering goodbyes and hugs on the way out before heading back to the hotel and trying to find some place for a cocktail as the bar in our hotel closed at 10!

Up at the crack of dawn this morning for a farewell breakfast with Jenn, Barb, Cheryl, Teresa, Leslie, and Cat. As always, rehashing the night before. Leslie gets the gold star for recognizing a Neal instrumental over the PA (and 30 wet lashes for Barb who missed it!) My favorite part of my annual Journey road trips is visiting with and making new friends. There is never enough time to visit as much as I'd like, especially when we know that the next visit will be months and months away, but it is always cherished time. To ALL my Journey pals from around the globe -- it was GREAT seeing you last night, visiting for a short time, and having a wonderful rock and roll experience. Here's hoping we will meet again before the end of 2005 (Reno?? Anyone?? Hint hint hint...) and if not, back on the road somewhere in 2006 (Europe?! Major ROAD TRIP!)

Set list:

People & Places intro
Of a Lifetime (Jon)
I'm Gonna Leave You (Jon)
Mystery Mountain (Jon)
In Self Defense (Neal)
Walks Like a Lady (Ross)
Just the Same Way (Jon/Steve)
The Place in Your Heart
Any Way You Want It

-- Intermission/bike presentation --

Intro
Be Good to Yourself
Ask the Lonely
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Star Spangled Banner
Stone in Love
Wheel in the Sky
Chain Reaction
Lights
Still They Ride (Deen)
Every Generation
Jon Solo
Open Arms
Escape
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Separate Ways

Encore:
Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'