On this date: Bruce is interviewed by Tom Hanks, Jon Bon Jovi makes a guest appearance, and the E Street Band backs Chuck Berry. More highlights inside.
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Devils and Dust Tour (79)
This date in Springsteen history features more rehearsals than concerts–but there are still a couple of gems. Check them out inside.
Bruce wraps up the summer leg of his solo acoustic tour in the Pacific Northwest and gives one of his best performances of the tour.
Bruce was in storyteller mode at a rare tour stop in Seattle, treating us to a very different setlist than the night before in Portland.
My favorite of the four Devils & Dust shows I attended, Portland ’05 was a motherlode of rarities, gems, and personal debuts.
“Atlantic City” ranks high among Bruce’s best songwriting accomplishments. Rooted deeply in time and place, it tells of the hope of resurrection that never quite pans out.
In which I learn the downside of a celebrity encounter at a show.
The rocking arrangement and blunt language of “Spare Parts” overwhelms the dilemma at its center its moral of redemptive self-empowerment. Like “Born in the U.S.A.,” its true power emerges when it’s performed quietly.
“Bobby Jean” makes for a fascinating comparison with “Backstreets” — two songs about broken friendships, one that heals and one that doesn’t.