As most people will be aware by now, especially those who were going, the Kansas City show last night was cancelled due to a death in Bruce's immediate family. The deceased man was Lenny Sullivan who not only was Bruce's cousin but also an assistant road manager. Lenny Sullivan was only 36 years old and was found in his hotel room shortly before the show. As it looks now the Kansas City show will not be rescheduled, but a statement from the venue says that all tickets will be refunded and that the band is looking forward to returning at the earliest opportunity. So, if you had tickets for last night's show, get a refund. They will not be honored at any new show.

The time has come. The big moment when the winners of the big Darkness Trivia Quiz will be revealed. But not quite. First of all I'd like to thank the more than 400 people who took time to answer the questions. That was very overwhelming. And yes, it was a hard quiz. 26 people got all the questions right. Among those 26 people, a winner has been randomly drawn out of a hat by the goddess of fortune, also known as my wife.

And the name of the winner is.... (insert drum roll).... Vicky Dispenza

Congratulations! Vicky can now not only brag about her extreme Bruce knowledge, but soon she will also be the happy owner of The Light in Darkness book by Lawrence Kirsch.

But that's not all. I also promised a genuine Greasy Lake mug to a random participant. The fortunate winner of that valuable item is... (insert another drum roll).... Ed Hicklin. Congratulations to you too! Ed also happens to be among the 26 people who got all the answers right.

As for everyone else, well, once again thank you for playing along. I bet you have had many sleepless nights over what the right answers might have been, so let's go through them one by one.

Question 1: Which of these cities has Bruce performed in only during the Darkness Tour?
The correct answer was Boulder, CO. I don't know what the people of Boulder did to Bruce on that December day in 1978, but the fact is that Bruce has never returned.

Question 2: Which of these titles was originally considered for the Darkness album?
The correct answer is American Madness. According to several sources Bruce at one point considered this title for his new album. It was also the title of a 1932 movie starring Walter Huston about conspiracy in the banking world.

Question 3: Which song from the Darkness album was the last one to get its live debut?
The correct answer is "Factory", which didn't get its live debut until July 21, 1978, in Nashville. That was two months after all the other Darkness songs had been debuted at the very first show in Buffalo on May 23.

Question 4: What happened during the 1978 New Year's Eve show that made Bruce temporarily leave the stage?
The right answer is that a firecracker exploded near his face. Bruce was pissed off for understandable reasons and has since then been furious with people settings off fireworks at his shows.

Question 5: What was different about the shows when the Darkness Tour started?
The answer to this question is that an intermission was added in the middle of the show. Before that Bruce, like today, did one long set followed by the encores. The two-set structure lasted until the 1992-93 World Tour. After that Bruce went back to his old formula, starting with the 1995-97 Solo Acoustic Tour.

Question 6: Which of these River songs was debuted during the Darkness Tour?
Actually, several River songs were debuted during the Darkness Tour, but among the options mentioned only "Ramrod" fit the bill. It was, however, performed only once on that tour, in Pittsburgh on December 28, 1978, when it opened the show.

Question 7: What was the name of the famous bootleg that featured the September 19, 1978, Passaic show?
Piece de Resistance was the correct answer. It was a legendary bootleg that turned many a college kid in the early Eighties into diehard Bruce fans. It has since been released on bootleg CD, and the show is one of the most widely circulated Bruce shows ever.

Question 8: What did Bruce, Clarence and Garry Tallent write across a huge rooftop billboard promoting the Darkness album in Los Angeles in 1978?
Bruce, back then ever suspicious of overblown advertising, wrote Prove It All Night on the poster. They also wanted to add a mustache to his picture, but had to leave the premises before they were able to go through with that.

Question 9: Who did Bruce give the song "Fire" to when it was decided not to include it on the Darkness album?
The story is that Bruce wrote the song with Elvis Presley in mind and sent the song to him, but he died before Bruce heard anything back. However, Bruce also cut a version during the Darkness sessions, but in the end decided to give the song to Robert Gordon. It has since been recorded by several other artists and was a top 10 hit for the Pointer Sisters.

Question 10: Which song from the Darkness album has Bruce played live the most times?
A lot of you thought the answer was "Badlands", which is understandable. "Badlands" has been played at nearly every E Street Band show since its release (except for the beginning of the Tunnel of Love Tour). "The Promised Land" has not been played quite as much by the E Street Band, but it was played at every show during the two extensive solo tours, and that gives it the edge of "Badlands".

What fans have been waiting for for years finally happened last night in Philadelphia: Bruce played the one officially released song that has gone the longest without being played live: "The Price You Pay". It was last heard at a Bruce show more than 28 years ago, and in recent years, as Bruce seems to have pulled everything else out of the hat, it has become one of the most requested songs, from Los Angeles to Barcelona. Despite of that, it has seemed like Bruce wasn't even close to considering it. Until last night, that is. Last night he not only performed it in a full band version complete with trumpet, but opened the show with. It's worth noting that it happened at the expense of a song that has been played at virtually every single E Street Band show ever (except for most of the Tunnel of Love Tour), namely "Badlands", which was completely missing last night.

While "The Price You Pay" was certainly the biggest surprise last night, it wasn't the only one. Bruce also pulled out the first cover of "Higher and Higher" since 1977 and the first cover of "Save the Last Dance For Me" since 1975, both as sign requests from the audience. "Loose Ends" also made a rare appearance and former E Street drummer Vini Lopez sat in with the band during "Spirit in the Night". Altogether a more than worthy goodbye to the legendary Spectrum arena.

See the complete setlist and watch the videos.

What do Elvis and "I Wanna Marry You" have in common? Well, they were both revived by Bruce during last night's show at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. Elvis rose from the dead for the request section when Bruce went through the Elvis classic, "All Shook Up". Dressed in his Seventies attire he jumped on stage and took over the microphone from Bruce and even added a verse of "Blue Suede Shoes" for good measure.

"I Wanna Marry You", one of the forgotten tracks from The River, may have been performed a few times during the Devils & Dust Tour, but last night it was done for the first time with the E Street Band since 1981. It may not have been the best version ever, but considering it was completely unrehearsed, they did an admirable job. Even keyboard player Charles Giordani, who never played the song (at least not in public), did his part to perfection.

Do you think I'm full of it? Well, go to the tour section to view the videos.

It's been a long time since we had a little trivia quiz, so why not have one? As of today you can participate in a little game that, with a good amount of skill and perhaps a little bit of luck, could secure you a copy of the new "The Light in Darkness" book by Lawrence Kirsch. Just as the book is about the Darkness album and tour so is the trivia quiz. Dust off your knowledge of that epic period in Bruce history and see how you fare. Some of the questions are pretty tough, but don't worry. Even if you can't answer all the questions correctly, you still have a chance to win a Greasy Lake mug. Now, if that isn't a reason for everyone to participate, I don't know what is.

Ok, say no more  - take me to the quiz

What has been assumed for a couple of months is now official: Bruce will perform at the Stand Up For Heroes benefit show in New York City on November 11. The show is organized by the Bob Woodruff Foundation which supports injured services members and their families. It will take place at the Town Hall in New York, and tickets will go on sale on October 12. Bruce also took part in the show last year where he played three songs and auctioned off a motorcycle. And told dirty jokes. This year's show should be a fun night too as it is part of the annual New York Comedy Festival. Read more here.

Bruce's old Pittsburgh pal Joe Grushecky will release a brand new DVD entitled A Good Life: The Joe Grushecky Story. The DVD is a documentary depicting Joe Grushecky's life and career, but also includes previously unreleased live footage, some of which even has Bruce in it. The two friends have performed together on numerous occassions, and Bruce produced and co-wrote Joe Grushecky's great 1995 album American Babylon and also participated on others. Several of the American Babylon songs are featured on the DVD, although unfortunately not the stand-out track (to me), "Dark and Bloody Ground". The DVD will be released on October 13 and you can order ir and watch a preview of it here. However, don't just get this for Bruce. Joe Grushecky himself is well-worth the money.

In other Bruce/Grushecky news, Grushecky's upcoming album East Carson Street is said to include the song "Another Thin Line", which Bruce and Joe wrote together. Bruce has performed it in concert several times, mostly towards the end of the 2000 Reunion Tour.

It has just been announced in a press release from Shorefire that each of the Giants Stadium shows will feature the performance of a full album. Born to Run and Born in the USA will be played at two shows each and Darkness at one show. Here's the schedule:

• September 30: Born to Run
• October 2: Darkness on the Edge of Town
• October 3: Born in the USA
• October 8: Born to Run
• October 9: Born in the USA

According to the press release, response to the Chicago show was so positive that Bruce decided to continue the trend. I bet a lot of fans would have liked to know this before they bought the tickets so they could choose the album they wanted to hear, but as with Chicago, the album performance will probably only constitute about a third of the show, so there should be plenty of room for surprises and other favorites.

The publication date for the much-awaited The Light in Darkness book by Lawrence Kirsch is drawing near. The book will consist of fan tales of the Darkness album and era along with loads of never before seen photos. Just the other day the cover art for the book was revealed, and this is how it looks:

The book will be published on October 8 and can only be purchased through the official website: www.thelightindarkness.com.

After a one month hiatus what better way to return to the web waves than by celebrating Bruce's birthday. Yes, as every single one you reading this is perfectly aware of, our hero has reached the age of 60. When you look at his work schedule, his undiminished stage energy, his creativity, and of course his good looks, it almost defies the laws of nature that he was born in 1949, but it is nonetheless a fact. A fact that prompts all kinds of feelings. First of all , a feeling of awe that he is still able to do what he does and do it so well. But you also can't help feeling scared that maybe he ain't so young anymore. How long can he go on? How long can he continue to create wonders for us? Surely, in 10 years we won't see him dive into an audience, jump on the piano, fall to his knees and use the microphone stand to pull himself back up. Or will we? Didn't we say the same thing when he turned 50? And do wonders only spring from physical energy and power? And haven't all these questions already been answered by the Tom Joad and Devils & Dust Tours?

Whatever the case, maybe today isn't the time to feel concerned. Bruce himself only promises us life "right now". And right now Bruce is out there blowing roofs off American arenas and playing his ass off, as I myself witnessed just a few days ago in Chicago. If the fans are concerned, it doesn't seem to affect Bruce himself. So let's just raise a glass to our hero and enjoy the moment.

While things could no doubt have been a lot worse, as fans of most other aging rock stars can probably confirm, it's more the question whether any reasonable mind could ask for things to be much better than they are... right now. The answer is no.

Happy Birthday, Bruce! And many, many more.