Bruce kicked off the European leg of the tour last night at The Point in Dublin. For the next month he will cover the continent with his one-man-show that has proved to be much more than just Bruce and an acoustic guitar. He has covered new territory by using everything from pump organ to foot-stomping to accompany his songs, which has made for a more diverse experience to many fans than the Ghost of Tom Joad Tour in 1995-97. At the same time, he has refrained from playing many of the songs that were stables on that tour (and band tours as well) such as "Darkness on the Edge of Town", "Born in the USA", and "Adam Raised a Cain", and those songs that do appear again have often been dramatically rearranged. Read more

   

Much confusion as to what exactly that song was Bruce did in Chicago. First it was reported that it was a new Springsteen composition, then a cover of a Roy Orbison song, and now most people seem to think it was a cover of a song by the band Suicide. Whatever the case, it made a strong impression on those who were there. Let's hope he does it again. Read more

   

Bruce continues to develop the setlist for his solo tour. Last night in Chicago he debuted a cover version of a Roy Orbison song, "Dream", to close the show (it wasn't a brand new original like we reported earlier). He also tour debuted "I'm on Fire" playing the banjo. At the last show in St. Paul "Paradise" got its first airing on the tour with Bruce starting the song on guitar and then moving to the piano halfway through it. Read more

   

Long-time Internet users and old LuckyTown Digest subscribers and Greasy Lake readers remember them like it were yesterday: the wacky behind the scene parodies by Rich Kortz where the truth behind Bruce's decisions and actions, good or bad, was revealed to the public. For a while Greasy Lake had the honor of hosting most of these tales, but a few years ago they were released as a book. Now Rich Kortz is back with the sequel with more stories that are sure to make you laugh out loud. It can be purchased from the official Behind the Scenes website, so go grab a copy. Read more

   

The show at the Royal Albert Hall in London will be recorded by BBC Radio 2 and broadcast on a later date that has yet to be announced. This is the first radio broadcast of a show since The Ghost of Tom Joad Tour. No word yet on whether it will be the complete show or just excerpts. Speaking of London, Radio 2 offers up two tickets for the show on May 28 to a lucky contest winner. All you have to do is guess what Bruce's first album is called. Unfortunately for others, the contest is only open to UK residents. Check it out! Read more

   

After more than a week of touring in the western parts of the United States, Bruce now takes a little break until Tuesday before resuming the tour in St. Paul. So far the tour has received mostly rave reviews from press and fans alike. Most fans agree that this is not The Ghost of Tom Joad Tour part 2, but a much more light-hearted enterprise with a looser Bruce and more setlist variations. Several rare songs have been pulled out, including the first "Two Faces" and "Cautious Man" since 1988 (the latter had only been played once before) and a pump-organ version of "My Beautiful Reward" to open the last few shows. Apart from that, it is especially "Reason to Believe" and "Johnny 99" done through a distorted harmonica microphone that have caught people's attention with their 1920's delta blues sound. Read more

   

Forget about backlash after the Vote For Change Tour and Bruce's controversial participation in the presidential election campaign. Devils & Dust debuted at number one on the Billboard top 200 album chart selling 220,000 copies in the first weeks after its release. Altogether the album has come off to a good start in both America and Europe. It has debuted at number one in six countries outside the US: Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, and Ireland. Read more

   

After a week of sales Devils & Dust entered at number one on the British sales chart. No word yet on how it will fare on Billboard. The reception of the album has generally been excellent, and it's currently the second most acclaimed album on Metacritic with a score of 80 out of 100 on their scale. Over the next weeks we will add more press reviews to our article database, and fans are welcome to let their voices be heard too by submitting a review. Read more

   

On April 26 and 27 Bruce Springsteen will be on the National Public Radio in America when he joins Morning Edition's Renee Montagne in Asbury Park, N.J., for a two-part interview about his life, legacy and tour to promote the new album. Listen for Springsteen Tuesday and Wednesday on Morning Edition. Read more

   

Bruce unoffiicially kicked off the tour last night at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park with a 23-song set lasting a couple of hours. He debuted several songs from the new album and pulled out a few rarely performed gems from his back-catalogue including "Tougher Than the Rest", "Used Cars", and "Lost in the Flood". Throughout the night he was talkative and gave the crowd insight into some of the new tunes. All in all the response has been positive although of course many fans miss the band. Read more