If you're not done with partying for a while after all the Christmas and New Year's celebrations, the Stone Pony will offer another opportunity on Friday January 7. That's when Greasy Lake "house band", Boccigalupe and the Bad Boys, guest with the terrific Bruce cover band Bruce in the USA from Las Vegas. A great Bruce party and general rock 'n' roll party is guaranteed. Also on the bill: Joy Bodnar and EXIT 117. Read more

   

Yesterday for the first time since 1975 Bruce performed two official shows in one day. The Holiday shows at Harry's Place in Asbury Park each gathered around 500 people plus an unknown number of fans outside on the street listening through the door. The first show at 4:30 PM opened with a solo acoustic "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" and consisted of 21 songs. On the bill with Bruce was Southside Johnny, who joined Bruce for "The Fever". The second show four hours later opened with "For You" and was three songs longer. Instead of Southside Johnny, Patti Scialfa took the stage with Bruce for covers of "Tell Him" and "It Takes Two". Backing up Bruce for both shows was Bobby Bandiera's band. See the first and the second setlist. Read more

   

Sorry about the lack of updates in the last week. As most of our readers have probably found out by now through other sources, another show was added at Harry's Roadhouse on December 19. This means Bruce will do two shows in one day, one at 4:30 PM and one at 8:30 PM, something Bruce hasn't done since 1975. Tickets for both shows were sold out in a matter of minutes this last Monday. Scalpers are "only" demanding $1,000-1,200 in a touching expression of holiday generosity. Read more in the Asbury Park Press article under News links. Read more

   

Now is your chance to own a real Big Man saxophone. One of the saxes he used on the Reunion Tour has been offered up on Lelands auction site. But you gotta be fast and you gotta be rich. The current bid is at more than $10,000 and the auction ends today. If you don't have $10,000 lying around less will do if you instead bid on one of Max Weinberg's drumheads. It has been signed by Max himself and is currently going for less than $900. Also, an acoustic guitar signed by Nils Lofgren and an original Sopranos pilot episode script signed by Little Steven among others are up for grabs. Proceeds from all the auctions go to the Light of Day foundation. Read more

   

It seems like Bruce can't release anything without being nominated for a Grammy. This time "Code of Silence" from the bonus disc of Essential got a nomination in the "Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance" category. A rather obscure choice, but hey, we're not complaining. He's up against Wonderwall by Ryan Adams, The Revolution Starts Now by Steve Earle, and Breathe by Melissa Etheridge. Read more

   

Finally the word we have been waiting for has come. We have a confirmed Bruce sighting in Atlanta. Not at Brendan O'Brien's Southern Tracks studio, but at a bookstore where he signed an autograph and admitted to be in town to work. This is a good sign that work on a new album is under way and 2005 may see a brand new studio release. Lots of things could of course get in the way, but at least things seem to be moving. Read more

   

If you're fan of Eighties artists and Bruce, put a cross in your calendar against February 1. That's the day when The Story Behind "We Are the World" will be released on DVD. The DVD will of course include the full-length "We Are the World" complete with Bruce belting out his lines, but you should also get the chance to see some hitherto unreleased footage about the making of the song and video. There is also talk of doing a remake of the song inspired by the recent rerecording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?", but no official word on that yet. Read more

   

As scheduled Bruce appeared last night at the Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh for Flood Aid '04. First Bruce joined the warm-up band Exit 103 for a slow version of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower". Later he appeared on stage solo for three songs before joining Joe Grushecky and the Houserocker for another couple of hours of gritty rock'n'roll featuring songs like "From Small Things", "Code of Silence", "Atlantic City" and a Springsteen/Grushekcy penned song called Everything's Going To Work Out. The show raised money for victims of a flood that hit Pennsylvania earlier this year. Read more

   

After weeks of mixed signals it now looks official that Bruce will indeed do one holiday show this year. But it won't be the kind of extravaganca fans have become used to in recent years. Instead the show will take place in the afternoon of December 19 at Harry's Roadhouse on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park. Harry's Roadhouse only holds a few hundred people so tickets will be hard to come by. The official ticket sale has yet to be announced, but 10 contest winners will not only get free tickets, but also a chance to meet Bruce. If you want to participate in the contest all you have to do is go to selected stores in Asbury Park and fill out a contest entry between December 4 and 18. The list of stores can be found on www.asburyguild.com and www.cityofasburypark.com by tomorrow, Friday. The show itself will not feature the Max Weinberg Seven, but instead a band led by Bobby Bandiera so expect something along the lines of Bruce's annual Rumson County Day School benefits, only this time regular fans are invited too. Read more

   

British music magazine Uncut has dedicated their latest special edition to Bruce. The special edition is part of a series called Legends which has previously featured Bob Dylan, Neil Young and U2. If you purchase the magazine you will be treated with both new material and stuff that has already been published in Uncut before. Read more