Two tour premieres including a seemingly very impromptu version of "Gloria" after "Land of Hope and Dreams" was the result of last night's show. The other tour premiere was also an E Street Band premiere: "Roll of the Dice", not performed since the last show of the 92-93 tour, took the slot after "Tenth Avenue". And those were just the most notable differences from the first night. Other rarities included "Take 'Em As They Come" as the opener and "Stand on It" as the first encore. See this amazing setlist. Read more

   

The first show in two weeks and the first of two in Anaheim, Ca., was very similar to the first Hartford show. It opened with "Don't Look Back" and also included "Point Blank". Biggest surprise of the night was the inclusion of "This Hard Land" for the first time since October 21. See the complete setlist. Read more

   

If you won't get near a Bruce show in the time to come you can still have a little taste of live Bruce if you check out the Counting Crow's current tour. According to one of our readers they are doing a tremendous cover of "Thunder Road" with some nice extended chanting at the end. Read more

   

Don't forget that Tuesday is the day that will see the release of the Guthrie tribute show that Bruce took part in in 1996. The album is called Till We Outnumber 'Em and Bruce's contributions are his covers of Guthrie's children song "Car Car" and the more serious "Deportee". Buy it at you local cd store. Read more

   

For those of you who are going to one or more of the Garden shows and living in the New York/NJ area, there will be lots of opportunities to do some warmup in the next couple of weeks. From May 26 to 28 it's time for the big reopening of the Stone Pony with lots of music and entertainment. Among the performers are Lance Larson (May 26), Gary U.S. Bonds (May 27), the Smithereens, John Cafferty (May 28) and Mike Wurtele (May 27), the last-mentioned who will be there with a couple of former E Street Band members in the band. The day before that (May 26) you will also be able to listen to Mike Wurtele doing a Bruce tribute live on WPLJ FM in New York. However, don't be surprised if he also plays a couple of songs from his own new album. Read more

   

For all the musicians out there, Spanish fanzine Point Blank has announced their plans of releasing a cd of covers. The cd is going to consist of Bruce songs as performed by his fans. Everybody can send in their contributions, but only 12 songs will make the final cut. 50% of the proceeds will go to the Kristen Ann Carr fund. Contact Point Blank at pb@buffalomail.com with "Greetings Project" in the subject line to get more info. Read more

   

In the latest issue of Q Magazine Jon Bon Jovi is asked to list his ten favorite albums. Topping his list is Born to Run which is the one album he couldn't live without. Much can be said about Jon Bon Jovi, but the guy has taste! Read more

   

According to the Mark Knopfler website, Bruce Springsteen will be among the artists who will contribute to an upcoming CD that will celebrate the legendary Sun Records label. It is not known whether Bruce will record a new track by himself or appear as part of a combo. Other artists who will be involved in the project are Van Morrison, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt and of course, Mark Knopfler. Read more

   

Judging from the overwhelming response we have received following the second show in Hartford, we must conclude that it was among the best shows on the tour, perhaps the best... Perhaps the best in many years. Bruce was unusually loose (which says a LOT) and the performance from all band members near perfect. A lot of people have also told us that Patti was indeed present despite the performance of "My Hometown". She, like everybody else present in the arena, even saw Bruce launch into the first verse of "Honky Tonk Woman" as an intro to "Darlington County". Altogether an otherworldly show, defying the limits of what a 50-year-old man should be capable of. Read more

   

Anybody who thought the second night in Hartford couldn't possibly be better than first night, must think again. The show opened with a killer pairing of "Roulette" (not performed since 1988) and "Prove It All Night". The show also included a rare "Independence Day" and "Brilliant Disguise". The inclusion of "My Hometown" indicates that Patti was absent, but we didn't get a confirmation on that yet. Here's the setlist. The band now takes a break until May 21. Read more